A Difficult Day at Work

I spent today imaging items for a Timed Bid auction which will go live on Monday (check out http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/search-filter/auction-catalogues?AuctionType=3 at that time). I managed to get everything I needed to do done in spite of the fact that my work computer was functioning at about the same level as the West Indies batting had been when I listened to commentary from the cricket world cup before setting off for work!

The items covered a variety of categories. This set of Royal Doulton plates was the very first lot I imaged today…

??????????While these could appeal either to pottery enthusiasts or lovers of railwayana, they were beaten for breadth of appeal by lot 2085, which has stamps, postal history, medals and art (at least) covered…

?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??????????This French medallion (lot 1502) came out well…

??????????I finish this eclectic selection of images with some stamp album lots where I decided rather than photographing whole pages to focus on smaller quantities of stamps…

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Logjam Cam (#TVDebates – #GE2015)

This poem skewers Cameron in a very amusing way…

Juli's avatarjuxtaposed

He knew it was risking too much to appear
On TV with his main oppositional peers
Lest pretence became all too abundantly clear
That he has no defence for his leadership years.

So Call-me-Dave wrangled, all Divo a-dangle
High-handing his arrogance on a gold plate
And his posse-by-proxy manhandled to strangle
The fate of a woefully unsurprised State into
Showing him hiding as one head entangled
In brevity measured to crowded debate.

“This is our final offer” Cons proffered in haste
After months of a chaos they’d fought to create
And the broadcasters’ practise did keenly berate
For the leaving of times and the terms far too late.

And the country cried chick chick chick…
Watching Dave run
From the hum of his shit
And his enemies’ guns
And the fun carried on when his frenemy, Clegg
Made a scramble to lay the Conservatives’ egg
With a pledge to stand…

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For Lotte Ryan, a friend and fellow campaigner

This both a moving tribute to Lotte Ryan and a searing indictment of the current culture of the DWP.

Kitty S Jones's avatarPolitics and Insights

Lotte Ryan

The following is from my friend,Charlotte Ryan, who was expected to attend work interviews or lose her benefits just weeks before she died. This was written on December 12, 2014:

I have terminal cancer, my prognosis is 0-3 years and I was diagnosed in March 2014 with my brain stem glioma. In April 2014 I was placed in the support group* for 3 years and I have gone from being able-bodied to hopelessly disabled. I have many neurological deficits including diploplia, dyspraxia, dysarthria and dysphagia. To save you googling, this means that I have double vision and am going blind, I’m very clumsy and most days I drop everything I pick up, my speech is failing and one day I won’t be able to communicate verbally at all and I have such difficulty swallowing that I now have a feeding tube.

I cannot leave…

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The Sutcliffe Formula for a Cricket World Cup (and Some Cool Pictures)

There has been much talk at the Cricket World Cup about how the tournament should be formatted, especially given that there are those who would reduce it to a ten team tournament (so utterly harebrained a notion that I do no more than mention it). Several of the associate nations at this world cup have given good accounts of themselves, with Ireland having a strong chance of progressing to the quarter finals.

My formula for a Cricket World Cup would be as follows:

16 teams to play in the tournament. Stage one would involve two groups of eight teams, the top four from each group progressing. Each group would play its matches in sets of four (hence two groups of eight), making seven rounds of matches for each group, to played on alternate days (i.e. this stage would span two weeks, with each side having a day off between matches.

After the group stage would be a three day break before the quarter-finals, which would be played all on one day. After a two day break the semi–finals would take place. Then following another two day break the final would take place. This would mean that the tournament would be played in a period of three and a half weeks (a sensible length for a global tournament).

As for the TV people: If they don’t like it they can lump it.

Now for some pics…

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Developments at King's Lynn bus station.
Developments at King’s Lynn bus station.

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These magpies played a good game of hide and seek with me - but as this picture proves I emerged the winner!
These magpies played a good game of hide and seek with me – but as this picture proves I emerged the winner!

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Savings From Sanctions- This Is More Proof Of Targets

This should be read and shared as widely as possible.

samedifference1's avatarSame Difference

This was taken in a Jobcentre, therefore exposing that there certainly are targets for benefit sanctions, something which the government has always denied. Apparently the Jobcentre where it was taken isn’t being named at this point, presumably to protect the whistleblower, but the photo has already been passed on to a parliamentary select committee. Let’s hope the committee acts on this.

sanction savings

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Imaging for the March Auction

My day at James and Sons was dominated by Numismatism as I had been left a selection of coins and banknotes to image. I will take you through a selection of the items that I imaged today.

There were four albums of banknotes, from which I shall settle sharing the gallery for lot 224, which consists of three images…

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The first coin lot I shall feature is number 321, which was the first of two proof sets of the last issue of pre-decimal British coinage…

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Lot 323 was a single coin, for which I produced a full gallery…

?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??????????Lot 324, a set of four commemorative coins from Jersey, also seems worth sharing…

?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??????????To finish, lot 344, a medallion issued by the Tower of London…

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Ukip and the rise of Conformist Victimhood

This is an excellent and very thorough debunking of myths…

Van Rants's avatarVan Rants

There exists in this great country a growing chunk of the populace whose sense of self-worth and identity is so weak, so insecure, that the very existence of other ways of viewing the world is seen as a threat.

These people have such a shaky grip on what it truly means to be British, that they constantly have to shout, chant, dress up a medieval knights, wave the flag and preach hate because they have no idea that true patriotism is not about attacking other people, but being an example of just how compassionate and civilised your country can be.
MY sense of culture is strong and secure, which is why I have no fear of another’s. Last December I went around saying ‘Merry Christmas’ to everybody – including the Muslim owner of my local corner shop – no-one tried to stop me, no-one greeted me with any hostility, no-one…

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Sell, Sell, Sell! Maximus Share Prices Could Tumble After Welfare To Work Scandal Rocks Australia

A timely expose of some of Maximus’ previous history.

johnny void's avatarthe void

share-collapse1A damning documentary exposing the shoddy behaviour of Maximus and the welfare-to-work sector in Australia could lead to a drop in the company’s share price according to one stockmarlet analyst.

The programme, produced by ABC (and still viewable here), tells a story which will be familiar to all those in the UK forced to attend outsourced schemes such as Iain Duncan Smith’s Work Programme.  Claimants had their benefits stopped for no reason, signatures on paperwork were faked and the most marginalised claimants were parked – meaning abandoned completely by the companies who saw no profit in helping them.  Maximus dominate the welfare-to-work sector in Australia, and have several contracts running similar schemes in the UK.

According to an analyst on finance website Seeking Alpha, Maximus earn 10% of their revenue in Australia and that could now be under threat due to a ‘short term negative news cycle’. …

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Yesterday’s #SaveOurNHS action in King’s Lynn

A good turnout helped ensure the success of yesterday’s signature collecting session in King’s Lynn. Although it was grey with the King’s Lynn ‘lazy wind’ (cannot be bothered to go round you so goes straight through you) blowing the response was excellent. Even I, though I rarely fare particularly well gathering signatures (this is one area where having an Autistic Spectrum Condition does make things difficult), collected over 20, and received some kind comments even from some of those who did not sign. The total number of signatures gathered in central King’s Lynn yesterday will certainly be in the high hundreds.

Here some pictures from yesterday’s activities, some of them taken for me by the photographer from the Lynn News who took team pics for that publication…

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There has been a lot of sporting action this weekend. In the six nations there have been wins for Wales against France and for Italy against Scotland. Italy should have won by more than three points but Kelly Haimona had another shocker with the boot. Likewise, the principal difference between France and Wales was that Camille Lopez had a poor game with the boot whereas Leigh Halfpenny was up to us usual stratospheric standards for Wales. The Frenchman who kicked Ireland’s Jamie Heaslip in the back has deservedly been banned for the rest of the tournament – if he ever plays international rugby again he will luckier than he deserves to be.

In the cricket world cup, England suffered another humiliating defeat, this time at Sri Lanka’s hands. Having tallied 309 from their 50, England should have been capable of putting up some sort of defence of that total, but Sri Lanka had nine wickets and three overs to spare at the end. In the battle of the co-hosts New Zealand emerged victorious. The margin was only one wicket, but with more than half of their overs unused! Australia’s batting having done a passable impression of a house of cards, their bowlers fought back well to make a contest of it.

I have some other pics from yesterday…

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This clock adorns one of the towers of King's Lynn Minster
This clock adorns one of the towers of King’s Lynn Minster
This is in between those two towers....
This is in between those two towers….
...And this adorns the second
…And this adorns the second

It’s official … this government SUPPORT domestic violence!

Another demonstration of just how callous and uncaring this filthy government of ours is…

thelovelywibblywobblyoldlady's avatarThe lovely wibbly wobbly old lady

Reposted from Inside Housing

Domestic violence victim loses High Court bedroom tax case.

A mother living in a domestic abuse ‘sanctuary scheme’ has lost her landmark challenge against the bedroom tax, in a blow to similar services across the country.

Claimant ‘A’ – whose identity is protected – lives in a property which has a special ‘panic space’ installed by the council.

The woman had her housing benefit deducted because the council considered her panic room to be a spare bedroom, although she has been receiving discretionary housing payment to cover the shortfall in her benefit.

She started High Court judicial review proceedings against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in May 2013, arguing that the bedroom tax is a discriminatory policy which will have severe consequences for her and her son.

In a judgement handed down on 29 January, which was summarised in a government bulletin on…

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