Tag ArchivesFor the word: uk
Rave: NOT a stairLIFT to Heaven!
Well…last night’s Led Zep gig was a bummer to miss (even with all the anti-touting procedures) and on the whole the reviews are pretty good.
The video clip on the Beeb’s website looked awesome.
Gone of course is Robert Plant’s screaming vocal, and from all accounts the band’s more legendary excesses have been replaced with requests for cups of tea. But the band doesn’t seem to have lost any of it’s showmanship and raw, growling sound.
Jimmy Page’s recent finger injury seems to have recovered well and he certainly proved that his talent remains undiminished by time. Likewise, John Paul Jones’ amazing musical versatility has definitely improved with age and Jason Bonner did his dad proud.
*sigh* wish I was THERE.
+14Goin’ Underground
Now that I’m back into the whole London commute thing after a prolonged absence, I’m pleased to see that while a few aspects of the whole rail network have improved, some things are just as I remember them.
But it’s too nice a day to go through the whinge list so instead I browsed around the web and came up with the following ditties, all of which are good for a Friday larf.
+12Rant: Big Brother lives
An interesting article on the Beeb’s website in which Ministers have played down reports that compulsory ID cards for all Britons are to be scrapped has filled me with hope.
In politics there is a kind of “reverse spin” that seems to be applied whenever MP’s are looking for a way to back out of bad legislation proposals without losing too much face. One of the ways they do this is to insist that plans are proceeding or (the real giveaway) start to “play down” reports of whatever. See the words “play down” and in most cases you can be assured that the legislation being proposed is doomed.
+20Back in the City
After finishing up with my previous contract in June, I have to confess I’ve been a bit lazy. I was hoping for a long hot summer of dossing around, punctuated by a few great gigs.
Sadly neither the weather or Ticketmaster was playing ball and the summer was a bit of a washout.
+13Rant: Bio Security Fiasco – Heads MUST roll!
The recent outbreaks of foot and mouth disease has left me thinking: is it just me or has the blinding incompetence of modern British government and big business reached new heights?
It seems that the private company (Merial Animal Health) and the government department (Institute for Animal Health) who shared the Pirbright facility, near Guildford were more interested in arguing about who should be responsible for bio-security (and more importantly – at least as far as they were concerned – who was going to PAY for it) than actually taking control of the issue.
+18Rain! Rain! Rain!
Unbelievable July weather. Since I left the NPIA in the middle of June, we have only had 2 days where we got no rain (and both of those were overcast).
Still – by comparison to the poor devils in Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and large sections of the Midlands, we have got off very lightly. Residents in Gloucestershire wont even be compensated for loss of drinking water for 17 days!
And then when I got up this morning, it was like someone had flicked a switch and summer was here! A glorious blue sky, warm with a light summer breeze.
Welcome summer – better late than never!
+19Victory for Small Businesses Everywhere
Today’s decision by the House of Lords in the case of the Inland Revenue vs Arctic Systems is a victory for little family run businesses all over the UK.
Both the IR35 and S660 legislation, introduced in late 1990′s have made the process of running a small business far more complicated indeed.
IR35 was supposedly designed to stop permanent staff disguising their working relationship behind the facade of a limited company, in order to avoid paying PAYE and National Insurance.
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