Stocks and Shares

RBS and betfair you are not very shrewd.

Stocks and shares equate to gambling. Invest in an ISA, I'm not certain but I think you can get somewhere around 3%. I need to change my ISA provider, I'm with Santander and the rate has gone down to peanuts.

If you are looking for safety then you could consider putting your ISA allowance (shares) of £5760 into a Balanced Income fund with one of the big providers and receive a tax free income of say 4% with the prospect of some modest capital growth over a period. A much better way of investing than picking on 4 or 5 companies yourself imo, unless of course you wish to take a flyer with a more risky investment.

Have you looked into Peer to Peer lending. Don't know too much about it but could be an alternative.

Stick it in a low cost tracker and be done

Buy the f***ing dip (BTFD) is a great approach if used with quality companies.  This has worked very well for me over the last few years i.e. recently: Tesco, Sainsburys, BP.  Though I am pulling out completely from shares because the global economic environment and all time highs in the major country indices doesn't smell right to me.  The dow is at a historical high (ftse 100 almost at its highest etc), yet unemployment is still extremely high, huge public and private debts, QE etc.  Only yesterday reports of "A new survey by a consumer group says one in five UK households are being forced to borrow money or use savings to pay for food shopping", this compares to estimates of 1 in 5 US citizens on food stamps.  I believe QE not finding its way to the desired targets, rather, hitting the stock markets and artificially pushing up stock prices.  That, and people deciding to take riskier positions as interest rates so low. I expect another 2008 crash.  Though timing such an event is almost impossible.  I worry also about the splitting of banks into retail and investments factions (2015-2019) this is when I believe the true scope of the derivative market problems will be revealed (and this I find very scary). 

It is hard to decide what to do, leaving money in the bank risks you to a Cyprus type situation (at 1-2% interest, I think the risk too high).  Gold/Silver seems the best bet to me so far but not many baskets to put ones eggs!  Perhaps land/property but costly to invest in and not easy to liquidate ones position.

I had always considered myself to be an optimist as well :S lol.

"I'm not British, so correct me if I got this wrong, but I think the best way to invest in shares for British people is through a "stocks and shares ISA"."

Yes, if you're thinking you're going to have money in for a while then you can put money into a stocks and shares wrapper, trade, and reduce possible tax on any profit down the road. You could use hl for that as Gin links to above.

http://www.londonstockexchange.com/prices-and-markets/retail-bonds/newrecent/newrecent.htm

Thomas Cook (recovery play)
Incadea  (enterprise solutions - post float growth)
Angle  (health diagnostic growth)
Telecom Plus ( plenty of growth left in that one)
ITV (no longer a media platform for brain dead northerners)