WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[Nolic]

Its very frustrating as a number of times I have posted only to find that I am told to log on.(3x in order to post this)
Nolic

[Stanley]

You are right Comrade. It took me almost half an hour on Sunday. The sooner we get the new simplified platform up the better! I'm nagging Pluggy.....

[Tizer]

Much needed new consumer protection legislation is on its way for 2014. It will increase the `cooling off' period from 7 days to 14 days for most purchases and to 90 days for those from dodgy sellers. There'll be extra protection for elderly consumers.

Other news...[from BBC site]
"Charity Commission chairman issues charity pay warning"
"Large salaries paid to charity staff could "bring the charitable world into disrepute", a regulator has warned. Charity Commission chairman William Shawcross said organisations must ask if pay levels are "really appropriate". The Daily Telegraph reported 30 staff at 14 leading UK foreign aid charities were paid £100,000 or more last year."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23584191

It's about time this scandal was brought to the notice of the public. Of course, the Charity leaders' organisation Acevo said the salaries for these "very demanding jobs" were not excessive compared to other sectors.

[Tardis]

The escaped python which killed two small boys

[Stanley]

Tiz, having set up a couple of charities in my time I agree with you but it's not a new problem. There have always been some slippery customers about who did very nicely thank you by setting up charities and 'administering' them at greater expense than you would think was charitable! Another common problem was what David Sekers called 'entryism'. Activists who join a charity and attempt to take over and run for their own purposes which are sometimes skating very close to subverting the original constitution. The Charities Aid Foundation was supposed to be the regulator but hadn't the resources to police them properly. There were also some credible organisations which were run in a very funny way. I found one that was a family trust run by one man and the headquarters was at his golf club.....

[Stanley]

Yemen and the US shut down of embassies is filling the news. What intrigues me is the amount of information, supposedly from official sources, that is being put out. Someone has decided that transparency pays. Whether this is a result of the Snowden leaks or is a ploy to let the terrorists know their communications are leaky I don't know but we are certainly getting more information than usual.

[EileenDavid]

Yippee I am now able to log back into OGFB I thought there was only me who couldn't get in Eileen

[PanBiker]

Clutch problems on my car. Had AA out at 7:30 this morning, AA man escorted me up to the a garage that specialises in clutch repair 5 miles up the road and then ran me back to our holiday home. Have to ring the garage at 10am to see what it will cost and give OK. They should be able to do it tomorrow. Lots of single track roads down here and 3 mile stretch to negotiate each way up into town. Clutch operational but bordering on slipping so not fit to get us home on Friday.

[Tizer]

...The Charities Aid Foundation was supposed to be the regulator but hadn't the resources to police them properly. There were also some credible organisations which were run in a very funny way. I found one that was a family trust run by one man and the headquarters was at his golf club.....

It's no wonder there are problems when charities have proliferated to the extent that there are now over 160,000 registered charity organisations in the UK. They're too easy to set up and there are too many to regulate. Perhaps we should set up a charity for the enhancement of the lifestyle of OGFB members (an endangered species)...

Ian, I'm sorry to hear about your clutch problems happening when your on holiday...it brings back my memories of being stuck in Bournemouth with a dead battery, in Weston-Super-Mare with a failed dynamo, and in Bath with a big end gone, all featuring either an Austin A35 or a Morris Minor. Ah, the happy days of motoring in the mid to late 1900s! If I included the breakdowns of my dad's cars too we'd be here all day listing them. (I still remember when a lemonade bottle leaked in the boot and it got sucked into the breather tube to the petrol tank!)

[Thomo]

All the best Ian, and come back soon, we need you.

[Stanley]

Funny how these gremlins bide their time.....
At the moment it's the fact that I slept two hours longer than usual, still waking up!
07:30. Just heard about the British lady having the 13lb baby in Spain and she didn't have an epidural.... I hope it was easier than it sounds! (LINK)

[EileenDavid]

How much money the administration are creaming off charities prior to it being sent to the needy. Charity begins at home. Eileen

[PanBiker]

Car sorted, complete clutch replacement, plates flywheel etc.. Done in the day and picked up. Early start tomorrow and back home via Stratford on Avon to drop of our Ruby.

[Stanley]

Flywheel? Pressure plate assembly perhaps, always a good thing to do with a new clutch plate. You'll be good for another 100,000 miles!
Good job it wasn't an old Standard Vanguard, the car was so badly designed that the only economic way to get to the gearbox and clutch was to cut the floor out of the car!

[Big Kev]

Flywheel? Pressure plate assembly perhaps, always a good thing to do with a new clutch plate. You'll be good for another 100,000 miles!
Good job it wasn't an old Standard Vanguard, the car was so badly designed that the only economic way to get to the gearbox and clutch was to cut the floor out of the car!

One side of the friction plate runs against the flywheel, there's always the potential for wear...

[Tizer]

In a discussion about individuals being chased by Customs & Revenue for unpaid tax the figure of £600 million of tax remaining unpaid by these people was quoted....
EDIT: I went on to calculate how much this was per person and made a pig's ear of it! Due to not sleeping properly last night and it'll teach me not to post when half asleep!

[Tardis]

Interesting that that the 'most wanted' committed the merry-go-round fraud

[Wendyf]

Just had a recorded message from Ticketmaster telling us that Neil Young & Crazy Horse have had to cancel their European tour Money being refunded but we were really looking forward to it

[elise]

Never mind, only love can break your heart!

[Wendyf]

Yes.... ...but seeing Neil Young and having a night away at the Liverpool Docklands Travelodge was not just our only holiday of the year but also my birthday present!
Elise got me looking on Youtube - found 2 CSN&Y clips nearly 40 years apart..

[BBvideo 425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb4QLZGpwNk[/BBvideo]

[BBvideo 425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjX5Md3HP2A[/BBvideo]

[Thomo]

The attempt to de-rail the War Memorial re-dedication here in Barlick, see the Re-dedication topic.

[Stanley]

The pleasure of reading Newton's transcript again and embedding pics. He was a gem!

[PanBiker]

The fact that my car still reeks of burnt out clutch plates, despite the 350 mile drive back from South Devon yesterday. I have to set about the car anyway to remove the impact of a weeks transportation of a 3 and a 4 year old. Amazing how much rubbish they can create even on short journeys! A good blast with the jet wash followed by a vac out then a spray down with car upholstery cleaner, silicone dash shiner and a new smelly for the inside should help.

[Tardis]

BBC new building cost £6 billion

Police reported to be investigating 'possible fraud' in the severance pay of it's directors and senior staff

One continuity announcer, Charlotte Green, made redundant will return to read the football results on Sports Report (James Alexander Gordon having retired with throat cancer). No mention of whether she pays back the wodge of cash

[PanBiker]

Car cleaned and recharged with a new smelly. Radio code sorted OK so all ICE now working Radio, CD and RDS. Sticking with car related stuff, just got my insurance renewal and they are asking me for £520.00! They will need re-educating next week when they decide to open their customer support lines.
The Meerkats say I can get a better policy for around the £200 mark which is more like it for a bloke who has been driving for 40 years and has knocking on 20 years of protected no claims. I should be able to have a bit of fun on the phone before I swap to new insurer. Now, which of the little Meerkat guys do I want? Must check the ones I already have.