RB raises an interesting point regarding perceptions of debt on the septic isle, where 'sums owed' have more of a Zen nature than is usual in the outside world.
In their world, just as a tree falling in the forest makes no sound if there is no-one to hear it, so debts run up by the bestest only count if the board says they do.
Would that we could all perform such magic, I'd be living in Chilworth and driving a Ferrari