Happy New Tax Year! Today is the first day of the new tax year so enjoy that extra £350 personal allowances (or £29 a month) and remember to check your payslips that you are on code 1185L and HMRC are not skimping on you.
As many students find out every year, being a student doesn't exempt you from paying tax and if you earn over £227 a week or £957 a month then HMRC are expecting you to chip 20% of anything over those amounts into their coffers.
As the old tax year is now closed, any overpayment of tax from last year will be sent to you by HMRC so you do not need to go to any of those Tax Refund companies who promise to get you a refund.
These companies will charge you an admin fee (usually £20) and up to 40% of the tax repayment obtained for simply getting you to fill out a form which they then pass to HMRC claiming your refund.
You can simply write a letter to HMRC asking them to check if you overpaid tax last year and if you have then they will send you a cheque and you get 100% of any refund.
Unless you are particularly keen to give your money away to a company who get you to do all the legwork then take your form and simply forward it on to HMRC, then avoid companies like these and keep all the money you are owed.
You earned it and it's your money so why should someone else take 40% of your money for something you can do so easily yourself in a couple of sentences or a 2 minute telephone call?
The HMRC address to write to to ask if you had overpaid tax is:
Pay As You Earn and Self Assessment
HM Revenue and Customs
BX9 1AS
The telephone number is 0300 200 3300
Friday, 6 April 2018
Thursday, 5 April 2018
Lucy Museum of Musicians - Billy Joel
Qualification to The Lucy Museum of Musicians who deserve entry to Lucy's Museum of Musicians is they must have a minimum of three songs which would make me turn up the radio if they came on Billy Joel
Qualifying Songs: Piano Man, This Night, Scenes From An Italian Restaurant
Billy Joel is in the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame and he can now add The Lucy Museum of Musicians who deserve entry to Lucy's Museum of Musicians to the list.
He may have given up writing pop songs in favour of classical piano pieces but he has a magnificent back catalogue to fall back on including the brilliantly poignant 'Piano Man' which only made it to a high of 136 in the UK Charts on it's release in 1973 but then Billy has only troubled the UK top 10 five times in a 45 year career.
As my parents were both Billy Joel fans, i sort of fell into his music by osmosis and i never really realised i was a fan of his until i found myself buying one of his Greatest Hits album as i knew and liked every song on the album.
'This Night' was a gem hidden away on the Innocent Man Album and according to Wikipedia, was about his brief relationship with supermodel Elle Macpherson, whom he dated just prior to second wife Christie Brinkley which is a magnificent bit of punching above his weight. Beethoven is given a writing credit on the song as it is based on Ludwig's Pathétique Sonata.
'Scenes From An Italian Restaurant' is an epic of three songs stitched together with a ballad which goes into a jazz New Orleans style mid-section and then a piano rock section before returning to the original ballad.
The Reasonable Force Grey Area
Two men break into a pensioners house, threaten him with a screwdriver and in a scuffle the victim grabs the screwdriver and stabs the burglar to death open and close case you would have thought but unfortunately it doesn't quite work that way, just ask Tony Martin.
In 1999, Norfolk farmer Martin shot dead a 16-year-old intruder and got handed a life sentence for murder although this was later downgraded to manslaughter.
In 2008, Munir Hussain was jailed for 30 months for grievous bodily harm after attacking an intruder with a cricket bat and now Richard Osbourne-Brooks has been arrested on suspicion of murder after stabbing a burglar in his home.
The rights for how far a person can go to defend their home is a grey area, the use of 'reasonable force' doesn't really explain what constitutes 'reasonable force' and it is not defined by law but a person must show that 'do what they honestly thought was necessary at the time' to stay within the law.
Where Martin and Hussain fell down was the law says they shouldn't carry on attacking an intruder after they are no longer in danger, and as the intruders were running away when they were attacked by the home owners, they were deemed no longer in danger.
In 2013 the law was changed so that someone, confronted by a burglar, who genuinely fears for their safety or that of their family, can use force that is reasonable in the circumstances but you will be prosecuted if you use what the law terms 'grossly disproportionate force' including laying a trap, using extreme force or using a gun on an unarmed intruder.
In 1999, Norfolk farmer Martin shot dead a 16-year-old intruder and got handed a life sentence for murder although this was later downgraded to manslaughter.
In 2008, Munir Hussain was jailed for 30 months for grievous bodily harm after attacking an intruder with a cricket bat and now Richard Osbourne-Brooks has been arrested on suspicion of murder after stabbing a burglar in his home.
The rights for how far a person can go to defend their home is a grey area, the use of 'reasonable force' doesn't really explain what constitutes 'reasonable force' and it is not defined by law but a person must show that 'do what they honestly thought was necessary at the time' to stay within the law.
Where Martin and Hussain fell down was the law says they shouldn't carry on attacking an intruder after they are no longer in danger, and as the intruders were running away when they were attacked by the home owners, they were deemed no longer in danger.
In 2013 the law was changed so that someone, confronted by a burglar, who genuinely fears for their safety or that of their family, can use force that is reasonable in the circumstances but you will be prosecuted if you use what the law terms 'grossly disproportionate force' including laying a trap, using extreme force or using a gun on an unarmed intruder.
Police Cuts And London Killings
Another young person killed in the escalating epidemic of knife violence and you don't need to be a brain surgeon to work out the cause.
Since the Conservatives came into power in 2010, their austerity drive has seen funding across the board slashed and this includes 27,000 less police officers and £700m cuts to the police service.
Also gone, in the name of austerity, are 1000 youth services, including successful programs to tackle gang violence.
Police, with a reduced budget and thousands of fewer officers too, are under 'significant stress', the emergency services watchdog have said and need more than £400m extra a year to stem rising crime, and, if that isn't forthcoming, they could have to cut further officers and further ration services.
It isn't that hard to work out, if there are less of the people employed to stop crime, then crime will rise.
The Conservatives have been awful, the austerity cuts devastating the country so this is the direct result of Government policy and while the blame goes to the morons arming themselves with knives and sticking them in each other, the choices the Government have made has enabled the environment for it to happen in.
Since the Conservatives came into power in 2010, their austerity drive has seen funding across the board slashed and this includes 27,000 less police officers and £700m cuts to the police service.
Also gone, in the name of austerity, are 1000 youth services, including successful programs to tackle gang violence.
Police, with a reduced budget and thousands of fewer officers too, are under 'significant stress', the emergency services watchdog have said and need more than £400m extra a year to stem rising crime, and, if that isn't forthcoming, they could have to cut further officers and further ration services.
It isn't that hard to work out, if there are less of the people employed to stop crime, then crime will rise.
The Conservatives have been awful, the austerity cuts devastating the country so this is the direct result of Government policy and while the blame goes to the morons arming themselves with knives and sticking them in each other, the choices the Government have made has enabled the environment for it to happen in.
Wednesday, 4 April 2018
Lucy Museum of Musicians - John Lennon
Qualification to The Lucy Museum of Musicians who deserve entry to Lucy's Museum of Musicians is they must have a minimum of three songs which would make me turn up the radio if they came on.
John Lennon
Qualifying Songs: Just Like Starting Over, Jealous Guy, Imagine
They may win all the plaudits for Best Group but the Beatles didn't have the three songs which would make me turn up the radio and only one of the four members went on to satisfy my criteria.
While it is interesting to see the Beatles journey through the 60s from cocky young men to long haired hippies, John never seemed to come out from the hippy phase and his solo efforts held some real belters which showed who was the real song writing talent in the Beatles.
'Just Like Starting Over' has a great bassline running all the way through it and is a song about going back to the start of a relationship, not sure how Lennon fouled up with Yoko but it's a proper 'oops sorry, i messed up so shall we start again' type song.
In the powerful 'Imagine', Lennon is asking us to consider a place where things that divide people (religion, possessions, etc.) don't exist although at the end he admits it's just a nice dream while 'Jealous Guy' lays bare the raw emotions of the insecurities of loving someone so much that you risk losing the other person.
John Lennon Qualifying Songs: Just Like Starting Over, Jealous Guy, Imagine
They may win all the plaudits for Best Group but the Beatles didn't have the three songs which would make me turn up the radio and only one of the four members went on to satisfy my criteria.
While it is interesting to see the Beatles journey through the 60s from cocky young men to long haired hippies, John never seemed to come out from the hippy phase and his solo efforts held some real belters which showed who was the real song writing talent in the Beatles.
'Just Like Starting Over' has a great bassline running all the way through it and is a song about going back to the start of a relationship, not sure how Lennon fouled up with Yoko but it's a proper 'oops sorry, i messed up so shall we start again' type song.
In the powerful 'Imagine', Lennon is asking us to consider a place where things that divide people (religion, possessions, etc.) don't exist although at the end he admits it's just a nice dream while 'Jealous Guy' lays bare the raw emotions of the insecurities of loving someone so much that you risk losing the other person.
Tuesday, 3 April 2018
Lucy Museum of Musicians - The Beach Boys
Qualification to The Lucy Museum of Musicians who deserve entry to Lucy's Museum of Musicians is they must have a minimum of three songs which would make me turn up the radio if they came on. The Beach Boys
Qualifying Songs: Surfin' USA, All Summer Long, God Only Knows
Summer wouldn't be Summer without the songs of a trio of brothers, their cousin and their friend singing about surfing, cars, romance and the Californian beach lifestyle.
The tune to 'Surfin' USA' was lifted from Chuck Berry's 'Sweet Little Sixteen' for which he was given a writing credit after Berry's record company threatened to sue.
At some point around the mid-sixties the surf and car music dipped into the sunset and was replaced by more mature songs which glanced back at their younger days, 'All Summer Long' is the ultimate end of summer record although singing about having fun with a pair of thongs means something different on a Californian Beach than on Brighton seafront.
'God Only Knows' is a great love song even if it does start with the lyrics 'I may not always love you...' but it shows their growth from boy racers chasing girls and having fun with thongs to mature men in relationships.
Rolling Stone magazine's put them 12th in their '100 Greatest Artists of All Time' list and they more than satisfy the criteria of 3 songs which get turned up on my radio, especially if the Calendar shows June, July or August and the smell of sun tan lotion hangs heavily in the air.
Trade War Not So Easy To Win Then
For someone who tweets incessantly, we have found out three things which the Orange President won't tweet about, Russia, his extra marital affairs with porn stars and the American Economy when it tanks.
The same men on the BBC who got excited in February when the Global Markets went whoosh in a downwards direction, are getting their Footsies in a twist again this time as American stocks saw the worst start in April since the Great Depression with the S&P 500 index falling 2.2% after the first trading session in the second quarter.
'This was only ever worse 89 years ago when it triggered the Great Depression, the worst economic crisis in US history' said one man as graphics of drooping bright red arrows on a chart and the sentence 'DOW drops almost 460 points on news of China tariffs' sliding across the bottom of the screen.
China has introduced additional tariffs of up to 25% on 128 US products including frozen pork, wine and fruits in response to Washington’s duties on imports of Chinese aluminium and steel and is threatening to introduce more if the White House decides to impose a new round of tariff hikes against Chinese goods.
Maybe winning a Trade War isn't as easy as Trump thought but then he has also recently found out that sexually molesting women and having it away with a porn star isn't that easy to keep secret either.
You do wonder what Russia has on him that it has spooked him into staying on Putin's good side, from what we know about the depraved pervert already, it has to be something truly appalling.
The same men on the BBC who got excited in February when the Global Markets went whoosh in a downwards direction, are getting their Footsies in a twist again this time as American stocks saw the worst start in April since the Great Depression with the S&P 500 index falling 2.2% after the first trading session in the second quarter.
'This was only ever worse 89 years ago when it triggered the Great Depression, the worst economic crisis in US history' said one man as graphics of drooping bright red arrows on a chart and the sentence 'DOW drops almost 460 points on news of China tariffs' sliding across the bottom of the screen.
China has introduced additional tariffs of up to 25% on 128 US products including frozen pork, wine and fruits in response to Washington’s duties on imports of Chinese aluminium and steel and is threatening to introduce more if the White House decides to impose a new round of tariff hikes against Chinese goods.
Maybe winning a Trade War isn't as easy as Trump thought but then he has also recently found out that sexually molesting women and having it away with a porn star isn't that easy to keep secret either.
You do wonder what Russia has on him that it has spooked him into staying on Putin's good side, from what we know about the depraved pervert already, it has to be something truly appalling.
21st Commonwealth Games
Great Britain is having a party and only a selected few are invited. Canada has an invite but not it's neighbour, Guyana but not Brazil and Cyprus but not Greece because it's the 21st Commonwealth Games with more than 4,500 athletes from 71 nations and territories
competing for 275 gold medals in the Gold Coast, Australia.
As Great Britain is split up into its components parts for these Games, England is currently 2nd behind Australia in the all-time
medals table with Canada 3rd, India 4th and New Zealand 5th.
As it is being hosted in the land down under, it will all be taking place while all us Brits are tucked up in bed so i will have to check the scoreboard in the morning to make sure that England is still above Australia in the Medal Table but as it is in their backyard, i don't expect the plucky English to top the table this time.
Those not invited may look on with envy but remember that to qualify for the Games you would have to have been invaded by Britain at some point in your history so maybe it's not such a bad thing if your nation is not jumping, running and swimming in the Gold Coastthis month.
Monday, 2 April 2018
Lucy Museum of Musicians - Alanis Morissette
The Rock N Roll Hall of Fame have a strict criteria to gain entry to their hallow Halls but there is a far more simple criteria for qualification to The Lucy Museum of Musicians who deserve entry to Lucy's Museum of Musicians, they must have a minimum of three songs which would make me turn up the radio if they came on.
Some are obvious, some are a surprise and some include covers of over people's songs which they become associated with so you may not agree but in the best tradition of Punk, I don't care!
Alanis Morissette
Qualifying Songs: Ironic, Forgiven, You Oughta Know,
Jagged Little Pill was in the UK Album charts for 145 weeks and was a rip roaring 13 songs from an angry young lady with a magnificent set of lungs and electric guitars which happily coincided with the grunge theme of the time although the song 'Ironic' received a kicking for the improper application of the term although possibly she was being ironic by singing a song called Ironic which wasn't ironic at all.
While you could almost hear the sound of bunnies boiling in her early songs, 'You Oughta Know' especially, she evolved into a run-of-the-mill female singer seemingly having got all her vitriol out in that one album and then dialled it down and never achieved that level of success again.
'Forgiven' is a typical spectacular Morissette builder with a sceptical religious tint to it and although her next few albums had a few hidden gems on them, her brilliantly angry songs had been replaced by songs pondering the troubles and joys of maturity and domesticity but not anywhere near as exciting as Alanis at her angsty best.
Some are obvious, some are a surprise and some include covers of over people's songs which they become associated with so you may not agree but in the best tradition of Punk, I don't care!
Alanis Morissette Qualifying Songs: Ironic, Forgiven, You Oughta Know,
Jagged Little Pill was in the UK Album charts for 145 weeks and was a rip roaring 13 songs from an angry young lady with a magnificent set of lungs and electric guitars which happily coincided with the grunge theme of the time although the song 'Ironic' received a kicking for the improper application of the term although possibly she was being ironic by singing a song called Ironic which wasn't ironic at all.
While you could almost hear the sound of bunnies boiling in her early songs, 'You Oughta Know' especially, she evolved into a run-of-the-mill female singer seemingly having got all her vitriol out in that one album and then dialled it down and never achieved that level of success again.
'Forgiven' is a typical spectacular Morissette builder with a sceptical religious tint to it and although her next few albums had a few hidden gems on them, her brilliantly angry songs had been replaced by songs pondering the troubles and joys of maturity and domesticity but not anywhere near as exciting as Alanis at her angsty best.
Sunday, 1 April 2018
203 Candles
If i lived on Mercury my birthday cake would have 203 candles on it today. They would be melted before i got chance to blow them out as temperatures on Mercury reach 427C and Venus is even hotter at an average of 462C but i would only be a very hot and sweaty 79.
The Happy Birthday banners and foil balloon would have a big 26 on it if i lived on Mars but if i grew up on Jupiter i would be 4 and could legitimately eat my ice-cream with my fingers and stick smarties up my nose.
Elsewhere in the Solar System i would be 1 on Saturn and even younger on Uranus and Neptune but the fates decreed that i was born and raised on Earth which has gone around the Sun exactly 49 times since i was dragged screaming into the World.
Today is Easter Sunday and to celebrate the day Jesus invented Easter Eggs or whatever he did, the coffee shop is shut and the regular 0104 Birthday Club is postponed for this year so Happy Returns for the day Chris, Philip, Susan, David and Jimmy and have a great time, don't eat too much chocolate and see you next year unless i'm on Jupiter in which case i'm not old enough to drink Latte's and mine will be a Fanta.
The Happy Birthday banners and foil balloon would have a big 26 on it if i lived on Mars but if i grew up on Jupiter i would be 4 and could legitimately eat my ice-cream with my fingers and stick smarties up my nose.
Elsewhere in the Solar System i would be 1 on Saturn and even younger on Uranus and Neptune but the fates decreed that i was born and raised on Earth which has gone around the Sun exactly 49 times since i was dragged screaming into the World.
Today is Easter Sunday and to celebrate the day Jesus invented Easter Eggs or whatever he did, the coffee shop is shut and the regular 0104 Birthday Club is postponed for this year so Happy Returns for the day Chris, Philip, Susan, David and Jimmy and have a great time, don't eat too much chocolate and see you next year unless i'm on Jupiter in which case i'm not old enough to drink Latte's and mine will be a Fanta.
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