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.

What recession?


Civil service snaps up crushed polystyrene cup in £100,000 art spree

Government Art Collection buys series of modern British works in first purchases since austerity measures imposed



Clockwise from left: Ritual for Reconiciliation set by Marcus Coates, The Consumptive Sublime by James Balmforth and Ripped Cup and Cups by Shan Hur



Matthew Holehouse
By Matthew Holehouse, Political Correspondent

10:00PM GMT 27 Oct 2014



A bronze model of a crushed polystyrene cup and a video of flowers being burnt with intense rays of light are among modern works of art that have been bought for display in Whitehall.


Curators at the Government Art Collection, the Civil Service’s private art collection, spent £118,000 on classical and modern artworks, in the first round of spending since a moratorium on purchases was imposed in May 2011.


Curators also bought a set of five resin jewels, and a series of scrunched-up ricepaper wildlife portraits, in a collection the Government said would help promote cutting-edge British art around the world. Works are installed in Government offices, military bases and in Britain's overseas embassies.


Among the pieces bought by the collection were ‘Ripped Cup’ and ‘Cups’, life-size painted bronze sculptures of polystyrene office coffee cups by Shan Hur, the Korean-born 34-year-old sculpture known for appearing to punch holes in gallery walls. The pair of works cost £1,500.


Officials spent £22,500 on Metal Box (Hong Kong), a wall installation by Glasgow’s Jim Lambie, made of bent metal sheets, coloured in gloss paint.


A digital print, bearing the slogan ‘Are you the right size for your world?’ on an orange background by the artist Melanie Jackson was bought for £500. A set five of resin and celluloid ‘gems’ from Lucy Skaer’s ‘Me’ collection was bought for £19,500. They have been displayed in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Some £21,777 was spent on a set of paintings of kestrels, ostriches and iguanas on crumpled rice paper by Marcus Coates.


The Consumptive Sublime, an 11 minute video of flowers being burnt through by intense rays of light by James Balmforth, was bought at a cost of £2,850.


More : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-news/11191460/Civil-service-snaps-up-crushed-polystyrene-cup-in-100000-art-spree.html

Manuel.

When we were nippy as child, we had candles, gas mantles and cigarettes to keep us lit up and warm!

But I suppose it is future planning, trying to make the Debt look better and not thinking about the cost of doing so.

All in all, and be honest, don't you think this has been one of the worst post war administrations we have suffered as a country.

I find, I have got old man's disease of shaking my head whenever I look at the next bit of information coming out of No 10.

there is no question but that this present lot has been "accident prone", though i remain firmly of the opinion that tough medicine was far and away better than a a slow drip drip drip as offered by others

i don't think there is any doubt either that the last admin left the most appalling mess, though how much of that was truly avoidable is another question ..... i don't know!

unfortunately, the present parliament is full of vacuous nonentities and nincompoops, none of whom should be allowed to cross the road on his/her own.

i certainly wonder how good DM would have turned out as leader of the labour party
he certainly has presence and presentability, but ultimately the pm does truly need a lot more than that ..... plus of course a good slab of luck (DC has EM as his!)

Calais Mayor says migrants see Britain as a soft touch , BBC NEWS.

Manuel,

"there is no question but that this present lot has been "accident prone", though i remain firmly of the opinion that tough medicine was far and away better than a a slow drip drip drip as offered by others"


To me it is like one having a car in the garage without fuel in it, or needing a minor repair and unable to drive it 20 miles to work, because one is not prepared to borrow the money for the fuel or repair.

"One" then decides to walk the 20 miles to work, but is too knackered to do the job and is sacked, having of course worn the soles of his shoes out and in difficulties going out.

"One" then sits at home waiting for handouts which he has to walk to, and of course can't afford the petrol to go the job which he could so and be productive.

Money is the "oil" of the economy.

Not to wasted but utilised sensibly.

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

My father in the 20s walked from Cardiff to Camarthen for and interview for a job.

The miners were called shirkers even then who couldn't break a lump of coal to put in on their own fire.

---------------------

Not sure about which is the most able, and was surprised by the labour leadership result, Also thought at time, that Ed might have a difficulties with the media and expected the Hazeone's type of smearing to occur. (Common practice resorted to by some parts of the tory party. (They called it the smearing pack.)

I am interested in the outcome of GE and if, as I expect, Ed will just make it, would expect him to revert to government by Cabinet, rather than the type of governments we have had with Maggie and, Blair and the present idiot.

Remember, Attlee was low profile and effective, Wilson similar, Macmillan in some ways likewise. (He got us out of the Empire without too much bloodshed.)

It would be good to see a government thinking of the Future of the Uk rather than their own future.

I would like to be around to watch.

====

Immigrants 'ready to die' to get to Britain because of the 'huge amount' handed out in benefits, says the Mayor of Calais
Natacha Bouchart in Parliament amid growing illegal immigration concerns
France has announced plans for a new centre for migrants in Calais
Fears raised new centre will become another Sangatte attracting migrants
The number of migrants in Calais is now 2,300 – up from 1,500 in August
Violent clashes between rival migrant gangs an almost daily occurrence
Mrs Bouchart: 'What Britain is offering is understood around the world'


more facts for you cynic immigrants just want free benefits and that is it
we need to arm our army and shoot on site if they cross the border

48715 - we know that, but i have always found it strange that the french have not booted these illegals - they're illegal to france too - back whence they came

though it was harsh from a humanitarian point of view, i can hardly disagree with uk's decision to withdraw from the european refugee rescue mission or whatever it's called ...... as DC correctly said (for once!), the rescue mission merely encourages more illegals to make the perilous journey across the med

fred - i am sure that you and i will always disagree on the "cure" for the dire economic mess that uk (and europe and the rest of the world) found itself in ......

however, it is blindingly obvious that the french socialist crew have made "our lot" look like the most brilliant miracle workers, and indeed the rest of europe also remains a total disaster - and that includes the germans, whom i have always thought lied through their teeth about the state of their economy

Migrants really are swamping parts of UK, says Blunkett: Ex-Home Secretary backs minister rebuked by No 10 over TV comments
David Blunkett has defended Michael Fallon's comments on immigration
Former Home Secretary backed view that migrants 'swamped' parts of UK
Mr Fallon was criticised for his choice of words and later apologised
But Mr Blunkett said he was right to 'voice concerns of ordinary voters'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2810292/Migrants-really-swamping-parts-UK-says-Blunkett-Ex-Home-Secretary-backs-minister-rebuked-No-10-TV-comments.html#ixzz3HSafeTlE
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

HMRC vs Ingenious - film tax avoidance scheme
i read a little snip a few days ago that HMRC are not at all keen to get to the high court, but Ingenious has refused to allow this prevarication

it's really quite an important case in this area of law, and if HMRC thought it was hot favourite to win, common sense says they would want that result asap ..... that HMRC does not, raises the spectre that HMRC may well get a very bloody nose once again

i think court proceedings are scheduled to start in early november

cynic notice you have skipped the immigration posts which are facts you seem to not like the real issues affecting the uk

no i have not ..... learn to scan properly ..... 48702 and 48707

Nick rides to cameroons rescue....in the nick of time




EU referendum bill backed by David Cameron 'killed off after Liberal Democrats withhold support'

Move to enshrine EU membership vote in law has collapsed after Nick Clegg reportedly refused to back the bill unless Bedroom Tax was reformed




By Ben Riley-Smith, Political Correspondent

5:52PM GMT 28 Oct 2014



David Cameron's bid to enshrine an EU referendum in law has been dramatically blocked by Nick Clegg in a major blow to his efforts to renegotiate Britain's terms of membership.


The Prime Minister was forced to drop legislation tying the next government to holding an in-out EU vote after Mr Clegg demanded reform of the so-called Bedroom Tax as his price for support.


The collapse of the Tory backbench legislation threatens to weaken Mr Cameron's hand as he attempts to convince European bureaucrats only serious reform can keep Britain from voting to leave the EU.


It also triggered a dramatic disintegration of Coalition relations as the two parties briefed against each other over who was to blame for the decision not to pursue legislation on a 2017 referendum.


Bob Neill, the Tory MP who brought forward the proposals, said Nick Clegg's party had "killed off" his bill and accused them of using "Westminster tricks to try to deny the British people a say" on Europe.


A senior Liberal Democrat source strongly rebutted the claims, saying it was the Tories' decision to offer a "completely unfair deal" which led to the bill being dumped.

It is understood Mr Cameron privately tried to convince Mr Clegg to back the bill, but was told Tory support for reforms to the Spare Room Subsidy, labelled the Bedroom Tax by critics, was needed in return.

The Deputy Prime Minister wanted Mr Cameron to back a bill calling for significant exemptions to the so-called Bedroom Tax, but there was no agreement.



More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cameron/11193717/EU-referendum-bill-backed-by-David-Cameron-killed-off-after-Liberal-Democrats-withhold-support.html

Not Camerons rescuer. He wants the bill to go forward

Got him off the hook nicely....I wonder what his reward is?

with efforts to control immigration scuppered and refusal to pay £1.7bn being greeted by guffaws, i'm afraid dc would be hard pushed to convince joe public that we should stay within eu

more support winging its way to ukip i'm sorry to say, for as far as i can see, ukip has yet to put a full package of policies on the table, let alone numbers allegedly capable of supporting same

Cameron doesn't wasn't to be let off the hook. Cameron supported the bill.

If that's the case Haystack, Cameroon will pull out of the coalition and call a general election in the morning.


I wont hold my breath, and I suggest you don't either.

He can't call an election. We have 5 year fixed term governments. The election date was set in 2010.

Check again.