An early warm spring day, a rare lunch, Sitting on a bench overlooking the river. People pass by. A young boy shouts out 'are you having a good time?' I hold my thumb up to him and he laughs with his friends. Somehow the food tastes nicer. A gull cries as the river curls in … Continue reading By the Wear
Making tax taxable
The Government issued the VAT Notice 700/22: Making Tax Digital for VAT back in March 2019. ‘Making Tax Digital for VAT requires VAT registered businesses with taxable turnover above the VAT registration threshold to keep records in digital form and file their VAT Returns using software. It is increasingly common for business records and accounts … Continue reading Making tax taxable
50:50 Future
I like getting involved in new things. It might be my fickleness as a Gemini or my magpie like approach to life but there is always something else interesting to have a go at. Lots of people ask me if I can help out and my default position is yes, if I can spare the … Continue reading 50:50 Future
Freeconomy
Free is a four letter word! Freeconomy has nine letters. I first came across the word consciously in the Economist’s new magazine 1843 in an article about how people are playing the system. They scour the media for offers promising free stuff and use their technical skills to create spreadsheets and algorithms to maximize the … Continue reading Freeconomy
All people are…
I shudder these days when I read the news, especially online. I say news yet what I really mean is opinion. With all this talk of fake news it is difficult to separate the reporting of events from the writer’s perspective. Much of what I come across these days is little more than propaganda. One … Continue reading All people are…
Large Hadron Collider
The Large Hadron Collider is the biggest machine that mankind has ever built. It is designed to collide sub-atomic particles at speeds close to that of light and watch what happens after the impact. It is hoped that in this way we can get a better understanding of how the universe was formed. I am … Continue reading Large Hadron Collider
Poetry as a Service
A poem for all occasions, rhymes for all situations. Words from cyberspace, any subject, any taste. Just enter your description, the app provides encryption. Passions will be stirred and algorithms will be whirred, Spews out a transcription, tailored to the subscription. With no human intervention to dilute original intention. Racks of faceless servers provide poetry … Continue reading Poetry as a Service
In praise of naivete
Often I have been told that I am naive and that is not the way the world works. At times I think that is an unfair criticism. It is clear that I have a lot of experience and believe I can offer wisdom and use good judgement. I appear naive then, not because I don’t … Continue reading In praise of naivete
Rip up the textbooks on private schools
I occasionally buy a copy of ‘The Big Issue’. Homelessness is a serious issue and I would like to support the work that they are doing but they compete on the high street with so many other worthy causes. I feel guilty every time I pass someone rattling a tin, shaking a bucket, sitting at … Continue reading Rip up the textbooks on private schools
Dragging my feet
I’ve been dragging my feet, not in the sense of putting something off that I should have got around to but rather scraping my feet along the ground. You see I have been given some very comfortable new slippers. They are a bit like boots, made from plush and I jokingly call them my bear’s … Continue reading Dragging my feet
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 