08/05 ........... A Sad Day

Indeed ...... sadly 08/05/12 marks a date for myself.
This wee blog is the main outlet I have but if you follow this link here and indeed then the link there all will be clear.

Today is the second anniversary of the passing away of my very best mate Calum, in a horrific motorcycle accident.
Indeed a better friend I never had ............... maybe never will have.

Please read the original posts if you are not aquanted with the story but ............... I can say the guilt has gone but the hurt still stays.

Tonight a wee trip out to Scotlandwell will be had. Nice we part of Perthshire if anyone knows it. A wee flower will be laid and a wee prayer said. Not that I am devoutly religious. Maybe more of a question to the big guy upstairs to ask why Calum.
He left a wife and a tiny wee daughter. They have moved away now and are going on with their lives.
Life does not stop because of tragedy, I above all realise that ............... it just needs dealt with.

Night my mate ...... sleep well !!!!!!!!!

405

Odd number eh!

Well not unless you realise that is the number of servicemen and womens death in Afghanistan.

Today, a British soldier from 2nd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters), has been killed in an explosion in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has said.
The soldier was working alongside an Afghan security forces' patrol in the Mirmandab region of Nahr-e Saraj, Helmand Province, when he was struck by an improvised explosive device.

Sleep well Tony !!

Budget 2012

And whats the big talking point.
Yep you guess it the 50p tax band.

This was introduced by the Labour government to make those who gain the most from society pay a bigger share of the costs of the country.

What it actually did was increase the tax benefits of creating a personal service company to avoid tax.

Labour introduced the 50p tax rate in the name of fairness.

It was levied ontp earners of £150K and above.
That was less then 1% of the population bare in mind there are approx 30 million tax payers in the UK.

Well basically the boy stood up and slashed it to 45p in the pound.
Not really a shock there was it.
It's been in the news for god knows how long.

Question being was he right?
Stats from HMRC and OBR say it dragged in £3Bn in tax revenue.
Well 3 bill is a big number but not when you compare it to the taxation budget.
Infact its a bit of a joke.

What apperas to have happened in a nut shell is those with the dough saw a tax hike when Gordon Brown tried to slap through a populist policy on tax in a vain attempt to bolster his piss poor performance.
Yes indeed by the time he banged this through his 10 years of borrow send and never realising it had to be paid back where indeed starting to unravel.

As a result of the tax hike some well to do accountants gave these chaps a bit of loop hole in the means of a personal servic company as 1 example in order to reduce the tax burden on them.
In most cases it looks like the HMRC estimated it dropped their burden to approx 45%.

What I really want to do is see the actual numbers reported.
This 3 bn is approx 1/3rd of what it was supposed to bring in , and also what did it cost to manage that taxation band.

But still if a reduction to 45% means its not worth then persuing a loophole company and the full value is taxed at 45% then its a no brainer.
I mean 45% of 2 mill is a damn site better than 50% of 1 mill.

Anyway he went on with other bits about fuel, fags, booze etc.
Glad I dont smoke by the way...........5% above inflation ..... Jeez !!!!!!!!!


Then up stands David Milliband



Ooopppsss sorry I mean Ed Milliband.
Sorry another BBC fuck up ...............dont shoot the messenger !

And then he retorts with the usual diatribe about millionaires.
Well no wonder we got as a country into such a financial mess with Labout in charge if he thinks £150K a year makes you a millionaire.
And fantastic to see his right hand man, the man with his finger on the cash pulse .......... over his right shoulder the one and only Ed Blinky Balls.......... That will be the same Ed Balls who was in the treasury under Gordon Brown who was part of the toxic team who created this toxic mess.

Still Ok lets put the posturing away for the time being.
The 50p rate was a supposed vote winner thats all..........it failed to do that.

What I need to see a chunk of the HMRC report and the OBR statement saying as a tax it has not dragged in the cash it needed to have done.
Otherwise its just children agruing in the playground...........which is just what the HOC has become.

So c'mon ........ as the film says "Show me the Money"

However

Labour shouts long and shouts loud about fairness so........You would think that these high paid Labour politicians would be happy to pay their fair share of income tax, wouldn't you?

Think again. Here are a few big name who have senior positions in the Labour party:

Ken Livingstone, Labour candidate for Mayor of London

Lord Melvyn Bragg, Labour peer

Lord Mandelson, Labour peer and former Secretary of State for Business

Lord Sugar, Labour peer and star of The Apprentice

David Blunkett, Labour MP and former Home Secretary

David Miliband, Labour MP, former Foreign Secretary and brother of Labour leader Ed Miliband

Gordon Brown, Labour MP, former Chancellor, former Prime Minister, person who introduced the 50p tax rate.


So lets look a little further at the above

Ken Livingstone, Labour candidate for Mayor of London

Personal Service Company: SILVETA LIMITED

Income from: newspaper articles, TV appearances, speeches

Directors: Emma Beal (wife), Ken Livingstone

I will say nothing more about this odious bastard other than a quick visit to Guidos place wont inform you of !!!!!!


Lord Melvin Bragg (Labour peer)

Personal Service Company: MELVYN BRAGG LIMITED

Income from: various TV shows, books

Directors: Catherine Bragg (wife), Melvyn Bragg

Net Worth: £931,775

Note: It is not clear if this company is still trading.

Melvyn Bragg also runs DIRECTORS CUT PRODUCTIONS LTD with partner (and former ITV producer) Cathy Haslam. This company recently produced a BBC show about the British class system. Lord Bragg likes to claim that he is still working class, but he produces high brown arts shows, mixes with the right circles and avoids tax like any other rich person. That doesn't sound 'working class' to me.


Lord Peter Mandelson (Labour peer)

Personal Service Company: WILLBURY LIMITED

Income from: TV appearances, speeches, books, advisor jobs

Directors: unknown.

Registration Date: 26/05/2010

Net Worth: the company does not appear to have submitted accounts yet

Lord Mandelson is also a partner at GLOBAL COUNSEL LLP

Peter Mandelson was the person who went on TV to defend Labour's raising of income tax to 50%. What a shame that he doesn't feel the need to pay it himself.


Lord Alan Sugar (Labour peer)

Personal Service Company: AMSTAR MEDIA LIMITED

Income from: TV show, book

Directors: Danial Sugar, Simon Sugar, Andrew Cohen, Roger Adams, Michael Ray, Claude Mitner (but not Alan Sugar)

Net Worth: £2,401,935

These days his main business interests are his large property portfolio which he bought with all the wealth that he earned by selling off Amstrad.

For the sake of this article I will just look at Lord Sugar's income from his TV show and books. This is money from his own work, not from employing others. This income morally should be taxed as income tax, not corporation tax.

According to the register of members interests he earns money from TV and book writing and the proceeds go into Amstar Media Limited.

Here is a summary of the Amstar Media Limited accounts:
2009 2010 2011

Profit before tax £208,245 £399,935 £2,710,539
Profit after tax £149,938 £287,953 £1,964,043
Tax paid £58,307 £111,982 £746,496
Tax rate 28% 28% 28%

If Lord Sugar had paid income tax on his earnings from working on a TV show and writing a book then he would have paid 50p tax plus National Insurance, so the effective tax rate would be 52% (plus the employer would pay an additional 6%).

By avoiding income tax using his personal services company, the government has lost 58% of the amount but gets 28% in corporation tax. Lord Sugar is effectively paying less than half of the tax that he should be.

The curious thing is that the Amstar Media Limited bank balance not reflect this money and the company does not pay wages or directors. I think the reason is that Amstar Media Limited is owned by Lord Sugars holding company, AMSHOLD GROUP LIMITED. This company has over £120 million in the bank and a net worth of £264,472,000.

Amshold Group Limited should not be confused with AMSHOLD LIMITED, which is another Lord Sugar company that is registered in tax haven Jersey and which has a net worth of £216,144,994.

It appears that the profits (i.e. Lord Sugar's personal income from working as a TV celebrity) goes into his holding group company, which also includes several other companies - mainly related to his property investments.

Another of Lord Sugar's companies is AMSVEST LIMITED. I believe that this is the company that he uses to invest in companies co-owned by the winners of The Apprentice. That money looks like it comes from Amstar Media Limited via Lord Sugar's holding group.

So, next time Alan Sugar claims that he will invest his personal money with the next Apprentice winner remember that half of that money really belongs to the tax payer because Lord Sugar avoided tax on his personal income.


David Blunkett

Personal Service Company: HADAW PRODUCTIONS AND INVESTMENTS LTD

Income from: adviser jobs, speeches, lecturing job

Directors: Hugh Blunkett, Andrew Blunkett, Alastair Blunkett, David Blunkett

Net worth: £683,783 (2011)
According to the register of members interests, the company received income from:
- advisor to scandal hit A4E Ltd (which the Labour party are trying to associate with David Cameron only......not 1 of their own was in it)
- advisor to scandal hit News International (again, which Labour try to associate with the Conservatives)
- advisor to US based Secure Trading Inc.
- lecturing at the London School of Business and Finance
- various speaking engagements

These are all jobs which he has personally undertaken, but where the money was paid into the company to avoid income tax. According to the register he has not received any income from the company, but as he has family members as directors he can avoid inheritance and income tax by letting them receive income from it.

David Blunkett has also donated cash to the Labour party in the past. What a shame that the money came from avoiding paying income tax.


David Miliband MP

Personal Service Company: THE OFFICE OF DAVID MILIBAND LIMITED

Income from: unknown (possibly newspaper articles, TV appearances, speeches, various advisor jobs, teaching jobs)

Directors: Louse Miliband (wife?), David Miliband

Note: this company was registered 21/12/2010 (after he lost the Labour party leadership) but is not mentioned in the register of members interests yet. I cannot find any accounts for it either.
Note: I didn't bother including Tony Blair - we all know how little tax he pays on his fortune, but at least he employs a large team.


Gordon Brown MP

Personal Service Company: THE OFFICE OF GORDON AND SARAH BROWN LIMITED

Income from: book, speeches, lecturing jobs, adviser jobs

Director: Sarah Brown (wife) - but not, it seems, Gordon Brown!

Note: this company was registered 1/9/2010 (after he lost the general election) and I cannot find any accounts for it yet.

AND FINALLY .............. The 1 the Only



Tony Blair - we all know how little tax he pays on his fortune, but at least he employs a large team.


So the title of the Labour Election manifesto was bang on then.




In case there was any doubt .............. I cant stand hypocrits and I cant stand socialism .......... the worst politics there is !!!!!!






Hat Tip Here

With Great Shame !

Its kid of like it never really happeneded did it not.



Yesterday, David Cameron, Tony Blair and Gordon had front row seats in Westminster Hall to listen to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee address.

Nice bit of pomp to cover the fact that later in the day was a horrific repatriation ceremony - one of the many horrifying results of their warmongering decisions.

The grief of families and friends was all too evident when the cortege passed the site of the new memorial garden sited on the edge of Catherton.

5 young men all aged 21 or less gave the ultimate sacrifice, together with a very repected 33 year old NCO also gave the same.

The town of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire has still not recovered.

Still the champers went down well and all had a jolly loverly time.

May the five members of 3rd Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment and Sgt Coupe, who belonged to 1 Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment and was on secondment to 3 Battalion, rest in peace.



From top left: Sergeant Nigel Coupe, Corporal Jake Hartley and Private Anthony Frampton.
From bottom left: Private Christopher Kershaw, Private Daniel Wade and Private Daniel Wilford




Hat tip to Rosie

2012

Its been an odd year has it not?
We have seen and heard from both ends of the scale.
Bravery, courgae, generosity..........to theft lies deception and just plain stupidity.
Most of it out or Westminster.


TLOTF has been quiet on the blog front I know.
I will correct that in 2012.

Suffice to say 2011 has been a bit of a stinky 1 for me.

Don't get me wrong not all stinky but indeed it has thrown a few serious curve balls which needed dealt with.

I am not 1 for thinking just because the clock strikes midnight that all will become better tonight. No not at all.

However I do believe despite what this year has hurled at me, that positive thought and good planning are a must. So I will use the midnight chimes to put a marker down for 2012.

So to all my friends out there a very Happy New Year and all the best for 2012.


But lets be honest and lets keep some focus.
The government will still lie.
Taxes will still rise
We will all still be skint
Labour are still shit and are just the depths of anything political.
Michael Dugher MP on Sky News this am was savaged by Mark Longhurst hahahahahahaha
I want an independent Scotland........but not on Alex Salmonds terms
Troops will still die needlessly in Afghanistan
The Pars will be relegated
Mercedes Benz make the most beautiful cars in the world
And my cat (HRH the Princess Boo of Caledonia) will continue to screech when her food is not out exactly on the time she demands

Ce la vie !!!!!!!!

Scotlands Hurricane!

URGENT – HURRICANE BAWBAG APPEAL On December 8th 2011, a hurricane of biblical strength blasted across North and Central Scotland.

Victims can be seen wandering aimlessly muttering: "Ah wiz pure shittin' masel big man so a wiz, ah need some jellies".

The hurricane decimated the area, causing approximately £30 worth of damage.
Untold disruption and distress was caused:

Many were woken well before...... their giro arrived. * Several priceless collections of mementos from the Balearics and Spanish costas were damaged. * Three areas of historic and scientifically significant litter were disturbed. * The cone fell off the head of the statue outside Glasgow’s Modern Art Gallery. * Thousands are confused and bewildered, trying to come to terms with the fact that something interesting has happened in Scotland.

One resident, Pocahontis McGlinchy, a 17 year old mother-of-three said "Ah wiz like ‘Whit’s that? Ah,canny hear ma choonz innat man’ Wee Beyonce came running into my bedroom pure howlin so she wiz. My youngest two, Brooklyn an Blackpool slept through it. I was still pure rattlin when I was watching Jeremy Kyle the next morning."

Apparently though, looting did carry on as normal.

The British Red Cross have so far managed to ship 4000 crates of Buckfast to the area to help the stricken masses. Rescue workers are still searching through the rubble and have found large quantities of personal belongings including benefit books and jewellery from Elizabeth Duke at Argos.

HOW YOU CAN HELP Clothing is most sought after. Items required include: - Sovvy rings - Baseball caps - Shell suits - Tesco two stripe trainers - White socks - Chunky gold chains Food parcels may be harder to put together but are necessary all the same.

Required foodstuffs include: - Mutty Pies and Buckfast - Hauf Pizza Suppers and Buckfast - Mars Bars and Buckfast - Kebabs and Buckfast - Haggis Suppers and Buckfast - Fray Bentos Pies and Buckfast * £2 buys chips, scraps and ginger for a family of four. * £10 can take a family to Coatbridge for the day, where children can sniff glue and spike up among the national collection of stinging nettles. * 22p buys a biro for filling in a spurious compensation claim.

St Andrews Day

To all Scots Everywhere ........................ Have a Great Day

What a total WANKER !

Harsh title for a blog post ............... I accept that.

But every now and again something comes along that makes my urine boil.

And its this man........... The Speaker of the House .......... John "Wanker" Bercow.
Oh and you can take your vibrator worshipping wife with you. Says alot about your prowess pal does it not.

Add the cost of this to his £144K spent on his wee flat in the Commons ..... odious turd of a man.

The people of Buckingham are an absolute disgrace to the rest of the country .......... hang your heads in shame for voting him in !

Read this

The Speaker of the House of Commons also revealed his new official portrait by British artist Brendan Kelly, depicting him rising from his Speaker's chair and motioning towards the Government benches.

The total bill to the taxpayer is £37,000, prompting criticism from value for money campaigners, who said it was “very excessive at a time of public sector austerity” and only aimed at “boosting John Bercow’s ego”.

Mr Bercow’s official coat of arms sits in the frame of his portrait. It is dominated by a ladder, four roundels and two curved ‘seax’ knives.

The ladder represents Mr Bercow’s ascent from humble beginnings, as the son of a taxi driver in north London. He went to a comprehensive, before entering Parliament as MP for Buckingham and becoming Speaker in 2009.

The roundels mark Mr Bercow’s fondness for tennis – he is a qualified lawn tennis coach – and also represent his role as ex officio chairman of the Boundaries Commission of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The seax knives, which were traditionally worn by Saxon warriers over 1,000 years ago, represent Mr Bercow’s attachment to Essex.

He went to university in the county, graduating in 1985 with a first class degree in Government.

The rainbow colours and pink triangles mark Mr Bercow's championing of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans-sexual people. They sit between his motto: “All Are Equal”.

The red and blue colours, as well as the gold colour of the roundels, represent the three main parties in the House of Commons.

The coat of arms sits in the frame of the Speaker’s official portrait, which features him rising from the Speaker’s chair in the House of Commons.

In the portrait he is making a hushing motion to the Government benches in the Commons,while holding a Commons order paper, and wearing his gown, rather than the traditional Speaker’s robes and tights.

Last night his office said that the painting cost £22,000, along with another £15,000 for the frame and coat of arms “to keep the style of previous portraits”.

The portrait will hang alongside other recent Speaker portraits including those of Baroness Boothroyd and Lord Martin of Springburn in his apartment.

Mr Kelly said he had wanted “to capture the day to day reality of a Speaker mid-action at work in the Chamber”.

However the TaxPayers’ Alliance, which highlights waste in pubic spending, criticised the cost of the painting and coat of arms.

Mathew Sinclair, the alliance’s director, said: “It’s very excessive at this time of public sector austerity for the Speaker to spend tens of thousands of pounds on a vanity portrait of himself.

“Following the MPs’ expenses scandal, Parliament should be cutting costs, not throwing taxpayers’ money away boosting John Bercow’s ego.

“Michael Martin was thrown from the job for wasting taxpayers’ money, so the current Speaker should be much more careful with how he spends our hard earned cash.”

A spokesman for the Speaker said: "The artist's fee is agreed through careful negotiation, balancing the prices artists can command for their work against strict value for money considerations.

"The portrait and the coat of arms form part of the Parliamentary Art Collection. This is a national collection which illustrates the history of Parliament and British politics over the century. The portrait remains the property of Parliament."

In Remembrance ................ For the Fallen

A poem for "The Fallen" Verse 4 is the now famous one, but the whole poem posted on this day of days.


For The Fallen

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.


And for my Grandfather

Col W.G. Fielding M.C.
A proud Army Commando, Royal Irish Fusillier,and holder of th Military Cross for bravery

"Love you and miss you"

11/11/11

Her hair was up in a pony tail,
Her favorite dress tied with a bow.
Today was Daddy's Day at school,
And she couldn't wait to go.

But her mommy tried to tell her,
That she probably should stay home.
Why the kids might not understand,
If she went to school alone..

But she was not afraid;
She knew just what to say.
What to tell her classmates
Of why he wasn't there today.

But still her mother worried,
For her to face this day alone.
And that was why once again,
She tried to keep her daughter home.

But the little girl went to school
Eager to tell them all.
About a dad she never sees
A dad who never calls.

There were daddies along the wall in back,
For everyone to meet.
Children squirming impatiently,
Anxious in their seats

One by one the teacher called
A student from the class.
To introduce their daddy,
As seconds slowly passed.

At last the teacher called her name,
Every child turned to stare.
Each of them was searching,
A man who wasn't there.

'Where's her daddy at?'
She heard a boy call out.
'She probably doesn't have one,'
Another student dared to shout.

And from somewhere near the back,
She heard a daddy say,
'Looks like another deadbeat dad,
Too busy to waste his day.'

The words did not offend her,
As she smiled up at her Mom.
And looked back at her teacher,
Who told her to go on.

And with hands behind her back,
Slowly she began to speak.
And out from the mouth of a child,
Came words incredibly unique.

'My Daddy couldn't be here,
Because he lives so far away.
But I know he wishes he could be,
Since this is such a special day.

And though you cannot meet him,
I wanted you to know.
All about my daddy,
And how much he loves me so.

He loved to tell me stories
He taught me to ride my bike.
He surprised me with pink roses,
And taught me to fly a kite.

We used to share fudge sundaes,
And ice cream in a cone.
And though you cannot see him.
I'm not standing here alone.

'Cause my daddy's al ways with me,
Even though we are apart
I know because he told me,
He'll forever be in my heart'

With that, her little hand reached up,
And lay across her chest.
Feeling her own heartbeat,
Beneath her favorite dress.

And from somewhere here in the crowd of dads,
Her mother stood in tears.
Proudly watching her daughter,
Who was wise beyond her years.

For she stood up for the love
Of a man not in her life.
Doing what was best for her,
Doing what was right.

And when she dropped her hand back down,
Staring straight into the crowd.
She finished with a voice so soft,
But its message clear and loud.

'I love my daddy very much,
he's my shining star.
And if he could, he'd be here,
But heaven's just too far.

You see he is a British soldier
And died just this past year
When a roadside bomb hit his convoy
And taught Britians to fear.

But sometimes when I close my eyes,
it's like he never went away.'
And then she closed her eyes,
And saw him there that day.

And to her mothers amazement,
She witnessed with surprise.
A room full of daddies and children,
All starting to close their eyes.

Who knows what they saw before them,
Who knows what they felt inside.
Perhaps for merely a second,
They saw him at her side.

'I know you're with me Daddy,'
To the silence she called out.
And what happened next made believers,
Of those once filled with doubt.

Not one in that room could explain it,
For each of their eyes had been closed.
But there on the desk beside her,
Was a fragrant long-stemmed rose


For those people today and everyday .......... I tip my hat !