Lets just hope that happens before the high street is irrevocably damaged

Thats pretty scarey bikechain, although what it does say is that Amazon are actually very vunerable if things change in some way, either by way of investor perception or global economic changes or whatever. It could all collapse very fast. Business on a promise of jam tomorrow is entirely dependant on people beleiving that the jam will arrive. Once that conepet becomes too abstract the party is over.

I was listening to an intersting chap on the news who was saying that retail outlets are rapidly becoming proxy showrooms for online retailers. I know, in my business of folk, routinely coming into retailers and basically looking for what they want, sometimes getting designs done, and then literally while still standing in the shop going online to find the lowest price before either walking out buying nowt, or trying to beat the retailer down to the online price.

All fair enough I suppose, but the down side of that being a good mate who recently closed his LBS, who experienced, people coming in asking to borrow tools to put together their online purchases, bringing their online purchase in for fitting/assembly and then refusing to pay for the service, and bringing their online purchase in for work under “gurantee”. In all instances throwing their hands up in horror when he wanted to charge a reasoanble going rate for doing it.

Its a really serious change in the way our world runs. I wonder where it will eventually go. Only just starting IMHO.

In my business the adage is that you never have either a customer or a supplier that reprsents more than 10% of your turnover, otherwise they run you. Always found it to be wise, albeit a little on thehigh side if anything.

I think the point being missed above is that Tesco’s is pretty much a monopoly in their market, (i.e. 25% of the market), and therefore under the MMC rules should be being looked at and in all liklihood asked to shed elements of its business. That clearly isn’t happening. Secondly, what chances are there of Government actually being unduly “influenced” by a corporation that as a finacial entity is bigger than the majority of the nations sitting at the UN.

Never said it wasn’t, just asked at what point it ceases being a success and starts being a problem.

Any different from CRC/Hotline/Kinetic Distrubtion/Nukeproof/Ragley etc etc etc. ?

I’m pretty sure that those companies annual revenues do not put them into the world nations GDP hierarchy at 68th place. So yep pretty different IMHO.

Tesco also represent 4.1% of the GB’s GDP, again not something that I suspect any cycling related company currently aspires to.

I’d recommend some of our many trail centres that are opening this year and hope folk still come over and experience the greatness that is being built and don’t begin cancelling their plans because of these gobshites on the news for the last few weeks.

It was ever thus aidso even at the peak of the troubles, i.e. very limited and localised, as I’m sure you well know. Unfortunately the Gobshites have already delivered a massive knockback in that context both in respect of tourism, but probably more significantly in respect if inward investment. Frankly that will remain the case until the people who don’t live on that corner stand up to them and reject them and that way of life on mass. Personally speaking, even knowing what I know, I wouldn’t be thinking of either visiting or investing already.

i.e. Why should I bother??

Cougar – Member
I’m not sure as I see the problem.

I think the problem is pretty much self evident if you take a walk along any high street in the UK. However, lets get a bit blunt about it. The technical definition of a monopoly in the UK is 25% of any given market. Currently Tesco’s is approx 30% in “theirs”. Obviously they will have high powered lawyers whio will argue that water flows uphill and day follows night and night doesn’t follow day. However, at what point does this or any other company become so vast as for it to be a problem to the nation at large?

Tescos’s2012 Revenue = £64 billion approx of which £42 billion was in the UK.

AND the republican flag…

There isn’t one. There is however a foreign countries Irish Tricolour, which does seem to cause a bit of a rant. I guess I’m comfy with us doing that if Dublin would run up the Union doofer next to their tricolour though. However, the agreed compromise of neither except on agreed occasions seemed to work well until the issue was hijacked by a bunch of criminals to conceal their actual agenda though.

Of course, alternatively, you could stamp and shout and behave like a bad tempered 2 year old
……………

Oh yeah… 😕

@ berm bandit, I agree with you to a certain extent, but the protesters are a minority (i guess). I mean for every angry rioter, i bet there are at least another 10 people who feel the same but have chosen not to do anything about it.

Yep thats the kicker about democracy though, you vote for people to do stuffon your behalf, then when they do you can’t really moan, but come the next election kick the feckers out…… or did you mean the bit about cricket and rugby?

It was an agreed arrangement between all parties. The unrest etc is as usual self interest on the part of a criminal element to achieve aims that have nothing whatsoever to do with any reality other than their own.

Personally, I’m very happy for all of these twunts to be allocated some space along with all other malcontents, preferably somewhere like the Falklands (actually in fairness to the Falklanders lets say South Georgia), and for them to be sent there so they can protest and prat about to their hearts content. (Mind you, we need to make sure we don’t allow them to play Cricket or Rugby, as there is previous for that policy backfiring long term)

Not figured the actual track yet, but about a minute after the curtains close I plan to record myself over it tapping on wood and saying “Let me out”….c’mon its not funny anymore…….Its getting hot now…..

When I learnt my trade this is what they used to call an engineers screwdriver, (admittedly perhaps with tongue in cheek).

Basically the flat on the shaft allows you to put an adjustable on it and icnrease the torque dramatically. The principle I was talking about is the blade is hammered into the keyway, and the cylinder is turned by the application of massive torque. Neither subtle or quiet, but there aren’t many cylinder locks that will prevent it.

Not sure, but I think you will find that Yale make Era’s lock cases or vice versa. All the Willenhall manufacturers have slowly been gobbled up by each other over the years and are all either part of Ingersoll Rand or some other global corporation and thus all make for each other nowadays.

Also possible to use mica on that kind of latch

Not doubting your ability Ben, but that deadlatch is called deadlatch because when the small bolt is forced in by the action of the door closing the latch bolt is deadlocked and cannot be forced back from that position. Besides I thought that Yale had pretty much done for mica when they introduced a flat on the bolts of all their nightlatches back in the 70’s specifically to overcome that precise problem.

As far as bumping, or bouncing pins up and down to find a shear line is concerned, the introduction of multiple pins and mushroom followers was also aimed at preventing that, again in the 1970’s.

I know its not sexy, but given that a hefty kick, or an engineers screwdriver into the keyway, turned with an adhustable spanner, will pretty much overcome all of the anti picking efforts in a fraction of the time that picking will take I’m amazed that any scrote would bother quite frankly.

Is the mountain bike circuit open to the public and has anyone used it?

Yes and yes. (Albeit even with assessment and coach led rides, there have, contrary to the common “my Granny could ride it on her shopping bike”, theory, been numerous accidents some pretty serious), so opening to the great unwashed is defered until such time as either an on-site A&E department is constructed or alternatively sensible modifications are made to stop it being closed about 30 miniutes after they are let in.

He did, but apparently admitting to a public order offence is no reason for a Government Minister to be ashamed of himself any longer!

independant people seem to come to the conclusion that it is far too complex a metric to accurately rate

Once more and in English please? 😕

In case of any doubt;

It’s all a bit transparent

Slime often is IME 🙂

No real point regarding the original issue, except that the whole mess is indicative of an awful relationship between the government and the servants of the state it totally relies on to carry out its will. It does not bode well when you think of it that way, regardless of the individual rights and wrongs. A total mess yet again.

The point I actually wanted to make was that I had the misfortune to listen to one David Davies on Radio 4 this morning. What a mealy mouthed, forked tongued, weasely, snide, fact manipulating, fiction mingling, slimey bastard that man could be perceived to be. It seems he is always wheeled out when this lot want some toadying sycophant to do their bidding. No doubt if that is the case there is a knighthood with his name on it waiting in some steaming cesspit ready for when they’ve used up all his slime.

No weapons unless outnumbered, in which case its fair enough.

Never hit anyone unless the intention is to drop them.

When punching aim at a point behind the point of impact, its much more effective that way. Punch through in other words.

Always follow up with maximum aggression attacking wherever and whatever you can.

Be relentless, however it feels don’t stop and keep going forward.

Take no shit, walk tall and wear your hair anyway you like.

Alternatively, be funny and fast.

……Seriously people WTF???

Shame that he’s not and not just for this either.

Regarding the independance issue, it has always seemd to me to be fundamentally flawed thinking on many levels, and much like the old Welsh language mallarkey thrust down peoples throats regardless of whther they gave a toss or not.

Listen, you’re clearly not a lawyer, as every law student and trainee knows this shit. Stop being so chippy, accept that you’re wrong

Firstly, soz for late appearance, been at hospital with my Mrs all day. Secondly, you are right I’m not, however I do have a 1st class honours degree in business administration, so honestly, I promise you I’m not struggling with the concepts.

OK, getting back to the point I’m making, which is how come there is never, (and I am talking about in my experience here, therefore clearly anecdotal, but based on experience as a senior manager/director for 26 years in a number of companies big and small), a distribution to the unsecured creditors. Surely it is impossible for that to be the case if everyone is actually playing the game legitimately?

I’ve given you a classic example above,(A case in Manchester), which I’m very familar with. It is simply not possible to run up debts of £224,000 with an asset base of £1557, and not be aware that something is awry. I raised this with the both the Department of Trade, and the liquidator at the time, who, remember are working in my best interests here, and frankly I might as well have told them I’d just had anal sex with their first born for all the good it did.

So the point is how come?

Just to throw another one in for you, my brother in law was a director of a company, which traded whilst insolvent amongst other things. All of the unlawful activity occured while he was in hospital having treatment for a heart attack. It was accepted that all of the actions that resulting in this illegal outcome were carried out by the halfwit son of the main shareholder, or MD as he was otherwise known, and while B-O-L was incapacitated to boot. The outcome? B-O-L was fined £10,000 and barred from being a director for 10 years because it was deemed to be his responsibility regardless. (Halfwit went down for it)

[Ourmaninthenorth, you can look that up on Companies House webcheck if you like, so run this bit about these circumstances past me again will you?]

OK Ourman, lets try it again.

1) On the IP front to whom are you/they responsible?
2) Is it or is it not the case that trading while knowingly insolvent is illegal and fraudulent
3) Is it or is it not the case that it is the responsibility of a director to firstly know about the financial position that the company is in, and secondly therefore that ignorance or stupidity cannot be used as a defence?

So using one of the actual examples given above

(A case in Manchester: Assets £1,557 Total Liabilities £224,549)

No stock was “involved”. So just run past me how that it is in any way defensible, and what the liquidator should have done in these circumstances.

I am clearly not a plonker

You also are inaccurate

Because that’s dangerously wrong

No its not, in the context of the thread it is self evident that a company has been trading whilst insolvent if it transpires that there are insufficent assets to even pay off its secured creditors, let alone unsecured. No doubt they will have been happily valuing their stock at the lower of cost or “nett realisable” value for years to avoid tax, so they can’t even claim that it comes as a shock when it doesn’t realise full value one day, now can they??

Just to support that here are some actual figures

A case in Brighton: Total Assets £72,757 Total Liabilities £707,270

A case in Newbury: Assets £12,000 Total Liabilities £121,858

A case in Scotland: Assets £137,768 Total Liabilities £1,030,005

A case in Manchester: Assets £1,557 Total Liabilities £224,549

Call me old fashioned, but allowing for all contingencies, halving the value of my liabilities and multiplying the value of my assets by 3 I reckon I’d still be able to suss out in all of these last 4 that I’ve dealt with that things might be going tits up, and that would sometime before I got to any of these points!!

Actual fees from todays farce

Partner £250 -£275 per hour
Manager £140 per hour
Administrator £60 -£95 per hour
Assistant and support staff £65 per hour

Travel 45 pence per mile
Labels £0.01 each
Headed paper £0.10 per sheet
Plain paper £0.10 per sheet
Large envelope £0.10 each

You can figure the rest from there

Thats the actual wording of the Act. Not really open to much interpretation frankly.

(2)A company is also deemed unable to pay its debts if it is proved to the satisfaction of the court that the value of the company’s assets is less than the amount of its liabilities, taking into account its contingent and prospective liabilities.

From the 1986 Insolvency Act: In other words if forced into liquidation, and consequently substantially unable to settle debts even after the liquidation of assets then self evidently a criminal offence has been committed by the directors. i.e. it is illegal to trade whilst insolvent.

There’s a reason firms go under – they’re skint. Hardly surprising that some folk never see anything.

Doh! who’d of thought ………..

OF COURSE I KNOW THAT YOU PLONKER!

But does it not strike you as strange that there is never ANY excess at all over and above the amount paid to secured creditors and the Liquidators fees? Don’t you think perhaps that just once in a while there might just be a 1p in the £1 pay out possible?? Especially given that it is illegal to trade while insolvent, so the other end of the same spectrum is that surely if there isn’t then every single liquidated companies directors should be facing criminal charges and probably prison sentences, which they clearly don’t.

So something is smelling, tasting and looking a lot like fish somewhere

I used to commute by car to the tune of approx 150 miles per day. when I started I was really uptight about being on time etc, and frankly drove like an utter cock. About 3 months in I had a bit of an epiphany and realised that unless I modified my behaviour I would end up dead either by car or by heart attack. One of the things I did was to amuse myself by trying to drive without using my brakes unnecessarily. timing my run up to traffic lights/junctions etc allowing the vehicle to slow by taking my foot off the gas etc etc. Curiously about the same time I started to suffer less sinlge finger salutes and road rage style cut ins across my line of travel and so forth.

IMHO: You can excaerbate situations and you can mollify them by pretty simple actions. Generally speaking the show focussed on folk who seemed intent on exacerbation. The bottom line is we live on a crowded planet, and there are no simple solutions other than a bit of courtesy and consideration in both directions. Obviously townplanners taking their head out of theor arses wouldn’t go amiss either, but hey its the real world.

Seems to me that it might not be worth going for prima nocta this time if they do…

Re the OP. Yes is the simple answer.

When I was of that age only 5% of the population would get to university, and it was very definately a big door opener. Still is, but probably not to the same extent as back in the day.

Having said that this sort of thread will elicit two sorts of responses.

1) Them that have been there and got one
2) Them that haven’t

No prizes for figuring out which the stock responses come from.

What really does me in is the hypocracy of it.

I mean fair enough if you believe it then fine, but I don’t know about you, but if I were living with a certainty that the end of the world was nigh there are a good few things I would be doing, and quite a lot that I wouldn’t.

A short but inexhaustive list for example

1) Dirty great Credit Card bill
2) Sluts
3) That new full bouncer I’ve got my eye on
4) The round the world bike trip
5) Paying off the overdraft
6) Talking to the mother in law
7) DIY
8) Go to work

So two questions occur to me.

Why do none of these soothsayers of doom live by their convictions, and throw off the shackles of responsibility?
Why don’t they advertise themselves better, I mean what the worst that can happen?

My suggestion is that we start a list of those who subscribe to the December2012ageddon theory, and we can have the last laugh on January 1st…..The other possible outcome is obviously irrelevant. 😀

😳 <cough cough>

and it was a proper laugh zokes, not altrusitic at all. Enjoyed doing it, and the ongoing friendships that emanated from it.

The postscript to the above thread is that we have sat down today and discussed the scenario, and basically decided to call it a day. Not a cataclysmic business failure or anything. Just as described a straw/camel interface too far, and the partners simply having had enough.
We will be winding up under control and hopefully will do the right thing by the folks.

AHHHH….the smell of Black Sheep in the evening…its the smell of victory….
(when taken on the beach at Robin hoods Bay as I recall)

Who’s rattled your cage this morning

At the risk of stating the obvious…… Putting up the price of Special Brew!!! WTF

Thanks for all the advice and support, much appreciated.

To be fair to my employee I din’t think she is being difficult or awkward, just asking for what is her due. Problem is I didn’t see the flick in the tail and its caught me out. Its not her fault, anymore than the current economic climate is. Just the timing is unfortunate, and comes at the worst possible time. We’ve had an almighty run of crap which has pushed us to the brink, such as an important supplier suddenly deciding to shut his business down without warning, (probably had someone come back from maternity leave I reckon!), a new replacement supplier performing poorly, sudden unexpected market changes, (and before anyone gets clever, its a trebling of demand, which personally I wouldn’t have expected), individually not a problem, but collectively a huge whammy. Current topic simply has straw/camels back interface implications.

PS: Davetrave, good to hear from you. what are you up to now? Still falling over in the mess routinely?

We do have a accumulation rule. It was all accrued in the current year, and she wants to take it in that same year, (ending 31.3.2103). that is why I am now faced with the problem.

Trust me I’ve thought of every angle to it. Again my view is generally to pay unto Caesars what is caesars and if she is entitled to it then so be it. What I’m having a rantette about is that it just doesn’t make any logical sense. Like I say, maternity leave – is leave surely or otherwise why not call it something else? So having had a years leave, how come there is more to come and why is it funded differently? Surely if there is an argument for state funding for maternity leave, then there is an argument for all of it to be funded?