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.

'Our money?'

Elton John, after being asked whether the astronomic bills for the flowers for his homes were reasonable, said "I like lots of flowers."

The point being, that if it's his money, then he can spend it on what he damn well likes.

For today's dose of Very High Quality Culture, turn on your sound and click on

Swan Lake Ballet - a la Cirque du Soleil

Tip: This keeps getting better and better, so do keep watching after the frogs have done their bit.

Also, when the download starts, don't maximise your picture window, but do stretch it about a bit if you don't have a wide screen monitor, so as to remove any wide screen distortion.

Enjoy.

Fantastic clip. Unbelievable strength and skill.
The wife and I are giving it a try tonight

That is amazing!

I thought pah!, that's easy, I can do that. I can hear the ambulance coming down the road now.

For Hangon, re the Plus Markets Question on Bugs Problem Thread.
Did not want to take up space on the Bugs/Problem thread.

http://www.plusmarketsgroup.com/pdf/PressReleasePMG20080723PlatformDevelopment.pdf

If you look at the link you will see that there are greater flexibility and improvements to come. I find that some companies now have more trades via Plus than they do on the other market trades quoted. Like you I find it often leaves a false picture unless you look at plus trades added to the other platforms.
I believe that for companies to have trades quoted, on this platform is less costly. (although I do stand to be corrected).
I would hope that sometime in the future sites such as MoneyAm incorporate and combine all the trading platform 'trades' into their Stockwatch and Trades links.

Regards Greekman.

Gotta tell someone...............

Today my son, Eddie, took part in the regional qualifiers for the UK Young Masters Golf and managed a very respectable 4th place in his age group (under 8) only just missing out on the national finals (by one hole)................well chuffed.

Yours sincerely,
A very proud dad.

Well done Eddie!! My handicap is my age, obviously that is not going to be a problem for young Eddie!

How are you doing Alan? You have been quiet lately, hopefully because you have been taking it easy and just writing a book or two?!

Well done! Under 8? Our seven year old girl would get first prize in the playing with dolls category...

My handicap is a total lack of hand eye co-ordination.

I'm doing great thanks Kim. Back at work now and the backlog is keeping me busy, but I have opted out of the stressfull stuff ;-)
I'm even back to my beloved cricket before the season is over, and believe it or not, I am playing much sharper than before. I can thoroughly recommend a heart attack to any sportsman who has a dip in form. (Michael Vaughan - take note).

Alan

Well done Alan. Don't overdo it though. My motto these days is 'do as little as possible as often as possible'!

Alan,

Right to be proud. Congrats to your lad.
Watch out Tiger Woods eh.
Also glad your recovering OK. I know several people who are fitter now than before a Heart Attack as it made them change their lifestyles. It's those who don't heed the warning that mainly go from bad to worse.

Greek.

Just in: 'The Great Office War'

anyone watching the olympic opening ceremony? Absolutely fantastic all due credit to China for this amazing spectacle. Poor London how will we ever match up!

Yes very impressive and not taking anything away from China but my personal view is that the Greek opening ceremony was better, (and no I'm not Greek, so not bias). OK not as technically brilliant but the theme was to my mind better.
As to LONDON, the main point of contention I have re all the Olympics is that they progressively get more expensive.
Don't get me wrong, the opening/closing displays are usually now absolutely fantastic, but thats what they are 'fantastically expensive displays'.
To me a bit of a sports fanatic, the events tend to be second place to the actual spectacle of the already said ceremonies.
No doubt some will see my comments as those of a kill joy (I am a bit of a sports fanatic both as a spectator and participant), but where in monetary costs will it end.
One of the reasons they were granted to the UK for 2012 was the cost estimate of 2.4 billion. Olympic budget contingency plans are now at 9.35 billion
although the latest cost is now at 5.3 billion.
Some are already estimating that the final cost will be as high as 20 billion and with this countries reputation of overrun cost that may be nearer the mark.
If we could only get back to some were near the basic principle of countries competing in the sports represented and not in competition of outdoing each other in the presentation the better.
I think we have a stark choice, either move away from the outdoing each other in the spectacle of the occasion area and get back to the main concept of sport being the main theme or risk the future of the games themselves.
Common sense says the games can not continue along the same money/cost/value
system. But no one will break the mold, will they.

Good points greekman. I share your concerns about cost and agree with the sporting aspect. China though feels it has to showcase itself to a critical world so there is some justification unless you are one of the poor peasants who had to move out of your home.

Can't wait for the events to start.
I actually trained with the British Olympic Squad as a guest in 1968.
I thought I was fit as I had competed all over England and actual competed against the Australian Team in a friendly a few month before.
I lasted about 3/4 of that days training and could not keep up, so that was a bit of an eye opener to say the least. The average Olympic athlete is superbly fit.
At the time I was training 5 times a week, a weekly total of some 15 hours.
I realized that if I wanted to increase my fitness to that standard it required so much dedication it takes over your life.
At the time I was a normal 20 year old (some would argue the normal bit) and having discovered women a few years earlier! Well you know!
I tend to blame women for just about everything. Sexist comment? You bet.

According to The Telegraph an 18 year old girl was given a community service order to work in a charity shop.
Her defense lawyer stated that she could not carry out the order as she suffered from an obsessive compulsory disorder that meant she had a fear of touching anything that may be dirty such as second hand goods that came into the shop.
Her crime was for Handling a stolen Mobile Phone.
Presumably the phone had already been touched by several people, including the thief.
I know a person with OCS so am not making lite of it but I cant believe the Judge was taken in by such an excuse, but he was. She was given a curfew instead.
And they say Judges live in the real world.

The Government is pushing ahead with plans for a national road-pricing scheme, including testing "spy in the sky" technology.

Eight areas of the country have been selected by ministers for secret pay-per-mile trials which will begin in 2010 and are expected to pave the way for tolls on motorways.

Motorists face paying up to 1.30 a mile during peak periods on the busiest roads.

More at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/....Spy in the Sky

Also

The 245 increase in tax for higher emission cars bought between 2001 and 2006, which cover many family cars such as the Ford Mondeo and Renault Espace as well as 4X4 "gas guzzlers," has led to a fall-off in resale values of at least 500 and as much as 1,000.

As a result, some families will lose as much as 1,000 on the value of their car, directly as a result of Alistair Darling's Gordon Brown's budget.

More at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/...Vehicle-Excise-Duty

sorry, wrong thread

I've got a bit of inside information on the olympic closing ceremony, from those who organise it, Gordon Bennett, a strange half blancmange creature called Boris and an advertising agency called Sebastian & Co.
Apparantly the ceremony should combine British Culture and the theme of closing, so this year it will feature lots of British closing such as Northern Rock, estate agents, retailers and thousands of mortgages. The ceremony will end with Gordon Bennett closing the door af number 10 and handing the key to someone else.
Traditionally, the flame is then given to a famous person to carry around the world. This will be David Beckham, and after months of training it is hoped he will hold the right end of it. He will then set off on a tour of all the countries who will welcome Britain, avoiding those we have had a war with. Basically this means a 2 hour stopover in Thailand before heading for Gatwick, if the Spanish will let him land there.
It was envisaged the flame would be kept going in London, but with gas prices rising the flame will secretly be kept in Moscow to keep costs down.
It will then be down to the London Tourist Board to attract the world, and they have already designed posters welcoming any visitors who have disposable cash and a return ticket. They are to launch a website with advice for foreign visitors on London, including how to treat stab wounds and benefit advice for eastern european competitors.
Lastly, the olympic village is now taking shape. All the major UK builders are involved and Barratt have promised they have enough money and staff to build a shed to hold the javelins for the Togo team, while Persimmon have a few tents left over from a recent donation to the scouts.
Training though, is well underway. We intend to beat the world record over 100m. The search is on by dint of releasing police dogs in Tower Hamlets in search of the fastest individuals for further training. Unfortunately, so far this has produced some very talented athletes, though they have all been illegal immigrants.

Congrats though, to this times team GB.