Malcolm Robinson

More at News Corp.......... http://uk.news.yahoo.com/defence-staff-held-illegal-payments-probe-105409810.html

Things are warming up over the Channel. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2099562/Freeze-Its-police-v-firefighters-streets-Brussels-striking-crews-hose-PMs-office-protest-pension-reforms-turn-cops-ice.html And an excerpt of a letter from Greek Police to leading members of the Troika, "….Since you are continuing this destructive policy, we warn you that you cannot make us fight against our brothers. We refuse to stand against our parents, our brothers, our children or any citizen who protests and demands a change of policy….We warn you that as legal representatives of Greek policemen, we will issue arrest warrants for a series of legal violations … such as blackmail, covertly abolishing or eroding democracy and national sovereignty…..” One Greek political party has refused to sign up to the Germanic led new austerity targets, the price of getting anymore money out of the ECB, and more than two sitting MP's have resigned. The far Right and Left are picking up popular support as each condemns the sanctions imposed on Greece. Let's hope the ''legal representatives of Greek policemen'' find a compliant judge and get some arrest warrants issued……… now that would be a leap forward in democracy (something invented by the Greeks anyway), holding politicians up to the law of the land! Might even catch on over here……………

More 'strange' dealings.............. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2099062/Fury-families-tsar-gets-8-6m-ONE-YEAR-bulk-comes-taxpayer.html

Keeping up the pressure............... http://www.fairfueluk.com/nationalfairfuelday.html

How about this one micky. Its my mates car and can be seen odd times (insurance allowing!) popping around the Town.

I had to do the same with rabbit..........

That would depend foxy on what we are being told at any given point in time and whether we believe it or not!

Merc, I think you could well have identified what is going through the Tesco commercial development managers minds with regard to their possible ‘’extra’ investment in Bedlington! I too think the only possible future we have as a market town is with specialist retailers operating in niche markets to provide a physical presence aligned with savvy internet showrooms. If only we had done the Manor Walks type development 20, 30 or even 40 years ago, things would still have been so different, especially if we had done it as a co-operative or even a mutual to control overheads.

I had a few more ambitious plans for it Adam, if I could have got hold of a certain pot of money we seem to have been fleeced out of! I still think the residential care home planning holds as they started demolition. That's what we were told! If it is built as on the plans it will not only destroy the building line at that side of the street it will effectively block out direct sun light for the market place.

Looks ready for the footsie to have a major correction any time now but maybe the additional £75B the BoE will almost certainly put through as more QE will find its way into share prices, somehow! London property now looks to be holding the whole UK market up and even with £275B sloshing around trying to stimulate the economy you have to be of divine birth to get a mortgage. Time is up for Greece and Portugal looks to be in as bad a place. Spain, Ireland, Italy, Hungary and France to follow. Either that or Frau Merkle will be told to start using DM again! Either way the Euro is finished! The UK has spent more than 30 times the dosh on banks than it has saved through austerity cuts...........mull that one over! In fact the Gov might even end up paying more into a Euro bazooka or SPV or some other stupid acronym than it has saved though imposing homeland cuts. Speaking of the UK we might be about to enter the spotlights, there is downward pressure on sterling against anything other than a Euro. If we get stripped of our AAA rating expect GGG's depression. I don't need to justify anything by moving decimal points around, unlike the ONS, it is clear we have been in real recession for over 2 years now and that's starting off from a completely synthetic place, economically speaking. The Emperor has no clothes on!

Or exactly what Bob the Diamond geezer has said at Barclay's. Not sure why the hell we are still throwing money (QE) at this shower?????? And more to come if Posner gets his way.

Thought you were having a laugh there for a minute Symptoms. You need to go back to around 1995 for the last time a hotel was mentioned for Bedlington, before that 1962! I will second Keith recommendation, I have heard nothing but good comments.

Ripped off an economics site I use....... ''The UK is the windiest country in Europe with off and onshore wind together having the potential to deliver 30% of the UK's electricity supply by 2020. Despite the UK government pushing wind power, the national grid has stated that it would not be able to cope with the surge of power from wind farms and estimates that turbines would have to be switched off on 38 days every year, because it would be too windy. They are currently switched off for 25 days a year, but this is forecasted to increase as more turbines come online. With wind farm operators being paid £2.6mn to keep their turbines idle last year, the UK government's decision to push for a seven-fold increase in wind power generated electricity is somewhat questionable. In addition, there is a strong campaign to stop the spread of wind farms, especially onshore, in the UK. Campaigners sight high costs, inefficiency and also blighted views as reasons for not wanting more wind farms in their own backyards. To compound matters, there is a suggestion that winds sweeping the UK may be on the wane, with 2010 being the "stillest” year of the past decade. The Department of Energy and Climate Change views nuclear power as low-carbon, affordable, dependable and capable of increasing diversity of energy supply. The government has allocated an investment of £40bn in nuclear power, which should deliver 16GW of new capacity. However, concerns persist over high plant construction costs, uncertainty over government subsidies, safety and increased regulatory scrutiny. The end result is that the UK's current policy on renewable energy sources is highly unlikely to meet its commitment at the supranational level.''

Nope.................... Although lamb or beef make the best gravy.

Adam, Hasn't the one for a nursing home been withdrawn but there is still one for a residential home passed seeing as demolition has started.

GGG, this is something I am looking at for the Trust to possibly deliver. It is not as cut and dried as it makes out! Some of the terms and conditions we have to sign up to might make the idea less attractive to a lot of people. At the moment a Credit Union can only lend a fixed amount depending on what a member has paid in and only after they have been a member for a fixed period of time. So first off we would need a lot of members who are willing to pay in a set monthly figure and only after the 3 or 6 month timeframe could they borrow against their payment schedule. It starts off at quite a low multiplier but goes up to 10x's after someone has gone through the incremental stages. Yes the APR is much better and for low'ish amounts and the payday type loans should mean the loan sharks can be put out of business. I will wait and see what changes are being introduced before taking this any further; I already have the Trust board trembling in fear at the thought of it!

Why men shouldn't write advice columns!

Go get'em merc...........

:lol: Chris you can't really miss Keith as a recent picture shows all to clearly........

Probably the guy I knew who looked after the pit ponies.............I did the back brakes on it, forget what the axle was off.

A worrying thought for 2012 ... 10 years ago Bob Hope died 5 years ago Johnny Cash died A couple of months ago Steve Jobs died A few weeks ago Jimmy Saville died Now we have no Hope, no Cash, no Jobs and nobody left to Fix It Let's hope nothing happens to Ed Balls!

Mexican Oysters A big Texan stopped at a local restaurant following a day roaming around in Mexico. While sipping his tequila, he noticed a sizzling, scrumptious looking platter being served at the next table. Not only did it look good, the smell was wonderful. He asked the waiter, 'What is that you just served?' The waiter replied, 'Ah senor, you have excellent taste! Those are called Cojones de Toro, bull's testicles from the bull fight this morning. A delicacy!' The cowboy said, 'What the heck, bring me an order.' The waiter replied, 'I am so sorry senor. There is only one serving per day because there is only one bull fight each morning. If you come early and place your order, we will be sure to save you this delicacy.' The next morning, the cowboy returned, placed his order, and that evening was served the one and only special delicacy of the day. After a few bites, inspecting his platter, he called to the waiter and said, 'These are delicious, but they are much, much smaller than the ones I saw you serve yesterday.' The waiter shrugged his shoulders and replied, 'Si, Senor. Sometimes the bull wins.

After finishing her shift as a nurse A wife comes home late at night and quietly opens the door to her bedroom. From under the blanket she sees four legs instead of two! She reaches for a baseball bat and starts hitting the blanket as hard as she can. Once she's done, she goes to the kitchen to have a drink. As she enters, she sees her husband there, reading a magazine. "Hi sweetheart," he says, "your parents have come to visit us, so I let them stay in our bedroom. Did you say hello to them?

Carrying on the spherically challenged theme...........

Remember these............. And who can forget these beauties..............bah!