bridge too far

There was an interesting segment on yesterday's Country File about the demise of 'county farms'. Local councils are selling off these farms to cover the cuts in spending to the detriment of tenant farmers who have learned their trade / craft over the years. This is an old article but the sentiment remains http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/12/11/2010/124372/County-farms-in-jeopardy-as-great-century-ends-on-sticky.htm

Me too

Any chance you may have broken your jaw in the past with similar long term effects?

Maybe not now, but likely to be arthritic in later years if it hasn't healed properly.

OK checked with my daughter last night. She said ALL agents now have to belong to the trade body I mentioned earlier. She said most agents wouldn't need to confirm financial arrangements until an offer is made but that sometimes vendors specify that they don't want time wasters and this is a way to filter out casual viewers. She also said that many buyers say they have financial arrangements in place but that when things reach offer stage it emerges that they'd been told they would probably get a mortgage for £x but that they hadn't even started the application process! Finally she said she was surprised, given the state of the market ATM, that A & W were being so picky and that it would be a good idea to let the vendor know the problems you had. Since the vendor is an older woman, she might not have wanted any old casual viewer around and that A & W were fulfilling her instructions.

One of the cabaret dance groups I performed with was called 'Hot Stuff' - guess what our intro number was? We also did a very raunchy number to 'Love to Love You, Baby'. Somewhere in the archive for Tom Bargate's column for the Echo there's an article and pic of our 'Hot Stuff'. She was the first and greatest disco diva IMO and her music provided dance groups like ours with a wealth of material. Very sad

I'm just telling you how it is with the reputable ones. I get this from the horse's mouth so to speak. You're right, anyone can be an estate agent - the trick is to find an established one who WILL belong to the trade body. Part of my daughter's work also is to work with the Serious Fraud Office in an effort to crack down on mortgage fraud - something her well-respected company is happy to fund. Not all estate agents are dubious. http://www.naea.co.uk/

The reputable ones are licensed and have a trade body. My daughter has regular meetings with the Ombudsman to explore ways of making the service better. I'm no apologee for estate agents but you'd be surprised at some of the antics sellers get up to in order to try to avoid paying the fees (usually without success as they tie vendors into tight contracts).

I used to get that. The only thing that helped was alcohol (to drink - not in my ear) - sort of redressed the balance.

They did this to me over 10 years ago! However, I had told them I wanted a quick, hassle-free sale as we were moving from the area. So they subjected a potential buyer to this grilling and then it turned out that the male partner was waiting to get his name off his former mortgage as part of a divorce settlement! I complained, but it didn't get me anywhere. FYI, most reputable agents are covered by an Ombudsman. I know this because one of my daughters is Compliance and Complaints manager for a very large estate agency (not in your area). They have all sorts of regulations these days and I'll ask her tomorrow if proof of funds is regular practice these days. But I won't be able to answer this point until Friday night. But you should be warned that, right or wrong, you will probably have signed an agreement with A & W that could result in your seller still paying their fee even if you go directly to her. Maybe one of the reasons A & W are doing this is to filter out time-wasters looking to occupy a wet Saturday afternoon?

Matthew Syed (from the Times) just said 'tongue in cheek' (his words) - maybe David Moyes! Can you just imagine?

Although the sports now was saying that they might well go for a young upcoming manager rather than someone from the old guard

Just announced on the BBC that he's stepped down

You'll have to shout or else he won't hear you.

If there was a fat tax, most of you wouldn't be on here because you wouldn't be able to afford the membership fee

Are your inlet / outlet hoses kinked? Maybe you've got a build-up of earwax?

You may have perforated your ear-drum

I always find its helpful to do a sense check in these situations

Although I didn't have a problem with your sums, I would have found VFTT's method easier TBH

According to a pundit on the news earlier, there is little chance of growth in Greece as all the money being pumpedinto the Greek economy is just going to pay off the lending banks. The pundit was suggesting that any future bailouts should come from the central banks (e.g. the ECB) with a view to underpinning the infrastructure and thereby delivering some growth and jobs.

Do you belong to a Trade Union? If so, approach your Union - they are allowed to attend the hearing with you. If not, you are entitled to have a 'friend' present (a work colleague for example). If you don't belong to a Union, it might be worth having a word with ACAS - they'll often give you a rough idea of the strength or otherwise of your case. http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/RedundancyAndLeavingYourJob/Dismissal/DG_175834 http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/RedundancyAndLeavingYourJob/Dismissal/DG_173213 http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/ResolvingWorkplaceDisputes/Disciplinaryprocedures/DG_10028115 There's loads more on the DirectGov website. http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2042

QPR's Joey Barton has been charged by the FA for two acts of alleged violent conduct, following his behaviour at Manchester City on Sunday. He was sent off for an incident involving Carlos Tevez but faces the two charges following clashes with both Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany. As Barton had already been dismissed, both incidents fell outside of the jurisdiction of the referee. Barton has until 18:00BST on Tuesday, 15 May to respond to the charges. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18060989

Facing two FA charges (violent conduct) in addition to the red card as they were 'outside the referee's remit'

Thanks

Can I ask again if anyone knows when the creditors meet to hear what the CVA proposal will be? I know that the creditors have agreed that a CVA be arranged but is there a timeframe within which the proposals have to be offered and voted on?