Mike Bellamy

You may be interested to see that here in UK back in the 1950s a consultant at the Derbyshire Royal Infirmary paid for his own taxi to get to the scene of accidents - this then developed into the DRI Flying Squad, originally using Police Cars and later their own emergency vehicles paid for by fundraisers. The first link is from the local newspaper - a brief summary Second is from the USA Emergency Medicine Journal - a very detailed summary of work done in the 1980s The other two are reminiscences about the service by those who were working there in the 1970s https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/nostalgia/dri-doctors-idea-became-global-2003267 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1285651/ https://bygonesderby.wordpress.com/2012/07/17/life-of-girl-with-slashed-neck-was-saved-by-squad-doctors/#more-2319 https://bygonesderby.wordpress.com/2012/06/19/flying-squad-medics-were-left-stranded-at-scene-of-fatal-accident/

Even though there were supposed to be 19,000 there (one trader said 20,000), it didn't seem too busy but we were definitely in the minority wearing masks. Didn't buy anything at all except lunch. Manufacturers are already sold out of some models and taking orders for 2023. Need a new battery for the caravan (been managing with a knackered car battery for far too long) and on one stand we were offered a 20% discount - sounds good but checking last night, their price after the discount is still £134 but I can get it from another online supplier for £110 ! We saw several Sarahs - many on mobility scooters including one who knocked over her companion! Sorry to hear about your fall - that must have been a worry after all the bother with you extensive foot injury - please don't show us that photo again !! I was told the other day about one of our club members who had fallen down stairs - he has broken both wrists, shoulder and has a neck injury and so he is wearing a neck brace. The friend who rang him said it was a good job he had a loving wife to wipe his ar$e ! Problem is he is seeing three different consultants, the wrist specialist, the shoulder specialist and the neck specialists - they all have clinics on different days . . . The Food Network is always the go to alternative for Mrs B when she doesn't know what else to watch - even though with Sky there are hundreds of options - it's just there for background noise as even I recognise the numerous repeats. Another friend from club had a funny turn a month or two ago and was asked to go to the hospital to be fitted with a 24 hour heart monitor - he had one before and it was a bit of an involved procedure with several wires connected to a box worn on a belt. This time when he arrived he was given a carrier bag and sent home again - it's now a 'do it yourself' stick on job with no wires - so perhaps even quicker than your five minutes ! .

Same with my father - retired at 65 and had a 'mild' heart attack just after he arrived at hospital a few weeks later. Full recovery and he lived to 92. He was out with my brother at the time as he had taken over dad's plumbing business and sometimes took dad with him to hold the other end of the tape measure and to make him feel useful. Brother was driving back to town when dad displayed some of the classis symptoms, feeling sick, chest pains radiating into arms etc. The conversation was along the lines of - - right we're off to hospital - -oh not yet, can't we go home first - -why - - I want to go to the toilet - - b*gg*r the toilet, I'm taking you to hospital !! In my case, I retired a couple of years ago at 65 and a bit, as it was part of the transition period between 65 and 66 but I started to draw one pension at age 60, which then got invested as I was still working full time with another employer who then offered generous redundancy to most of the staff, had far too many volunteers and had to drastically scale back on numbers so I was told I had valuable skills and knowledge base so couldn't go with a payoff which would have been about 12 months salary. I negotiated a smaller amount (2 months pay bonus) to stay on for an orderly handover but they didn't recruit a replacement until a few weeks before I left so they didn't start until after I had gone. 65 in April, left July, state pension and bus pass November, 2nd works pension backdated to April aged 65 as the pension dept considered it to be redundancy as I had received that additional payment so win-win which ever way you look at it. However I was only a low grade pen pusher (keyboard hitter) so although it sounds a lot, the sums weren't that great. .

No doubt they were heading to Birmingham Airport for the Caravan and Motorhome Show at the NEC - we will also be there and will look out for your friends - how do we recognise a pair of Manxies ? The show is on from Tuesday to Sunday in Halls 1 to 5 (Warley Exhibition is in Hall 5). I saw a posting on Facebook last night that they have limited the numbers to 19,000 each day and every day is sold out to advance ticket holders so those turning up at the door are going to be disappointed. That makes a total of 114,000 visitors plus hundreds of stall holders and staff, so I guess one or two might be Covid Carriers and we'll be wearing masks even if nobody else is bothered. .

Copied below from the link provided above by David Green - do you have the confirmation I have highlighted in bold from when you first registered as a sole trader - if not could HMRC provide a duplicate ? A sole trader simply notifies HMRC that they intend to start working for themselves, essentially telling HMRC they are becoming “self employed”. HMRC will ask if the sole trader business intends to have a “business name” or “trading style”, but this is not in order to register the business name and HMRC will not alert you if there are other businesses using the same name. The only proof that you will get that you have registered as a sole trader is a Unique Tax Reference (UTR) number. HMRC will send this to you around 10 days after your sole trader registration has been completed. Unlike with a limited company there is no certificate, or other documentation, to show you are registered as a sole trader. Also unlike a limited company there is no public list of sole traders that anyone can look you up on and no public database they can look your UTR number up on. There are a few private companies who will offer you the chance to register your sole trader business on the ‘Small Business Register’ or something equally official sounding. These private business registers are not run by the government and you are absolutely not required to register with them.

The Alex in Derby has been mentioned before. Local BBC News have been there to interview @Ralf about the financial situation at Derby County and how this is impacting on the local pubs. Click for Link and scroll down to see inside the Alex - with loco nameplate and railway pictures on the wall .

The link from David above seems to say that the only authorised way to get official recognition is to be registered as a sole trader with HMRC. .

Thanks for that - it must be an absolute nightmare trying to keep on top of all that, as well as running the rest of your business and keeping the customers satisfied. I clicked on "Thanks" but perhaps it should have been " Friendly and Supportive" - keep up the good work as it's always interesting to get the real information from a retailer. .

Would a small deposit make a difference - I understand the "normal" retailer discount is 15% so why not charge 15% of the list price up front . . . . . ? You could of course be a bit selective as I'm sure you have your regular customers who will always buy from you and so perhaps as they are genuine buyers, you don't charge them in advance. Bit of a nightmare for the bookkeeping though !! .

Very interesting to see who clicked on "Agree" for that comment . . . . .

It was only a few days ago the plumber called "Half Dead Dave" got £25,000 from a tribunal - he was the oldest there and it was seen as age discrimination when he was selected for redundancy. He's now 71 but has proved that he isn't half dead - actually probably near three quarters. As for my son, he's a plumber as well and his nickname was 'Leaky Pete" - nothing wrong with that as it was true - he always went to every job twice ! Click for news link to half dead dave .

As someone who worked for a major bank (riding the Black Horse 1972-97) I am very disappointed flipping angry to hear that what I could have achieved in person in branch in about half an hour has now become such a long drawn out bureaucratic and centralised process. I really can't think what else to say on the matter . . . . . .

I wonder if @Ralf would agree with you . . . . . . .

Sounds a bit like Derby . . . . . . . . . . . .

Agreed. Many years ago, a friend who was a regular volunteer on the Festiniog Railway had a private charter train for his 50th birthday. The arrangement was that he had to find enough volunteers to work after hours - driver, fireman, guard, control etc which was achieved without a problem and then there was the cost of the fuel etc - but if the onboard bar sold more than a certain number of pints gallons, then the train would be free. I understand that the bar profit had paid for the train by the time we went past Boston Lodge ! I have no idea how far up the line we went and only have a vague recollection of walking across the Cob from the station back to the house I was staying at - No 1 Boston Lodge - the big white house that features in so many photos of the works. Slept on the sofa downstairs, awoke early to a beautiful morning with bright sunshine and blue sky. I was back in Derby before anyone else got out of bed ! .

. . . and talking more about bikes - remember Stuart Garner who bought Norton and then went bust - he's now in court for stealing £11m from three pension schemes and reinvesting the money back in the company. Also owes £300,000 to HMRC. Back in court on 28th Click for local news report .

Sorry for the confusion Richard - it was in Early Risers on Friday https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/229-early-risers/&do=findComment&comment=4732670 Thanks for the comprehensive reply. I haven't touched a firearm since I left the CCF in 1972 and the air rifle in the garden ( a fairly low powered .177) was probably at least 5 years before that. .

Terry Christian started his broadcast career at Radio Derby in 1982 and a couple of weeks ago came back for a series of 40th anniversary programmes Very quick (outstanding) service. Back in 2019, it took about three months for a postal application - I seem to recall that this was after the introduction of some online applications and the system wasn't working properly so it was all a bit chaotic. To make a payment over the phone I had to phone the Brighton office, then post the papers to Manchester, but the Probate came back from Newcastle !! .

Father had to replace our back fence as it had so many pellet holes in it that it was in danger of falling apart. Luckily it was our allotment behind it so no danger of killing anyone. At school the indoor cricket nets were also the air rifle shooting range. Locally we used Beckingham Range near Newark for proper shooting with Lee Enfield Mk4s. I remember back in the late 60s / early 70s, Dad did a lot of plumbing and heating work at the home of one of the Samworths (probably father of the 'Brothers' (?) - back then, Pork Farms was the family business and I didn't realise until I just checked their website that they bought Ginsters way back in 1977, just before they sold Pork Farms. https://www.samworthbrothers.co.uk/about-samworth-brothers/our-history/ .

In another topic which has been overflowing with complaints, Andy has posted the comment below .

Hi John - that's a bit different to Uttoxeter Road, Derby . . . . . . !! .

Agreed - all seems normal here today - but then after all the bother we have had, it all depends on your definition of normal !! .

Received. Now testing my reply to your test If this is in any way linked to the problems over the past week or two, then you seem to have fixed it - everything seems normal today - if you can call anything on here normal. Thanks

Remember the comment from Douglas was based on his experience as a young enthusiast based in Oklahoma, USA - I believe he's still at school and working part time(?). He may not even be aware of the work shown on the TV programme. I agree with your comments about Steve - he makes it look so easy but remember you only see a tiny fraction of the work involved which will be heavily edited and could even be shown in the wrong order or the same work repeated several times to get it right for the programme maker. Speaking from experience here as a friend was very involved in the recent Guy Martin programmes racing three wheel cars and rebuilding a Landrover for off road racing. Several months work and many days filming all cut down to less than half an hour of the actual build work as the main focus of the programme was Guy Martin racing - at least he got to keep the Landrover which he had to keep hidden until after the TV programme was shown. .

Kev - pleased to see that the layout is still going out to shows - by coincidence my wife and I went for a walk only yesterday along the trackbed from the station towards Etwall. There's a great deal of new development going on at the moment and many more houses being built around the station and surrounding area. As well as Hackwood Farm to the north, the three fields to the east (over the road from the station) are now being built on as well. We had a job getting onto Station Road as the temporary traffic lights were both stuck on green so it was a bit chaotic with drivers moving cones so they could get past!! https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.919814,-1.5530168,1133m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en .