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kevinjohnsonmbe

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Everything posted by kevinjohnsonmbe

  1. And there's me bumbling along still wondering why the Tories are allowing Labour to continue to capitalise upon the wide open goal of the supposed 1% Public sector pay rise cap without debunking it as an agenda championed, complete and utter FAKE NEWS item. Here's the thing.... Back in 2010, when the heinous Tories rolled out the "austerity" program, I was still in the Public sector and took, obviously, a keen interest in the 'so called' 1% PA pay cap implementation. Whilst widely reported, and generally accepted (apart from the more radical Public sector unions) as a perhaps harsh, but understandably necessary 'tightening of the belt', and notwithstanding our more recent reflection upon the success or otherwise of the 'austerity concept,' the truth of a 1% pay rise cap for the past 7 years is actually entirely inaccurate because it fails to recognise annual incremental increases which actually, on the whole, make the actual % rise PA significantly higher - certainly higher than most in the private sector. It baffles me why this has not been adequately explained. Juxtapose this with, the non contributory pensions, the absence of any realistic prospect of losing ones job and of course, the particularly generous terms and conditions of service - such that second jobs may be undertaken in mandatory 'rest' periods - I'm thinking particularly of Fire service personal, and still wonder how many of the medical staff trained and employed by the NHS are doubling up as agency staff..... And there we start to expose the true, broader, actual situation.... Apol's if a bit disjointed / rambling, watching Poldark!
  2. Did you listen to the ACTUAL words from the mouth of "the accused" this morning on AM show Mr E? Whilst not wishing to underestimate the value for 2 potential agenda progressions of hearsay, gossip and out of context quoting, and "doing down" your potential future leadership rival...
  3. £278 for the machine (John Lewis online) not too excessive I thought - it's a press and leave, programmable set up with pre-chill of the bowl and keep cool functions so you really can set it up, walk away, come back when you're ready system. Mate told me he bought the blender for £500 and, if as you say, the espresso is £1000, then the ice cream machine must be a slow seller in the range resulting in considerably lower price mark. All in all, I think it's well designed with good functionality and, in comparison to other items in the range, represents good VfM. When I get to the stage of being separated from my folding, I'm very much of the "buy well, buy once" mentality! 🍦
  4. What ice cream machine have you got Marcus? I took delivery of the "sage" soft scoop this week - will never buy ice cream again!! It was the black currant crop that pushed me into an uncharacteristic act of consumer spending. It's a cracking piece of kit!!
  5. Saw this and thought of suicide (or manslaughter) on a stick! Flails - Potentially dangerous machines. I'd have thought an HSE investigation would have examined operating procedures, RAMS, maintenance and servicing records, age of machinery (relevant to current operating / safety design features), training and experience of the operator to name but a few... The presence of complete, accurate and appropriate paperwork would be presented as mitigation, the absence of any of it would be an aggravating factor in sentencing. Granted, a dreadful accident, but perhaps a useful reminder to us all to get the paper trail in order....
  6. I'm deeply offended, physically bruised and mentally scarred by the presumption that legal and morally legitimate tax efficiencies for the self employed might be referred to as "dodging" one's dues to society. These are government sponsored policies to recognise, recompense and support the "engine room" of the UK economy - the small business. I'm so upset it's delayed my finish! This has resulted in being late home and missing a planned meal. I'll have to divert the 17 plate Hilux via "The Racehorse" where I'll have to endure a steak dinner and a couple of pints to replenish the blood sugar prior to getting home. It's a thankless, demanding and undervalued industry - the AA survey proves it! You in the off shore tax free environment Andy?? Just wondered... 😆
  7. That's a fair point, but, the driver is a single component in a complex safety system. They do not bear anything like the entire, exclusive weight of responsibility for passenger safety exclusively on their shoulders.
  8. That alright mate, I have a deficiency in the tact quadrant of the brain also!! 👍🏻
  9. Easy tiger, don't personalise it! I'm not suggesting for 1 minute than I envy them or want their job, no way I'd work a 4 day week, it'd interfere with my leisurely lifestyle 😁 And 60k certainly wouldn't tempt me out of my sedatory life style. What I would say though, is that's too much for sitting on your Harris 4 days a week!
  10. Not sure we're gonna be on the same page there Andy. It's a train, not a space shuttle! How do you think the "sympathy barometer" will score when considered against public and other private sector pay rise comparisons? Then there's the commuter chaos that will inevitably ensue.
  11. What do you think of this Mr E? https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/southern-rail-train-drivers-set-to-strike-despite-24-pay-rise-offer-pgcr82dlq Rejected a 24% (11k) pay rise over 4 years and a 4 day week... Fat end of £60k pa for driving a train...
  12. I remember the White Swan lunchtime stripper with her snake Act from back in the day.... Mentally scarred!
  13. A timely reminder of the inherent hazards of operating big machinery. Keep it modern and updated with latest safety design features and don't get complacent when doing seemingly routine / mundane tasks.
  14. That's exactly in line with my thinking Donnk!! 👍🏻 I'll elaborate a bit for context later...
  15. Purposefully a fairly generic question, and in the pre-check, give it a punt on Arbtalk to see if anyone has any sage words of wisdom before taking to Google in anger tomorrow, and mindful that all opinions, expressions and comments are purely 'conversational contributions' rather than declarations of professional opinion which might be relied or acted upon.... Scenario: A structure (multi use sports ground fencing) is installed to a height of 3m in 2012 and at that time it complied with relevant British Standards. 15 years later there is a desire to enhance said structure - height extension by 2.2m. If the standard that was relevant 2012 had been updated by 2017 I'm expecting that it would be a requirement for the original structure to be upgraded to 2017 spec prior to adding an extension which would be required to satisfy standard relevant in 2017? Also, prior to having a check, I'm expecting that planning consent might be required? Any takers??
  16. Ill "see" your exploding table, and "raise" you a Dismal land Paris creme brûlée fireball! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-40585940
  17. "Freedom is more than just a seven letter word" Veronica: of the Chapman family Quite an interesting read! And the instruction manual to the "Sage" Smart Scoop ice cream machine Not so interesting but the output is awesome!!
  18. 😂😂 👍🏻 I did have in mind the previous thread when starting this question and kind of anticipated it might be back referenced!! I'm not overly confidant that the people involved in this scenario would be keen enough to progress it to a point that might give us some definitive answers ☹️
  19. That was a good watch Ian! I'm somewhat disturbed by the admission, I found her moderately arousing 😳 I'm not sure I agree with (in fact, I'm sure I don't) the analysis of her performance by the FB page though. I'd say her performance actually illustrates the inadequacy of JC, and Damian Green talked absolute sense (example Labour Brexit surrender monkey stance) and the unemployment figures were the 🍒 on top! Labour front bench (in camera shot) looked more like a Grenfell Tower residents meeting than a government in waiting, but that's for another day....
  20. Only thing I'd add is, for each additional layer of admin / involvement of people or process in a transaction, there naturally follows the consequence that each layer is drawing £s and making their living off your transaction. Minimise the layers = minimise the blood suckers 😳
  21. I'm not so far into it yet Tom as to have asked the question "if" a FL was obtained for the clear fell. There was another part I read in Mynors which suggested a defence could be mounted by presenting the authorising document from a licensing authority (who, as you say, should have considered consequential effect on habitat, environment etc prior to issuing approval.) It's not at all uncommon for land owners to plead ignorance of the Forestry Act hereabouts and, frankly, enforcement action after the event is pretty woeful.
  22. Not your area, but thought this might be of interest and provide some useful info on signs and symptoms: The Plant Health (Sweet Chestnut Blight) (England) Order 178/2017 https://planthealthportal.defra.gov.uk/latest-news/outbreak-of-sweet-chestnut-blight/
  23. Just done a Mynors check too Andy.... 13.6.2 p343 Duty of Care and 13.7.4 p358 Criminal Damage may have some relevance and need a more leisurely read this evening. Was hoping some one from the forest might have experienced something similar or know of a best practice type scenario - I was thinking it would be "reasonable" to leave a belt of your own trees to act as the wind break rather than exposing your neighbour's to the direct forces of nature?? Mature cash crop forestry timber is the impression I got although detail was somewhat sketchy!

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