How to buy a Policy: Aunties “personal service” non employees: High living on Mont Blanc: Zombie proof motor: Paint your lawn: and The poisonous Moon.

Yet again we have sunny/cloudy, wet/dry, warm/cold, calm and atmospheric movement at the Castle this morn, late again-I overslept and his Maj was waiting at his rear exit with his legs crossed.

The interweb thingy has perked up a bit this day-sort of so I decided to give the laptop a good “seeing to” and managed to rip orf the ‘pause’ and ‘print screen’ buttons from the keyboard, which of course won’t go back on, that’ll teach me....

Up in the smoke

Allegedly ‘The City’ spent £93 million lobbying the Piss Poor Policies Millionaires Club Coalition last year according to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ).

It seems that the lobbyists managed to cut the UKs corporation tax in Britain and duties on banks' overseas divisions, which TBIJ claim will save the sector – and deprive the Treasury – of billions of pounds.

And the "neutering of a national not-for-profit pension scheme launching in October that was supposed to benefit millions of low-paid and temporary workers"

Why am I not surprised....

Still in Olympic city

Auntie is being a tad naughty: in evidence to the Public Accounts Committee the BBC admitted that 148 of its 467 “on screen” presenters were paid through “personal service” firms rather than as ordinary employees.

Being paid in this fashion allows the employee to be taxed in part at the corporation tax rate of 21 per cent rather than pay as much as 50 per cent in income tax.

MPs said they had received evidence from one presenter who was told to charge the BBC through a company or take a pay cut.

The broadcaster said that “in light of public concern” it was now reviewing the number of its employees who were paid through these companies.

A breakdown submitted to the committee showed that some of the actors, presenters or musicians were paid more than £100,000 a year through personal service companies. Three of the performers received more than £150,000 annually. The broadcaster did not provide any names.

The news came as the corporation’s annual report disclosed that it pays 16 performers more than £500,000, including three who earn more than £1 million a year.

Nice to see our license fee being spent so carefully...

Right a bit to the land of big rocky things

Teetering 1,000ft above jagged rock faces on the approach to Mont Blanc in the Alps; this ultra-modern refuge is designed to be a lifesaver for weary rock climbers.

Built to withstand extreme weather conditions on Europe’s highest mountain, the red and white metal tube can sleep up to 12 mountaineers en route from the Italian side of the peak.

It includes wooden bunk beds, a kitchen, dining room, storage racks and a living room with stunning views.

The 100 square foot shelter is 9,000ft above sea level and half of it hangs over a ­terrifying drop.

It is “fastened securely” to the rock face using heavy-duty bolts.



Sod that....

Left a lot to the home of motors and the land of Zombies

Hyundai has come up with some new wheels with-spikes, armoured windows, a top hatch, a nice Zombie plough all designed to make your trip to the shops safe from the undead.



Spiffing, I could use one of those dahn Tesco’s….

Still in the land of hot weather and no water

An Indiana man said his lawn has stayed lush and green during the current dry weather due to his secret weapon: paint.

Timothy Birdwell of Indianapolis, an employee of Imperial Painting, said he and a friend came up with the idea to paint the grass when they were confronted with dry weather and a watering ban, WISH-TV, Indianapolis, reported Monday.

Birdwell said the paint, which is specially designed for grass, wills last two to three months.

"If it rains, the grass just grows," Birdwell said. "At that point, you can go out there and touch it up if need be. You can have that kind of yard all year round with no water bill from watering your yard."

Wonder if they have something to make lawns waterproof....

And finally:

According to ‘Scientists’

Any thought of living on the Moon has taken a bit of a knock because it is poisonous.

The surface of the moon is coated in a layer of thick, undisturbed dust, which is not only ultra-fine - and therefore easy to inhale - but can increase the risk of various cancers, similar to breathing asbestos and volcanic ash.

Researchers from the University of Tennessee, referring to Neil Armstrong's first steps onto the moon, said: "The Apollo astronauts reported undesirable effects affecting the skin, eyes and airways that could be related to exposure to the dust that had adhered to their space suits during their extravehicular activities and was subsequently brought into their spacecraft."

Humans have only spent, at max, two or three days on the moon in total, and this time has often been spent in spaceships or airtight suits.

But with long-term exposure, the team says that inhalation would be harmful - even when wearing protective gear, as dust trails the astronauts back into living quarters.

Once inside the lungs the super-fine, sharp-edged lunar dust could health issues, affecting the respiratory and cardiovascular system, causing airway inflammation and increasing the risks of various cancers.

 

That’ll piss orf bearded Branson.

That’s it; I’m orf to have a look at UK science for free

And today’s thought:

Invisible 100 metres hurdles Olympics

Angus

Who’s who does a “U” at number 10: Water stressed Blighty: We don’t want to live forever: Stephen Hawking-no heaven: Pencil sharpener museum: and the Owl and the Pussycat.

Quite sunny, warmish, calmish and still dry at the Castle this morn, no rain again for more than a couple of days, the lawn is reverting to a nice brown colour and the twice daily wetting of the pots, wall boxes and the borders continues.

The kitchen is overflowing with non computers and the new resident is settling in nicely.

Up in the house of horrors

Correspondence from Downing Street officials will no longer be signed with fake names, U-Turn Cam has said.

The policy change follows a complaint from Labour MP Sir Gerald Kaufman after he received a letter signed by "Mrs E Adams", only to be told it was a computer-generated pseudonym.

The use of false names on letters from No 10 began in 2005 in response to a security threat.

But the prime minister said this would "no longer" be the case.

In the Commons last week, Sir Gerald revealed how he had written to Mr Cameron at the request of a constituent and received a reply from 10 Downing Street signed "Mrs E Adams, direct communications unit".

In a written reply, the prime minister said: "Correspondence was handled under arrangements put in place in 2005 when on security advice, following an incident in which a member of staff was personally targeted and threatened; members of staff were advised not to use their names.

"After review this approach will no longer be used."

The non anonymous Gov.

Drought on the way

Caroline Spelman said that water companies’ drought preparations are being reviewed as several areas of the country are already “water stressed”.

She met with farm leaders yesterday who have warned the Government that this year’s food harvest will be earlier and the yield lower. The situation could force up food prices even higher, farming experts warned, with the price of vegetables particularly likely to be affected later this year.

According to the latest inflation figures from the Office for National Statistics, food prices are already 4 per cent higher than a year ago.

England and Wales has recorded the lowest rainfall in March and April since 1938 with the warmest spring in centuries. The water levels in some rivers are already being compared to those during the record drought of 1976.

In some eastern counties just 5mm of water has fallen since the end of February.

Last night, Mrs Spelman admitted that the dry weather has caused “irreversible” damage on agriculture but insisted “we don’t have a drought yet”.

But that won’t stop “Them” from putting the prices up.             

Four score years and ten

Only 15% of people would like to live forever and just 9% would like to live to more than 100, according to new research.

The most common age at which people would like to die is aged 81-90 (27%), with younger people more likely than older people to want to live forever, the study found.

Although most people think that talking about death is less of a taboo than it was 20 years ago, two thirds agree that people in Britain are uncomfortable discussing dying and death, the research commissioned by the Dying Matters Coalition found.

OH shit! Another thirty years to go……..

And according to Mr S Hawking

Heaven is a “fairy story for people afraid of the dark”.

The 69 year-old physicist, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease at the age of 21, insisted that he is “not afraid of death”.

Shortly after being diagnosed with the incurable illness many expected the author of A Brief History of Time to die.

But he said it has instead led him to enjoy life more.

In an interview with The Guardian, ahead of key note speech on Tuesday, Prof Hawking discusses his thoughts on death.

He rejected the idea of life beyond death and emphasised, what he described as the need to fulfil our potential on Earth by making good use of our lives.

 

Easy for him to say, he sits about on his arse all day.

Over to Ohio

Tourism officials in the United States have made a display out of the thousands of pencil sharpeners collected by an Ohio minister who died last year.

The Reverend Paul Johnson kept his collection of 3400 sharpeners in a small shed he called his museum.

He started it after his wife gave him a few sharpeners as a gift in the late 1980s. He kept them organised in categories, including cats, Christmas and Disneyland. 

Can’t wait to visit that….. 

And finally:

Another YouTube snippet.

That’s it: I’m orf to study some Tarantulas-with a rolled up newspaper.

And today’s thought: "The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any" - Alice Walker. 

Angus