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.

At least the couple of thousand that were invited to the grounds of Windsor were given a bag with a few odds and ends in that they are able to sell to other mugs at extraordinary prices it would seem - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44197388

The dam cheek is putting in a 20% off voucher for Windsor Castle gift shop, so they try to recoup some profit from their so called guests.

Tat just sums them up while they live the extravagant lifestyle at many taxpayers expense, let those that want them, pay for them, and force them to transfer all their great estates over to the country.

what a sour little curmudgeon you are
must have been standing too close to fred for too long

Many have transferred their estates, large and small, to the country. It is called the National Trust which is now the largest "farmer" in the country with over 2000 tenants on over 600,000 acres of land. Little has changed for the tenants I suspect.
I like Harry though agnostic about his wife but I wish them the best; as I do with most of the Royal Family. I think the country would be worse off without them. Dragging everyone down to suit the great unwashed, uneducated and uninspiring has never benefited any country that I can think of. You need to get out and smell the roses CT, you sound bitter and twisted.

IT soundly seconded

Well, CT, you do come over as being bitter and twisted. This makes me prefer all of the people you are speaking about, instead of the likes of you. Funny that, eh?

Importantly, you don't know what the hell you are talking about......

I noticed a young teenage royal standing out, who had a short-sleeved woollen white cardigan(!?) over a blue mini-dress. It was reported this dress was sold by 'Net-a-Porter' so I went to the NaP web site to check on how much it cost. Ans: £2,050.

Here's a link to Net a Porter, in case you want to do a bit of shopping yourself:

https://www.net-a-porter.com/gb/en/

The Royal Wedding was a spectacular affair - and a costly event.

For those who believe these stately occasions to be waste of taxpayers' money, there is the consolation that the Royal Family themselves will pay for most of it.

And we did - including contributing to what is thought to be close to £400,000 for Meghan's dress - designed by a Brummie.

But it doesn't stop there - weddings of that level don't come cheap.

Kensington Palace had earlier released a statement saying: "As was the case with the wedding of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Royal Family will pay for the core aspects of the wedding, such as the church service, the associated music, flowers, decorations, and the reception afterwards."

So how much will it all cost - and what are the benefits?

When Prince William and Kate Middleton tied the knot at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2017, the overall cost was around £24 million.

For Harry and Meghan's big day at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on May 19, 2018, the total spend is £32 million - even though it's in a smaller venue.

So how does it break down? ABC Finance did some number-crunching to come up with these figures:

William and Kate

Wedding dress £250,000

Flowers £563,000

Wedding ring £115,000

Wedding cake £56,000

Security £22 million

Harry and Meghan

Wedding dress £387,000

Flowers £110,000

Wedding ring £250,000

Wedding cake £50,000

Security £30 million

So, much less was spent on flowers for Harry and Meghan but security cost far more this time. The ring was also twice the price.

The costs might seem extravagant but there are said to be many economic benefits from these big royal spectacles.

William and Kate

When William and Kate tied the knot in 2011, an additional 600,000 people come to London for the weekend – 60 per cent from UK, 40 per cent from overseas. While here they spent upwards of £107 million.

The added value to Britain’s ‘brand’ due to global media coverage was worth approximately £1 billion in free marketing and more than two billion people watched the ceremony globally

It wasn’t just visitors to London, the Office for National Statistics reported that an extra 350,000 visitors travelled to the UK compared with the year before.

Tourism also flourished on the island of Anglesey in Wales, where the royal couple lived after the wedding. It’s estimated that it prompted a 20 per cent increase in business in 2011.

Total Economic Benefit = £107 million

Harry and Meghan

Harry and Meghan’s nuptials are projected to generate much, much more - including £200 million that's expected to come from tourism, travel and hotels.

That includes projections by Airbnb which is expecting to make almost £12 million over the Royal Wedding weekend, with around 42,000 guests staying in the capital and surrounding areas so they can go and see the festivities.

A further £150 million will be spent by people having parties and celebrating, with commemorative merchandise projected to bring in £50 million.

It's thought the wedding will provide the UK with around £100 million in free marketing.

Total Economic Benefit = £500 million

There have also been other effects.

For instance, let's take "dogs" as just one topic.....

Meghan Markle has a pet beagle called Guy, adopted from a shelter in 2015.

And since Meghan and Harry confirmed their relationship in November 2016, beagle ownership has increased by 42 per cent from 195,707 to 278,173, according to data gathered by insurers Bought By Many and Consumer Intelligence.

It now makes beagles the fifth most popular dog breed in the UK.

The same period has seen a 4 per cent decline (from 7,828 to 7,518) in the UK population of Welsh Corgis - traditionally the Royal Family's favourite breed.

But there may be some hope for the breed. The Kennel Club reported there was a 22 per cent uplift in enquiries about buying a corgi puppy following the launch of the second series of The Crown in December 2017.

A third series of the Netflix show is in production - meaning corgis could see another boost in the near future.

The most popular beagle names in the UK are Bella, Bailey and Buddy. The most popular corgi names are Merlin, Arthur and Heidi.

Steven Mendel, CEO and co-founder of Bought By Many, said: "We’re accustomed to seeing spikes in popularity of certain breeds with celebrity ownership but such a large rise in the popularity of beagles certainly stands out."

Not bitter or twisted, just aware of how the "System" works to give you the sense that you are living in a free and democratic society. It is clear that either you are happy to support the current establishment or are so blinded to the way it works to control the population while seeming to be open, transparent and honest - while in truth it is subversive, with the royal family being used as tools in the process.

Trying going against the establishment and you will see how they use the law, either to imprison you, or more likely bankrupt you, and help send you to a mental institution, as you become so disillusioned with the legal system that is rotten all the way up to the Privy Council. Alternatively, others leave the country to live their lives in peace - if you put your head above the parapet, even as a lawyer, you are subjected to the wrath of the regime.

EL - Find me a picture of one of the Royals you mention picking up their dogs pooh.

Nicola Sturgeon warned new Scottish currency would cost up to £300 billion




Nicola Sturgeon will unveil her new economic case for independence on Friday Credit: PA



By Simon Johnson, Scottish Political Editor
23 May 2018 • 6:00am




An independent Scotland would have to find up to £300 billion to prop up its own currency, the country’s most eminent macroeconomist has warned as Nicola Sturgeon prepares to unveil her new economic blueprint for separation.

Professor Ronald MacDonald, research professor of macroeconomics and international finance at Glasgow University’s Adam Smith Business School, said tens of billions of pounds in foreign exchange reserves would have to be raised to protect the currency from economic shocks and speculators.



More: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/05/23/nicola-sturgeon-warned-new-scottish-currency-would-cost-300/

Lol , Ronald MacDonald

Sturgeon is on the new healthy menu, I hear, although I would hope that particular fish face would be thrown back in. Loch Ness would be a suitable place.

She will be following Salmon into the Lock before long I expect, both only coming to the surface once in a while, with as much presence as the Loch Ness Monster. All very fishy up there in the Highlands.Next they might elect a Old Trout to lead them south.

Just been to our large local furniture shop to finalise a few things concerning a delivery.

Well, no wonder Northampton town centre shops are closing down right, left and centre!

They tell me that business is absolutely terrible and also mentioned how, say the likes of the local 'G-Plan' rep, are telling them, that it's the same for other furniture shops everywhere. They told me 2016 was a record year and 2017 was nearly as good. This last 12 months is far, far worse than the 2008 crash.

This is obviously down to strong feelings of uncertainty and particularly all down to the massive uncertainty over Brexit.

I now think May is a very, very poor leader and needs to go. She is not delivering on things and is most certainly not selling any kind of a decently good story concerning Brexit and Britain's prosperity for the future.

If she were, then it would be "Come on, Brexit! Let's be 'aving you!" and we would all be looking forward to it!

But she isn't and we aren't!

Perhaps, she has read the writing which is on the wall.

It's a bit of a stretch from visiting a furniture shop to then blaming Brexit and May for the fact that city centre shops are closing. It is a fact that people are turning more to buying online or from retail parks.
I have bought my last two pieces of furniture online. The latest was ordered more than two months ago and will be delivered tomorrow, so it was hardly gathering dust in some Amazon warehouse for the unwanted and unbought Brexit labelled tat.
The way we shop has changed and the councils have to recognise that and plan the change. Knock down the old shops, smarten the place up and build attractive inner town housing instead of encroaching more on green belt land with all the other infrastructure problems that brings with it.

"The way we shop has changed and the councils have to recognise that and plan the change. Knock down the old shops, smarten the place up and build attractive inner town housing instead of encroaching more on green belt land with all the other infrastructure problems that brings with it. "

I absolutely agree with this. Northampton for one, certainly needs exactly this sort of town centre revolution together with a bit of 'weather proofing' to go with it.

My wife has just told me, that Homebase has been sold for £1:

The Australian owner of Homebase has sold the DIY chain for £1, ending its disastrous foray into the UK.

Wesfarmers paid £340m for the retailer two years ago, but losses and other costs will bring its total bill to about £1bn.

The chain is being bought by restructuring specialist Hilco, which rescued music chain HMV in 2013.

The 24 stores that had been converted to the Bunnings brand will revert to the Homebase name.

Richard Lim, of consultancy Retail Economics, said the Wesfarmers takeover had been an "unbelievable disaster" due to "woeful management decisions, clumsy execution and a misguided perception of the UK market".

He expected the restructuring would result in store closures and more job losses on the High Street. Homebase has about 250 stores and 11,500 workers.

Hmmm? Are we about to go into a big recession?

If so, how unnecessary!

The climate didn't change before humans and recessions didn't happen before the word Brexit.

high street stores have been in decline for many years, and as on-line shopping gets ever moe popular, so it has accelerated

however, among others, there is strong growth in artisan and indy shops, though they have to have an identifiable usp with which the locals identify - eg a good butcher who really knows his trade, offers a personal and personable service and stocks top quality produce, perhaps locally sourced, can readily compete with the supermarket with its lower grade albeit cheaper offering

Doc,

Are you gammon?

:o)

Well spotted.

Rents and Rates are to high, all property is overvalued, the rich get richer, the poor - sod the poor it seems. Owners of commercial property are not willing to let it under a certain level, either because they want to sell it on at a premium or because they want to uphold the value of commercial property and would rather leave them empty and allow them to deteriorate than take losses.

Towns move to new areas as districts are regenerated, old shops change and often become social places before the planners with big money see a way of tearing them down to build large blocks of flats from which they then derive permanent income by way of service and maintenance work that they use names of other companies and enterprises for, (that they have interests in)that then afford them the long term gains they desire. Service Charges/ Management Fees - Instillation charges for things like Sky - Gardening -annual Survey Fees - Re-decoration every 5 years or so, Lift Service Charges - the list is endless.

Those unluckily enough to become unable to pay those ever increasing charges become the homeless poor, having purchased homes that are sold as affordable by companies and governments.