Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

not at all .... not the greatest day on the markets, but i've had far worse with NMX2350 giving decent support to the portfolio

Well I am and admit it.

that you have done well for yourself i guess warrants plaudits of some kind but certainly no halo

however, it you'ld like to earn a segment of halo, i'll e- you a link so you can contribute to "ShelterBox (http://www.justgiving.com/PhilippinesAppeal). They're already on the ground in the Philippines providing shelter and supplies to those who need it".
Google will double any money given, but you'll need to show the link - hence the need for an e- from me

cynic - I think the Government have already contributed £10million of taxpayers money to this and are also sending out 10 surgeons and paramedics. Quite frankly I think that is enough. This country seems to be a bottomless pit when it comes to sending aid to various countries. alwickk pointed out the other day on this thread how much money the UK has sent to India to help the poverty and the next thing we know is that that country is spending billions on space research. I don't have a problem paying tax in this country, but I do have a problem with whichever party is in power when it seems to think it has a blank cheque book to throw taxpayers money around, wherever in the world, that it thinks is appropriate.

Fine words DB, But as usual, and yet again don't vote for them then.

no compulsion, as there never is with charity
this is nothing whatsoever to do with any government or church or anything other than proper and deserved and warranted humanitarian aid .... but don't feel obliged, and clearly you do not

so Stan, are you prepared to donate?

Fred - how about you?

gf
Threshers wasn't left to me. It was my mother's family. I didn't get any.

I did send my kids to private schools (in one case to a major public school). I started as a programmer, then a freelancer and later I started a software/consultancy company. That's how you pay for it. I had my first child when I was 47 (with a much younger wife).

No thank you.

good manners precludes me from giving an acid response

That's a first then -);

cynic
An acid response from you? Surely not.

Charity is a prickly area, with our government ring-fencing the foreign aid budget and in addition adding millions more (albeit so necessary) for disasters such as the Philippines, Brits are becoming wary, especially when many have been refused lifesaving treatment themselves by a system that they have paid into.

Also why do directors of charities require salaries that are far in excess of that which our Prime Minister receives. It comes across that far from helping the needy as their post indicates, they are really helping themselves.
2517

what a nice and revealing can of worms this is turning out to be
the responses so far say a great deal about those who so posted

Just found this old school photo of a young Fred and Stan

fred must be the one on the left just starting out on the road to damascus
stan is just behind him and can't work out whether or not he should follow fred or perhaps looking to see who's watching him

aldo - do you have any comment to make re my "suggestion" - post 32684?

cynic

yes it just show's how two faced some on this thread are

post 32684? do you mean 85

Hays.

May I send my commiserations to your wife.

=================

Cynic,

Which charities and how and why I support them is private, but I certainly don't begrudge the government support World Aid is some form or another.

Also, I think it would be preferable to use British forces of one body, or another in helping to resolve human tragedies like the Philippines rather than stupid wars as in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If it was done by a sensible supervised organisation, it would probably do more for the development of a peaceful world.

It would be preferable to the bully boy tactics, which are seen by many tories and a renegade Blair and stupid ignorant Bush as the approach to other countries less develop than our own.

Also, Britain would smell a little better around the world.

On this action I congratulate the coalition government.