Early Risers.

[Gwiwer]

3 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

I think that you're supposed to take the wrapping off....

In my humble experience that is not absolutely essential  

[Danemouth]

I retired at the end of November 2012 at the age of 65. I had been made redundant as a senior manager in British Gas at the age of 48 with an extremely good payout which included adding 5 years to my pensionable service in the final salary scheme and that pension starting to pay on my fiftieth birthday. I got a job with a small financial institution and joined their scheme for almost 17 years.

 

The result is a good pension; I am sad however that the yougsters these days will not see the sort of benefits that I received when I gave up work. Employers of staff in money purchase schemes have apparently reduced their contribution to such schemes.

 

Dave

[simontaylor484]

My posts keep disappearing 

 

So will try again

[PeterBB]

17 hours ago, Coombe Barton said:

... and the spaghetti of the twenty-first century ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2021/03/30/data-and-bame-vaccination-uptake/

Remember then all and specifically the very last Dick Barton-Special Agent - the next week was the first of The Archers  and everyday etc.

 

75' of shelving ... not sure of you're like me but when replacing/changing books around I always seem to find something interesting and revisit - therefore the moving task takes ages longer. This is the same with railway magazines and for those I tend to tear ut pages and discard the rest.  Officially I am on gold here but accessing takes ages.

 

First retirement (NHS cuts and 'old enough') 1995, second retirement 1967, third retirement 2017 no pension but in receipt of state pension.  Second career made up for 'losses' in NHS, was much less stressful - pre apparent great need for paperwork rather than pupil contact time -  and thoroughly enjoyed.  Third volunteering also added paid work and again thoroughly enjoyed and when able do still volunteer.

 

Really hate the companies that 'manage to lose' pension funds for their workers while stripping companies take over and make millions out of the 'former' assets.  Here I might add that there is nothing wrong with profit but consider exorbitant profiteering as criminal.

 

Edited March 31, 2021 by PeterBB
Added later topic material.

[Ian Abel]

HUMP day...

Little of note happening here, apart from a busy client wobble yesterday, resulted in not managing to post here! Oh well, no-one would notice anyway

 

Last evening got my new specs, very slight change (improvement, yay) in prescription so nothing major changed on wearing the new ones. 

 

Today much client activity to deal with, and later a Zoom happy-hour with friends. That's another 24-hours accounted for then! 

 

Weather taking a turn for the stupid again here, after 21 on Monday decidedly downhill at -5 first thing and a high touted as only managing +1, though it is sunny

 

Carry on...

[pH]

2 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

17th May 2027 ..... or that's the plan at the moment.  Looking forward to it in many ways.  Still no news on which hemisphere it might be in but my money is on right here where we are.  Dr. SWMBO disagrees.

If it’s the lower hemisphere, be aware of the ‘freezing’ of UK government pensions!

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. My draft will arrived this morning, something to do over the bank holiday. Though it will be cold over the bank holiday its predicted to be dry so perhaps a bit of the G word. If it does rain a bit of work on the layout will take place.

[tetsudofan]

Retirement day for me was December 30, 1998 and was celebrated with a glass of champagne on a Northwest Airlines Jumbo rolling down the tarmac at Narita Airport, Tokyo bound for Hong Kong.

 

Was back in Tokyo as a tourist  a couple of weeks later (having surrendered my work permit on December 30) to stay with a friend to sort things out, visit some other friends in Asia to say goodbye and see parts of Japan I had not seen before returning to the UK on April 10, 1999 (crikey, nearing 22 years ago.....) conveniently allowing me to sort of my tax returns in Japan as of December 30, 1998 and arriving back in the UK just after the start of a new tax year.

 

Keith

 

[simontaylor484]

The 2 minature dachshunds on my earlier post are Crusoe and his brother Oakley Dokily they are a Canadian you tube sensation they do some very entertaining videos 

[Gwiwer]

27 minutes ago, pH said:

If it’s the lower hemisphere, be aware of the ‘freezing’ of UK government pensions!

I am thank you.  And of the potential tax liability.  

 

In short, and if I understand matters correctly, my UK State pension and company funds will be taxed at 33.3% upon departure from the UK and taxed as income by Australia at 20% therefore I lose 53.3% of the accumulated value from 30-odd years and a bit more in currency conversion.  I would, however, receive my two Aussie funds as income although also liable to 20% tax depending upon my total income.  

 

If I retire in the UK my UK funds are payable in their entirety and unlikely to generate income tax liability.  My Aussie funds will also be payable in their entirety minus the bit lost in currency conversion.  So while I would not quality for a full UK retirement pension I do have four funds which will top up what the state provides but probably still keeping me below the tax threshold.  

 

Dr.  SWMBO has many more years of Australian superannuation funds locked up there until her "natural retirement age" (which is somewhat later than mine as she is some years younger than me)  but has next to no British contribution record.  Only a few year back in the 90s and the past 3 1/2 at Kew.  She would be much better off retiring in Oz.  I would be much better off retiring in the UK.  If we sell our property in Oz and take the proceeds 50:50 as it is in joint names then our position is closer to taxable thresholds but we no longer have a fixed asset base to fall back on.  But we may have enough to cash-buy a place of our own here or there to live in debt-free and without rental worries for the rest of our days. 

 

Tough decisions.  

[Erichill16]

29 minutes ago, simontaylor484 said:

The 2 minature dachshunds on my earlier post are Crusoe and his brother Oakley Dokily they are a Canadian you tube sensation they do some very entertaining videos 

They do a very good Easter bunny sketch.

 

[pH]

22 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

In short, and if I understand matters correctly, my UK State pension and company funds will be taxed at 33.3% upon departure from the UK and taxed as income by Australia at 20% therefore I lose 53.3% of the accumulated value from 30-odd years and a bit more in currency conversion.  

I think you should check that. Tax matters between any two countries are particular to those two countries, but that is not what happens with my UK pensions - one government and one occupational. 
 

Neither are taxed in the UK. I declare both as income in Canada, and they are included in my taxable income for Canadian Revenue Agency purposes.
 

We have our UK pensions deposited directly into Canadian accounts. Some UK expat pensioners have their pensions deposited into UK accounts, and move money to Canada themselves as required. However, apart from the risk of the conversion rate fluctuating over time, at any one time the UK government can apparently get a better conversion rate than an individual can, so we’re happy with direct deposit in Canada.

[PhilJ W]

The use-by-date lottery has given me several options for dinner tonight, decisions, decisions.

[Gwiwer]

1 minute ago, PhilJ W said:

The use-by-date lottery has given me several options for dinner tonight, decisions, decisions.

In the absence of sensible decision-making you could have more than one option  

[JohnDMJ]

25 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

The use-by-date lottery has given me several options for dinner tonight, decisions, decisions.

 

With respect, the 'use by' date is somewhat arbitrary.

 

To quote Andrew Zimmern on the Food Network channel, "if it looks good, eat it!"

 

IIRC, the 'use by' and 'sell by' dates were a concoction of J. Sainsbury's to assist in stock rotation.

 

In effect, they have become so worshipped as to have knocked good old common sense into a cocked hat! (and caused a lot of food wastage to boot!)

 

Legend has it that if a bit of mould had not been seen on a slice of bread, we would not have found penicillin!

 

Ask yourself, cheese, pickling, corning (as in corned beef), tinning, salting, jam making, et alia are all ways developed by our forebears for preserving foods. What is the relevance on these products to the aforementioned dates? IMHO, NONE!!

 

I speak from the experience of having consumed 8 year old* jam and 7 year old* mustard, to give but a couple of examples. (* i.e. years after their printed dates!)

 

Question: why does the original recyclable product, water, have a use-by date? IMHO, I detect excrement of the bovine species here!

 

<rant over>!

Edited March 31, 2021 by JohnDMJ

[simontaylor484]

58 minutes ago, Erichill16 said:

They do a very good Easter bunny sketch.

 

They have done a mission impossible skit,been ghostbusters,been to doggy prison and other adventures my youngest son introduced them to me 

[simontaylor484]

Jam will last forever if the jar is not opened 

[PhilJ W]

I have my tongue firmly in my cheek when I speak of the use by date lottery. Only the other day I was eating some marmalade that was twelve years out of date. The sound of the vacuum going when the jar was opened was proof that it was OK to eat.

[Ozexpatriate]

44 minutes ago, JohnDMJ said:

Question: why does the original recyclable product, water, have a use-by date?

There are many plastic bottles that should never contain any foodstuffs, yet do. Even plastic water bottles certified as BPA free will still leach materials eventually.

 

While I will happily stipulate that "use by", "sell by" and "best by" dates are at best arbitrary, depending on what the container is made of, there are many otherwise stable products that can be contaminated by the packaging over time.

 

Some things you would think would never go bad do. Soda packaged in aluminium cans/tins will degrade over time and get very nasty. This does take years rather than months. I'm not sure what causes it, presumably the acids in the soda.

[polybear]

Bear has spotted his "Easter Egg" for 2021:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-56589889

 

Bear also noted the news report about a protest at Pimlico Academy; it seems one of the things the students objected to was....the flying of the Union Jack .  Perhaps they'd do well to remember all those millions of UK and Commonwealth Citizens that died to ensure that it could be flown....

Rant Over

 

In other news:

Bear spent all of half an hour painting part of a kitchen wall (behind the washer) - now complete.  I'll fit a new single socket tomorrow, and also give the cold supply pipe one last coat.  Then it's come up with a simple but acceptable plan for boxing in some pipework behind the washer.

 

Most of the day was spent in the back garden, sorting the shed and disposing of stuff that is no longer required.  Many items are now on Freegle (Freecycle) and are proving popular, whilst others are for sale on the 'bay etc.  One example is finding a nugget such as a 600 x 600 sheet of copper that I'd "forgotten" I'd had - that's now up for sale.

I've still to do the multi-drawer storage cabinet (about ten drawers of various tooling, metal stock etc. that stands over 4ft high) tomorrow, though I'm expecting a delivery of the kitchen wall tiles so have to be careful not to miss that - I'm hoping they give me an updated e.t.a rather than the "delivery some time between 9 and 5" that I have so far.

[pH]

1 hour ago, JohnDMJ said:

Question: why does the original recyclable product, water, have a use-by date? IMHO, I detect excrement of the bovine species here!

A friend of ours was an elementary school teacher. As part of the school’s earthquake preparedness, large plastic totes were filled with various non-perishable supplies, including water in plastic bottles. The children were also encouraged to each place a small toy in the totes - the idea was for them to have something familiar and comforting in the event of an emergency. At one annual inspection, it was found that several of the water bottles had degraded in the dark (surprising, since materials more often degrade in sunlight), burst and soaked everything in the totes, including the toys.

[brianusa]

2 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

3 hours ago, pH said:

f it’s the lower hemisphere, be aware of the ‘freezing’ of UK government pensions!

I am thank you.  And of the potential tax liability.  

 

 

Go where  you want to retire first then consider the tax situation!  My wife and I receive our UK pension which goes straight into investments which earn interest.  Saving is a waste of time with ridiculously low interest rates.  The UK and US have a deal with taxes which you can't do much about so we live with it; its enough to keep me in beer money!

       Brian.

[Dave Hunt]

Had a complete break from domestic duties today as when we woke up we decided that the weather was too nice to waste so I went down to the market and obtained the makings of a picnic. We then set off with my dad and our 'bubble friend' to Colemere (near Ellesmere but smaller and quieter) for the day. Jill, friend and I walked round the mere while dad had a read then we tucked in to our picnic. All in all a good day but there is always a fly in the ointment, isn't there? This one appeared on the way home when I turned on the car aircon for the first time in quite a while and......... nothing, at least no chilled air. Ah, well, at least there's a garage about a quarter of a mile away that deals with aircon so tomorrow I'll see whether they can help.   

 

G'night all.

 

Dave

[brianusa]

3 minutes ago, polybear said:

Bear also noted the news report about a protest at Pimlico Academy; it seems one of the things the students objected to was....the flying of the Union Jack .  Perhaps they'd do well to remember all those millions of UK and Commonwealth Citizens that died to ensure that it could be flown....

 

Sadly, all too common!  Todays events are more important to a vocal few than the deeds of the past, of which a lot have no idea of.

       Brian.

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, JohnDMJ said:

why does the original recyclable product, water, have a use-by date? IMHO, I detect excrement of the bovine species here!

If you detect that in the water it should not be consumed no matter what date it displays   

 

And on that note good night to one and all.  Sleep peacefully.  Wake refreshed.