The main reason people are sticking with Opera 12 is that the interface and options are perfectly fit for purpose for non-tablets.
Too often people say 'you can't stop progress' when progress seems to be 'remove useful things from an application and most people will just accept it even if it isn't as good as previously.
Speed is not an overall issue it is usability etc.
Anyway, I don't want to get into that 'argument' - when 'they' are still trying to get the new Opera functionality upto the old one even after years you know something is wrong.
Thanks for the feedback from others!