Guided Missile

I flew to Abidjan in 1988 on BA. They used to serve Abidjan back when majority of their African flights were from London Gatwick. Flights were twice weekly. (BA078/079 - DC-10 - LGW-ABJ-LGW Su/Mo)

I spent a week in the jungle of the Ivory Coast, working on a project to try and eradicate river blindness. At the start of the trip, within 30 minutes of leaving the airport, our car was stopped by Government troops, who "asked" for $50 so that they could get a bus back to their headquarters. After a week by a river, at the end of a 5 mile dirt track, eating fish stew and being bittien by the flies we were trying to control, flying in helicopters alond the river rapids piloted by Vietnam vets who regaled me with the short life expectancy amongst the pilots who sprayed the rivers to control the fly larvae, I left for the return trip from Abidjan airport. On the way to the airport, I had plenty of time to witness a country in which human life has a price far lower than the west. Dead bodies lay by the roadside, unclaimed. Children begged for food at every traffic light, their blind elder brothers standing behind them with a hand on their shoulder. Eventually I fought past the crowds in the teeming third world airport and checked in for my flight. As I boarded the flight, I was greeted by a stewardess on the only British airline serving this hellhole. I slumped in my seat on this BA flight, already feeling like I was back in the UK and vowed, from that day on, that whenever I had a choice, I would "fly the flag". Employees come and go, but I use BA and don't find, in the long run, it is more expensive and it serves more airports than any of those that concentrate on that section of the population that travels for needless pleasure.

Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle's inspiration for Sherlock Holmes was Dr. Joseph Bell. Can it be, after all these years, that using a madman as a medium, Conan-Doyle is reminding us of this fact? What other clues is he leaving us? What is the significance of the invisible sheik? Why has a Greek imbecile taken over the football club, while a shadowy Asian lurks in the background? What do John W******d's tattoo's really say?

Arthur Conan-Doyle played in goal for Pompey... ...if only he was still around to figure out where all the money went. Caption Competition:

...classic film of our team "training" from 75 years ago. We weren't much better in a game as this demonstrates, but I can't help thinking that crowds were better, even though the standard was low and so were the wages... ...mind you, a few years, later in 1948, it all started going t!ts up, when the players made ridiculous demands. Watch this short piece to the end. We had the most contented players in the country, that season. I'm sure we still do...

....Rob Lloyd, the property developer who represents an unknown potential buyer of Portsmouth, said he did not expect his client to make an offer for the club until a Company Voluntary Arrangement had been agreed with creditors. Lloyd refused to respond to comments from Portsmouth's administrator, Andrew Andronikou, who questioned the authenticity of his interest. Lloyd says his client is still interested in buying the club. "We're still cracking on," he said, "but I don't think anything will happen until the CVA."... Pinnacle Mark II, by the look of things...

Anyone think that HMRC may have been following this thread?

I saw three of the Pompey team playing football with a hedgehog in Hyde Park, this morning. I was about to call the RSPCA, until the hedgehog went one nil up...

When is anyone going to realise that the issue is no longer the parties, but the policies and there is only one issue that requires a strong policy and that is the massive debts run up under Labour? All of the parties agree that cuts will have to be made in public spending. The only argument is when they have to be made. If we don't get this right, it is hardly going to be possible to finance the other policies that each party wants to enact after the next election. Watching Clegg and Brown, just demonstrates how much these two grubby, unprincipled politicians have learnt from the Mugabe school of "Holding on to Power". All their supporters can continue to sing along to their "Politics of Envy" tune, but I can foresee, if we allow their leaky boat to set sail, that we'll soon be printing £10,000 notes, that will fuel the fires, that will be burning on the barricades in London...

You only joined for the rum, bum and baccy...

I think I'll wait and see a direct quote from HMRC. The administrator said: "...the increase may be due to HMRC demanding revenue on image rights, which are usually paid to players' off-shore accounts. " We'll see, because I can't believe that they're not due a penalty or two from the taxman...

The law allows HMRC to reduce the penalty to take into account the nature and quality of any disclosure made to them. A number of issues emerge here. Firstly the legislation introduces the concept of ‘unprompted disclosure'. Basically this will happen if the taxpayer brings the error to HMRC's notice without HMRC being aware of it or having already started an inquiry. The law states that any other type of disclosure will be regarded as prompted and that will make a significant difference to the level of penalty. Disclosure does not just mean bringing the matter to HMRC's attention. Account will also be taken of the co-operation which is given to HMRC in quantifying the error and in providing access to records. Guidance in HMRC's manual suggests that the reduction to be made in the penalty will be greatest where: the original disclosure is full and complete and covers not only what the error was but how and why it arose; the taxpayer provides full co-operation in enabling the investigation to be concluded as quickly as possible; and the taxpayer allows HMRC access to records and documents without the need to resort to formal orders. HMRC will take these issues into account in determining the level of reduction which can be made to the maximum penalty. They are not allowed, however, to go below a minimum level which the law stipulates. These minimum levels are as follows: Nature of offence Max % Min unprompted Min prompted Careless action 30% 0% 15% Deliberate no concealment 70% 20% 35% Deliberate with concealment 100% 35% 50% It is very obvious that there is a significant effect in making a full unprompted disclosure. Even in prompted disclosure situations the level of co-operation will make a large difference to the ultimate penalty level. Assessing the penalty Basic procedure The law requires that a penalty should be formally assessed by HMRC. They have an important power to suspend some or all of any penalty which relates to careless action only. If they decide to do this, they can stipulate the period for which the penalty is suspended and can impose conditions on the taxpayer which must be complied with. At the end of the period HMRC will consider whether the taxpayer has met the conditions. If the conditions are satisfied then the penalty will be dropped. If they have not then the penalty can be imposed. HMRC are only likely to do this where they can set and measure the conditions to improve compliance. It is unlikely that they would agree to suspend a penalty in relation to a one-off item like a capital gain. Liability of an officer of a company The penalty provisions extend to situations in which a company becomes liable to a penalty and the inaccuracy arose as a result of the deliberate action of an officer of the company. In those circumstances HMRC can seek to recover some or all of the penalty from the officer personally. This approach is likely to be followed where it is clear that the officer may have gained personally from the deliberate inaccuracy or where the company is, or is likely to become insolvent and will not have funds to pay the penalty.

A back of the fag packet calculation leaves me thinking that this is how it may pan out. Chanrai's loan is deemed unsecured, thus total unsecured debt is £135M. HMRC is claiming £35M, which is 25.9% of the total. Is it possible that HMRC is going to say to the directors of PCFC that if the company can't pay them, then the directors (ie the gunrunners son) will have to and if they don't, they will vote against the CVA in 28 days time?

Ahem...one I posted earlier :

I would imagine that the prospective buyers are waiting to watch this program. I can't wait to see Tony Husbands hard hitting documentary, at the end of which, he laughs at some lame joke from Sally Taylor. Sally: "Thank you, Tony. I wonder if that's the last we see of John W******ds bell?" Tony: "I bet you'd love to see his bell end, Sally" Cue laughter and cut to the weather...

...I came across this remarkable video from Sweden, which shows that it is not only in Southampton, that our owner is worshipped...

I think that many of the creditors listed by the adminstrator could be deemed to be "connected creditors", who have failed to obtain valid security against the assets of PCFC Ltd. The importance of this distinction is, to repeat a mantra of mine, crucial in determining the ranking of the creditors and thus their place in the queue. Now, "unsecured connected creditors" rank just ahead of shareholders and behind the HMRC, in this queue. When it comes to the vote on the CVA, the following rules apply: At the meeting the creditors vote on the proposal and the proposal will be approved if a majority vote of 75% by value of the total value of creditors at the meeting (whether in person or by proxy) vote in favour. A second vote excluding connected creditors is taken and provided that not more than 50% of creditors vote against the proposal it is approved. I still believe that a winding up order is possible for PCFC, but would appreciate any comments from those more experienced in insolvency law than me...

The state we're in at the moment is purely down to the electorate who voted Tony Blair and Labour into power and kept them there. The medicine we will have to take is going to be the same as that which Thatcher had to prescribe when she got into power. Labour, at the time she was voted in, had made it's normal mess of the economy, allowing public spending to get out of control, cowtowing to the unions and had to go to the IMF, a la Greece, for a handout. Fast forward a few years and Labour managed to, yet again, screw up the economy, by a runaway increase in public spending, increasing the total outlay from 40.6% of to 53.4% of national income, an increase that was the largest in the world. Coupled with Gordon's genius in selling our gold at $250/oz and completely deregulating the banks, we are again at the door of going to the IMF again. Don't rule it out, because, like junkies, this country is addicted to a soft, large and flabby public sector, much of which is impossible to get rid of. With the majority of the electorate, now employed by the state, an organisation with a higher percentage of the population thus employed, than Stalin ever dreamed of, the best we can hope for is a watered down bunch of zeroes in a ruling coalition, all with less balls than Thatcher had and certainly not with enough to sort the mess out that Labour landed us with. So, my approach is to assume that we are doomed and make enough money over the next few years to avoid the need to rely on the Government for anything, because, thanks to the general public and the complete lack of stomach most of them have for public sector cuts, we are f***ed...

I have been reviewing the history of Southampton's strips and concluded that the crest that appears on many early team photographs is in fact the badge of the Hampshire FA and not that of the club. Regular HFK visitors will know that in the 1880s and 1890s, players picked for their county or national representative teams would often have the badges from these games stitched onto their club shirts. The photograph on the left comes from Chalk & Holley's excellent Saints: A Complete History of Southampton FC 1885-1987 and is the first known photograph of the team, then known as Southampton St Mary's YMA. It is interesting to note that some players have the sash sewn into their shirts running from left to right while others have it going from right to left, which is typical of the lack of standardisation in this period, when players provided their own shirts. Rumour has it that the club will wear shirts based on this design in 2010-11, their 125th anniversary. Anyone else started growing a moustache in preparation for our anniversary? I have and look forward to buying the shirt to go with it. As the above extract shows, an excellent look. PS. Duncan, you must know something about the shirt...

Bigot stands for Brown is going on Thursday...

I could, but then I'd have to kill you...

The truth of what happened to HMS Conquerors logbook involved a little bit more than a shredder. It involves an Argentinian spy, MI6, a burglary and a murder, all covered up by the government. Let's just say the document was recovered...

... there is joy in the presence of the angels of God, over one sinner that repenteth...Luke 15:10

Separate the past owners/managers/players/hangers on etc. from the ordinary fans for a second. I know plenty of Pompey fans and most of them are just like us. Good blokes wanting the best for their club and are blameless in this sh !t storm. Many collecting money they can't afford, for the charities that suffered at the hands of outsiders. I hope they get out of this so that one day we can live in harmony... ...like we did once.

Fear is the path of the dark side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering...beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side... easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will...