Skinnyman

'Ere, I wanna terr yew a stowry..... My grandma's favourite.

Which is put under even more pressure when real people start to be replaced by robot pickers, software algorithms, delivery drones and the like. Robots don't pay tax so the more that jobs are de-skilled or even replaced altogether, the less income the government has.

Always happy to help 😁

They can - but it would cost more than they’d get back. You need the economies of scale for it to work. If a company (A) is in a high tax area (the UK, say), the basic trick is to set up a parent (B) in a low-tax area (Dublin, Luxembourg?) and cross-charge A lots of fees for Head Office services such as HR or PR or whatever. You make all of A’s departments cost centres with all the revenue going to the Parent entity. You can also have B load up A with a pile of debt that has to be serviced with interest charges. All these “costs” reduce the profits of the subsidiary so they pay less tax at the high rate while B makes more profit on which they pay tax at a much, much lower rate. There’s lots of other stunts and many variations on this theme but, as I understand it from someone who set up a Cayman Islands/Dublin/London-based structure to minimise corporation tax, that’s the general approach....

I have no problem with Amazon setting up their corporate structure in such a way that they can have their different corporate entities lend each other money and thus move their profits to the most advantageous (to them) tax jurisdiction. Them’s the rules and if they’re not breaking the law then we should lobby to change the law rather than single out the Companies who use it to their advantage. My gripe is with their employment practice. They’re not the only or worst offenders but that doesn’t mean they’re a decent company to work for. I recommend reading “Hired: 6 months working undercover in low-wage Britain” by James Bloodworth for a compelling and accurate insight into the various strategies that such companies use. I don’t subscribe to his political views but I can attest to a lot of what he says from close personal experience.

Er...... There on the stair. Where on the stair? Right there! A little mouse with clogs on. WTF? (Must stop eating those brownies......)

And yet he speaks so highly of you. We were chatting in bed the other morning and he said "Fwar, fwar, er, that Teebs, fine chap, Victor Ludorum, semper wotsit, no a little higher, yes, Teebs, sound fellah, fwar, fwar" Honest, not a word of a lie....

Now then, Young Teebs. No politics, remember.... Tsk, tsk.

"Fwar, fwar. All right, Teebs, mate. You can let me down now......Hey, Ricky, I can see your house from here, fwar, fwar."

That makes much more sense.....thank you!

The Flashing Blade, Belle and Sebastian.....

Ooh, Young Teebs won't care for that. Unless, of course, you consider Manchester to be just the top bit of the Midlands and the North to start properly somewhere around Newcastle, ha-way the lads, like, why-aye pet, hinny-man, na-thin....?

Alas, i fear I'll be grazing my nuckles on the inside of my coffin lid by the time the post becomes vacant. Plus, I suspect that in these more enlightened times the Powers That Be would prefer to appoint someone more relevant to today's society than an ageing reprobate like myself. My guess is that it will be that Diseased Rascal chappy (I may have misheard his name but you'll know the one i mean. Stocky cove, fond of hats, appropriately enough....)

I let these little fellas do the talking for me....

Didn't Dr Seuss write a book about all this ...and then something went BUMP! how that bump made us jump! we looked! then we saw him step in on the mat! we looked! and we saw him! the prat in the hat! and he said to us, 'why do you sit there like that?' 'i know it is wet and the sun is not sunny. but we can have lots of good fun that is funny!' "Just look at my bass It's a Fender you know, And tell me it's ace And not just for show If I play you a song You can all sing along But cover your ears When i get it all wrong" And there on the mat With his ludicrous hat There stood the prat The prat in the hat With a smile on his face As he played on his bass The children all applauded the prat And threw coins in his hat Where it lay on the mat And they shouted and shouted And all sang along Till the prat in the hat had ended the song "You should be on telly, On one of the Beebs, Oh please play some more, On your bass, Mr Teebs" But the prat was tired His hat was too tight So the prat in the hat Bade the children good night. And off he went with a swish of his hat That marvellous hat On the head of a prat.

No. What he needs is a bag...... 😁

Gets my vote then! Come on, vote Sombrero!!

Which is perfectly fine and whilst I’m sure the blog is excellent, I for one would respect your wishes to let “I was Hitler’s Bassist” become a thing of fond and distant memory. But there is definitely a clamour for more of the Del Var wit and wisdom. Your many contributions to this forum are, I think it’s safe to say, universally welcomed and appreciated - but is there not an opportunity for you to free yourself from forum constraints and give your imaginings full reign with an occasional series of blog articles? A view from the porch, as it were. The bass-based equivalent of A Letter From America. Or just the collected memoirs of one who used to run a burger van with one of the most influential figures of the era? Then, when you have enough material, gather it into a book and chuck it on Amazon to make a few quid like the rest of us.

And then you look around you at your fellow musicians and discover a policeman, construction worker, naval rating and a cowboy on stage with you. Bad things come from bad hat choices. Some people can wear hats, some can't. Some could stick a plant pot on their head and look cool, trendy and sophisticated. Others (and i count myself among them) could wear the coolest of cool hats while stood in a fridge in the middle of December and still look like a pillock. Every hat I've ever worn has managed the trick of looking embarrassed to have me stuck to its a£se. So, listen to Del Var's sagacity and wisdom, heed his advice, take his words and hold them to your bosom like the cherished pearls they truly are - but be prepared to accept that, regrettably, The Hat may be for others to bear and not for you....

You're looking well, Ricky. That hairstyle suits you

You could buy a new one.... http://www.speakergrills.co.uk/ Or, as you're a tightwad according to your original post, just live with the dents. If the grill is still doing its job of protecting the cone why bother? In fact, why not 'relic' it? Stencil band name of your choice on it and then rub the stencil till it looks faded. Stickers, peeled and torn off. You know the kind of thing... Hey, people do it to very expensive guitars so why not amps, cabs and combos?

What you two get up to in the privacy of your own bedroom is your business..... I'm sort of surprised she lets you though...... Odd woman. 😮

You don’t realise he’s a soul singer until his Bill Withers...... (20-odd years I’ve been waiting to get that joke legitimately into a conversation. Twenty-odd years. My life mission is now complete)

It was the duck I felt sorry for .

This is also a tactic that has been used for years by people (and developers) buying houses near motor racing circuits and then bringing actions about the noise. Croft, Donington, Mallory Park, Oulton Park - all had similar complaints and forced to introduce noise restrictions, cut down on race days, testing, etc. Again, did you not notice the signs when you bought your house near to the racing circuit?