so in practice...
OK great, thanks for the answer.
The reason i ask is because I was lucky enough to have my entire PPL sponsored but as i am a student i have not been able to afford to fly since that sponsorship money dried up (when i got my ppl) L I have been saving and can probably now afford to fly 12 hours, but as i passed my skills test in October 2010 would i be right in thinking that (financially) it would make more sense for me to hold off flying until after October this year, so those hours can count towards my revalidation in Oct 2012?
PS I know i can let it expire completely and wait until i have some more cash, but I really don’t want to have to do another skills test as it was stressful enough the first time (!!), and besides, I’m really itching to fly!