Tuesday 11 October 2011

John Paulson's Advantage Plus fund down 47 per cent on the year

All of his other funds are down as well. That's the bad news. The good news is that Mr Paulson isn't having to sing a redemption song like the late, great Bob Marley because most of his investors are sticking with him. So, are these investors demented, or do they genuinely believe Mr Paulson - and Paulson & Co - will be able to turn things around?

What do I know? I used to have faith in John, but times have changed. Well, I'm not saying I've lost my faith. I'm a bit confused these days, that's all. And I can hardly look at the news - news of John, or any news. Reality hurts. It really hurts.

Oh, I wish I could live in dreams (and visions). I had a few dreams last night - if you're interested. In one dream I was at a party which was gatecrashed by a gang of mods. They started causing trouble, so I left. One of them actually pulled a knife. It was like something out of Quadrophenia. In another dream, I was in an army camp during the First World War. Not in the trenches, just in some camp. The funny thing is, I woke up at seven o'clock, fell back to sleep, had the war dream, and then woke up again at seven minutes past seven. That's how quick and easy it is for me to get into a dream state. And, of course, there are the visions during the daytime. My mind drifts off and I see something, for a couple of seconds, then it's back to reality. I'm not complaining. As I said, I wish I could live my whole life in dreams - and visions.

My best/craziest ever dream was when I dreamt I was telling my cousin's fortune with a crystal ball. (This was about fifteen years ago, maybe longer.) We were sitting at a table in his bedroom, and I was staring into the ball. At first, it was all cloudy, but when it cleared I saw the face of Bungle from the children's TV programme Rainbow. I asked my cousin if Bungle meant anything to him. And he said, no, Bungle meant nothing to him. I asked him if he was absolutely certain because Bungle's face was all I could see. My cousin assured me that he had no interest in - or connection to - the absurd bear character or whatever it is. So I said okay and wrapped the crystal ball up. Then just as we were leaving the room I noticed a photograph pinned to a board on the far wall. I went right up to it, and, amazingly, it turned out to be a picture of five or six Bungles all standing together. Angry now, I ripped the photo from the board and waved it accusingly at my cousin, saying something like: 'What is this? Why aren't you being straight with me?' My cousin looked mortified. Unfortunately, the dream ended before he could explain the situation. I was gutted. Obviously, I haven't told my cousin about this dream. I once told some workmates about it, and they advised me not to tell him. They said he wouldn't understand.