WHAT ATTRACTED YOUR ATTENTION TODAY?

[hartley353]

Best steak I ever tasted came from Bert Slack's in Stockport during the war. He was a licensed horse butcherer. Horse meat wasn't on ration and at 6 years old I had no inhibitions when I was hungry!

Shame on you Stanley, You should have stuck with Vera Lynn and had whale meat again,fortunately my family were farmers in Paythorne,plenty of meat,but definitely not our equine friends.

[hartley353]

Today I received a call from the garage to say my car had failed its MOT. During the test the technician had noted a rusty bit on the exhaust, when poked with a sharp pointy thing it became a hole. Would i like them to fit a new centre section and rear box for £150.00 Not wishing to be left without transport I accepted. When i arrived home i got out my car file, on checking it was found the above sections were fitted new in 2007. Seems nothings made to last these days. On checking the new mot it showed the mileage between checks, it would seem only 1200 miles had been travelled, now I know the reason for visiting the cobblers three times last year. Second new Years resolution drive more walk less.

[Stanley]

The site server is a bit slow this morning.

[Tardis]

It is Stanley's birthday

Happy Birthday

[hartley353]

I think it was Bruff who commented how nice it was that Barlick could support a lollipop shop. He will be sad to know that it is empty and there is a nice message in the window from the lady who ran it thanking her customers and hinting at personal problems overcome. Sorry to see her go but I hope she is all right. Always sad to see a business close and there is always a personal story behind it.

When I was a child in the 1950s in Blackburn we used to go for a walk out to the playing fields at Pleckgate and the school used to take us there for football or cricket. A visit to Pleckgate in warm weather always included the little shop across the road from the playing fields where the lady sold her own home made ice lollies. They were wonderful, although I don't know whether they were made from real fruit juice or flavour chemicals. I survived into adulthood so they couldn't have been too dangerous!

Hi tizer I can also remember them in the fifties, shop down Wellhouse rd sold halfpenny and penny ones, halfpenny ones could go right in your mouth, one good suck and all the colour went bit like the tuppeny Jubblies that came next, still the ice was good on a hot day.

[Wendyf]

Just noticed that the donations bar is back to zero...

[PanBiker]

I think Doc reset it a couple of weeks ago now Wendy.

[Wendyf]

Well I have given it a go...
email confirmation tells me the donation has gone to Pluggy....

[PanBiker]

The Napier Sabre Engine reprints I'm selling mentioned in another thread have sold for £37.45, not bad for a publication with a cover price of 2/6d (12.5p). My clockwork train has an opening bid of £90.00 within a couple of hours of listing it, the auction still has 9 days 21hrs to go!

[Stanley]

Glad you mentioned the donations. I've been wondering for a while where we were with that. I shall go there now..... That's done. Noted that the donor bar isn't showing Wendy's... No doubt pluggy or whowver is running the site now will see to it.
Birthday went well. Fish and chips at dinnertime and a visit from Sue and Mick. I gave Susan the Shardlake books and Mick a pair of original Hanwag boots. I got a card.........

[Stanley]

The site server is dreadfully slow. Uploads are often delayed. Has something changed? It's a serious handicap.

[Sunray10]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO STANLEY I see he has a letter in Nelson Leader Colne Times today. Wonder if our Mp for Pendle will take notice of it.

[Stanley]

Site still slow, talked to Doc and Pluggy yesterday about it.

Ray, nice to see you noticed it. I doubt if he will respond, he forgats some of us have long memories and keep the files. Here it is for anyone who didn't see it...

BET LETTER 01/02/13

My thanks to Mike Warner for his letter last week for raising his concerns about the rise in child poverty which is expected to follow the coming benefit cuts including of course the changes to Council Tax Benefit. Like him I am exasperated by Mr Stephenson's 'good news' column which at times is so divorced from reality as to beggar belief. I also remember the source of the funding from the Noble Lord Ashcroft and the way it was transferred to ensure legality.
I also take note of the current proceedings in the Public Accounts Committee which is looking at how the major accountancy firms make a third of their global profits each year from cunning advice to companies on how to minimise their tax liabilities. I also note how active these same firms are in lobbying on tax matters, political funding and supplying free 'advisers' to politicians and ministers. This was ever the case of course, both Labour and Conservative governments have taken full advantage of these opportunities. These same companies are major beneficiaries from government contracts and one could be forgiven for suspecting that all these matters are inter-connected. If this is indeed the case it raises the question of who exactly is controlling the formulation of government economic policy. Far too large a subject for this letter but it would appear that the PAC shares my misgivings.
Despite all the reassuring words we get from Mr Stephenson's column each week the disposable income of the lower 85% percentile of the electorate is falling. The economy shows no sign of growth, the deficit is rising and the rise in the numbers of people relying on food banks is alarming. Economists are beginning to investigate the strange statistic whereby the number of unemployed falls while the economy is stagnant. They suspect this means that those in work are not as productive and one cause of this could be that the average wage is falling. In other words, the jobs that are being created are not paying a living wage as companies cut back on investment and seek the cheapest workers. The consequence is a meaningless statistic but one that is quoted time and time again to 'prove' that things are going well.
One last comment, remember that the full effects of the Public Service cuts has not been felt yet and I am sad to say I see no prospect of real, as opposed to illusory, improvement. On June 12th 2009 in this paper Mr Stephenson wrote: “If elected, I will act with honesty, integrity, openness and candour at all times.” Could we please see evidence of this in the form of some reality in his weekly column?

Stanley Challenger Graham
East Hill Street
Barnoldswick

[Tardis]

How lovely Harrogate was yesterday

[Tardis]

The money markets may have taken a little scare at the pronouncements of the the New BoE chief. Borrowing rates are up from 1.4% in June 2012 to a new high of 2.2%

[Sunray10]

Thank you Stanley. I think Mr Stephenson only looks at what he has to look at. Anything a bit worrying he just ignores. He's too busy stuffing his face at local resturants and posh do's, much like his boss dodgy Dave of Downing Street.

[Stanley]

What grabbed me this morning was Jeremy Grantham talking Peter Day about the world economy on the World Service. Well worth listening to.... Here's the LINK Not a cheerful prospect.
The site is back up to speed. The delay has gone. Could Doc have tweaked it after I spoke to him?

[Wendyf]

Flicker effect for the first time from the wind turbine above us....the shadow is everywhere outside and the sunlight in this room is flashing horribly, oh dear.

[Wendyf]

I'm glad that didn't last long...it was horrible!

[hartley353]

Site still slow, talked to Doc and Pluggy yesterday about it.

Ray, nice to see you noticed it. I doubt if he will respond, he forgats some of us have long memories and keep the files. Here it is for anyone who didn't see it...

BET LETTER 01/02/13

My thanks to Mike Warner for his letter last week for raising his concerns about the rise in child poverty which is expected to follow the coming benefit cuts including of course the changes to Council Tax Benefit. Like him I am exasperated by Mr Stephenson's 'good news' column which at times is so divorced from reality as to beggar belief. I also remember the source of the funding from the Noble Lord Ashcroft and the way it was transferred to ensure legality.
I also take note of the current proceedings in the Public Accounts Committee which is looking at how the major accountancy firms make a third of their global profits each year from cunning advice to companies on how to minimise their tax liabilities. I also note how active these same firms are in lobbying on tax matters, political funding and supplying free 'advisers' to politicians and ministers. This was ever the case of course, both Labour and Conservative governments have taken full advantage of these opportunities. These same companies are major beneficiaries from government contracts and one could be forgiven for suspecting that all these matters are inter-connected. If this is indeed the case it raises the question of who exactly is controlling the formulation of government economic policy. Far too large a subject for this letter but it would appear that the PAC shares my misgivings.
Despite all the reassuring words we get from Mr Stephenson's column each week the disposable income of the lower 85% percentile of the electorate is falling. The economy shows no sign of growth, the deficit is rising and the rise in the numbers of people relying on food banks is alarming. Economists are beginning to investigate the strange statistic whereby the number of unemployed falls while the economy is stagnant. They suspect this means that those in work are not as productive and one cause of this could be that the average wage is falling. In other words, the jobs that are being created are not paying a living wage as companies cut back on investment and seek the cheapest workers. The consequence is a meaningless statistic but one that is quoted time and time again to 'prove' that things are going well.
One last comment, remember that the full effects of the Public Service cuts has not been felt yet and I am sad to say I see no prospect of real, as opposed to illusory, improvement. On June 12th 2009 in this paper Mr Stephenson wrote: “If elected, I will act with honesty, integrity, openness and candour at all times.” Could we please see evidence of this in the form of some reality in his weekly column?

Stanley Challenger Graham
East Hill Street
Barnoldswick

I'm not so sure we should use food banks as a measure of austerity. When you offer some thing for nothing there will always be a queue, as to how many of the people in the queue are in need we can never Know, and the people who run them with the best of intentions, will be loathe to start means testing.

[PanBiker]

A Wood Pigeon on our bird feeder trying to be a Blue Tit! Very funny.

[hartley353]

An article came to my attention today that states the fish in our waterways are becoming less afraid. Scientists believe this is being caused by sedative drugs being taken in such quantities, and by so many people that the residue is being passed by waste products into our sewerage systems, then from the outfalls into our waterways.
This is entirely believable as it is backed up by historic evidence that the taking of the contraceptive pill,and the hormones from it had caused fish to change sex. Where will this all lead. Gay pike attacking our children whilst they paddle.

[Stanley]

Hartley, you can't just turn up for a handout, you have to prove need usually by a referral by social services.
How warm and light it was yesterday....
BBC journalists on site so no Today programme on R4.

[Gloria]

Been to the donor station and added my fourpenneth.

[Pluggy]

What grabbed me this morning was Jeremy Grantham talking Peter Day about the world economy on the World Service. Well worth listening to.... Here's the LINK Not a cheerful prospect.
The site is back up to speed. The delay has gone. Could Doc have tweaked it after I spoke to him?

Neither I nor Doc logged in to the Admin panel yesterday. So no change. Its a shared server so if A.N.Other site got busy on our server or the the keepers were doing some heavy administration.it would slow down. There are protections in place, but you do tend to get slowdowns sometimes. Its those protections that have been making the hosting transfer so difficult.