ROSS V CAMERON-Pt 2 The Voice of Reason?

The delectable designer as usual could not resist the urge to throw her hat in the ring on the above subject, as noted from her email which I reproduce below.Of course the issue of stockings or indeed the lack of them is not unlikely to be a factor in play. Illuminating as usual, please read. By the way DD, lay off Mo, I loved that woman dearly and I can get very childish and vindictive when she's attacked.

Mr. K,

I had the enviable pleasure of being privy to the live taping of one of JR's show and have to say a lot of the reason that the guy comes out as a total nincompoop is in the editing.

Jools Holland was on that day and the two hours they bantered on set was reduced to a paltry fifteen minutes on the friday night show, we were laughing in the aisles at JR's quick witted retorts to an adequate opponent.

Who knows how the interview (Ross v Cameron) really went or what elements the BBC allowed us mere mortals to partake of, are we not forgetting that the show is about entertainment. Had Cameron not wanted the mickey taken he should have stayed with Paxman.

AND as for Mag's in stockings YES she does wear them, I distinctly remember an article in Drapers record where a hosiery manufacturer was supplying No. 10 with the offending articles. Some of the most unappetising thighs in history with boatraces to match have been known to sport the sexiest underwear, didn't Mo Mowlem refer to such on Room 101??? You never know Mag's just might have had a fabulous pair of pins and let her femininity remain hidden for only Dennis!

Ross v Cameron

The names Ross and Cameron if my history serves me are two Clan names from the Scottish Isles, ( interestingly the name Cameron derives from the Gaelic for "Crooked nose").

I wached the Interview on the Net and would say It wasn't a particularly illuminating Interview, another in a series of cheap publicity stunts for Mr PR himself. Nothing said that hadn't been said before. Ross as usual was at his tedious characteristically lispy, taunting, goading preoccupation, nothing unusual, thats what he get paid for, my mate and former neighbour- Lee Dixon (not the famous footballer, our Lee's a Cowbody Builder) does the same thing at Wetherspoon's Wood Green, every evening (when Marge his wife lets him).

Now there was a bit of ordinarily unremarkable kerfuffle emanating from the Interview i.e the question as to whether Cameron nursed any childhood fantasies about Margaret Thatcher. No one really took the matter seriously, being standard laddish, mock-shock humour as to be expected from the Verbally active Ross....or so we thought until the next days papers were found to be replete with outrage by hardcore conservatives- led by the posterboy of the 80's Leather and Fetish scene and closet Goth- Norman Tebbitt.

My humble opinion is simply illustrated by the analogy, don't complain about a bad reputation by association, if as a Solicitor your main client base is amongst Porno actors/actresses. In fairness, David hasn't said a word he knows the rules, however the Mail ought to step back and take stock. The resurgence of the Conservatives, which it celebrates has been as a result of Cameron's shameless courting of the Tabloid market- which philosophy is symbolised by the Jonathan Ross circus.

The fact is that Cameron has not come up with a single original or innovative policy direction, having said that aside from the Human Rights Act scrapping Faux pas, he has at least avoided putting his foot in it like Wee W illy Hague and Machiavellian Mike Howard (totally undeserved, being actually quite a nice, decent fellow and whom many attribute with the birth of new Labour with his candid advice to Gordon Brown on a train during the Thatcher days- another matter of course).

Cameron's efforts I believe are presently focused on an Image change for his party (note Ideology is not mentioned). Whilst I am most definitely not a Tory, I would think such a change is necessary, primarily to distance the said party from the image engendered by people like Tebbit. A man whose views (and looks by the way) in an Ideal situation would have placed him in very good stead for high position in the National Socialist Party of Germany in the 1930's.

In summary, I would say from a totally detached perspective, David if it works for you carry on mate, I dont agree with you, but would say one thing, if what you're doing offends Norman Tebbit, then carry on mate.

By the way, Margaret Thatcher in stockings!!!!?? Ross clearly is unwell (or is he)?

Neocons a Rejoinder

The delectable designer obviously felt sufficiently ruffled by the Neocon's post to respond directly to my email as most do, I thus felt the need to present an objective perspective and publish the mail. I shall make no comments, the other perspective must be heard.

Dear Mr ......

On reading your blog I felt pushed to put my fingers into action. I of course, understand the inference which has you running to your keyboard, but can we not lay some of the blame at the inventive initiators of said characters?! Throughout my earth years personages of dubious propensity have brought to my attention the following:-was Dylan really a dopehead, did Zeebedee really have a thing for Florence and, by gum, was Dougal really a hairy gay biker? Even more recent -and I am sure we have discussed this- the amazing duality of the monologues in Shrek!!

Regards

Ms T......

Neocons and Brain death

A lot of the inititaive to invade Iraq came from the Neo-Conservatives in the US. Im not going to get into an argument about the pros and cons, (dated and tiresome, the facts speak for themselves). I shall however give you two pearls of wisdom from these paragons of a perfect society.

a. James Dobson, founder of right-wing group Focus on the Family, attacked SpongeBob Squarepants - the cartoon character at a black-tie dinner in the run-up to President Bush's inauguration, describing it as a Gay Icon, because it frequently holds hands with its best friend a Starfish named Patrick. Apparently the group Sister Sledge did a remake of the video for the song "We are Family" using shots of Sponge-Bob and planned to mail it to schools to promote the ethnic unity in diversity of America. This was criticised by Dobson as a clandestine attempt to spread Gay thought amongst young American children?!?

b. Tinky Winky - yes the hand-bag carrying Teletubby, was also criticised as Gay symbol by the Conservative Think-tanks because of his offending hand-bag.

Now I recognise the significance of subliminal messages (hence the title of this bloody blog), but guys please!!

Anyway, Im glad about Brokeback Mountain and the Cowboy character in Village people (both of which I was indifferent to as entertainment, to be honest), because I really want to know what the Neocon's reaction to these two direct symbol's, ban Cowboys? These call to question Judgement surely?

What worries me about the above instances is that it betrays an unhealthy disposition, the first thing I think of when I see Sponge Bob/Tinky Winky is not their Sexuality (Goodness me!!!) but either the humour or infant entertainment value respectively. If what you see is the former, then you need help and immediately too. Freud, Freud, Freud.

Now about the decision to go to invade Iraq?

Of Dates and Coincidence

Of Dates and Coincidence

I recognise that the title of this posting maybe slightly misleading, sorry! I refer to calendar dates as opposed to the tiresome gender-interactive variety.

It occurred to me just this morning that my daughter was born a couple of days before my Grandfather's birthdate. I was already aware that my son was born two days before my Father's birthdate, having been so pointedly reminded by everyone who draws breath in my family.It'd be idle to speculate on the significance of this other than to say that there is always a Mathematical explanation.

Its Father's day, hence I shall send a message to the Pedantic Paediatric Surgeon- my daughter's Godfather, the Stingy Security Consultant/Sanguine Surveyor, my son's Godfathers- on behalf of the aforesaid offspring. I am certain my Godson- L (the Pedantic Paediatric Surgeon's son) shall remember to send his poor Godfather (me) a message and forgive the fact that I forgot his last four birthdays. On the subject of coincidence, my daughter and L my godson, were actually born on the same day in 1998, strange eh?

To deviate as usual, Its been a decent weekend with my offspring, spent doing ZIP and I might say, much to their displeasure- (Dad was watching Ghana thrash the Czech Republic you see). I did give them the option of returning me to the shop and getting a new father- which they initially seemed enthusiastic about, but they had lost the receipt anyway, so tough! I forgot to mention, a cracking gig on friday night, more on that later.

Of regrets and Forward Motion

Regrets and Forward Motion

The absolutely Brilliant Oriental Barrister has said to me not once but three times in the last few months, "I never regret anything I've done I just try not to make the same mistake twice".

Simple but powerful/pregnant words. What then is the difference between an apology to someone you've offended and regrets about what you have done/who you are?

I would beg to differ with the Oriental Barrister on one point, I believe it is absolutely important for the proper flow of dynamics and maintenance of balance on this earth for a person to acknowledge wrong done to another and express it to the other person. This is a principle I live by. I however will draw the line there, one should never feel compelled to regret once's own person, one may periodically acknowledge one's own failings and seek to improve them, but your essence is the only thing you own. Never feel the need to subsume your own values on the altar of regret.

I'm hardly a life-coach, but will summarise what I'm trying to say here as thus- try not to harm or inconvenience people and if you do, have the courage and empathy to genuinely regret/express regret and make amends (either to your modus or to the situation), if your gesture is accepted graciously then fine, if not and the other responds without grace, then move on you've paid your debt to the cosmos (and to Karma). Acknowledge an error but the shame is not that of the person who has in the spirit of reconciliation stretched out a hand, but that of the person who now employs the other's humility as an opportunity to plunge in knives of revenge.

Its always a great day dude.Why? Well you're alive!

Take this Job and Shove It?!?

Take This Job and Shove It?- The Constructive Dismissal Conundrum

I'll try and keep this simple- one of the nightmares of Employment Lawyers when advising is deciding if a client has merely resigned or if he's been forced to resign - unfairly. The latter entitles him to claim for Unfair Constructive Dismissal. For resignation, he gets- zilch, for Unfair Dismissal,.. well he gets an award (discussed previously). This principle was established in a fairly old case Western Excavating (ECC) Ltd v Sharp [1978] IRLR 27

A bit of background, in an Employment Contract, there are usually written terms, e.g Contract or at least a letter of Employment (if none then damages are due to the Employee, by the way). The written terms define the basic terms of employment. Also the Law usually will assume whats called Implied or Unwritten terms, the relevant one here being an Implied Term of Mutual Trust and Confidence, what this means is that there is a responsibility on both sides to treat each other and act in a civilised respectful manner, basically do your job without disrespecting me and my company verbally or in action e.g disloyalty, leaking trade secrets, assisting competitors. For employees it means, give me the tools to do my job, pay me as agreed and treat me with a minimum respect due to a human being or employee, no abuse racial, sexist or otherwise. Don't deliberately make things hard for me and don't undermine or harass me. Of course this list is not exhaustive and the rules often differ as to what is acceptable in different work environments, e.g a Building Site or Restaurant Kitchen will have different considerations from the Admin Department of a Women's Crocquet Club. Essentially, the Employer should not breach a Fundamental term of the Contract, e.g providing the Employer with a suitable working environment, work or indeed support, also he should not breach the Implied Term of Mutual Trust and Confidence. A Claim for Constructive Dismissal cannot stand on its own, the dismisal also has to be seen to be Unfair for the Employees to be successful.

How do you differentiate between resignation and Constructive Dismissal? Here are a few ground rules:

a. The action by your employer must go to the root of the relationship and result in it being absolutely clear that there is no way you can continue to work there or that it no longer wishes to respect or be bound by the Contract of Employment, an example being if a Supervisor is verbally abused and undermined by his/her Employer in front of his/her team and if deprived of responsibility; Sexual harrassment, physical intimidation/bullying, False accusations, preventing return to work after maternity leave etc. Clearly these examples show that the Employer either does not wish to keep the Employee on or doesn't care either way.

b. The action must be in direct breach of a Fundamental term of the Contract or the Implied Term of Mutual Trust and Confidence. The Tribunal time limits still apply here in that if the action you're complaining about took place over three months back, you're out of time. However if there's a series of events and the final act happens within the time limits then the previous incidents can be brought to the Tribunal as a Claim - this is described as "The Last Straw".(Explained further below).

c. The Employee must immediately or soon afterwards resign his/her appointment in reaction to the action of the Employer. The resignation must be clearly stated to be as a result of the action of the Employer, not merely an "I don't want to work here no more". Under the new Rules, the Employee must raise a Grievance even after resigning, asking that the Employers take action in considering his/her Grievance. If they fail to consider this within 28 days then a Claim can then be made to the Tribunal, if the Grievance is not raised, then The Tribunal may treat your Claim as having been filed prematurely and this usually happens after the Time Limits have then passed, so be very careful here- as always get advice! To restate the point, Grievance procedure is now mandatory by Law, so even if your Employer doesn't have one, the Law provides for this and it has to be followed.

d. The Employee must not do anything that shows that he/she accepts the action of the Employer, either by doing nothing or continuing to work even under protest. The reaction of the employee must clearly be that he/she finds the action unacceptable and that he/she believes that the Contract has been terminated by the Employer -by its conduct.

The circumstances in which an Employee can treat him/herself as having been constructively dismissed differ from case to case, but the basic points listed above are fundamental guides.

A very serious word of warning- this is one of the most difficult Claims to prove in Employment Law, because the circumstances giving rise to an argument about Constructive Dismissal are usually quite emotive and often happen on the spur of the moment and on many occasions the communication by the Employee that he can no longer work for the Employer is by word of mouth and thus has to be put to proof in the Witness box. In addition the rules are so fluid its a diligent Lawyers nightmare and the lazy Lawyers comfort claim. Frankly If you believe your Employer has been guilty of discrimination, which in itself amounts to a fundamental breach of contract, you may be advised to file a Claim for Sex, Race or Disability Discrimination, because these do not require you to resign before they can be brought. In addition be warned you can only get damages for Injury to feelings if you bring a Claim for discrimination. All you're going to get for Unfair Dismissal is provable Financial loss as decided in Dunnachie v Kingston [2004] IRLR 727. I happen to have learnt this the hard way in that in a case I appeared in 2003/2004, the Law changed thrice in this regard within 6 months following Dunnachie , firstly with the Employment Tribunal saying you could get damages for Injury to feelings on Dismissal Claim, (following a case called Johnson v Unisys), the Employment Appeal Tribunal saying you couldn't , then the Court of Appeal once again saying you could and then the House of Lords saying finally that you couldn't. Save the expletives, I used up all that were available at the time.

The moral of the story again is always get advice where possible, many a good claim has fallen simply because one of the many complex rules that guide the so-called Layman's bastion- The Employment Tribunal stand in the way.

A last word on the Last Straw, as said a series of incidents of breach by an Employer may all be linked up even if the earlier breaches were outside the time limits set by the Tribunal i.e 3 months., if the last is within time. I have however appeared in an Appeal which was finally determined in the Court of Appeal, which was to the effect that even if the act constituting the last straw was ambiguous in effect, once there had been established serious breaches previously, the Tribunal would still be entitled to hear the matter and decide if unfair. Now I till today do not agree with this decision in that it flies against all the prescriprtions laid down by Law as to time limits, whatever I feel however, its now the Law. Hopefully, someone will take the point to the House of Lords, where hopefully things shall be clarified.

Chronology or Inspiration

I received a suggestion from the eminently Sensible Software Developer about the sequence/nature of the postings on this Blog. Apparently Blogs are supposed to be E-diary type things of Bloggers day to day experiences in chronological order. This actually is correct. However, I have never been stricken by the illness of conformity. These postings in a way reflect thoughts that pass through my mind on a daily basis and I put them down as they come, so in a dubious way, they are a symbolic diary and are a pointer to where my mind has been that day. I'm not absolutely sure that I want to be talking about mundane tasks I've engaged in on a daily basis- (I woke, up, I breathed air, I ate and I slept)..no dont think so.

Hence I'd ask any concerned to please indulge my excesses and if the purists still object, well nowt to be said. This is mostly for me to be honest.

Dismissal – A game of two halves

Dismissal – A Game of two halves

Lets get straight to the point, an Employer can dismiss an employee if a. he/she’s guilty of misconduct e.g dishonesty, Racial abuse, Sexual abuse, Gross breach of Trust; b. other less serious but substantial breaches of Contract e.g Poor work output/quality, attendance etc; c. Incapability of the employee to do the job he's employed for; d. Business expediency. In addition there can be a dismissal on the basis of Redundancy i.e a genuine redundancy situation- as opposed to a ham-fisted contrivance targeted at getting rid of a pesky employee.

This isn’t rocket science, its an employers right under the Law, however there are rules for these things like everything else. The employee has a right to be heard at a meeting, in respect of the allegations made and an opportunity to state his side, prior to dismissal. He equally has a right to be accompanied by either a Union Rep or a Friend to any such hearing, but not to be represented by a Solicitor. It is equally important that the hearing is presided over by a person or persons distinct from the Individual(s) who have made the complaint against the Employee otherwise bias may be inferred. A rehash of the rules for this a. Inform the employee clearly of all the allegations against him/her and make available all material you rely on, b. Ensure an impartial panel at the earing and; c. At the hearing, the employee should be allowed all reasonable opportunity to state his side and be accompanied if he wishes.

Now when is Dismissal Unfair? In an infinite number of circumstances based on the specific facts, however the common sense heading would be when the Employee has not breached his Contract, has not been guilty of misconduct, where the proper disciplinary procedure has not been followed, where there is no genuine redundancy situation and where the Employer has fundamentally breached a contract whereby an employee is entitled to treat himself as having been dismissed (Constructive Unfair Dismissal)- simple. The facts are often intricately different and it is often a matter for the Employment Tribunal to determine after hearing evidence from both sides. Its absolutely important to make clear that to bring a Claim for Unfair Dismissal, you have to have been employed continuously for at least a year. If you have not spent up to a year, then the only claim you are entitled to bring is for Wrongful dismissal of which the remedy is Notice pay and no more.

However in a majority of cases, a sober eye can usually tell where the pendulum is swinging and its no coincidence that majority of claims are settled before a Claim is either filed or heard by the Employment Tribunal, either by the parties or with the help of ACAS- the Governments Independent Arbitration service (who in my view are half-asleep most of the time, but often have the rare dedicated Officer, who will actually push a settlement- usually female). The prospects of settlement usually require a consideration of a realistic and commercial view of the cost vs. benefits of heading to the Tribuna. The Employer will usually employ a Firm of Solicitors and a Barrister over a minimum of one, two, three or even seven days- not counting preparation time, with average costs of £5000-£15,000.00 or more, depending on the complexity. Common sense usually dictates paying the guy £2000.00 after some hard-nosed bargaining if that’s all he wants rather than spend all that money and have key managers out of the office for days.

Unlike the Courts, costs aren’t generally recoverable at the Employment Tribunal, unless a party has behaved unreasonably or irrationally, e.g bring a Claim for £100,000.00 because the Boss got rid of the Drinks dispenser, or where an Employer has been patently unreasonable in dismissing or indeed maltreating an employee and then refuses to explore settlement. I need to mention however that the power of the Tribunal to award costs has been expanded of recent and its also necessary to mention that the Tribunal whilst conceived as a simple, self help forum for employees to seek justice has increasingly become bogged down by procedure and red-tape and in some instances actually outstrips the County Court for formality- another reason to avoid it if you can.

A word for the Employee at this stage- If in doubt get advice from your Union, a Solicitor or CAB at the earliest opportunity there are strict steps you must follow, which may be laid down in your Employee Handbook or which are contained in Employment Statutes, for which you will need help in interpreting. Do not take anything for granted. Most importantly, take all reasonable steps provided either by the Employee’s Handbook or by commonsense, to seek a resolution of all matters, however never admit anything you are not sure of or take any steps which may legitimise any wrong action taken against you by your Employer. It is impossible to provide an exhaustive list of these, hence advice is crucial.

The most important piece of advice being after having explored all these avenues, make sure your Claim is filed three months less one day after you were dismissed. What this means plainly is if you were fired on Friday 19^th May, make sure your application is filed on Friday 18^th August at the very latest, my candid advice is that you file it before 4pm, do this by Fax it’s the most reliable. After faxing, call the Tribunal and ask the staff if they’ve received it, when in doubt send it again, they may hate you for sending a thousand copies, but at least the Tribunal will hear your claim. The time limits are extremely strict and the Employer will happily exploit this. The Tribunal will very rarely extend time, even if your were very ill beforehand, once you had an opportunity to do so within time and didn’t, it will weigh against you, even though your claim is super-strong.

Its also necessary to mention that if you haven’t quite gotten your claim ready as the time limit approaches, file the Claim anyway, including every conceivable claim you may have (a holding or omnibus claim), this being because you are allowed to amend later and file a proper and complete Claim. However you may wish -out of courtesy- to have a word with the other side and make clear why you had to file in that manner and agree that they be given additional time to respond to your Claim, whenever you perfect it.

I also need to mention that being a Claim under contract, you may bring the Claim in the High Court where the Claim is especially complex and the amount claimed is large.

What to Claim: Majority of Claims under Unfair Dismissal are for money, however you may ask to be re-instated, though the employer is not bound to take you back, then you can ask for money. The money claim comes under two heads – a. The basic and; b. The Compensatory award. The Basic award is indexed to the numbers of years you’ve worked x £250.00 for each year, the Compensatory award is based on the loss of earnings which you shall face e.g on an income of £3000.00 a year, if you anticipate that you are unlikely to ever find work until retirement age and you’re 50, its likely to be 10 x £3000.00 - £30,000.00. The limit of compensation is £50,000.00, unless there’s a Claim for Sex, Race or Disability discrimination, where there’s no limit. Basically, you can’t simply put in any old figure you like in the Claim Form because you want to “hit the bugger where it hurts” (I’d actually leave that to his Lawyers, believe me they never lose). Bear in mind the actual amount you're entitled to, may be reduced under the following circumstances- a. Polkey Deductions- Where the Employer might have dismissed you anyway for good reason e.g Long term sickness; b. Failure to mitigate loss- You are required after dismissal, to actively look for work, as opposed to sitting on you haunches waiting for a settlement, failure to look for work and present evidence of actual Job search may result in a reduction of the award.

The Hearing
The hearing usually takes place before a Panel of three consisting of a Qualified Solicitor or Barrister as Chairman and two non-Lawyer members, one an Employer and the other an Employee member (a fine balance).

The Employer usually calls his witnesses first, examines them (asks them questions based on the facts you rely on for your claim) in a bid to disprove your claim, you then have a chance to cross-examine; basically to challenge the answers the Employers witnesses have given. You can ask pretty much anything in cross-examination, however you may not call the witness a twit or a blithering Idiot or any other form of abuse for that matter and your questions should be relevant to the issues or at least relevant to proving that the witness is a bare-faced liar- in a subtle way of course. They may want to re-examine the witness to straighten out any ambiguous or problem points arising from cross-examination, no new evidence is allowed at this stage.

You then call your witnesses and whilst questioning, you should not lead them i.e direct them to an answer, you should keep your questions relevant and most importantly short and effective. Hearsay evidence is allowed, but less weight is placed on it. The Tribunal will usually ask its own questions of the witnesses to clarify points, try and restrain yourself at this stage they haven’t taken a position and just want to establish points that may have been missed.

After the witnesses are called, then submissions or arguments are heard from both sides as to why they should win, you summarise your facts and repeat relevant points raised in the evidence in your favour and try and explain points raised against you. If you have any knowledge of relevant laws, make your points at this stage (if you don’t, then you should have bloody well gotten advice first). The Tribunal will then close the session and subsequently deliberate on the evidence and arguments and invite the parties back for a decision or post the decision to you in writing.

Appeal: If it goes against you, you have 42 days to appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal. You have to file a Notice of Appeal (a special form) and attach your Grounds of Appeal. Basically, your grounds must be based on the fact that the Employment Tribunal has made a mistake in Law or applied the facts so terribly wrongly as to amount to an error of Law. If permission to appeal is granted, then its heard over one day in front of the same type of Panel at the Tribunal and a decision is usually given on the same day- read out in Court.

Moral of the story- Employment Tribunal disputes are extremely stressful, time-consuming and expensive- avoid them if you can. If you can’t , then seek the earliest and best opportunity to settle or accept a settlement if it makes financial sense. If not possible, then get proper advice and prepare adequately, it’s a battle believe me.

William Hung- The Unmasking

William Hung- The Unmasking

My previous post on the previously much beloved Mr Hung now has to be qualified by something noticed by people who have logged on to his Website, namely Infernal pop-ups that seem to have infested that site since I placed a link to it on the previous article. The most annoying being one advising that you have Spyware on your Computer.

Pop-ups are the scourge of the Internet and an ally of the Warlords of Globalisation, this is the clue that leads me to the Inevitable conclusion- he’s one of them! The Globalist, Capitalist, Fat-cat Army (Chavez would be proud), sadly Mr Hung has been unmasked, he is the Trojan Horse that was secreted into our hearts with his buck teeth, self-effacing manners and innocent mien. Be warned that is an Innocent smile with Iron teeth- the man is a ruthless capitalist. Think for a minute who’s the most popular American Idol participant and by extension- the wealthiest? Of course- William Hung. I hereby renounce my membership of the Cult of the Hung. As a further gesture of indignation, I shall get a few Nigerian Email Con-Artistes to send him a few emails and relieve him of his ill-gotten wealth (though knowing him now, he'd probably end up conning them out of their own stash).

SHORTFALLS ON MORTGAGE REPAYMENTS- A DIY FIGHT BACK KIT

SHORTFALLS ON MORTGAGE REPAYMENTS- A DIY FIGHT BACK KIT

There’s been a pretty choppy property market in the last few years, luckily all the doom and gloom predictions haven’t quite come true yet. Having said that we’re not out of the woods yet, the fact remains that the property market in the South-East is inflated, the hammer might yet fall.

This takes me back to the 80’s when the last crash in the market took place and the negative equity virus spread like wild-fire. If my memory serves me well, lots of home-owners simply walked away from their properties and let the Banks repossess them. A fairly simple solution ordinarily, however was it? In principle no, because there were usually shortfalls in the amount due to the Banks, since there was in any event a negative equity position. The Banks at the time didn’t bother, preferring to just let matters ride or in many other cases commencing Bankruptcy proceedings at the time against debtors….and getting nothing.

As it turned out the property market resurged in the mid-late 90’s, with the general air of prosperity prevalent in cool Britannia, people were making and spending money, some buoyed by cheap and available credit, others actually making good money, inclusive in this quota being some of the victims of the negative equity virus of the mid 80’s who equally had moved on and were making new starts acquiring property.

As is to be expected, on or about the first quarter of 2003, there was a spate of actions by Banks seeking to recover the monies owed them as shortfall on the Mortgage Loans in question. The easy (and admittedly most effective) tool of Debt Recovery in the 21^st Century UK Economy is a Bankruptcy Petition or the threat of it against a person who owns visible assets. This appeared to be the preferred route for most of the Banks and did they go for it.

I had occasion to act in such a matter for a Client who was being chased by a Lender for a shortfall of £6000.00, which had now burgeoned into £48,000.00 (Interest). The property was repossessed in 1992, and the Bank served a Statutory Demand (which is the prelude to filing a Petition for Bankruptcy, essentially a warning to pay the Debt in the Demand within 21 days) in 2003. A Judgement had in the interim been obtained in the County Court in 1994.

We filed an application to set aside the Statutory Demand (which you are allowed to do within 18 days of being served with the Demand).

We relied on the following:

1. The Original Mortgage Loan was £25,000.00 and the property was sold by the Bank on repossession for £35, 000.00+ Hence the shortfall constituted of accrued Interest.

2. The Bankruptcy action ought to have been brought within Six years, since the Interest element was all that was being recovered and an action for Interest is an action under Simple Contract not a Speciality Contract such as a Mortgage Deed, upon which action may be brought within 12 years Being a principle established by the House of Lords in Bristol & West plc v Bartlett [2003] 1 WLR 284

3. A Bankruptcy Petition is not merely Enforcement of a Judgement but a distinct Cause of Action or Claim which is subject to the Rules on Limitation of Actions. (Applying IN RE JELLY and Section 6 of the Limitation Act 1980).

The High Court agreed with us and set aside the Statutory Demand, however it noted that they were still entitled- if they wished- to seek enforcement of the Judgement obtained in 1994, this of course not being within its power to deal with since they had come under a totally different procedure. I equally found it interesting that they hadn’t gone down that route, I later found out that the records of the Case in 1994 had been destroyed by the Court in 2000, hence enforcement was a problem. They did not bother appealing.

Simple lessons stemming from this in plain English:

1. If you owe your Bank a shortfall on a Mortgage, they have six years to come after you if the shortfall is on the Interest and 12 years if it consists of the Principal Mortgage Loan. This is because the Contract for Interest is separate for the Contract for the Principal Loan. The latter is contained in a Mortgage Deed, described as a Contract of Speciality, which as said has a 12 year time span for a Claim to be brought in Court as opposed to 6 years for the Contract for Interest, which is under what’s called a Simple Contract. This principle of Limitation applies to all actions for Money and is not necessarily restricted to Mortgage Shortfall cases.

2. The time is calculated from the date you default in your Mortgage repayment, i.e when “the cause of action accrues”. (This principle has recently been firmly established as the current Law on this subject by the House of Lords last year in West Bromwich Building Society v Wilkinson [2005] 1 WLR 2303)

3. If they do not do this then you can raise it as a defence to the Court action they’ve brought against you. Its called a Limitation Defence. Bear in mind however that if the Bank issues a demand after the cause of action “accrues”, then the Limitation period then has to be calculated from the date of the demand.

4. If however the Bank gets or has gotten Judgement against you, then there is no time limit for it to enforce the Judgement. Enforcement refers to action taken by a party at law to recover a Judgement its obtained, such as Attachment of Property (the good old Bailiffs), Attachment of Earnings, etc. For this there is no time limit. Be careful

In conclusion a word of warning, never ignore demand letters, always keep a conversation going with creditors and always demonstrate good faith by making a payment no matter how small. If however the Lenders adopt a rigid stance, talk to an IFA or a decent Solicitor. The main lesson is that in a capitalist world they never go away (debts that is- not the Solicitors and IFA’s).

ExtremeThrillseekers or Heroic Idealists Pt 2 (Reverend T Hardy)

The Reverend Theodore Bayley Hardy

Theodore Bayley Hardy was born on the 20th October, 1863 in Exeter. He was educated at home, then went on to the City of London School at nine, also London University.He was ordained a Deacon in the Church of England in December 1898, at the age of thirty-five, and ordained as Priest in St George's Church, Nottingham in 1899.

At the advent of WW1 , Hardy tried several times to join the Army Chaplain's Dept and was unsuccessful until 1916, when he was finally accepted as a Temporary Chaplain 4th Class (Captain) and was posted to France where in September and October 1917 he was firstly awarded the Distinguished Service Order and then the Military Cross for his gallant conduct in going out into the open to bring in wounded men. He later was awarded the Victoria Cross at the battle of Boucqoy, which was personally presented to him by King George V.

So what? Well, Hardy was a Non-Combatant, being an Army Chaplain and most importantly, he was a pacifist. It is said, that he hated war and conflict in its entirety- going against everything he genuinely believed as a Clergyman. Why join the Army? Well, difficult to say, but it is said that Hardy genuinely believed that those that needed conversion and indeed his Ministration were men who were about to die or indeed that were going to kill. He also believed genuinely in the cause of the Army he was part of, being the victim, not the aggressor- as such he felt the battle was God's battle, since the War was fought in defence not in attack. Any Military Historian will tell you the mindset of a Soldier tends to differ in the two instances (see "Case Studies in Motivation" and which is why Politicians are best advised to think long and hard before invading other people's countries.

Hardy would regularly go out into the Battle front, ministering and praying with the men, in the most horrendous conditions, literally with bombs exploding around him and on many occasions, he had to be dug out of a mound of earth after an explosion, usually with a cheeky grin on his face and a mouth full of mud (creative licence admitted) . He was constantly calm under fire and the men in battle genuinely believed he was charmed in that men would be literally dropping dead around him and he would calmly walk through without flinching, praying with the wounded/dying and encouraging the fighters and mostly recovering wounded soldiers and handing them over to the Medics. He would usually announce himself as he calmly walked to a section of men in intense combat, sometimes in pitch darkness, with a soft spoken "Its only me". It is said that he genuinely had no fear of death in that he believed that when God wanted him he would go as and when.

One of his most notable actions- whilst with the 8th Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment, being to walk 400 yards into no-man's land to recover wounded soldiers (three times) on one occasion, personally digging out a wounded man and another dead soldier, buried under a heap of mud, raised by Shellfire- whilst under intense fire himslf. He then covered the wounded s0ldier's body with his own whilst waiting for a lull in the fire, praying constantly with the soldier and encouraging him. This continued over a number of days and he remained at his task doing what he did best. For the avoidance of doubt it must be said that Hardy did not fire a single shot at an enemy- even in self defence.

This situation continued for several days and Hardy was constant in his efforts, it is impossible to count how many wounded men,he dragged to safety at this battle. Neither is it possible to recount the number of lives he saved or acts of bravery that he exhibited. Always with a gentle manner and always soft-spoken, he was regarded by his men as super-human, not by any display of macho bravado but by consistent displays of unambiguous, cold, clear courage.

There have been many recipients of the Victoria Cross, many deserving, many secretly regarded by Mlitary historians as political and un-merited, being for acts which a Soldier is ordinarily paid to do i.e fight and stay alive. There have been many displays of Courage in war, however a number of authors would define courage in two ways- Hot Courage- an act of bravery or foolishness, at times done in the heat of the moment, at which the person responsible looks back and wonders how come. Then there are acts of cold courage by men and women in battle or in everyday life, consisting of consistent acts of exceptional bravery, selflessness and sacrifice. Hardy's acts were of the latter, over a period of two long hard years, day in day out.

Hardy did not survive the war, dying of Pneumonia after being hospitalised for a bullet in the thigh. The bullet did not kill him, rather the unsanitary conditions in the Hospital did- on October 18th 1918.

The paradox, is that a peacenik and Vicar, proved to be one of the most courageous and respected Soldiers in modern warfare (alongside the better known- Dr Noel Chavasse). A man who would probably be vilified in many circles, by the armchair soldiers who send other peoples children off to war. Thrillseeker or Idealist, the fact is its difficult to say. A man who tried for two years unsuccessfully to go to War and who rejected the option of demobilisation -offered by the King no less- whilst totally abhorring War and who often did things that might have been regarded as insane could be termed under each head, but I personally regard this mild-mannered Vicar as a true Idealist, naive he might be regarded by some, but he lived and died by the courage of his convictions, I'm not sure I could do that.

A word or two must be said about two other Army Chaplains who receivd the VC, Revd Noel Mellish and Rev William Addison, whose acts were of the same character as Hardy's and which had a profound effect on their men- whatever your view is on Religion. Here's a quote from an article about Mellish

"Another story worth relating is that of a cockney soldier who was one of those brought in by the padre. This man was well known for his anti religious views yet when settled in a base hospital after the fighting enquired "What religion is 'e".? When told he replied- "Well I'm the same as 'im now and the bloke as sez a word agen our church will 'ave 'is ****** 'ead bashed in."

I end this post by pointing out that Its noteworthy that no woman has ever received the Victoria Cross, inspite of the uncountable acts of bravery by Female members of the Medical Corps, who displayed the same level of cold courage and selflessness over the years that Hardy displayed. In addition, no woman has ever been given a medal for going through 12 hours of labour and childbirth (or for that matter bringing up children in a council estate or remote African/Asian Village- without support and holding down two jobs at the same time). I recommend a simulated version of pregnancy, Labour/Childbirth as part of Special Forces Training- now that would take cold courage.

Comments Pt 2

I have received another in the series of direct commentary by email that has characterised responses to postings on this Blog from my associates, this time from the Articulate Architect. I welcome these comments and It thus behoves on me to answer the recurring theme of those questions:

A. Are you sure you work?

Ans: Whilst I often ask myself the same question, the answer unfortunately is yes-albeit underpaid in self-employment.

B. Do you not have a life?

The simple answer is no.

C. All these big words?

Ans: Get a dictionary, thats what its meant for.

D. Do you ever sleep?

Ans: Yes, 3-4 hours a night, hence the hours between 5-7am are spent on the Internet, except Sundays. I repeat I do not have a life alright?

Everybody happy? Good.

The totally subjective British Top 20 All Time Singles Chart

This list is in no particular order and is of course changeable depending on one's partisan leanings at the time- be warned. Also note that to underscore the importance of this chart, the character's herein are in bold text (classy or what?):

1. Tales of Great Ulysses- Cream

2. Bohemian Rhapsody- Queen

3. Fools Gold- Stone Roses

4. Butterflies - Doves

5. Chant a Psalm- Steel Pulse

6. Sultans of swing- Dire Straits

7. Drop the Pilot- Joan Armatrading

8. The Walk- The Cure

9. Gloria- U2

9a. You're lying- Lynx

10. Searching- China Black.

11. Whole lotta love- Led Zepellin

12. Clocks- Coldplay

13. Wonderwall- Oasis

14. Daytripper- The Beatles

15. Waiting for that day- George Michael (yes you read right)

16. Hand in Glove-The Smiths

17. Kiss from a Rose- Seal (no relation)

18. Just can't get enough- Depeche Mode

19. Bank robber-The Clash

20. Every breath you take- The Police

I'm sure the delectable designer shall bemoan the non-inclusion of Crazy Frog, my apologies but she need not despair too much, the culprit of that vile heap of ordure is thankfully not British. By the way, get well soon mate, need to see you doing the splits (on the dancefloor) soon.

Comments

I noted yesterday, a rash of multiple and in some cases homogenous commentary beside some of the posts, just for the records, I certainly welcome comments and have been getting quite a few albeit directly by email (mostly in the form of insults from my degenerate and much valued acquaintances), however it must be admitted that comments on the Graphics and Webdesign whilst flattering are a tad bit repetitive. Also, I did not design the site or the Graphics. On this Website you use Templates, so your praise is misplaced and undeserved (the equivalent of receiving an OBE - "Other people's Bloody Effort"- sorry Rajiv, I had to nick that one). I however hope you've actually read the postings as opposed to gazing starry-eyed at the "Graphics" and "Web-design". All said thanks all the same for taking the time to gaze wondrously at and comment copiously on someone else's work.

Pre vs Post Op Tension

I came across this article by chance (honest). All I can say is that there are a lot of vested interests on this earth. Its now officially impossible to avoid offending one of the myriad interest groups that abound. Goodness me.

"While I appreciated your inclusion of an article about female-to-male transsexuals [" A Real Man," Nora Vincent, November 23], I found the use of a sutured Barbie doll to represent the FTM on your cover completely offensive. As a female-to-male transsexual, I can attest that the image is our worst nightmare. It is exactly what we pray not to become when we begin the process of transition: a feminine woman with male body parts sewn on, haphazard and incongruous. Much more goes into transitioning than mastectomy and phalloplasty (penile construction). As Drew Seidman said to Nora Vincent, it's not the penis that makes the man. "It's much more than the skin I'm wearing." Sadly, your cover art did nothing to evoke the complexity that exists beneath the skin of the transsexual but instead reduced the transsexual, and all people, to mere body parts, to meat.

I would also like to address Vincent's reply to two letters in the December 7 issue. Vincent wrote, "As an androgynous woman and a drag king, I resent deeply the implication that I in any way misled, mistreated, or disrespected Drew." While drag kings and FTMs might both reside beneath the transgender umbrella, the two are hardly the same thing. A drag king explicitly performs gender, whether on stage or the street; he is parodying masculinity. When the performance is done, the drag king goes home and removes his costume, his spirit-gummed mustache, and resumes life as a woman (androgynous or otherwise). The FTM lives the life 24/7. To even imply that a drag king should speak for FTMs is like saying that Al Jolson, because he put on blackface and sang "Mammy," spoke for African Americans.

So please, Nora, don't try to put on the mantle of transsexual oppression, because it just doesn't fit on a drag king's shoulders. And as far as being an "androgynous woman" goes, I was one myself for a number of years and it is nothing like living day-to-day as a transsexual man."

Jack Griffin
Manhattan

Ten (or 11) Facts about Fela Kuti

You know what? Its my blog and I'll write what the heck I like. Here's some random info on Fela

1. Once he had recorded a song, he never played it live again He had reportedly been offered several Thousands to perform his old hits, which he refused.

2.He maintained a close relationship with Duke Ellington till the Duke's death and he is reputed to have helped Fela in scoring a number of his songs.

3. He had a serious run-in with Paul McCartney after EMI barred Fela from recording in its Studio in Lagos, because McCartney was scheduled to record the "Band on the Run" album, even though Kuti had pre-booked the Studio. He reportedly barricaded the entrance to the Studio until the issues were ironed out. They stayed friends subsequently though, with McCartney recently picking up the tab for Fela's son's Music Course at McCartneys Music School. 2nd reason to like Macca, the first being sorting out Jimi Hendrix' first Festival gig.

4. He started out as a Trumpeter and was only forced to learn to play the Saxophone after his star Sax player- Igo Chiko left the Band in 1972, resulting in Fela being booed off stage in Ghana in the same year.

5. He was..or.. ehm. had considerable physical attributes. I recall being told by a friend about an occasion in Fela's House , where he was holding court and engaged in a serious political argument- stark naked. My friend's account is to the effect that people on both sides of him constantly had to duck to avoid getting knocked out cold, by his err.. person as he gesticulated excitedly in the course of the argument. It is not known if this is the motivation for the Instrumental Track by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers- Fela's C-ck (The Plasma Album). I'm serious, there is such a Track. Click on the Link and on their website its right there- information about the song that is! http://www.redhotchilipeppers.com/discog/?v=so&a=1&id=118
Add: Confirmed- It was about Fela, here's a quote from Flea the Bassist- "I went to go see him play and it was one of the most awesome things I ever saw in my life. He played for about four hours, like three songs. It was the greatest thing I ever heard."- Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Culled From http://www.felaproject.net (click on "Fela" and then on "Quotes").

6. His mum was one of the First Feminist activists in Africa and was on friendly terms with Mao Tse Tung, well regarded by Krushchev and such like persons. An articulate and formidable character, she was certainly not the typical Vicar's wife, Fela's Dad was an Anglican Reverend, but wholly supportive of his wife's activism (equally inspiring for an African couple in the 1920's/1930's). She died in 1979 as a result of injuries suffered when she was thrown out of a window two stories up in Fela's House by the invading Soldiers and Policemen (over a 1000 in all) drafted by the Nigerian Government to silence him finally in 1977. The Nigerian Government rather cynically appointed him a member of the Police Public Relations Commitee in 1981. (See, even Dictator's have a sense of humour). He equally returned the compliment by first confiscating the hats of two Traffic Policement and then dragging his mothers Coffin on foot over several miles to the residence of the Head of the Military Junta asking that they bury her. (I do recognise that there is more than one fact contained herein- I repeat, its my blog and I'll do what I want to).

7. The present Civilian President of Nigeria, was the Head of the Military Junta in 1977. (Read the Presidential present).

8. His home in Lagos- called Kalakuta (corruption of Calcutta) Republic (named after the notorious Police Cell Block where he was detained in 1974), was open to any and every homeless drifter, where Fela would give them a roof and a meal as well as some kind of job- in many instances.

9. He was given a brand new Mercedes Benz 280 Limo by his Record company, which he reputedly used regularly in loading up filthy firewood/charcoal used in cooking to feed the masses in his self-styled Republic.

10. A million people marched with Fela's Coffin on its final journey to burial in his house. More than have ever witnessed any state event in Nigeria.

11. He was briefly listed in the Guinness book of records for the most number of women married at one ceremony- 27, in 1978.

Quote from his soul mate American Civil Rights activist Sandra Isidore in an Interview after his death- "Right now, I think about those people that he left behind. Those in the compound that he gave employment to. Those that he took in off the streets. Those that would not have had a place to stay or a job or a future had it not been for Fela. Fela was a very generous man. This is the man that I know. He gave opportunities to many. At the same time, he was like a common man. He was very simple. He didn't need a lot of flair. I know it sounds strange, but . . . when he came [to America], I said 'Fela, you're a star, I should hire a limousine.' He said, 'No. Can all my band members go in the limo?' If everybody couldn't go in the limousine, then he couldn't have it. He would not be separated. He didn't put himself above any of them or anyone." He lived more life in 58 years than most could in 116. "Fela will make no apologies for nothing," says Sandra. "He lived his life his way, the way he wanted to live it. It can definitely be said he had a full life. He twisted his shoes his way, nobody told him what to do. I fought with him on many occasions. It was not easy dealing with Fela Anikulapo Kuti. From the very beginning it was a fight, but it was fun. It's the end of an era for me."

Below is a Fela Mini Video clip as well as other Web resources.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuBpLXrJMF0&search=Fela%20Kuti

http://www.jaybabcock.com/byrne.html

David Byrne (Talking Heads) on Fela.

http://www.jaybabcock.com/bootsyside.html

Bootsy Collins on Fela

http://www.jaybabcock.com/lester.html
Lester Bowie on Fela

http://africanmusic.org/artists/felakuti.html

Fela Kuti Pictorial History

Enough has been said about Fela Kuti, no need to jabber away for several pages. These rare photos say it all. From the early days in London as a fresh Graduate of Trinity College of Music (colour photo below was taken from a 1961 Vogue magazine spread) to the Afro-Jazz days back in Nigeria. From his re-education by the American Black Panther Sandra Isidore in the late 60's to his activist days and beating and torture by the Nigerian authorities and to growing old disgracefullywithout compromise. Picture below with Donkey is of Fela christening his Pet Donkey "Gowon", the surname of the Head of the first Military Junta (there were two) that stormed his house and tortured him. Simple theme of his life- Rage Hard- that was Fela. As for the photo at the bottom- especially bottom right, do not try that at home or anywhere else for that matter. The old rascal may be 9 years dead, but is probably more popular now than when he was alive.

Tony Allen

TONY ALLEN

To foreigners, the surname Allen is not usually associated with an indigene of Lagos, Nigeria, but English/Irish/Brazilian surnames aren't in short supply with many traditional Lagos families bearing such quaint names as Bickersteth, Doherty, Cardoso and Gansallo. Well thats another story, but our man was born Tony Allen of Lagosian parents.

Anthony Oladipo Allen was born in 1940, this is significant in that anyone who has been fortunate to witness a live performance or take a listen to some of his recent seminal recordings will agree that age as the cliche goes is just a number. His sheer physical strength (though belied by his controlled and masterful performance) as well as his total control of the Drums is best witnessed not described. Without gushing like a starstruck little girl, I'll quote Brian Eno "Tony Allen is simply the best Drummer in the world", he also said he's "one of the most important musicians of the last 30 years". What does he know, you might ask? Well Brian Eno only happened to have been part of Roxy Music and produced or collaborated with David Bowie, U2, Talking Heads and Grace Jones amongst others, I'd say he's earned a right to his opinion. Ginger Baker (Ginge Mate') and Damon Albarn equally have described him as one of the best drummers alive. I guess I've kind of made my point, wiseguy.

His technique is the stuff of legend and I've watched a concert on DVD, where the Japanese organisers actually positioned 2 cameras each on every one of his hands and legs, all in a bid to study his drumming technique- to no avail. No one knows how he does it and it'll probably die with him. I'm not a drummer, but a man who's able to play different drum parts with each of his limbs simultaneously, as furiously and as controlled as he does has to be a wee bit special.

Tony started out playing Highlife Music in Lagos (a mixture of Big Band and Native Music), he taught himself to play listening to old LP's of Max Roach, Art Blakey and the Ghanaian Drummer- Kofi Ghanaba (born Guy Warren). He was discovered by Fela Kuti's Manager- the Great Benson Idonije, who invited him from a Hotel Gig at the Western Hotel in Lagos, to join Fela's band in 1964. By the way Benson Idonije is still very much alive and writes the best informed Column on Jazz in Africa via the Guardian Newspaper. (He's in London at the moment, we should have a drink together hopefully).

There's controversy about who taught whom or whatever but the fact is Fela greatly respected Tony and vice versa, another fact is that Tony grew as a Drummer under Fela who had a very strict approach to music writing parts for all his Musicians. Tony says he didn't write any for him, but I believe that at some stage he did. Tony played on the greatest of Fela's albums and in my view the best would have to be the Tracks - Confusion (1975), Roforofo Fight (1974) and Yeye Dey Smell (1971) a duet with Ginger Baker - awesome.

He was the Leader of Fela's Afrika 70 in its hey-day and the driving force behind the beats, his extreme competence and drive was the foil for Fela to creatively craft the masterpieces he did at the time, no other drummer in the world could have done this.

Tony went his way in 1978, after tiring of being continually beaten up by the Nigerian Military Government in reaction to Fela's political activism. The fact again is that Fela needed two or four drummers (playing at the same time) to replace Tony Allen. He moved to Paris, but not before a Live Drums only Performance with his hero Kofi Ghanaba in 1978 at the National Theatre in Lagos, Nigeria. Kofi Ghanaba, by the way played with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Thelonius Monk, he was no muppet. This performance was never recorded, sadly but if someone has a pirate recording, they're likely to be made very rich.

Increasingly he's experimented with House Music, playing a Fusion called Afro-House. He's recorded with all kinds of people of recent, including Manu Dibango, Ray Ayers, Grace Jones, Dizee Rascal??!!?, Black Voices, Damon Albarn, Keziah Jones, Brian Eno etc. His new album "Lagos no shaking" has won critical acclaim and he performs in Bristol on Sunday, the Jazz Cafe in a few weeks time and the Royal Festival Hall in July, I've included a link to one of the tracks from his Home Cooking Album Every Season featuring Rapper Ty and Damon Albarn, not my favourite track I might say. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/world/awards2003/ram/awmtonyallen.ram

I strongly recommend his new album, but still count on Home Cooking as his best (Produced by Damon Albarn). However I say with pride that his new Album is a return to his roots and featured extremely talented local musicians, watch out for the Guitar of Oscar Elimbi, Sax of Showboy, Trumpet of Batik. Members of my band and who he used on my recommendation (aside from Showboy, who was part of Fela Kuti's Egypt 80 and who Tony already knew. I ask to be excused the name dropping on this occasion. Whilst I can count on being savaged by that spaced-out Psycopath -Nerdpinup and a few other acid tongued witches/antagonists, I am genuinely proud to have assisted one of the greatest musicians alive and will advertise it shamelessly.

I end this post by citing his legendary modesty, Tony genuinely couldn't care less, he does his thing and ignores all the accolades and hype, lights a fag and picks up his drumsticks. A man of few words and a living legend. Brown nosing completed.