Another pointless thread

Nice one Rob

It must be a day for achievements, although this might not be in the same leaugue. The process having eldued me, Sue solved the age old dilemma of how to fold a Uni-Loc tripod so it will go back in its bag.

Happy Christmas everyone, keep on shooting and enjoy a drink to celebrate...

It's now Christmas Day, so Merry Christmas everyone!

Just survived a heartstopping moment on the phone to HMRC to sort out my self-assessment payment, but a little background if you would bear with me. A few years ago, thank to the combined incompetence of my mother's financial adviser and obstinacy of HMRC, they claimed I owed the equivalent of my life savings in tax on money I never received and court proceedings were pending. After two years of nightmares HMRC finally accepted I owed nothing, but when today the man at HMRC said that there was an anomaly on my account which he needed to discuss with a colleague and put me on hold you can imagine what was going through my mind. Actually, he said, good news: you don't need to pay your latest tax bill and in fact we owe you, so we are paying that today plus interest. How's that for the start of the New Year!

The last time I had a refund from HMRC, I invested in a Q + 01+ 02 lenses kit.

That really sounds like something inducing a panic attack. Dealing with government departments can be a nightmare - even local government. Once they have made their minds up, it takes a miracle to change. Sleep easy tonight Rob.

I accept that things may have become difficult over the last couple of years due to covid, but my experience over many years is that HMRC are very easy to deal with.

It is in their interest just as much as yours that any outstanding issues are dealt with promptly, and the case closed.

Amen to that. Moved into our house 3 years ago, almost immediately we complained that the drop kerb to the drive was too steep because my OH’s car kept catching coming out of the drive.
6 months later we’d complained enough that they sent someone out to check that we were right.
We were.
2.5 years later and many phone calls and still nothing’s happened.

Round here, you can use an authorised contractor to do the work rather than the local council. They would have to satisfy council criteria for working on a highway and get a licence for the specific work. Then the work must be checked by the council to ensure it meets their specification. Whether a contractor or the council does it, you have to pay for it of course.

Stevce

One last comment, the IR inspector told the accountant during my case that they fail to recover money from clever individuals so to get payment from someone like me, even if it isn’t fair, then that helps to even things out. As you can imagine the accountant was pretty taken back by such a sanguine attitude but hopefully it’s not typical.

The council wouldn't have to pay for ours because the drop kerb is already installed, it's just (for whatever reason) above the maximum threshold for height.
They did even say, over the phone, that they would remedy the issue by building it forwards with additional concrete (which would take very little effort or cost) but have yet to do anything.

Ah local authorities..

I worked for one for ever and in the later years I raised a parking concern almost weekly..

..only to be told I was wrong!

Then as I retired, and things were changing some smarta*** said hey look, this is wrong. They then did what I'd been telling them to do for the previous 7 years!!!

So glad to be out of all that and..

.. a late Happy New Year to all.

HG

I have also been baffled by local authorities. The main road out of town, past my village, is dual carriageway part of the way. Two bus lanes were set up a while ago, and as the signs carry no enforcement times the regulations imply that they are reserved for buses, taxis and cycles 24 hours every day. I recently queried this 24/7 with the local authority, as there is only one bus every half hour, I don't remember ever seeing a taxi using the rural lanes, and as for cyclists: the local authority have also spent a small fortune building a separate cycle lane alongside, that is very rarely used.
First reply to my query: the local authority enforce times in town. They leave enforcement of the rural lanes to the police, and I should write to the local constabulary.
Reply from the constabulary: they will only enforce the bus lanes during rush hours. Nobody need fear getting a penalty if they use a lane at other times. Good sense.
Reply from another local authority department: the lanes are strictly reserved for buses etc at all times

And a Happy New Year from me.

During an attic clear out I found loads of colour slides I thought lost, of a camping trip to Norway as a callow student in the 1970s and accompanied by a female friend. We parted ways on our return home and never saw each other again; someone said the past is another country but sometimes I wish I could find the path back.