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.

Anyone read the latest ploy for those taxed at 40% going to 50%.
For those earning over 100,000 it will often be far more lucrative to take a slice of their salary in share options. This is due to CGT being set at 18% against the proposed 50% tax added to the loss for those on 150,000 plus also loosing their personal allowance (in stages of increase).
So apart from the 'Killing the golden goose' it looks like the said goose is looking at ways to avoid the axe.
Mind you perhaps the aim of New (sick) Labour is to have all the entrepreneurs leave the country to the none productive lot that they can always rely on for a vote
The muppet government strikes again.

Be very good for shares though.

Alan,

We have been through this before (sheep) but I did not know my girlfriend 'dolly' was playing around.
Talking about girlfriends please someone, make my day and post a picture of Christine Pillow ( I can drean can't I). I have tried but a bit of a technophobe.

Is this ok

Many thanks Jeffmack.

I think you will agree, that is more than OK. You HAVE made my day.

Alan,

You can have my 'Dolly', I have just fell madly in love (well lust really) with Christine.

In the above picture, Christine Pillow is modelling 'Autograph' lingerie from M & S.

More from the range, also featuring Christine as the model, can be found at:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/fashionpicturegalleries/....

The photographer is Simon Longhurst and apparently to do these shots he took Christine out to The Fortress Hotel, Galle, Sri Lanka

Nice work if you can get it, eh? Hmmm? Now where's my Canon?

ExecLine,

Every time I look at Christine, I know where my 'Cannon' is.

:-)

Just been sent this link - very moving.

Over 120m people have watched and listened on the Internet to Susan Boyle.

Indeed, I do think she is a fantastic singer myself.

Here's another fantastic person. This guy is called Danny MacAskill and he rides a street bike.

Oh, and he rides it along spiky fences, up trees, he does flips and leaps from shop canopy to shop canopy and all sorts of phenominally weird stuff like that. He's a bike genius and nearly as good, if not better in his way, than Susan Boyle. So far his You Tube video hit rate is 2.5m. You can watch him below:

I never thought that the term, 'Absolutely Amazing' could be used in the same sentence as 'understatement', but how else can you describe this.
Fantastic ability.

Interesting developments from Gorden@number10 this morning.

He has read the headlines in a few papers and made the following announcements via his facebook site;

The IMF has reported that there are up to 10 million jobs in jeopardy, and to help the UK economic crisis, Gordon has announced 7 Trillion in funding for free courses leading to an NVQ1 in Jeopardise as a business language and subsidised flights to jeopardy for all unemployed.

The WHO has said that european deaths from swins flu are inevitable. After checking an atlas, Gordon has been unable to find Evitable anywhere in Europe, so it must be one of those tiny ex communist states that no-one knows where they are on a map. He is now lobbying the EU to close all borders with Evitable, and ban flights in and out of there.

Finally, an article in the OK magazine says laughter is the best medicine, so Gordon is sending DVD's of old Morecome & Wise Christmas shows out to all households with the Swine flu leaflet. He is also instigating comedy training for all NHS staff and changing the national anthem to "Always look on the bright side of life".

Funnily enough, I think these are probably his best and most constructive responses yet............................

It's sad but true, GB is now more of a figure of fun that a serious politician.
But are GB and AD the new Morecome and Wise, or perhaps more of a Laurel and Hardy, (that's another fine mess etc, etc).

Greek, I think your argument is flawed. With Laurel & Hardy, at least one of them knew what was going on whereas .....

Seymour,

Agreed, never considered that. Now I wonder what the joint IQ of both partnerships are. Probably the IQ (could stand for ignorance quota) of GB and AD are far higher than that of SL and OH but when it comes to common sense it may be a different story.

At last, what we've all been waiting for, an understandable explanation of derivative markets ...
>
>
> Heidi is the proprietor of a bar in Detroit . In order to increase sales, she decides to allow her loyal customers - most of whom are unemployed alcoholics - to drink now but pay later. She keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby granting the customers loans).
>
> Word gets around about Heidi's drink now pay later marketing strategy and as a result, increasing numbers of customers flood into Heidi's bar and soon she has the largest sales volume for any bar in Detroit. By providing her customers' freedom from immediate payment demands, Heidi gets no resistance when she substantially increases her prices for wine and beer, the most consumed beverages. Her sales volume increases massively.
>
> A young and dynamic vice-president at the local bank recognizes these customer debts as valuable future assets and increases Heidi's borrowing limit. He sees no reason for undue concern since he has the debts of the alcoholics as collateral.
>
> At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert traders transform these customer loans into DRINKBONDS, ALKIBONDS and PUKEBONDS. These securities are then traded on security markets worldwide.
>
> Naive investors don't really understand the securities being sold to them as AAA secured bonds are really the debts of unemployed alcoholics. Nevertheless, their prices continuously climb, and the securities become the top-selling items for some of the nation's leading brokerage houses who collect enormous fees on their sales, pay extravagant bonuses to their sales force, and who in turn purchase exotic sports cars and multimillion dollar condominiums.
>
> One day, although the bond prices are still climbing, a risk manager at the bank (subsequently fired due his negativity), decides that the time has come to demand payment on the debts incurred by the drinkers at Heidi's bar.
>
> Heidi demands payment from her alcoholic patrons, but being unemployed they cannot pay back their drinking debts. Therefore, Heidi cannot fulfill her loan obligations and claims bankruptcy. DRINKBOND and ALKIBOND drop in price by 90%. PUKEBOND performs better, stabilizing in price after dropping by 80%. The decreased bond asset value destroys the banks liquidity and prevents it from issuing new loans.
>
> The suppliers of Heidi's bar, having granted her generous payment extensions and having invested in the securities are faced with writing off her debt and losing over 80% on her bonds. Her wine supplier claims bankruptcy, her beer supplier is taken over by a competitor, who immediately closes the local plant and lays off 50 workers.
>
> The bank and brokerage houses are saved by the Government following dramatic round-the-clock negotiations by leaders from both political parties. The funds required for this bailout are obtained by a tax levied on employed middle-class non-drinkers.

Excellent explanation. :-)

As already said, excellent. Although very funny, the basis is factually true.

On a different subject.... As I am becoming totally confused re all the advice that changes almost daily, regarding what you should/should not eat drink etc, I decided to ask my doctor for advice. His advice is as follows.

From the Doctor !


Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... Don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q:Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit.
Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain.
Bottoms up!

Q:How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q:What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good!

Q:Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!!
Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: HELLO. Are you crazy? Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!


Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.

And remember:

'Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO, What a Ride'

Now that's what I call advice.

And I thought I was alone Greekman.
LOL.

Hi Porky,

Nar, reckon there are plenty of us out there. Apt name by the way for the subject.
Love/sex also makes life's journey better. They also say marriage helps you live for longer. It doesn't. It just seems that way.

Gordon Brown is less popular at the moment than a man walking down the street in a Mexican hat ! roll on the elections !.