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Welcome To Nonington
Are you a new resident?
Royal Oak Pub
Nonington Village Hall
Nonington Village Entertainments
Parish Church of St Mary
Baptist Chapel
Nonington In Bloom
Archive 2017/2018
Gardening Club (2)
The Friends of Nonington Church
The 2019 Art Show
OPEN GARDENS 2019
Monthly Reports 2017/8
Nonington Garden Club held its first ever Spring Show on 25th March 2017. The event was open to everybody and it was very pleasing to see a good number of new faces amongst the many visitors and members.
There were various classes to enter beside Spring Flowers, such as Garden Photographs, Cakes, Sloe gin and a 'Garden on a Plate' category for children, so there was something to suit most people. The total number of entries was 198 which was very impressive for a first Show.
Certificates for the Best Exhibit in each class were presented by Peter Hobbs. Steph and Rob Orridge were the winners of Section 1 with the Best Small Cup Daffodils, Cheryl Henley won Section 2 with her Arrangement of Spring Flowers in a Cup and Saucer and Andy Kennedy produced the best Sloe Gin in Section 3. Juliette Matharu was first in the Children's Category with her Garden on a Plate.
Present at the Show was the President of the of the East Kent Federation of Horticultural Societies, Mr Dennis Vickers who said that he was very impressed with all the Exhibits and hoped that this was the first of many Spring Shows that the Club would host.
Visitors also enjoyed teas, sandwiches and cakes and a raffle. Nonington Garden Club meets on the second Wednesday of the month in the Village Hall and new members will be made very welcome. Please contact the Chairman Barry Rampton on 01304 849112 if you would like more information.
Nonington Garden Club celebrated its 3rd birthday on 12 April 2017 in the Village Hall.
The Chairman opened the AGM by thanking all the members who have made the Garden Club such an enjoyable and thriving monthly event. All the existing Committee Members will serve for another year apart from Ian Williams who has sadly had to retire for health reasons. Ian is a founding member of the club and was a Vice-Chairman and his contribution to the success of the club is greatly appreciated. One new member, Carol Goodall was welcomed onto the Committee.
The Treasurer gave her report stating that the club had 60 members and enjoyed a successful year.
The Secretary reported that the club had a full programme of speakers for the coming year.
The first Spring Show in March was a great success and photos were shown as some members were unable to attend on the day.
Wine and nibbles were enjoyed with a quick fire quiz.
The next meeting will be on 10 May and the Speaker will be Steve Edney on the Salutation Garden at Sandwich. Please bring 'an arrangement of flowers in a wine glass' for the monthly competition. Last year's competition was won by Pauline Hales who received a gardening gift voucher.
For further information on the club please contact The Chairman Barry Rampton on 01304 849112
Nonington Garden Club held its meeting on the 10th May and commenced with a Minute's Silence for Ian Williams, a founding member of the club who recently sadly passed away.
The Speaker was Steve Edney from the Salutation Garden at Sandwich. He spoke about the disastrous flooding of the gardens in December 2013 and the loss of thousands of plants and earthworms and fish in the pond. The positive effect from the disaster was the opportunity to replant large areas of the garden and redesign the layout for the greenhouses and other working areas.
The monthly competition was 'An Arrangement of Flowers in a Wine Glass' and was won by Corliss Danstead with a lovely selection of spring flowers.
Next month's meeting will be held on Wednesday 14th June and the speaker will be Mr Wiseman on 'Vegetables on a Small Scale'. The competition will be 'A Pot of 4 Herbs'.
Volunteers are also needed to help with the Open Garden Weekend on 24th and 25th June and donations of plants and cakes are also requested please.
June's Gardening Club meeting was very well attended to hear Robert Wiseman give a very informative talk on "Vegetables on a Small Scale".
Mr Wiseman showed members how easy it was to grow vegetables in pots, buckets, bags and raised beds. He certainly made the growing look very simple and informed members how economical it was to grow, for example, 4 lettuces every 2 weeks so that the salad the vegetables and salad foods were not wasted. He gave many tips on slug control, names of suitable varieties of suitable small vegetables and compost management.
July's meeting on the 19th a week later than usual will see a welcome return of Susan Scrivens from Saltwood talking about the Saltwood Summer The Orchid Foxglove, which she developed.
Nonington Garden Festival 24th 25th June 2017
The committee wish to thank all those who participated in the recent Garden Festival, which proved to have been a great success. The weather was kind and the village played host to visitors from far and wide as well as local residents and everyone appeared to have had a great time.
All the Open gardens were shown at their best and the Quilting and Crafts in the Village hall extolled the accomplishments of some of our talented residents. The Art in the Church echoed this as well. For those not into gardening or craft work a small exhibition of Classic Cars were exhibited near the church.
The greatest success though was that it brought the village together and engendered a great feeling of village community. This was by far the best outcome of the weekend. Long may it last.
It was also financially successful with just over £800 being raised, which will be divided between the Village Hall, Friends of Nonington Church and the Gardening Club.
Once again, many thanks to all those who helped to make the weekend so successful.
Now, please make a note in your diary for 2019 when we will again be holding a village Garden festival on Saturday and Sunday 22nd/23rd June from 11.00am until 5.00pm.
For those who would like to open their garden in 2019, you now have plenty of time to plan your exhibit.
The Chairman opened the meeting by saying how saddened we all were at the sudden loss of our Vice Chairman, Alan Palmer and our sympathies were sent to Ann and her family. He will be greatly missed by the Club.
This month at the Gardening Club, Susan Scrivens told members the fascinating story of the Orchid Foxglove. This plant was a mutation found in her garden and as it was so beautiful she thought that it should be cultivated. As the flower did not set seed, Mrs Scrivens explained the difficulties of producing plants in the numbers that the large garden nurseries wanted. This beautiful plant was finally grown by Hilliers Nurseries in the thousands but it did take 12 years to get to that stage.
Members were shown slides of all the processes until the Orchid Foxglove was, The Plant, at the Chelsea Flower Show. The Queen and the Royal Family, Famous Plantsmen and women and everyone else were really impressed with this special flower. However, the story had a sad ending with the plant dying out and now doesn't exist.
It was a truly enjoyable evening and everyone was spellbound as the story unfolded and sorry that it did not have a happy ending.
The winner of the monthly competition was Mary Bowden.
The next meeting will be on Wednesday September 13th at 7.30pm in Nonington Village Hall when the speaker will be Caroline Halfpenny talking about The Principles of Garden Design.
There will be no meeting in August.
Nonington Garden Club held its meeting on 13th September and was well
attended after the August break. Three new members were also
welcomed to the club.
The Speaker was Caroline Halfpenny who gave a very interesting talk on
'The Principles of Garden Design'. She showed photographs of various
famous gardens to get a feel for what sort of garden we enjoy and are
more likely to have ourselves. The main principles are harmony, rhythm,
balance, unity and style. Formal gardens have topiary, sculpture and
structure whereas informal ones are more casual with loose planting.
The monthly competition was a photo of 'an interesting garden structure'
and this was won by Pauline Hales with a photo of an obelisk with
Next month's meeting will be held on Wednesday 11thOctober and the
speaker will be Colin Moat on '50 Shades of Grey' which may be
different to what we imagine!
To 'tie in' with the talk the competition will be an 'Exhibit of Grey Foliage'
and please do not exceed a size of 24'' by 24'' by 24''.
Nonington Garden Club met as usual on the second Wednesday of the month on 11 October. Members enjoyed a talk, a raffle, a competition and some lovely tomato cake made by Barry and Barb Rampton.
The speaker was Colin Moat from Wrotham Heath on '50 Greys of Shade' giving us information on various plants that do well in shade. Plants can be bulbs or ground cover or long lasting ones depending on what effect you wish to achieve. He pointed out that white flowers are probably the best for display in shaded areas but there are lots of other colours available.
The monthly competition was an exhibit of grey foliage and there was a number of lovely entries with the first prize going to Janet Holness.
Next month's meeting will be held on Wednesday 8th November and the speaker will be Lucy Adams on 'The Gardens of Doddington Park', which was visited by members last year. The competition will be 'A Jar of Autumn Colour'
Members were reminded that there will be a Spring Show in March and that now is the time to be thinking about what you want to grow in time to exhibit at the show.
The Gardening Club's November 8th talk was presented by Lucy Adams, Head Gardener of Doddington Park. As the Club had visited the Park last year all the photographs and information were especially interesting.Lucy spoke about the gardening year at the Park, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter and told us about all the hard work involved in keeping the gardens to such a high standard. Members were all amazed that they plant 10,000 tulip bulbs every year and thousands of annuals and other plants. All this with one other full time gardener and a couple of part-timers.
All agreed that it was a very informative and enjoyable evening and Lucy was thanked by the Chairman.
The December meeting will be the Christmas Buffet and all members are really looking forward to it.
This year the Christmas Festivities were very relaxed with a fantastic buffet supplied by members. Members brains were tested with a table top quiz devised by Carol & Peter Goodall and to end the evening, members were led in a medaly of Christmas Carol singing by the chairman, Barry Rampton. Altogether, a very good start to the Christmas Season.
After a very short notice of cancellation from our arranged Speaker, due to unforseen circumstances, our Chairman, Barry Rampton came to the club's rescue.
Barry and his wife Barbara had lived on the side of a mountain in North Wales for 17 years and Barry showed members how they had gardened there. As the grounds were approximately five and a half acres and had lots of different areas eg bog garden, vegetable garden, Mill pond, river and bluebell woods and it was interesting to see how they had created these different areas.
Barry explained how bridges were made, walkways built from their own timber, plants planted in rocky ground and boggy areas cultivated.
All together it was a very enjoyable evening considering the talk had to be put together at such short notice and he was thank profusely by all the members.
Next month's Speaker on the 14th February will be Mr GT Francis talking on "The Vegetable Garden. The meetings are held in Nonington Village Hall at 7.30pm and new prospective members are always welcome
Nonington Garden Club met on a wet and very windy St Valentine's night and had an enjoyable evening nevertheless.
The speaker was Mr Francis from Aylesford and the topic was 'The Vegetable Garden' which was very interesting and he obviously enjoys growing vegetables for both showing and eating.
The monthly competition was 'Any Handicraft Item' which attracted a very large variety of items and it was very difficult for the judge to select the prize winners. Janet Craggy won first prize for her beautiful handmade waistcoat.
Next month's meeting will be held on Wednesday14 March and Dr Mick Lynn will be pondering on 'Which came first- the bee or the flower?', The competition will be a Vase of 3 Spring Flowers'
The Spring Show will be on Saturday 24 March at 2pm in the Village Hall and newcomers as well as members are welcome to exhibit. The Show was very enjoyable and successful last year and hopefully will be again this year. Please contact The Chairman and Show Organiser Barry Rampton on 01304 849112 if you would like more information on the show or joining the club.
Nonington Garden Club met on Wednesday 14 March and Dr Mick Lynn gave members an informative talk on 'Which came first- the bee or the flower?' which gave us new insight into the important role of pollination. He was very entertaining as he 'bumbled' his way into his beekeeping outfit and displayed his collection of soft toy bees!
The competition was a Vase of 3 Spring Flowers which was won by Cheryl. There will not be a competition at next month's meeting on Wednesday 11th April as it is the Annual General Meeting followed by a Members Evening. Drinks will be provided but please bring nibbles if you wish and your brains for the quiz!
Forthcoming visits include a trip to the Kent Garden Show at Detling in late May and a visit to a lovely private garden in Marshborough on 21 June.
Please contact The Chairman Barry Rampton on 01304 849112 if you would like more information on joining the club.
Spring Show Gallery
Nonington Garden Club Spring Show 2018
Nonington Garden Club held its second Spring Show on 24th March 2018, following on from last year's very successful event. The Show was well attended and supported by members and new faces who were very welcome.
The judge said 'the brilliant show' was very impressive as he had expected it may be cancelled due to the recent cold weather which meant that the usual flowers were not available. Despite the weather problems the show attracted 196 exhibits which was only 2 down from last year.
Certificates and trophies for the best exhibit in each class were presented by Brian Armstrong. The Chairman's Cup was awarded to Corliss Danstead for a lovely orchid, Cheryl Henley won the Vice Chairmen's Award for a beautiful basket of flowers and Pauline Hodding won the Nonington Garden Club Challenge Shield for her sloe gin. The Children's Category produced some delightful animals made out of vegetables and Edward, Oscar and Freya were the prize winners.
Visitors also enjoyed teas and a wide selection of homemade cakes and a raffle. Nonington Garden Club meets on the second Wednesday of the month in the Village Hall and new members will be made very welcome. Please contact the Chairman Barry Rampton on 01304 849112 if you would like more information.
Nonington Garden Club celebrated its 4th birthday on 11 April 2018 in the Village Hall.
The Chairman opened the AGM by remembering Ian Williams and Alan Palmer, two founding members of the Club who sadly passed away during the year. All the existing Committee Members will serve for another year and were thanked for their continuing hard work. Several new members were welcomed to the club as well.
There was a very successful Garden Festival in June 2017 and a slide show of lovely plants and flowers from the recent Spring Show was shown. Forthcoming events include trips to local private gardens.
The Treasurer's report said that the club membership remains the same at around 60 members and had enjoyed a successful year.
The Secretary reported that the club had a full programme of speakers for the coming year. Some of the speakers have visited before as the list of local speakers has now been exhausted, so if you know of any other speakers please let the club know.
Wine and nibbles were enjoyed with a quiz which provided a lot of hilarity.
The next meeting will be on 9th May and the Speaker will be Sue Buckingham talking about 'The Thrill of Wild Orchids' and if you have an indoor orchid plant please bring it along for the monthly competition. The overall winner of the monthly competitions was Pauline Hales with Janet Holness and Pauline Hodding in second and third places. They each won a garden voucher.
© Nonington Village Website


This week we have: Tom Drake from MapleMoney!
I was so excited to have Tom volunteer to participate in the Wins and Losses Series. As you'll read below, he's been doing this blogging thing for 10-years!! Thats like 52.5 blogging years (when converted) and I can't wait to share his wisdom and experience with you! But more than blogging, he's been making financial decisions, evaluating the results of those decisions, and writing about the process for a decade. He's full of tremendous insights… So let's get to it. Take it away, Tom!
My name is Tom Drake, and in my real life, I'm a financial analyst. However, I've also been writing about money on the internet for 10 years. My blog, MapleMoney, is all about helping you set and reach financial goals so you can live the life YOU want. I like to help people define their own success — and then reach it.
My job as a financial analyst and my time in the PF blogging trenches have allowed me to learn a lot about myself and about the kinds of mistakes we make. I've made my share of money mistakes, and had some wins, too. I hope my experiences can help you learn something valuable — without the need to learn it the hard way.
My losses have a lot to do with poor planning, impulsivity, and credit cards. It's a common tale, I know, but I also learned some valuable lessons. I also learned how to turn a loss into a win with credit cards, but more on that later.
My first big loss was using credit cards without fully understanding them — or being ready for the responsibility.
I applied for my first credit card in college. And what made me apply? The credit card had a picture of my school on it so I figure that's what you're supposed to get. I didn't realize there were better options out there. After getting approved, I decided to keep my good fortune rolling, and I applied for another credit card. This one came with an Oilers t-shirt. I was declined for an account, but I got to keep the shirt.
The problem with all of this was that it was too easy for me to apply for credit cards, and then, if I got them, run up balances. To a young mind, it doesn't really occur to you that this isn't your money. It feels like you have money, when in fact you're using someone else's money — and you have to repay it with interest.
This whole credit card situation led me into my second big loser move: buying too much crap.
Having credit cards, and even student loans during college, meant that I had what felt like a ton of disposable income. Of course, it wasn't real income. But the refunds from my student loans and the credit card limits made me feel rich.
So I spent the same way I thought rich people did.
I bought hundreds of CDs, DVDs, and video games. In fact, I paid more than $1,000 for one of the first DVD players when they came out in 1998. To me, buying things, and being able to say I was the first with all these gadgets, felt like winning. In fact, I was just piling up a bunch of stuff.
In the end, I looked around and realized that I'd wasted a lot of money trying to feel good about how cool I was. After a while, that DVD player dropped dramatically in price. I could have spent much, much less, just by waiting a few months.
I also discovered that interest is a real pain in the pocketbook. When buying a bunch of stuff on credit, the thrill wears off and you're stuck with things you don't care about that much, and people aren't as impressed as you wanted them to be. Plus, now you're in debt and you have to pay back more than you spent in the first place.
Rich people aren't what we think of as rich. There's a reason that the number one car amongst millionaires is a Toyota. People who live comfortably live that way because they understand their values — and they know that the key to wealth is smart spending and investing in long-term assets.
My CD collection is next to worthless right now. However, my stock portfolio is helping me build a better future. By reviewing my values, and understanding what really matters to me, I was able to shift what I was spending on the latest gadgets to investing in my future.
Do I enjoy my theatre room downstairs and a good movie? Sure! But now I save up for the things I want and pay for them upfront, as part of my smart spending strategy — after I've taken care of goals like retirement.
The good news is that I've learned from my mistakes, and now I have some solid wins that have helped me make the most of my money.
My first big win was learning how to use credit cards to my advantage. After losing out because I didn't understand how to use credit cards as a tool, it changed the game.
Now, I use credit cards as part of my budgeting. I know how much I spend on things like groceries and bills, and I incorporate it into my credit card strategy.
Basically, I put what I can on rewards credit cards. However, I only spend what I can afford and what's already planned. No using rewards as an excuse to buy something extra and expensive!
Thanks to my smarter credit card strategy, I've been able to redeem points for things like free travel and cash back. I also pay off my credit card balances each month so I'm not accruing interest. That way, my regular, planned, everyday budget actually helps me save even more money in the long run as I get free plane tickets and cash back.
I also learned how to make the most of my investing. In the past, I'd been using high-MER active mutual funds. Fees were eating away at my returns. So I switched to index funds and low-cost ETFs. Pretty soon, I saw better performance in my portfolio, and I got to keep more of my gains because they weren't being siphoned away by fees.
Here in Canada, we have a lot of great tax-advantaged options when it comes to investing, so I chose low-cost funds to be held in these accounts. In fact, I've discovered that robo-advisors are pretty much the simplest way to invest these days. I've put my investing on automatic, and my portfolio is doing better than ever.
In the end, the main takeaway is looking at your money as a tool to help you achieve your lifestyle and financial goals. With a smart strategy and your goals in mind, you can spend and invest money in a way that works for you.
I was able to turn my credit card use around by stopping the mindless spending and really focusing on what I wanted from a credit card. And, I was able to take my long-term wealth-building goals to the next level by changing my approach to low-cost funds with a little help from a robo-advisor.
Figure out what you want your money to accomplish, and then create a plan around what it takes to make it happen. I've done it with a combination of smart credit card spending and long-term investing tweaks. How are you using money to reach your goals?
Have you made any similar credit card mistakes? I remember those school-sponsored cards during my orientation in college, and the folks pushing the cards and t-shirts didn't also hand out a pamphlet outlining interest rates and the potential negative results of using cards… Where do you stand? Let us know in the comments below!
Client #1 eliminated all credit card debt – AGAIN – and finally feels free!


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16 million without insurance aca aca repeal ACA replacement affordable care act bob casey CBO CBO score chuck schumer conference committee congressional budget office death spiral defunding Planned Parenthood Donald Trump employer mandate fox & friends health care health insurance healthcare individual mandate john mccain lisa murkowski medicaid mitch mcconnell motion to proceed obamacare obamacare repeal obamacare replacement pt Holy Shit We Expected To Be Writing A Sad Story But We Are Writing A Happy One reconciliation Republican moderates sara benincasa secret bill senate republican healthcare bill senate republicans senate rules Skinny repeal susan collins the new cruelty U.S. Senate video women womyn youtube
BULLET DODGED
Senator McConnell's speech was less than gracious
You can breathe again, folks. Especially if you rely on Medicaid to help you with it. The Republicans' attempt to gut the Affordable Care Act is finally dead, for real this time, at least until the next time they get a hair up their butts. The Senate voted 51-49 to reject the "Skinny Repeal" of Obamacare, with John McCain joining Maine's Susan Collins, Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, and Everwhere's Democratic senators in voting against the bill. Donald Trump was not pleased:
Health Sec Tom Price Already Lobotomizing Obamacare, Don't Worry You Won't Feel A Thing
The anti-Obamacare propaganda is coming from INSIDE THE HHS!
Obamacare Still Lumbering Along, At Least Until Trump Stabs It In The Face To Death (Some More)
Hooray, Obamacare is still alive! Say, who's that in the hockey mask with the weird hair?
Given that Trump's involvement in crafting the legislation consisted of sitting around and saying he was waiting to sign something, anything, that imperative, "Watch!" seems entirely apt, although now the fight to preserve the ACA will mean opposing, loudly, Trump's far more active efforts to undermine the program from inside, using all sorts of administrative fuckery to push the individual markets toward failure. This fight isn't over. We're still going to have to make a lot of noise, people.
Speaking of noise, let's take a quick look at how the crowd waiting outside the Capitol reacted to the news that the repeal had failed. They were ready to protest, but here they are, getting a hell of a nice surprise:
Here's the moment the crowd outside the Capitol learned Republicans didn't have the votes. pic.twitter.com/vawKkdygoY
— Emma Roller (@emmaroller) July 28, 2017
The bill that was actually voted on was cobbled together at the last minute and brought to the Senate floor only at 10 PM, after which there were two hours of debate on the mess before a vote. Pennsylvania Democrat Bob Casey offered this summary of the Republicans' years of hard work at repealing and replacing the ACA:
Here's The Skinny On Republicans' Bullshit 'Skinny Repeal'
The 'skinny repeal' is every bit as awful as all the other attempts to kill Obamacare. Who'd have guessed?
McCain, Graham, And Ron Johnson Just STRAIGHT-TALK-EXPRESSED All Over Your FACE
BRB, RAGE STROKING.
It was a very hollow repeal that would have done enormous damage, eliminating the individual and employer mandates, defunding Planned Parenthood for a year, and otherwise fiddling around the edges of healthcare. It was an abomination of a bill, designed mostly to get enough votes to move the process to a conference committee with the House, and to allow Senate Republicans cover to say they'd voted to repeal Obamacare just like they promised. The most maddening thing about the whole surreal process was that most Republicans agreed it was terrible as legislation, then said they'd go right ahead and vote for it just as long as the House pinky-swore not to pass it. If it had passed, it would have led to 16 million Americans losing healthcare just next year and premium increases of an average of 20 percent in the individual market. (That average masks increases for old people of up to 700 percent.) Repealing the mandate for healthy people to have health insurance would have led to a "death spiral" in the insurance market as mostly people needing healthcare were enrolled, at least until prices went so high they were priced out.
The vote on the bill was supposed to take place at midnight in Washington, but was delayed until 1:30 Friday morning as Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tried to make sure he had 50 votes. Vice President Mike Pence was on hand to pass the triumphant tie-breaker, but his services ended up not being needed. John McCain actually followed through on his nice speech about the need to return to regular order, joining Collins and Murkowsi in voting "no." During the delay before the vote, everyone on Twitter turned into an amateur body language expert, trying to figure out the significance of Pence talking to McCain, then McCain ambling over to huddle with Murkowski and Collins, and then with -- oh, horrors! -- Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and a suspicious number of Democrats.
So, we guess John McCain doesn't have to go fuck himself after all: He did the right thing, finally, although he could have done it Tuesday night. We won't pretend we're experts on the Senate's weirdass rules -- maybe this was his plan all along, and a "no" on the actual bill had more finality than a "no" on Tuesday's motion to proceed? Or maybe he's just a fickle fucker. And then there's this line of analysis from the Washington Post, which certainly seems credible enough except for that "maverick" cliché:
Battling an aggressive form of brain cancer, the maverick was willing to vote "no" on the "skinny repeal" amendment so that other GOP colleagues who were also opposed to the measure could vote "yes" to save face with the conservative base. To this day, Trump has never apologized for saying that the former fighter pilot was not a war hero because he got captured in Vietnam. It gets less attention, but the president also besmirched the Arizona senator's character by repeatedly accusing him of not taking care of other veterans. McCain has never forgotten.
Team Trump Tells Lisa Murkowski To Rub The Repeal On Obamacare, Or Alaska Gets The Hose
Oh, look. Now the government is running like a protection racket.
Of course, in his statement on his vote, McCain still lied about the passage of the ACA, insisting "it was rammed through Congress by Democrats on a strict-party line basis without a single Republican vote," never mind the 161 Republican amendments or the year of hearings. So yeah, John McCain did the right thing finally, good on him. And Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski were out there opposing this trainwreck all along, and somehow their own courage -- particularly Murkowski's, who had to face Trump's threat to federal funding for her state -- was elided by most of the media so McCain could get credit as the "hero." Sounds like a lot of offices out there, huh?
Anyway, Mitch McConnell gave a big fakey-fake speech about how mean the Dems were for not even helping the least little bit to kill off healthcare for millions, and he glared some at Collins, Murkowski, and McCain, and was pretty much all boo-hoo, poor me, the people we excluded from our murder party didn't want to do murder, well fine, let's see what they're going to do to fix this mess once they're done celebrating. Also, he said this:
McConnell says GOP spent "endless time" crafting bill.
"A disappointment. A disappointment indeed," he repeats. pic.twitter.com/NUib1IPERU
— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) July 28, 2017
Yes, he thanked Republicans for the "endless time" they put into killing Obamacare. As one smartass on Twitter replied, "They wrote the 8 page bill over lunch yesterday. They spent "endless time" like I spend "endless time" making myself a fancy sandwich."
Then Chuck Schumer said Democrats weren't so much elated as relieved, and you know, Dems actually have some ideas for fixing problems with the ACA, which just like Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security is a big program that helps a lot of people, but needs some fixes to live up to its potential. So how about we stop trying to kill it and actually make healthcare work, maybe? It's a crazy idea, but after eight years of inaction and obstruction, it might be worth a shot.
"Fox and Friends" was not at all happy about this terrible outcome, with insurance working like insurance should, and -- egad! -- Democrats actually taking selfies when they should all be ashamed of themselves:
Fox & Friends are very mad about Democratic senators taking selfies after the health bill went down. pic.twitter.com/yNuqb885MV
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) July 28, 2017
Dumbass Paul Ryan Ain't Even Know How 'Health Insurance' Works, Is Dumbass
He really should just shut up and look pretty.
Best clueless outrage in that clip: "I laugh, too, that these young people are out there celebrating [...] Congratulations, the healthy people are paying for the sick people." Why, yes. That is the precise idea with health insurance, you idiot. It's why your car insurance doesn't really reflect the full cost of replacing a totaled Audi.
So let's have a moment of relief before we get to work on making sure the bastards don't try this again. We'll let Wonkette alum Sara Benincasa give the benediction:
Amen. Now go in peace, and be ready to raise more hell. We've got a couple of houses of Congress to work on for 2018.
Yr Wonkette is supported by reader donations. This shitstorm ain't over, so please click that "Donate" clicky and keep RESISTing!
[NYT / WaPo / Business Insider / WaPo]

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Good growth in Financial Services, disappointing Product performance in a challenging market.
"Whereas much progress has been made transforming the business into an online retailer, we have not yet achieved the growth in product or international that we would have hoped for and have decided to rebase the dividend to a more sustainable level from which we will seek to grow.
"We are now in the process of searching for a new Chief Executive to take the Group forward through the next phase of its development. In the meantime, we are pleased that Steve Johnson will lead the business. We have a strong base on which to build. Over three-quarters of our product revenue is now online and we have industry leading expertise in fashion that fits. This is supported by a strong financial services business. Our goal of becoming a world class digital retailer remains unchanged."
"The Group's adjusted profit was in line with our expectations as we benefited from growth in our online Power Brands and Financial Services, along with improved marketing efficiency. We were however disappointed with our wider product performance which was impacted by the ongoing decline of our legacy offline business and challenging market conditions.
"Going forward we expect offline sales to continue to fall as we focus on online Power Brand growth. While this will hold back revenue in the short term, there are opportunities to drive profit particularly through improved efficiency, as the business further shifts online, and we accelerate the use of analytics to increase returns on our promotional spend."
"While first half trends seen in our product business are continuing into the second half, the positive outlook for Financial Services and scope for further efficiencies mean that our full year expectations are unchanged."
Management is hosting a presentation for analysts and investors at 10.15 am today. Please contact Nbrown@mhpc.com for further information. A live webcast of the presentation will be available at: www.nbrown.co.uk.
Group revenue in the first half increased by 1.0% to £457.8m, with Q2 up by 1.5% compared to an increase in Q1 of 0.4%, driven primarily by a strong performance in Financial Services.
Product revenue excluding stores, which have all now closed, decreased 3.1% to £304.5m. While recognising that this was a disappointing performance, it reflects the challenging market conditions in fashion retail, ongoing headwind from the migrated Fifty Plus customers onto JD Williams and the decline in the Group's offline business. Product revenue including stores was down 3.7% to £311.4m.
Our three Power Brands (JD Williams, Simply Be and Jacamo) continued to outperform the rest of the Group, with revenue up by 1.8% excluding stores. In line with our growth strategy Power Brands now account for 58% of Product revenue.
Simply Be was again the Group's best performer, recording good revenue growth of 8.0% excluding stores. JD Williams decreased by 3.1% but was up by 7.5% excluding Fifty Plus. Given that the migration of Fifty Plus customers onto the JD Williams brand commenced in the middle of the prior year, we expect this headwind to soften during the second half of FY19. Jacamo was ahead by 2.7% excluding stores. Revenues from Secondary (excl. stores) and Traditional brands were down 6.9% and 11.2% respectively as the Group's focus continued to shift to its priority Power Brands.
Our transformation to a leading online retailer continues at pace, with digital sales now accounting for 77% of Product revenue, compared to 71% in H1 FY18. Online revenue grew by 3.8% in the first half and was ahead by 8.6% for our Power Brands. Offline revenue decreased by 22.4% as the Group continued to shift its focus to its growing online business.
The Group's gross margin decreased by 60bps to 54.2% reflecting the decline in Product gross margin, which also fell by 60bps to 53.4% as we decided to invest more of our marketing expenditure in promotional activity. This reduced gross margin was counterbalanced by lower marketing costs, which decreased by 4.3%.
Financial Services performed strongly with revenue ahead by 12.7% to £146.4m, as we benefited from increased interest received from the Group's growing customer loan book. Gross margin was down 50bps, to 56.0% due to our requirement under IFRS9 to make a provision against every credit customer, including those that are trading normally.
The Group has kept a tight control on operating costs in the first half, which decreased as planned by 1.5% to £196.3m, principally driven by the reduction in marketing costs. Warehouse and fulfilment costs were marginally down, by 0.3%, and while admin & payroll increased slightly, by 1.3%, this was less than the rate of inflation. As a result, adjusted EBITDA increased by 6.1% to £52.0m. As anticipated depreciation and amortisation increased by 15.4% to £14.9m, reflecting our investment in IT systems. Adjusted operating profit was up by 2.8% to £37.1m and operating margin was ahead by 10bps to 8.1%.
As interest increased to £6.5m due to additional borrowings, adjusted profit before tax decreased by 5.0% to £30.6m and adjusted EPS was down by 4.6% to 8.37p. On a statutory basis the Group made a loss before tax for the half year of £27.1m due to exceptional costs of £65.4m.
As previously announced in its Q1 trading statement, the Group has incurred exceptional costs of £22.0m (of which £9.3m is cash) relating to the closure of its store portfolio and £2.7m advisory fees associated with ongoing legacy tax cases.
New exceptional items announced today include £22.4m in respect of customer redress provisions, reflecting the estimated cost of remediating anticipated additional PPI claims. The majority of the cashflow impact is expected to occur over the next 12 months, with approximately half in H2 FY19 and half in H1 FY20.
This updated financial services redress provision has resulted from a significant recent increase in claims volumes. These have been experienced across the industry and have arisen due to both the 'Plevin' court ruling and additional marketing activity by the FCA, targeted at raising awareness of the August 2019 PPI deadline.
More specifically, the Plevin ruling has meant that if more than 50% of a consumer's PPI payments were paid as commission, customers could claim back payments, plus interest, even if they have had a prior PPI claim rejected. This has not only led to new claims from those who were previously rejected, but also has increased the general level of PPI claimants as the half has progressed.
The Group has also made two non-cash asset impairment charges in the half. Firstly, following a detailed review of the benefits likely to be achieved from its platform, the Group has terminated an agreement with a third-party IT Financial Services provider, Welcom Digital Limited ("WDL"), resulting in an asset impairment charge of £11.2m. Despite this termination, the Group has been able to deliver much of the required functionality by using in-house resources and other third-party service providers.
Secondly, following historical underperformance of Figleaves, a business the Group acquired in 2010, we have decided to impair its goodwill in full, resulting in a non-cash charge of £7.1m. Despite this impairment, the Group continues to believe in the longer-term opportunity for Figleaves and with a new management team, is implementing a turnaround plan to grow the business.
While the Board understands the importance of dividends to investors, its current dividend cover is low and exceptional items, largely relating to legacy matters, have meant that distributions have not been covered by free cash flow.
The Board has therefore decided to rebase the interim dividend to 2.83p per share, a reduction of 50.0% on the prior year, which it also intends to reflect in the final dividend. This brings the Group's dividend down to a more sustainable level and from which the Group will seek to grow as its earnings progress.
The Group has an available financing facility totaling £625m, made up of a securitisation facility of £500m and RCF of £125m, both secured until September 2021.
The Group's balance sheet is underpinned by its customer loan book, which at 1 September 2018 was £677.6m on a gross basis and £565.7m on a net basis, calculated under IFRS9.
Compared to 3 March 2018 the Group's overall net debt increased by £73.7m to £420.5m principally due to exceptional cash outflows of £36.8m, the majority of which relates to customer redress, and £30.0m growth in the Group's gross customer loan book. £390.0m of the Group's debt is securitised against the loan book on a non-recourse basis.
Core debt, which is defined as the amount drawn on the Group's RCF less cash, was £30.5m. On this basis, the Group's leverage is 0.3x on a net debt/EBITDA basis.
Going forward we expect offline sales to continue to fall as we focus on online Power Brand growth. While this will hold back revenue in the short term, there are opportunities to drive profit particularly through improved efficiency, as the business further shifts online, and we accelerate the use of analytics to increase returns on our promotional spend.
While first half trends seen in our product business are continuing into the second half, the continued positive outlook for Financial Services and scope for further efficiencies mean that our full year expectations are unchanged.
For FY19 we have hedged 100% of our net purchases at a blended rate of £/$1.33, which will result in a c.£3m tailwind compared to FY18, when the hedged rate was £/$1.28. For FY20, we have to date hedged 77% of our net purchases at a blended rate of £/$1.34. Our policy is to be 100% hedged for FY20 by the end of FY19.
As announced in the Q1 trading update and following employee consultation the Group closed its remaining 20 stores during the period. In H1 FY19 the Group's stores generated £6.9m revenue and an EBITDA loss of £1.0m (H1 FY18: Revenue of £9.4m and EBITDA loss of £2.1m). To benefit from more favourable terms, the Group is likely to accelerate the surrender of leases on several stores.
The Group's transformation to a leading online retailer continues, with online sales now accounting for 77% of product revenue in H1 FY19. For new customers revenue generated online is even higher, at 84%. Whereas online revenue grew at a compound annual average rate of 8.9% over the FY14 - FY18 period, with online Power Brands up 13.8%, the Group's offline revenue has decreased at a compound annual rate of 6.5%.
In H1 FY19 online revenue grew by 3.8% and was ahead by 8.6% for our Power Brands. Offline revenue decreased by 22.4% as the Group continued to shift its focus to its growing online business. As the Group focuses more of its resources on growing its online business, going forward it expects a continued double-digit decline in its offline revenue. Although this is likely to hold back overall revenue growth, this channel shift is expected to benefit the Group's profitability as marketing and distribution costs are lower for online customers.
JD Williams is our modern online department store, positioned for 45+ female customers and their families. Although revenue was down 3.1% this was due to the continued drag from migrated Fifty Plus customers, one of our legacy offline brands. Excluding Fifty Plus, JD Williams revenue was up 7.5%. Given that the migration of Fifty Plus customers onto the JD Williams brand commenced in the summer last year, this headwind is expected to soften during H2 FY19.
Research conducted by JD Williams found that more than half of women aged 45+ are unhappy with what the high street has to offer their age group, despite 60% of this age group having more money to spend on fashion now than they did in their twenties.
In response JD Williams staged JDW Midster Live AW18 - a celebration of fashion for women aged 45+. The show included the winners of the JD Williams' recent Midster Model search, a nationwide competition to find two unsigned models in their mid-life years, as part of its ongoing commitment to use age-appropriate models in its brand and advertising campaigns. This event kick started London Fashion Week and was live streamed on jdwilliams.co.uk with a click to buy functionality - allowing customers to buy the clothes they see on the catwalk.
For its latest campaign JD Williams has adopted both a new creative direction as well as the campaign mantra of 'I AM….'. Shot and directed by an all-female crew aged between 45-60 - our target customer. This celebrates everything about life after 45, the bold and empowering campaign features a mix of models and real women, diverse in age and shape, who the audience can really relate to, showcasing the AW18 collection, available in sizes 10 - 32.
Further building on our industry leading expertise in fit, we have continued to improve our fit accuracy by using body scanners at events for our JD Williams and Simply Be customers. Following hundreds of scans, we now have with over 200 measurements for every women's size compared to a traditional retail model of just 12. Based on these findings, we are now rolling out new adjusted size blocks to our suppliers and are targeting to have covered c.70% of our ladieswear by the end of the year.
Simply Be is the go-to online destination for fashionable size 12-32 women, offering a range of own and third-party brands, often in larger sizes on an exclusive basis, reinforcing our curvy credentials. Simply Be delivered another good performance, growing by 8.0% during the period excluding stores.
To further enhance our beauty proposition, we have recently partnered with L'Oreal, the world's leading beauty manufacturer, launching 200 lines across their big three consumer brands, L'Oreal Paris, Maybelline and Garnier on Simply Be, JD Williams and Jacamo.
Our Autumn Winter campaign, called More than our bodies, encourages women to tell the world their story through their fashion choices. It is brought to life through four familiar models that embody this ethos including Felicity Haywood, who is a pioneer of the body confidence movement and Clementine Desseaux, founder of the All woman Project.
Jacamo caters for 25-45 year-old men of all body shapes and sizes. Jacamo product revenue was up 2.7% excluding stores. Building on our successful distinctive and aspirational Live YOUR Moment campaign, as part of our summer edition we collaborated with former England international and Match of the Day pundit Jermaine Jenas and rapper Wretch 32. Extending over an 11-week period, this was our largest Jacamo campaign to date.
Following its success, we are continuing this campaign into the Autumn Winter season, showing a diverse range of men reliving their inspirational life moments using three different influencers: snowboarder and Olympic medal holder, Billy Morgan, Rugby League player Luke Burgess and model and body confidence ambassador, Raul Samuel. All were chosen for their ability to convey their inspirational life moments and to promote body shape inclusivity supporting our size inclusive offer from small to 5XL.
Secondary brands revenue decreased by 6.9% excluding stores reflecting our shift in marketing investment towards Power Brands. In addition, this reflects the ongoing decline in offline revenue, down by around a quarter, more pronounced than originally anticipated. The decline was principally driven by a double-digit reduction in revenue for Marisota. As this is increasingly being used a product brand through JD Williams, the Group has been reducing investment in the Marisota brand and has stopped offline recruitment.
There was also a small decrease in revenue for Fashion World, which is the largest brand in this category. Following the success of its Simply Be and JD Williams apps, the Group launched its third app in August, Fashion World. This is targeted at improving the online experience for our Fashion World customers. Pleasingly Figleaves returned to growth as we implemented our turnaround plan, led by its new management team.
Revenue in the Traditional segment decreased by 11.2% as the Group continued to increase its focus on its online business and scaled back its offline marketing and recruitment. Given that this segment is more heavily weighted towards offline than the rest of the Group, as it typically serves more mature customers, this segment it is expected to experience the fastest rate of revenue decline going forward.
Given the termination of our relationship with WDL, alongside proactive internal efforts mitigating this impact, the Group is currently reappraising the timeline and delivery of its systems migration project. Once this has been completed it will provide more details on the expected timing of the migration of Fashion World onto Hybris.
We continue to deploy leading edge Artificial Intelligence ("AI") techniques in Merchandising. We are already operating AI in product promotions, where we've measured benefits in promotional ROI of 25% to 40% together with an improved stock position. Given this success, we are planning to extend this application in the second half to end of season sale building and the development of AI-led predictions of size curves for product purchasing, which will help to reduce stockouts and markdowns.
We are focused on continual improvement of the customer experience, further development of our product offer and increasing the choice of third-party brands on our websites, many of which are extended to larger sizes on an exclusive basis. Recently added brands on to our websites include Apricot, Club L London, Kate Spade, Valentino, Guess, L'Oréal, Barry M, Peter Werth, Schott and Berghaus.
We made good progress on these objectives during the first half. On a rolling twelve months basis our market share in Ladieswear (size 16+) was up 30bps at 5.6%, with gains across all age ranges except for 60+. Our menswear market share (chest 44"+) also improved, by 10bps to 2.7%. Our active customer file decreased by 3.2% to 4.3m, with Power Brands also down by 2.8% to 2.2m, both due to the drag from Fifty Plus on JD Williams. However, the active customer files for Simply Be and Jacamo increased by 8.3% and 3.1% respectively.
The Group was disappointed by the performance of its International business, where revenue was down 7.9% to £15.3m. This was due to revenue from the USA decreasing by 16.7% (down 11.2% in constant currency), to £6.8m, whilst Ireland was up 0.6% (down 1.8% in constant currency) to £8.5m.
In line with our strategy of shifting the Group's business mix online, during the period we switched marketing expenditure in the USA from offline to online recruitment. The anticipated lower offline revenue was not however counterbalanced by adequate levels of online growth. In light of this underperformance, we have therefore changed the management team, reappraised our digital marketing strategy and appointed new third-party providers as we look to re-engage with our target customers.
We remain committed to our international business and will be narrowing our growth focus to the USA and Ireland.
This includes selling capsule ranges on other retailers' sites, on both a wholesale and marketplace offering. We also see a significant growth opportunity in influencer marketing, working together with bloggers and opinion formers to improve brand cut-through and further strengthen customer engagement.
We have made excellent progress on our partnership strategy, which despite only commencing last year, is already making a positive profit contribution to the Group. During the first half we signed new partnership deals with Lipsy (UK) and Wehkamp (The Netherlands), bringing the total number of partnerships to eleven, of which we are already live on eight. In addition to providing additional sources of revenue, partnerships provide the Group with access to new markets and customers for relatively small amounts of investment.
The Group's Financial Services business continues to perform well, driven by the continued improvement in the quality of the customer loan book. Revenue was up by 12.7% driven by a 14.2% increase in interest payments, with other non-interest lines being marginally ahead.
Although gross margin was down 50bps, to 56.0%, this was principally due to our requirement under IFRS9 to make a provision against every credit customer, including those that are up to date on their payments and trading normally. For the prior year, reported under IAS39, a provision was only made where there had been objective evidence of impairment, such as a customer falling into arrears or moved on to a payment plan.
While credit arrears increased slightly, by 40bps to 9.7%, this was due to the rate normalising compared to the prior half year, which had temporarily benefited from changes in the minimum payment rate following the reduction in the rate from 5% to 4% to give customers greater flexibility in managing their finances.
During the first half we recruited 90k new credit recruits who rolled a balance, down by a third compared to the previous half-year. This decline was in line with a disappointing product performance, which resulted in fewer new customers and reduced the number of credit recruits.
Following promising initial results from our variable APR trials, we have fully implemented our variable rate pricing strategy. Our headline rate for our Power Brands has been reduced to 24.9%, and to compliment this we have launched a pay no interest offer until March 2019. This has driven an improvement in the risk quality of credit customers and increased acceptance rates.
* restated for IFRS9. The bad provision previously reported under IAS39 was £48.8m (7.5%).
This is the first time that the Group has reported under IFRS9, which replaces IAS39 and relates to receivables provision accounting. For the first half of this year the bad debt provision under IFRS9 is £111.9m, compared to a restated figure as at 3 March 2018 of £116.0m. The provision rate under IFRS9 therefore decreased by 140bps from 17.9% to 16.5% compared to 3 March 2018.
Compared to the same period last year (restated on an IFRS9 basis), the provision rate decreased by 320bps principally due to an underlying improvement in the quality of the loan book, and the disposal of some high-risk payment debt which was sold at a better rate than the book value.
As previously indicated, although the P&L impact of IFRS9 is broadly neutral, the higher provision rate that is required under the standard does impact the net customer loan book value, which is now £565.7m.
3 Restated for IFRS9. The bad debt provision previously reported under IAS39 was 10.3%.
4 Last six months, rounded figures. Rollers are those customers who roll a credit balance.
Group revenue was up 1.0% to £457.8m, driven by a strong performance in Financial Services where revenue was ahead by 12.7% to £146.4m as we benefited from increased interest received from the Group's growing customer loan book. Product revenue decreased by 3.7% to £311.4m, reflecting the ongoing challenging market conditions for fashion retail, headwind from the migration of Fifty Plus and closure of our store portfolio. Excluding stores, which are all now closed, Product revenue was down 3.1%.
The Group's gross margin was 54.2%, down 60bps compared to H1 FY18. This decline was due to a 60bps reduction in Product gross margin, to 53.4%, which was due to the promotional retail environment, although this was counterbalanced to some degree by lower marketing costs.
Financial Services gross margin also declined by 50bps to 56.0% mainly due to the requirement under IFRS9 to make a provision against every new credit customer, including those that are trading normally.
The Group has kept a tight control of its operating costs, which decreased by 1.5% to £196.3m principally due to a 4.3% reduction in marketing and production costs, to £84.4m. Warehouse and fulfilment costs were down marginally, by 0.3% to £42.4m, reflecting lower product volumes, and with admin and payroll costs only up by 1.3%, to £69.5m, less than the rate of inflation.
As a result, adjusted EBITDA increased by 6.1% to £52.0m. As anticipated Depreciation and Amortisation increased by 15.4% to £14.9m due to investment in IT systems, resulting in operating profit before exceptional items and unrealised FX movement of £37.1m, up 2.8%.
Net finance costs were £6.5m, an increase of £2.6m on the H1 FY18, because of the Group's increased overall debt, which is principally due to ongoing growth in its customer loan book.
The effective underlying rate of corporation tax was 21.8% (H1 FY18: 23.2%). The overall tax charge was a credit of £1.1m (H1 FY18: £6.4m credit).
The Group has on-going discussions with HMRC in respect of a number of VAT positions, the most material of which relates to the VAT consequences of the allocation of certain costs between its retail and credit businesses. These proceedings have been to tribunal during the half and we are currently awaiting the court's judgement.
As previously disclosed in our FY18 Annual report, the Group estimates that an unfavourable settlement of these cases could result in a charge to the income statement of up to £53.1m and a cash payment to HMRC of up to £10.3m. A favourable settlement would result in a repayment of tax and associated interest of up to £41.2m with no impact on the income statement. Further details are set out in Note 11.
In addition, following the review of the carrying value of Figleaves goodwill the Group has also written off the remaining deferred tax asset of £3m in relation to future unutilised tax losses. This has been presented as an exceptional tax item.
Loss per share from continuing operations was 9.14p (Loss in H1 FY18: 7.50p) due to exceptional items. Adjusted earnings per share were 8.37p (H1 FY18: 8.77p).
Capital expenditure was £17.9m (H1 FY18: £21.8m). Inventory levels at the period end decreased by 6.1% to £98.3m (H1 FY18: £104.7m), lower than the 3.7% decline in product revenue.
There was a net cash outflow from operations (excluding taxation) of £22.3m (H1 FY18: £43.8m inflow) mainly due to exceptional cash costs of £36.8m and £30.0m growth in the gross customer loan book. After funding capital expenditure, finance costs, taxation and dividends, overall net debt increased by £73.7m to £420.5m (H1 FY18: £305.7m) compared to £346.8m as at 3 March 2018.
The group's defined benefit pension scheme has a surplus of £23.8m (H1 FY18: £8.7m surplus).
This condensed set of consolidated interim financial statements has been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting as adopted by the EU. They do not include all of the information required for full annual financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements of the Group as at and for the year ended 3 March 2018. The annual financial statements of the Group are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the EU.
The comparative figures for the year ended 3 March 2018 are not the Company's statutory accounts for that financial year. Those accounts have been reported on by the Company's auditor and delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The report of the auditor was (i) unqualified, (ii) did not include a reference to any matters to which the auditor drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying their report, and (iii) did not contain a statement under section 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.
IFRS 15 has been adopted by the Group in the period with no significant impact on the consolidated results or financial position of the Group.
IFRS 16 will be applicable to the Group for the financial year end 29 February 2020 and has not been early adopted by the Group. IFRS 16 will affect the presentation of the Group financial statements with the Group recognising a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for all leases currently accounted for as operating leases, with exceptions for short period leases and low value leases. This will affect the Balance Sheet, Income Statement and disclosures to the financial statements.
Management have sought professional advice as part of initial investigations and held workshops to evaluate the impact on the group's results, financial position and budgets. Whilst this process is ongoing, and it is not yet practicable to fully quantity the effect of IFRS 16 on the financial statements of the Group, given the recent decision to close the remaining store portfolio the Directors do not expect adoption to have a material impact.
IFRIC 23 will be applicable to the Group for the financial year end 29 February 2020 and has not been early adopted by the Group. IFRIC 23 requires the entity to provide for uncertain tax outcomes based upon a position HMRC would consider to be appropriate. It provides a choice of recognition, it can be applied retrospectively under IAS 8, or by adjusting equity upon initial application.
The Group have made initial assessments of the impact of IFRIC 23 on the financial statements and future periods, however this work is ongoing as at the half year ended 1 September 2018. Further disclosure will be provided in the year end annual report.
During the period the Group has adopted IFRS9 Financial instruments for the first time. The standard sets out requirements for recognising and measuring financial assets, financial liabilities and some contracts to buy or sell non-financial items. This standard replaces IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement.
IFRS 9 contains a new classification and measurement approach for financial assets that reflects the business model in which assets are managed and their cash flow characteristics.
IFRS 9 contains three principal classification categories for financial assets: measure at amortised cost, fair value through other comprehensive income ("FVOCI") and fair value through profit and loss ("FVTPL"). The standard eliminates the existing IAS 39 categories of held to maturity, loans and receivables and available for sale.
• the contractual terms of the financial asset give rise to cash flows on specified dates that represent payments of solely principal and interest on the outstanding principal amount.
The Group's trade receivables that were classified as loans and receivables under IAS 39 are now classified at amortised cost. An increase of £67.2m in the allowance for impairment over these receivables was recognised in the opening retained earnings at 4 March 2018 on transition to IFRS 9.
The Group does not hold any financial instruments that would be classified as FVOCI or FVTPL.
IFRS 9 replaces the 'incurred loss' model in IAS 39 with a forward-looking 'expected credit loss' (ECL) model. The ECL model introduces the concept of staging.
Stage 1 - assets which have not demonstrated any significant increase in credit risk since origination.
Stage 2 - assets which have demonstrated a significant increase in credit risk since origination.
• lifetime ECLs: these are ECLs that result from all possible default events over the expected life of a financial instrument.
12 month ECLs are calculated for assets in Stage 1 and lifetime ECLs are calculated for assets in Stages 2 and 3. Assets can move from Stage 1 to Stage 2 if there is evidence of a significant increase in credit risk since origination.
The credit risk of a financial asset is considered to have experienced a significant increase in credit risk since initial recognition where there has been a significant increase in the remaining lifetime probability of default of the asset.
The credit risk of a financial asset may improve such that it is no longer considered to have experienced a significant increase in credit risk if there has been a significant decrease in the remaining lifetime probability of default of the asset.
At each reporting date, the Group assesses whether financial assets carried at amortised cost are credit impaired.
In addition, a receivable that is 28 days or more past due (in respect of new customers) or 56 days or more past due (in respect of established customers) is considered credit impaired.
The credit risk of financial assets that become credit impaired are not expected to improve such that they are no longer considered credit impaired.
The Group incorporates forward looking information into its measurement of expected credit loss.
This is achieved by developing three potential economic scenarios and modelling expected credit losses for each scenario. The outputs from each scenario are combined; using the estimated likelihood of each scenario occurring to derive a probability weighted expected credit loss.
The Group has determined that the application of IFRS 9's impairment requirements at 4 March 2018 results in an additional impairment allowance as set out in note 11.
Exposures were segmented based on common credit risk characteristics such as behavioural score and age of relationship.
Actual credit loss experience was adjusted by scalar factors to reflect differences between economic conditions during the period over which the historical data was collected, current conditions and the Group's view of economic conditions over the expected lives of the receivables. Scalar factors were based on forecast unemployment rates and inflation adjusted average weekly earnings.
The Group has taken an exemption not to restate comparative information for prior periods with respect to classification and measurement (including impairment) requirements. Differences in the carrying amounts of financial assets resulting from the adoption of IFRS 9 are recognised in retained earnings and reserves as at 4 March 2018. Accordingly, the information presented for the year ended 3 March 2018 does not generally reflect the requirements of IFRS 9 but rather those of IAS 39.
There are a number of potential risks and uncertainties which could have an impact on the Group's long-term performance. The directors routinely monitor all risks and uncertainties taking appropriate actions to mitigate where necessary. Whilst further detail is included in the Group's 2018 Annual Report, the risks which have been identified as potentially having a material impact on the performance of the Group are as follows: Taxation; Business change; Regulatory environment; Cyber-Security; IT Systems; Business Interruption; Competition, Consumer Confidence and Brexit.
The Group continues to pursue a number of open taxation positions and presented its case in relation to VAT in a tribunal during May 2018. The outcome of the tribunal is pending and any subsequent appeals by the Group or HMRC may be heard over the following three year period. The outcome of this process will crystallise assets and estimates for the Group's taxation liabilities built up over a number of years. Whilst the Group remains confident of a positive outcome, the potential impact remains unknown pending final resolution of the full appeals process.
The Group continues to drive change and improvements in technology and business processes across the business. With the approaching uncertainty of Brexit and the accelerating pace of competition in digital retail, the Group's continuous change program remains a key pillar of continued success. In particular, the Group's process simplification programme will continue to drive process efficiency and cost reductions over the next year.
Competing effectively across the key areas of Product, Financial Services and Customer Services remains a key driver of customer recruitment and retention. Potential consequences of the increasingly competitive market include; loss of market share, erosion of margins and a fall in customer satisfaction. Given the uncertain commercial climate post Brexit, remaining competitive across all three strands is necessary to deliver anticipated growth.
Consumer confidence in the retail and financial services sectors may further diminish post Brexit and the impact of interest rate rises and increasing consumer debt levels may further squeeze customer spending. In this context, it is important for the Group to understand and meet customer expectations for product quality and price as well as maintain current high quality customer service.
The regulatory environment remains a key consideration for the Group and continued focus is placed on meeting the expectations of the regulators in key areas such as GDPR and Financial Services. The increasing scrutiny of the FCA and ICO represent key risks for the Group.
Cyber Security remains a key area of focus within the Group as it continues to grow as a digital retailer. The successful completion of the Group's GDPR program has strengthened the Group's Cyber Security position and provides greater security over both new and existing cyber threats.
The Group continues to mitigate the risks associated with the use of remaining legacy IT systems as well as data security risk through outsourcing IT services to a specialist IT service provider. The replacement of the Groups legacy architecture is a key focus of the continuous change program and tactical solutions continue to be implemented to mitigate risks to agility arising from older systems.
Business interruption events remain a possibility for the Group and the Crisis Management Plan has been successfully tested in real world events over the last year. Further stress test testing through potential impact scenarios ensures that plans remain relevant and up to date.
The impact of Brexit on the Group remains a key consideration with risks ranging from increases in cost prices and decreased customer spending power to potential loss of personnel. Mitigations continue to be put in place where specific risks are identified. However, the high level of uncertainty in both the financial and political implications of Brexit makes the success of mitigation activities difficult to predict.
In determining whether the Group's accounts can be prepared on a going concern basis, the directors considered the Group's business activities together with factors likely to affect its future development, performance and financial position including cash flows, liquidity position, borrowing facilities and the principal risks and uncertainties relating to its business activities.
The directors have considered carefully its cash flows and banking covenants for the next twelve months from the date of approval of the Group's preliminary results. Conservative assumptions for working capital performance have been used to determine the level of financial resources available to the Group and to assess liquidity risk.
£500m securitisation and £125m RCF, which are committed until September 2021. In addition, the Group retained its existing £27m overdraft facility.
After making appropriate enquiries, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in the preparation of these financial statements.
The Group has one reportable segment in accordance with IFRS8 - Operating Segments which is the Home Shopping segment.
brand categorisation and product type categorisation.
The Group has one significant geographical segment, which is the United Kingdom.
(H1 FY18, £0.2m). All segment assets are located in the UK, Ireland and USA. The assets in USA and Ireland total £5.3m (H1 FY18, £6.1m).
HMRC regarding a number of historical tax positions. Of the amount charged in the period the Group has made related cash payments of £2.8m (FY18, £1.2m).
closure costs and fixed asset write offs of £5.7m.
In FY18 a number of loss making retail stores were closed at a total cost of £13.8m.
of the expected uphold rate and average redress per claim.
of £40.0m was recognised during FY18 in respect of the sale of these products.
During the period the Group also terminated an agreement with a third-party IT Financial Services provider, Welcom Digital Limited ("WDL").
Following a detailed review of Capitalised Development spend held in repect of this item a a non-cash impairment charge of £11.2m was made.
(H1 FY18, charge of £4.9m) to income in the period.
volatility at the balance sheet date.
The financial instruments that are measured subsequent to initial recognition at fair value are all grouped into Level 2 (H1 FY18, same).
Level 2 during the period (H1 FY18, same).
the 6 months period is 4.1% (H1 FY18, 23.2%).
can, and often do, take a number of years to resolve.
future charges based upon the Group's best estimation and judgement.
cash payment to HMRC of up to £8.9m.
Assets in the course of construction included in intangible assets at H1 FY19 total £27.1m (H1 FY18, £106.1m).
No amortisation is charged on these assets until they are available for use.
assets of £2.4m (FY18: £2.0m) of which £1.0m (FY18: £1.0m) is due to be paid within 1 year.
Additions to tangible fixed assets during the period of £1.0m (H1 FY18, £0.6m) primarily relate to warehousing.
Depreciation of £2.6m (H1 FY18, £2.8m) was charged during the period.
Disposals relate to assets written off as a result of store closures. A loss of £5.0m was recorded.
rates and inflation adjusted average weekly earnings.
reached with HMRC or, as appropriate, through legal processes. Issues can, and often do, take a number of years to resolve.
settlement of these historical positions.
between our retail and credit businesses. At this stage it is not possible to determine how the matter will be resolved.
legal counsel's opinion on certain elements of the cost allocation, we believe that we will recover this amount in full from HMRC and we are engaged in a legal process to do so.
to £10.3m, with an ongoing charge to the income statement of up to £12.3m per financial year.
The favourable settlement of these cases would result in a repayment of tax and associated interest of up to £41.2m and an associated credit to the income statement of £nil.
The directors have declared and approved an interim dividend of 2.83 pence per share (H1 FY18 5.67p).
This will be paid on 11 January 2019 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 14 December 2018.
During H1 FY19 dividends of £24.2m relating to FY18 were paid.
At the end of H1 FY19, the decision was made to close all stores, and these were subsequently closed in August 2018.
brought forward is net of an estimate of potential sub- letting income.
customer redress, which represents the best estimate of the known regulatory obligations, taking into account factors including risk and uncertainty.
experienced and the latest assessment of the expected uphold rate and average redress per claim.
The principal sensitivities in the customer redress calculation are: volumes of policies affected, claim rate, uphold rate and average redress amount.
entity during that period; and any changes in the related party transactions described in the last annual report that could do so.
This report was approved by the Board of Directors on 11 October 2018.
We have been engaged by the company to review the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report for the 26 weeks ended 1 September 2018 which comprises the condensed consolidated income statement, the condensed consolidated statement of comprehensive income, the condensed consolidated balance sheet, the condensed consolidated cash flow statement, the condensed consolidated statement of changes in equity and related explanatory notes.
Based on our review, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report for the 26 weeks ended 1 September 2018 is not prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting as adopted by the EU and the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules ("the DTR") of the UK's Financial Conduct Authority ("the UK FCA").
As disclosed in note1, the annual financial statements of the group are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the EU. The directors are responsible for preparing the condensed set of financial statements included in the half-yearly financial report in accordance with IAS 34 as adopted by the EU.


text:
Slowing down and enjoying Cincinnati
Back during his time at Channel 12, Braun said that he was working 10 hour days.
He would get home after midnight and pace the floor for an hour and a half "to try to slow down."
Braun got a few offers from other stations during his tenure at Channel 12, but never took them. There was one offer that he took seriously from NBC, that would have taken him to New York City.
Braun and his wife even began looking at Manhattan properties while he mulled over the move. But Cincinnati won out in the end.
"It's just a good place to live and a good place to raise your family," he said.
Braun's role at Heritage Bank doesn't take up nearly as much time as Channel 12 did, giving him more freedom to enjoy his family and Cincinnati.
Although Braun said he never questioned his decision to leave Channel 12, he does miss one thing: the people. He says some of the best talent in television news in the entire country still exists at that station.
"We spent a lot of years helping people," Braun said. "It was just so gratifying, telling people what was going on in their neighborhoods. And I don't know that you ever are fully able to walk away from that, but you do also know when it's time."
He is not only talking about the people at the station. Braun says he truly values every person that has been a part of his career at Channel 12 – and now beyond.
"What has been the most gratifying since leaving was what was gratifying while I was at Channel 12, and that's the overwhelming support by the public in the Tristate," he said.
"It was time to go."
Braun was featured Wednesday at noon on WVXU's Cincinnati Edition with host Michael Monks.
He said his new life is "certainly different" but similarly busy as his life in the news industry.
Braun said the controversial scripted statement that many Sinclair-owned channels broadcast was "the beginning of the end."
He said he didn't believe the words and felt like a "puppet" despite some of them being true.
On top of being forced to read the scripted statement, Braun said he disagreed with the focus of national news stories over local stories.
"The business model was different and hard to swallow," Braun said. "Those things just began to build up."
Over the years, Braun said he was most proud of building trust with the public.
"I had a historic run and I can't complain about any of that," Braun said of his time at WKRC. "The support I've had from the public has been enormous for years and years."
Much like he told The Enquirer, Braun said he missed the people but he hasn't had second thoughts.
"It was time to go, it was time to turn the page," Braun said.
'It's time officers stopped these roadway thugs.' I-71/75 drivers getting more and more tickets 'The commissioners are sneaky bastards': Republicans vow to fight sales tax with petition effort. Police: Man stole ambulance because he was 'tortured,' another man charged Miami University will provide full tuition scholarship to one person from each Ohio county in 2020 'How are you being like Jesus in the world?' Church hands out checks to congregation


The group of 35 students and staff from Irene McCormack Catholic College visited Bavaria in July, performing 12 shows in seven days.
Performing Arts program co-ordinator and music teacher Michael Newton said the event was a success and exceeded expectations.
'Our students were very well-received with standing ovations and encores at almost every concert,' he said.
Satterley Property Group donated $1500 to the tour, which Mr Newton said enabled them to safely ship the music equipment to Germany. As the college and music department grow, Mr Newton said their aim was to build up a store of equipment that could be used for travel and reduce the need to fund in the future.


text:
We Have Immune Systems, New York Times Reveals – "Scrub and spray everything with chemicals, bathe in Purell, mask up, stand no nearer to anyone else than six feet, stay away from crowds, douse yourself with alcohol, wash your hands and face raw, protect yourself from germs at all costs. Some nations are closed completely. No one in or out. Is this an experiment? Yes, and likely a deadly one. What precisely are we doing to ourselves? What are we doing to children? Early in the pandemic, doctors went on the national stage to frame it up clearly: we are wrecking our immune systems and making ourselves vulnerable to more serious pathogens later." – Jeffrey A. Tucker
COVID-19 Has A 99.95% Survival Rate For People Under 70 – Stanford Professor of Medicine – Arjun Walia
The Covid-19 celebrity humanitarianism – Sean Penn and the Great Reset, funded by Bill Gates and the Clinton Foundation – "On the 12th November 2020, an article appeared in the Daily Mail about three powerful men sharing a beach holiday: Twitter's Jack Dorsey, Hollywood's Sean Penn and the reclusive Israeli billionaire, Vivi Nevo. The story slipped under the radar, almost unnoticed by a public caught up in the Covid-19 controversy that continues to sweep the planet. However, the connections between these three elite influencers is well worth a closer look, particularly with regards to their combined role in promoting the transnational corporatocracy's Covid-19 narratives." – Vanessa Beeley – LONG, BUT VERY INTERESTING AND WELL RESEARCHED!!!!!!!
Lockdowns Destroy What Makes Us Human – "If such people had their way, everyone would remain under veritable house arrest and not see anyone else for months or even years, as the duration of such onerous impositions has gone from "fifteen days to slow the spread" to months or even years into the future. That such ideas are even being considered demonstrates just how out of touch with human reality much of our "expert" class and their hordes of lemming-like followers are." – Zachary Yost
CONTROL FREAKS ON PARADE (VBIDEO) – Gerald Celente
Chinese Government Stepping Up Propaganda to Change COVID Origin Story – "Their latest gambit is to promote the story that the coronavirus traveled to China via frozen food imports — a nearly impossible feat, say epidemiologists. The communist propagandists have pointed the finger at Italy, India, and on "many continents" before the poor Chinese became victims of the coronavirus." – Rick Moran
Why Does the Liberal Media Refuse To Report Meaningful Data on Covid? – "I will reiterate what I have written before–Covid is a real disease and, in some cases, kills the infected soul. But the number dying, at least here in my neck of the woods in Florida, the vast majority of people are not sick and not infected. But that is not the message that the media is putting out." – Larry Johnson
Mask-Wearing: Ineffective, Potentially Hazardous. To Be Mandated in the US? – "We're living through unprecedented times. Covid is another form of seasonal flu/influenza that occurs annually like clockwork. Millions of people are affected worldwide with no fear-mongering mass hysteria, no lockdowns, social distancing and mask-wearing — until 2020. What's likely to continue ad infinitum is a made-in-the-USA dystopian nightmare." – Stephen Lendman – GOOD ARTICLE FROM STEPHEN!!!!
How Very Stasi: COVID-19 Restrictions Go Full Authoritarian – "For folks in the Sunbelt and other places that still feel like America, the COVID-19 holiday restrictions seem more than a little over the top. However, if you live in New York City, what is going on in Los Angeles seems low-key. America's worst mayor, Bill de Blasio, has decided he will be placing checkpoints at the entrances to the city. These will be operated by law enforcement to strictly enforce the travel quarantine:" – Stacey Lennox
Pandemic Rules Are Only for the Little People – "We're expected to suffer discomfort, economic pain, and emotional distress or else pay fines or serve jail time. Government officials, meanwhile, take offense when called out for violating the standards they created." – J.D. Tuccille
Psychiatrist Blows the Whistle on Pandemic Fearmongering (VIDEO) – "Dr. Peter Breggin, a psychiatrist, has written more than a dozen bestselling books on psychiatry and the drug industry. This past year, he's homed in on COVID-19 and the fears around it, which is the topic of this interview. He also started researching the history of Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has been the face of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, learning more than he bargained for in the process." – Dr. Joseph Mercola
'Bleak Milestone': More Than 100,000 Nursing Home Residents and Staff Killed by Pandemic – "Forty percent of all Covid-19 deaths in the United States have occurred in long-term care facilities." – Kenny Stancil
In Japan, more people died from suicide last month than from Covid in all of 2020. And women have been impacted most – Selina Wang, Rebecca Wright and Yoko Wakatsuki
LONDON OUTRAGE! Massive Police Brutality Recorded with Attacks Against Peaceful Protesters Over COVID Restrictions – "The citizens of London were strictly ordered NOT to protest outdoors on Saturday, November 28, 2020. Tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, disobeyed their government and took to the streets in peaceful protests over new COVID restrictions. (The "official" corporate media report is that "300-400" turned out to protest. Watch the video below to see for yourself.)" – Brian Shilhavy
THE BEAST SYSTEM & COVID-1984 (VIDEO) with CATHERINE AUSTIN FITTS & DR. SHERRI TENPENNY – SGT Report
A Historic Presidency – "Can anyone believe that Bush Republicans or the "Never-Trumpers" are the future of the party when one considers the massive and visceral reaction of millions of Trump voters even to the idea of conceding his defeat in this election?" – Patrick J. Buchanan
Trump Faces Critical Choice About His Political Future – Victor Davis Hanson
Moral Decay Leads to Collapse – "A very strong case can be made that America is now a moral cesspool. Consider just three cases: Jeffrey Epstein, the CEO of Pfizer and JPMorgan Chase." – Charles Hugh Smith
Biden Euphoria Already Over – "Point being, the media euphoria about Biden and that America is back! – is a concept that is as eerie as it is surreal. The very thought that common sense will now prevail in a landscape that has lost its collective geopolitical mind is not only misplaced, but abjectly delusional. And false." – Steve Brown
Joe Biden's Dogs Have Told This Pet Psychic a Lot About Their Beloved Master, and His Future – "Pet psychic Beth Lee-Crowther says Joe Biden's dogs, Major and Champ, told her they are excited to live in the White House. They also say their master will be "a great president." " – Tim Teeman – JOURNALISM AT IT'S FINEST!!!!. SEE MONICA'S TAKE BELOW!!!!!
Joe Biden's lapdog press is doing stupid pet tricks – "As a pet psychic who performs animal communication using telepathy and "mind-to-mind communication," Crowther, from the county of Worcestershire, uses photographs, or can just be in the same room as an animal, in order to begin—she claims—speaking with it. With their pictures, she says she forged a close relationship with Biden's dogs—and wow, did they ever dish about their owner, Had enough? I couldn't read further. What this crap amounts to is the press converting itself to oozing lackeys, janissaries, court eunuchs, and flatterers, in a sorry bid to play public relations agent to Biden as they foresee his move to the White House." – Monica Showalter
The Obama Media Is Back – "When a Democrat is in the White House, journalists spend more time sucking up to the administration than doing anything that could even loosely be defined as reporting. It's embarrassing to watch. It was only a matter of time before the media reverted to the lazy, drooling, throne-sniffing sycophants they were from 2009 to 2017." – Derek Hunter
AOC's Latest Viral Post Flunks Econ 101 – "There's one glaring problem with Ocasio-Cortez's impassioned tirade. Say what you will about left-wing darling Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but she knows how to get a message across on social media. One of the youngest members of the House of Representatives, the New York Democrat and socialist boasts 8.1 million Instagram followers. It's a shame that Ocasio-Cortez has once again used her talent for going viral to spread misleading narratives that ignore basic economics." – Brad Polumbo
Media lies about congressional Democrats' refusal to approve COVID aid – "…and as usual, they falsely paint President Trump as the bad guy. Facts haven't mattered to them for a long time." – Jack Hellner
A Rare Glimpse of Democrats 'Back in Power' – "Backward, March. Biden has already signaled through his "transition team" of more than 40 registered lobbyists that he is willing to bring in swamp creatures who have been in D.C. for decades. He would add buffoons to his cabinet and inner sanctum, such as John Kerry, who has never entered into a foreign negotiation that he couldn't completely screw up." – Jeff Davidson
Tulsi Gabbard Urges Donald Trump to Pardon Edward Snowden and Julian Assange – Darragh Roche – TULSI GABBARD IS THE ONLY DEMOCRAT WITH ANY WORTHWHILE VALUES. SHE SHOULD EITHER GO REPUBLICAN OR INDEPENDANT , SINCE THE DEMOCRATS PAY NO ATTENTION TO HER AND NEVER WILL!!!!!
Twitter And Facebook: The New Nanny State – "Who needs government censorship when you have social media tyrants?" – Jeff Charles
Awakening Not Reset Coming (VIDEO) with Bo Polny – "We are living in Biblical times, and we are about to see Biblical things go down. God is in control of this. . . .This is like the time of the Red Sea and Moses. Everything looked bleak and horrible." – Greg Hunter
Keeping the Empire Running: Britain's Global Military Footprint – Binoy Kampmark
Hungarian cultural commissioner lights powder keg of controversy after describing Europe as 'George Soros' gas chamber – RT
The Right to Own a Gun Isn't Just for Americans – "Moreover, the idea of people carrying firearms almost seems unreal to many. Indeed, gun ownership is as American as apple pie and will not go away so easily, much to the dismay of the most rabid of gun control proponents." – José Niño
Mark of the beast? UN rolls out biometric digital ID wallet and passport – Ramon Tomey
The Secret Medicine From Your Kitchen Cabinet – "In fact, some of the most effective and natural medicines of all can be found in your kitchen, and every cupboard holds valuable resources. The herbs and spices in your kitchen can prove useful if you know how to use them. Herbal medicine should not be frowned upon, and those that do it are usually ignorant people. If it weren't for plants, we wouldn't have today remarkable medicine such as aspirin, penicillin, myriocin, and quinine, just to name a few." – Bob Rodgers
The Unintended Consequences Of Perpetual Stimulus – "Federal Reserve warns about QE, Apple shifts production, and jobless aid to expire." – Andrew Moran
Global Inflation watch – "This brings us to metallic money, the gold and silver to which people have always defaulted when kings, emperors and governments fail to sustain their unbacked alternatives." – Alasdair Macleod
2021 Would Be a Great Time to Audit the Fed – "Gone are the days of the Federal Reserve hiding in the shadows. Now it's a woke central bank fighting for climate and racial justice. Progressives must not fall for this but instead team up with the populist right to audit the Fed and demand transparency." – Nick Hankoff
ALL 3 RESETS LEAD TO GOLD – Egon von Greyerz
Indian's appetite for gold grows as price for metal hangs near multi-month low – RT
Habakkuk 2:19 Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.
LYRIC FOR THE WEEK
I rebel music;
I rebel music.)
Why can't we roam (oh-oh-oh-oh) this open country? (open country)
Oh, why can't we be what we wanna be? (oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)
We want to be free. (wanna be free)
3 o'clock roadblock – curfew,
And I've got to throw away –
Yes, I've got to throw away –
A yes-a, but I've got to throw away
My little herb stalk!
I (rebel music) – yeah, I'm tellin' you! –
(I) I rebel music (rebel music). Oh-ooh!
Take my soul (oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)
and suss – and suss me out (suss me out). Oh-ooh!
Check my life (oh-oh-oh-oh-oh),
if I am in doubt (I'm in doubt); I'm tellin':
3 o'clock roadblock – roadblock – roadblock,
And "Hey, Mr. Cop! Ain't got no – (hey) hey! (hey, Mr Cop) –
(What ya sayin' down there?) – (hey) hey! (hey, Mr Cop) –
Ain't got no birth certificate on me now."
( "Rebel Music ( 3 O'clock Roadblock) by Bob Marley )


Bermuda will welcome its first cruise ships of 2018 on Sunday.
It will be the inaugural visit for the Bermuda-registered Queen Elizabeth.
The luxury liner, which carries 1,900 passengers and 980 crew, is Cunard's newest cruise ship and will be joined by sister ship, Queen Victoria. Both will berth in Dockyard for a 7½-hour stay.
Queen Elizabeth, which has just started an 122-night world tour, left Southampton, England, on Sunday.
As part of its annual Around the World voyage, the ship will travel through the Panama Canal before returning to Southampton in May.
The voyage also includes overnight stays in New York, San Francisco, Sydney, Hong Kong and Cape Town.
It involves visits to 39 ports in 25 countries, including the maiden voyages to Bermuda and a handful of other destinations.
The ship, launched in 2010, will only be in port at Heritage Wharf in the West End from 8am to 3.30pm.
Queen Victoria will berth at King's Wharf, although the two ships will be brought alongside, and taken out 20 minutes apart.
Passengers will reboard at about 2pm for the departures — Queen Elizabeth to New York and Queen Victoria to Fort Lauderdale.
Christened by the Queen after being built in Italy in 2010, the originally British-flagged Queen Elizabeth, with more than a thousand luxury cabins, was refurbished in 2016.


Another tragic news story today about someone dying doing something that they loved. This time, BASE jumping. Yes, again. Adam Gibson died on his honeymoon in Mexico on September 14, in an activity sponsored by an energy drink. (Hope it was worth it for the publicity there, guys.) But unlike swimming with stingrays, or driving rally cars, BASE jumping is not an activity in which deaths are exactly a freak occurrence.
This much is amply demonstrated by the World BASE Fatality List, which helpfully indexes the stories of 100 people who have died BASE jumping. Each one of them, taken alone, is an individual tragedy. Together, they're a strong argument not to risk this sport. Things can and do go wrong. And despite the illusion of invulnerability and control, the bottom line is that every time you go, you roll the dice.
I'm not going to say that I think BASE jumping is stupid, or make sarcastic references to Darwin Awards. Not only because it seems a little insensitive, but primarily because I just don't understand it. I am one of the least extreme people ever. Some days, leaving my house feels enough like a deadly game with Madame Fate herself. (And no, I don't leave it via parachute.) The concept of seeking out something dangerous, and enjoying it because the danger gives you an adrenaline rush, is something I'll never understand. So really, I'm curious.
Is it the idea of cheating death, like suicide with a last-second reprieve? Does the body kick over into some weird survival-instinct auto-pilot while you're hurtling to the ground? Or is it a kind of rebel/tryhard thing, where The Man says you can't jump off stuff, so you do?
Whatever it is, it seems bizarre that we live in such a sanitized world that people now go out and court death for fun. I'll bet you not many people who've been through a war zone, or experienced that adrenalin rush through necessity rather than choice, choose to dive off bridges for fun.
Or is adrenaline addictive? Once you're used to it, does ordinary life, without the constant sense of dicing with death, seem boring? I've consistently chosen boring options, where I don't hurtle towards the earth with just a bit of canvas, which may or may not open correctly, to save me from a devastating impact. So I've no idea why on earth people think this is worth the risk.
Join the military or something, people. There's plenty of jumping-off-stuff fun to be had there. Go to East Timor and separate warring militia groups, parachuting in if you really have to. Or go and work for Channel Nine, where the threat of boning is never far away. Above all, please don't BASE jump. Honestly, how many more distressing stories like this one do we have to read?


I am a mum to two small children so my study starts when they go to bed, often after closing hours. Email support from my tutor and marking has always been really quick. It's not easy doing everything over email and I've been really impressed with the quality of the help and materials. I'm really pleased to be getting good results too.


Donna lent me the book Divergent over the holiday weekend and I just started it. I haven't gotten into it much yet, but I love it so far.
Have any of you read this book? I would love to know your thoughts! Happy hump day!