Given that we are living through an age when we will see a massive reduction in the use of motorized personal transportation I thought some time ago that it would be a good idea to learn to ride a horse, I mean how hard can it be?
So Hannah booked me on a half hour course for my birthday where I was introduced to Tammy, an old docile horse that you would swear was begging you not to climb on its back.
Having told the instructor that I’m a little nervous and a complete beginner she just said, “well, we’ll put an end to that today”. And that we did.
I controlled the horse making it start (just about) and making it stop, I was good at stopping. I could also turn left and right, so already if I want to travel to my home county on a horse it would only take about 23 days.
Had my second lesson last night, I trotted! 5 times! It was a different horse called Indie, it was massive and seemed to want to be ridden at 100mph. I could steer well, brake and accelerate but I didn’t really have very good timing, my arse was banging on the saddle so hard I thought my lungs would come out of my mouth!
Today my backside, thighs and stomach ache like crazy but its all good fun.
Wednesday, 30 June 2010
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Greek unrest shows they're still unruley
I just hinted that they might start blowing stuff up but didn't think they go straight for murder!
Parcel bomb kills Greek security minister's aide
Of course they'll call them terrorists, that catch all term for any kind of unrest, but this is a problem of very high proportions.
Parcel bomb kills Greek security minister's aide
Of course they'll call them terrorists, that catch all term for any kind of unrest, but this is a problem of very high proportions.
Financial Responsibility is a double edge sword
So today we saw the pound jump to a 19 Month high with £1 buying €1.22. This is apparently because the world knows we are going to not only service, but pay down our debt, making the British economy more stable. So we have Euro’s flooding into the economy today, everyone wants a bit of pound because if you think your own currency will weaken then to protect your wealth you put your money in something stronger.
Also there is evidence that in the Eurozone it's going to be harder to pay down debt as people are more used to social programmes that look after the less fortunate, or less lucky, or call it whatever.
The French are striking over the pension age reforms.
The Greeks are leaving their country again over cuts.
The Germans are pissed off with bailing everyone out.
But the double edge is this. If our currency becomes too valuable, our exports become too expensive. If we cannot sell what little we still make then people lose their jobs, we then have difficulty even buying our own manufactured goods. The conservatives said they think we should start making things again, and rightly so, but its a very fine balance. We need a strong Euro, we need the Europeans to pay off their debts without their populace rioting and blowing stuff up. Will it happen??? Got to hope so.
Also there is evidence that in the Eurozone it's going to be harder to pay down debt as people are more used to social programmes that look after the less fortunate, or less lucky, or call it whatever.
The French are striking over the pension age reforms.
The Greeks are leaving their country again over cuts.
The Germans are pissed off with bailing everyone out.
But the double edge is this. If our currency becomes too valuable, our exports become too expensive. If we cannot sell what little we still make then people lose their jobs, we then have difficulty even buying our own manufactured goods. The conservatives said they think we should start making things again, and rightly so, but its a very fine balance. We need a strong Euro, we need the Europeans to pay off their debts without their populace rioting and blowing stuff up. Will it happen??? Got to hope so.
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Trip to the Lake District
We had a week in the lake district last month and stayed at the Tranquil Otter. We were housed in a lovely log cabin on the edge of a private lake, we had our own hot tub and a rowing boat. You get a good quality TV, DVD and surround sound so you can watch a few chick flicks in the evening. At night we sat in the hot tub looking at the moon and during the day we did all sorts of cultural activities.
We visited the Roman Vindalanda, a very interesting ruin of an ancient Roman settlement near Hadrian’s wall. This is where the Romans stopped after their conquest because the Scots were simply too brutal and primitive for them to cope with, they obviously thought, if those ginger guys wear skirts and no pants in this weather then they’re far too mentally deranged for us! So they built a wall. In fact, while driving to the Vindalanda I remarked to Hannah that there are a lot of signs pointing in lots of directions all saying “This way to Hadrian’s Wall”. She said “yes darling, it’s a very long wall.”
So we explored the ruins and looked at the recreations of the old world. I always seem to romanticise life in Roman Britain, it must have been hellishly difficult but these places always make it look kind of homely, with chickens and freshly harvested vegetables. Even the model slaves have smiles on their faces.
We also visited Carlyle Castle, where the last bit of the civil war was kind of staged in 1644. The royal forces were holed up inside the castle and the parliamentarians kept it under siege for 8 months preventing food from entering and hurling great big rocks at the walls. Eventually the parliamentarians won.
So we explored the ruins and looked at the recreations of the old world. I always seem to romanticise life in Roman Britain, it must have been hellishly difficult but these places always make it look kind of homely, with chickens and freshly harvested vegetables. Even the model slaves have smiles on their faces.
Another day we went to a pub called the Royal Oak in the nearby village called Moorhouse. I warn you now, it doesn’t open until 5.30 and if its 3.30 when you get there the landlord won’t open for you. I know because I asked him. So we went back to the lodge and into the hot tub.
The last day we spent rowing about on the lake looking at nature and trying to see otters. We didn’t see any otters but loads of swans with signets and ducks with ducklings, lots of good oxygenating weeds and generally had a jolly good laugh about it all.
The last day we spent rowing about on the lake looking at nature and trying to see otters. We didn’t see any otters but loads of swans with signets and ducks with ducklings, lots of good oxygenating weeds and generally had a jolly good laugh about it all.
Here's a video of our trip...
Budget good news for Umbrella Employees
Yes, there was some good news yesterday. The increase in allowance for company national insurance will benefit Umbrella employees directly as employers NI is calculated from the total amount received from the agency or client. All umbrella workers should be at least £15 per week better off. Good news indeed.
Also if the economy grows after the layoffs in the public sector one would suspect contractors to be drafted in to fill the gap.
Info from contracting made easy (link)
Also if the economy grows after the layoffs in the public sector one would suspect contractors to be drafted in to fill the gap.
Info from contracting made easy (link)
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
The Budget 2010
Well we’ve had our budget, we knew it would be painful, is it ethical?
The most striking announcement came with the Housing Benefit cuts, £280 maximum allowance for a 1 bed place and £400 maximum for a 4 bedroom. That does seem harsh but then if you have 3 kids (requiring a 4 bedroom house) why on earth should the government pay to house you all, if you can’t afford 3 kids, have 1! Of course I say the government pays but it isn’t is it? Its all of us, after all, the government don’t have any money, it’s our money. Still, I can sympathise with those who’ve got used to this benefit, its going to hurt, sorry folks, hope there are still jobs left in the economy for the extra people needing extra income.
Capital gains tax is to rise from 18 to 28% for higher rate tax payers. That’s a big hit to the middle class and a brave move in my opinion. I think its right, but brave nonetheless. If you earn 40K plus and dabble in shares, and do quite well then I guess you might decide to stop dabbling in shares! I wonder if this will have an effect on stock market revenue. I wonder how many people dabble in shares. Maybe I’ll put up a poll and see how many people dabble with between £500 and £10K in shares and do a back of the fag packet calculation. Let’s see, either way I doubt it’s a big figure.
The VAT rate going up to 20%, I have to say, I don’t like it, it does hurt the poorest more then it hurts the richest but essentially VAT is largely paid on optional items. I expected the coalition to introduce VAT on food but they didn’t, and good for them what with food price inflation being so high. Arguably fuel can be said to be essential but then we use fuel (a limited resource in most respects) so wastefully. I mean why should we feel the right to sit in a house in winter wearing a T Shirt and no socks? Wrap up. Fuel duty isn’t being increased and they (the government) are trying to figure a way to stabilise the price of fuel at the pump. I hope they have more imagination than me because my mind is blank, short of lowering tax when fuel prices rise and raising it when they fall I can’t imagine how they do this, save for the fossil fuel energy fairy turning up. Even my idea would have such a disastrous effect on forecasts for tax revenues that it’s impossible to implement, we’ll see, they may be cleverer than I give them credit for.
The personal allowance is being increased by £1000.00 bravo; this will certainly help the poorest in society. £1000.00 per year tax free is £200 per year extra in your pocket. If nothing else it should pay for Christmas.
No increase in duty on Alcohol and Cigarettes. I think they should have raised the price to £10 a pack of ciggies personally, and I promise you, I am a smoker! I know it’s no good, you know it’s no good, so smoke less.
Tax credits are reduced for households with an income of over £40k; well if you earn 40k per year do you really need benefits? If you do the government should pay (with our money) for you to go on a household economics course.
The health in pregnancy grant is to be abolished, well, if you can’t afford to have kids, don’t have them, there is free contraception available.
Unemployed will have a cut in housing benefit after 12 months of claiming the dole. This seems a little harsh; I hope there are jobs available for everyone. If there are then all is good but it is uncertain that’s for sure.
For full budget click here
Last point to make is this: We have been spending more than we've been earning as a country for some time. At some point we have to pay our debts, we can wait until later or we can man-up and do it now. Paying our debts gives us greater self esteem, paying off our budget defecit shows the world that this society takes its financial obligations seriously....eventually.
The most striking announcement came with the Housing Benefit cuts, £280 maximum allowance for a 1 bed place and £400 maximum for a 4 bedroom. That does seem harsh but then if you have 3 kids (requiring a 4 bedroom house) why on earth should the government pay to house you all, if you can’t afford 3 kids, have 1! Of course I say the government pays but it isn’t is it? Its all of us, after all, the government don’t have any money, it’s our money. Still, I can sympathise with those who’ve got used to this benefit, its going to hurt, sorry folks, hope there are still jobs left in the economy for the extra people needing extra income.
Capital gains tax is to rise from 18 to 28% for higher rate tax payers. That’s a big hit to the middle class and a brave move in my opinion. I think its right, but brave nonetheless. If you earn 40K plus and dabble in shares, and do quite well then I guess you might decide to stop dabbling in shares! I wonder if this will have an effect on stock market revenue. I wonder how many people dabble in shares. Maybe I’ll put up a poll and see how many people dabble with between £500 and £10K in shares and do a back of the fag packet calculation. Let’s see, either way I doubt it’s a big figure.
The VAT rate going up to 20%, I have to say, I don’t like it, it does hurt the poorest more then it hurts the richest but essentially VAT is largely paid on optional items. I expected the coalition to introduce VAT on food but they didn’t, and good for them what with food price inflation being so high. Arguably fuel can be said to be essential but then we use fuel (a limited resource in most respects) so wastefully. I mean why should we feel the right to sit in a house in winter wearing a T Shirt and no socks? Wrap up. Fuel duty isn’t being increased and they (the government) are trying to figure a way to stabilise the price of fuel at the pump. I hope they have more imagination than me because my mind is blank, short of lowering tax when fuel prices rise and raising it when they fall I can’t imagine how they do this, save for the fossil fuel energy fairy turning up. Even my idea would have such a disastrous effect on forecasts for tax revenues that it’s impossible to implement, we’ll see, they may be cleverer than I give them credit for.
The personal allowance is being increased by £1000.00 bravo; this will certainly help the poorest in society. £1000.00 per year tax free is £200 per year extra in your pocket. If nothing else it should pay for Christmas.
No increase in duty on Alcohol and Cigarettes. I think they should have raised the price to £10 a pack of ciggies personally, and I promise you, I am a smoker! I know it’s no good, you know it’s no good, so smoke less.
Tax credits are reduced for households with an income of over £40k; well if you earn 40k per year do you really need benefits? If you do the government should pay (with our money) for you to go on a household economics course.
The health in pregnancy grant is to be abolished, well, if you can’t afford to have kids, don’t have them, there is free contraception available.
Unemployed will have a cut in housing benefit after 12 months of claiming the dole. This seems a little harsh; I hope there are jobs available for everyone. If there are then all is good but it is uncertain that’s for sure.
For full budget click here
Last point to make is this: We have been spending more than we've been earning as a country for some time. At some point we have to pay our debts, we can wait until later or we can man-up and do it now. Paying our debts gives us greater self esteem, paying off our budget defecit shows the world that this society takes its financial obligations seriously....eventually.
Monday, 21 June 2010
Weekend wedding in Czech
So I took a trip to Prague to go to a friend’s wedding, well actually, a friend of a friend. I flew out with Wizzair, one of these low cost airlines that charge for every single little extra, like baggage and check in, you know those things you can really do without on a trip away on an aeroplane.
Got to Luton Airport at 6.30, enough time for a pint of Grolsch before checking in, lovely. Arrived at the Hotel Roma in the historic centre of Prague at around midnight, had a shower and went for a quick stroll about the streets near the hotel. Found a nice little local bar called the Shadows Café. You can still smoke in there and it was a marvellously unfriendly atmosphere where the staff slam your pint down and grunt at you. I sat down with my girl for a couple before retiring to our room for the evening ready to pick up the hire car in the morning to follow Valerie, a friend of the bride to Litomerice and the venue for the wedding.
On awakening on Friday morning after showers we were presented with a breakfast of dry bread and some deliciously sour yoghurt. I also had some stale cornflakes with warm milk whilst my girl had a suspiciously spherical fried egg with tiny weeny little smoked sausages, she seemingly enjoyed the cuisine as much as me.
We went to reception and I explained that we were waiting for a hire car to be delivered at 10am, they said “yes we know, they are running late and will be here at 10.10”. So that was good, we sat down and waited.
Sure enough we were called at 10.10 as promised and told to go with this rather large unwashed gentleman who didn’t speak any English, no problem. So off we went and got into a taxi, presumably to take us to the hire car destination.
10 minutes into the journey my girl mentions quietly that it seems to be a long way to the hire car place. Hmm, yes, and just then my mobile rang. It was the hire car company asking us if we still wanted the car. Yes, I said, we are on our way to you now. She then spoke in Czech but sounded very concerned. So I phoned my Czech friend Lenka who was also going to the wedding. Could you call the hire car company for me? and explain that we are on the way to them to pick the car up? She called back and said we shouldn’t be on our way anywhere, the hire car people are at the hotel! It was then with utter joy that we discovered we were near the airport and had taken another English persons taxi. We must all look the same to hotel staff and they just pointed, and I just went.
Well we got the company to redeliver the hire car to the airport, and we got Valerie to meet us there so we could follow, and that we did, at about 60mph through many Czech villages, arriving after 2 stops for toilets and dry food, 40 minutes before the wedding ceremony.
Quick shower, Suit on, no time to shave and we hot footed it to a beautiful park in Litomerice where we saw a bona fide Czech wedding. Couldn’t understand a word of it but it looked very romantic and I said to the bride “Ici heska naviesta” or “you’re a lovely bride”, after a moment of thought she looked quite pleased.
Then off we went for a meal of meat before meeting back up with the wedding party at 5pm at the hotel. After the meat sweats we got down to mingling and discovered that the bar was free and the food was meat, so that was nice. Much booze and meat later and we were treated to a Salsa lesson run by Mr handsome but could be gay maybe bi. Me and a newly made Czech acquaintance sneaked off to watch the England match, it was abysmal but frankly was something of a relief.
I got a nice slow dance and a bit of a kiss and cuddle in the kind of disco I’d not attended since school, schmoozing to the likes of Phil Collins.
Later I was honoured to watch my girl dance sexy salsa style with Mr handsome but could be gay maybe bi. I wasn’t very happy to watch this but stored it up for later argument.
Overall it was a very interesting and heart warming affair with lots of meat and drink.
Next morning we missed breakfast and drove back to Prague feeling a little bit delicate and hungry.
In the evening we had a great meal on the other side of the bridge, next to a night club / strip bar. We didn’t go in there and had a quite early night.
After a lovely lie in we went for a boat trip with historical commentary, had a beer and a cuddle, very nice. I had potato soup with fried potato with bacon and she had bell peppers stuffed with meat and rice. They didn’t look like bell peppers and we couldn’t see any rice but it tasted good, sort of Italian, and my potatos were good too.Back at the airport on Sunday I tried to explain to the matronly check in lady that I was unable to print my boarding card for the return journey, she didn't smile but pointed to the Prague Airport official ticket touts and so I went over and paid 520 CZK's (about £17) for them to print out a bit of paper for me to take to the end of a queue and have 2 bits of card printed, then we could check in our luxuary luggage and sit and wait for our delayed plane. Still, we had a beer and a laugh and a good nights sleep back in England...
Got to Luton Airport at 6.30, enough time for a pint of Grolsch before checking in, lovely. Arrived at the Hotel Roma in the historic centre of Prague at around midnight, had a shower and went for a quick stroll about the streets near the hotel. Found a nice little local bar called the Shadows Café. You can still smoke in there and it was a marvellously unfriendly atmosphere where the staff slam your pint down and grunt at you. I sat down with my girl for a couple before retiring to our room for the evening ready to pick up the hire car in the morning to follow Valerie, a friend of the bride to Litomerice and the venue for the wedding.
On awakening on Friday morning after showers we were presented with a breakfast of dry bread and some deliciously sour yoghurt. I also had some stale cornflakes with warm milk whilst my girl had a suspiciously spherical fried egg with tiny weeny little smoked sausages, she seemingly enjoyed the cuisine as much as me.
We went to reception and I explained that we were waiting for a hire car to be delivered at 10am, they said “yes we know, they are running late and will be here at 10.10”. So that was good, we sat down and waited.
Sure enough we were called at 10.10 as promised and told to go with this rather large unwashed gentleman who didn’t speak any English, no problem. So off we went and got into a taxi, presumably to take us to the hire car destination.
10 minutes into the journey my girl mentions quietly that it seems to be a long way to the hire car place. Hmm, yes, and just then my mobile rang. It was the hire car company asking us if we still wanted the car. Yes, I said, we are on our way to you now. She then spoke in Czech but sounded very concerned. So I phoned my Czech friend Lenka who was also going to the wedding. Could you call the hire car company for me? and explain that we are on the way to them to pick the car up? She called back and said we shouldn’t be on our way anywhere, the hire car people are at the hotel! It was then with utter joy that we discovered we were near the airport and had taken another English persons taxi. We must all look the same to hotel staff and they just pointed, and I just went.
Well we got the company to redeliver the hire car to the airport, and we got Valerie to meet us there so we could follow, and that we did, at about 60mph through many Czech villages, arriving after 2 stops for toilets and dry food, 40 minutes before the wedding ceremony.
Quick shower, Suit on, no time to shave and we hot footed it to a beautiful park in Litomerice where we saw a bona fide Czech wedding. Couldn’t understand a word of it but it looked very romantic and I said to the bride “Ici heska naviesta” or “you’re a lovely bride”, after a moment of thought she looked quite pleased.
Then off we went for a meal of meat before meeting back up with the wedding party at 5pm at the hotel. After the meat sweats we got down to mingling and discovered that the bar was free and the food was meat, so that was nice. Much booze and meat later and we were treated to a Salsa lesson run by Mr handsome but could be gay maybe bi. Me and a newly made Czech acquaintance sneaked off to watch the England match, it was abysmal but frankly was something of a relief.
I got a nice slow dance and a bit of a kiss and cuddle in the kind of disco I’d not attended since school, schmoozing to the likes of Phil Collins.
Later I was honoured to watch my girl dance sexy salsa style with Mr handsome but could be gay maybe bi. I wasn’t very happy to watch this but stored it up for later argument.
Overall it was a very interesting and heart warming affair with lots of meat and drink.
Next morning we missed breakfast and drove back to Prague feeling a little bit delicate and hungry.
In the evening we had a great meal on the other side of the bridge, next to a night club / strip bar. We didn’t go in there and had a quite early night.
After a lovely lie in we went for a boat trip with historical commentary, had a beer and a cuddle, very nice. I had potato soup with fried potato with bacon and she had bell peppers stuffed with meat and rice. They didn’t look like bell peppers and we couldn’t see any rice but it tasted good, sort of Italian, and my potatos were good too.Back at the airport on Sunday I tried to explain to the matronly check in lady that I was unable to print my boarding card for the return journey, she didn't smile but pointed to the Prague Airport official ticket touts and so I went over and paid 520 CZK's (about £17) for them to print out a bit of paper for me to take to the end of a queue and have 2 bits of card printed, then we could check in our luxuary luggage and sit and wait for our delayed plane. Still, we had a beer and a laugh and a good nights sleep back in England...
What is an Umbrella Company?
An Umbrella company is simply a company that employs people and pays them a mixture of salary (PAYE) and employment related expenses. The employment relationship is structured in such a way that the employee works from home and obtains work of his own accord usually through employment agencies. The worker informs the Umbrella Company where he is working and the company invoice the agency (or client) for his services at the rate agreed at the time of engagement. From the money collected the weekly expenses are deducted and then an amount to cover employers national insurance contributions (NIC’s). Whatever is left is passed through the PAYE system, usually not less than the national minimum wage (NMW), the expenses are added back after the tax is deducted and thus the individual has a greater take home pay than if he was employed directly with the agency. The agency usually pays a higher rate for the services of an Umbrella worker on a per hour basis but saves money on Company National Insurance and holiday pay. The agency pays less for the service and the service provider takes home more money, everyone’s a winner……Except the exchequer.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) also call this set up Salary Sacrifice as they prefer a more negative inference.
Claiming Expenses as an Umbrella Employee
Most Umbrella Companies have dispensations from HMRC that means the company don’t need to report the expenses claimed by each employee on a p11d at the end of each tax year.
Anything claimed that is outside of the dispensation must be reported to HMRC.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) also call this set up Salary Sacrifice as they prefer a more negative inference.
Claiming Expenses as an Umbrella Employee
Most Umbrella Companies have dispensations from HMRC that means the company don’t need to report the expenses claimed by each employee on a p11d at the end of each tax year.
Anything claimed that is outside of the dispensation must be reported to HMRC.
The Budget – 22nd June 2010
I wouldn’t expect the Budget tomorrow (22nd June) to contain much good news about anything for the majority and we may see an interesting development for freelance contractors working in the UK, the abolition of IR35, a piece of tax legislation introduced in April 2000 in order to claw extra tax by classifying contractors as employees and taxing them accordingly.
http://www.ir35calc.co.uk/what_is_ir35.aspx
This legislation led to boom in companies set up to employ contractors and manage a limited company on their behalf called composite companies. These companies paid contractors a mixture of PAYE paid at the minimum wage, employment expenses and dividends based on the profits that were left in the company after the salary and expenses had been paid.
The government didn’t like this get around and 7 years later they came up with the Managed Service Company legislation (MSC), introduced in April of 2007.
This legislation was very worrying for the recruitment industry as it basically allowed the Inland Revenue to chase tax debt from the people who paid the companies that operated what HMRC deemed to be MSC’s. If the MSC, or the individual who was paid by the MSC couldn’t pay the tax bill, they could go to the employment agency that paid the MSC. If the employment agency couldn’t pay the debt, they could go to the agency client and demand the money from them.
http://www.contractorcalculator.co.uk/msc_legislation_contractors_agencies_255010_news.aspx
Overnight the composite company structure, although not illegal, was a very risky business to be in or simply to be dealing with.
This move prompted massive growth in Umbrella Companies and contractors going back to setting up their own Limited Companies.
Now it looks like the IR35 legislation will be scrapped and something more simple but more strict put in its place in order to deem workers as employees rather than Self Employed or “Sole Traders”.
http://www.contracteye.co.uk/tories_ir35_election_review.shtml
http://www.ir35calc.co.uk/what_is_ir35.aspx
This legislation led to boom in companies set up to employ contractors and manage a limited company on their behalf called composite companies. These companies paid contractors a mixture of PAYE paid at the minimum wage, employment expenses and dividends based on the profits that were left in the company after the salary and expenses had been paid.
The government didn’t like this get around and 7 years later they came up with the Managed Service Company legislation (MSC), introduced in April of 2007.
This legislation was very worrying for the recruitment industry as it basically allowed the Inland Revenue to chase tax debt from the people who paid the companies that operated what HMRC deemed to be MSC’s. If the MSC, or the individual who was paid by the MSC couldn’t pay the tax bill, they could go to the employment agency that paid the MSC. If the employment agency couldn’t pay the debt, they could go to the agency client and demand the money from them.
http://www.contractorcalculator.co.uk/msc_legislation_contractors_agencies_255010_news.aspx
Overnight the composite company structure, although not illegal, was a very risky business to be in or simply to be dealing with.
This move prompted massive growth in Umbrella Companies and contractors going back to setting up their own Limited Companies.
Now it looks like the IR35 legislation will be scrapped and something more simple but more strict put in its place in order to deem workers as employees rather than Self Employed or “Sole Traders”.
http://www.contracteye.co.uk/tories_ir35_election_review.shtml
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