Quote from: fsn on 09 July 2020, 07:09:33 AM
The mildly lovely Scotch "Sheep Dip" was apparently so named so that farmers could escape the scrutiny of the tax man.

The naughty boys ! 

From the 'other angle'.......

Was there an episode in either Ballykissangel or Hamish Macbeth where some naughty farmers made a load of fake sheep, by painting appropriately sized boxes white ?
This was to fool the 'powers that be', that the farmers weren't over-claiming the number of sheep they had, for their subsidies.....(Which they were)....And having been told of satellite imagery, hatched the white box idea, to make it appear that they had far more sheep than they really owned.

Cheers - Phil

Quote from: Orcs on 09 July 2020, 06:44:04 PM

Quote from: Techno on 09 July 2020, 06:13:38 AM
Ouch !

The other thing that might happen with the VAT reduction, is that the actual price of the meal may not go down.....it could just mean that the pub/restaurant won't have to pass on so much to the Vatman.  :- (?)

Cheers - Phil

Apparently this is exactly what happened in other countries that did a similar thing

Isn't that the whole point of this particular VAT reduction: to put the money into the business to help keep it viable rather than passing it on to the consumer?

Just like the £10 off Monday-Wednesday, it's aimed at helping keep mid-tier restaurants open.

Bottom-tier, fast food multinationals are doing okay and can't do eat-in anyway; £10 a meal isn't going to help upper tier places where it's £50 a starter, but social distancing is more feasible for them; £10 off and a VAT windfall just might help a bit.

Personally, I think it's a sticking plaster over an artery that's about to rupture - whether enough of these little sticking plasters will build up into a dressing strong enough to stop the impending gush only time will tell...

I think you're probably right, Meirion. 

The VAT saving isn't going to make much difference in getting folk back into pubs and restaurants.....The £10 off might encourage a few people, but I'll still be oh, so wary of going anywhere like a pub or restaurant at the mo'.

I fear it'll be a good few months yet, before I feel confident enough to 'mix' with strangers in a 'confined space'.....even with the social distancing.

Cheers - Phil

Quote from: Techno on 10 July 2020, 08:21:08 AM

I fear it'll be a good few months yet, before I feel confident enough to 'mix' with strangers in a 'confined space'.....even with the social distancing.

Which, sadly, will keep the wargame conference and competition circuits closed as well.  I remember one year at the Waperntak bring and buy, I could take my feet off the ground and be carried along in the crush.   

Quote from: Techno on 10 July 2020, 08:21:08 AM
I fear it'll be a good few months yet, before I feel confident enough to 'mix' with strangers in a 'confined space'.....even with the social distancing.

Went for our first eating-out for over 3 months on Wednesday - cooked breakfast at our local cafe. Fewer tables than there used to be, and only one other person in there. We sat as far away from them as we could . . . Slightly odd experience (giving over a name & contact number with our order), but the food was delicious.

Quote from: John Cook on 08 July 2020, 11:48:28 AM
Dream on - I'm fairly certain that wargames manufacturers will not fall into any of the "certain sectors" mentioned.

If the crafting materials that Hobbycraft and The Works sell are included, I don't see why Pendraken should be excluded.

All though this is about getting people in to bricks & mortar stores - not sure Pendraken have a retail presence on the high street (yet)?

Quote from: Raider4 on 10 July 2020, 09:22:47 AM
If the crafting materials that Hobbycraft and The Works sell are included, I don't see why Pendraken should be excluded.

All though this is about getting people in to bricks & mortar stores - not sure Pendraken have a retail presence on the high street (yet)?

There is an alternative universe where Games Workshop never existed and there are Pendraken Shops in most high streets.

>>There is an alternative universe where Games Workshop never existed and there are Pendraken Shops in most high streets.


I certainly don't see myself as a GW fanboy but wonder where our hobby would be without them, principally in terms of bringing
new blood in.   Probably a topic for a separate thread...

Yeah.....

I don't think they were the Evil Empire, when I worked for them....(A lifetime ago, now... )

But, I'd say they HAVE brought oodles of folk into the hobby......Which is definitely a good thing.

I've still got wodges of time for Bryan (Ansell).

On the very odd occasions I speak to him....I still call him 'Guvnor'.

Cheers - Phil

Quote from: Techno on 19 July 2020, 11:14:20 AM
Yeah.....

I don't think they were the Evil Empire, when I worked for them....(A lifetime ago, now... )

But, I'd say they HAVE brought oodles of folk into the hobby......Which is definitely a good thing.

I've still got wodges of time for Bryan (Ansell).

On the very odd occasions I speak to him....I still call him 'Guvnor'.

Cheers - Phil

My feeling - admittedly from the small sample of a visit to Warhammer World in Nottingham last year and the Woking shop - is that there's been a bit of a turn around in company ethos compared to the darkest days.  I believe there has been changes at the top and they're actually listening to the customers now.

I also saw on the BBC website that they'd weathered the Covid storm very well and have paid back their Furlough money to the government. 

Anyway, the chap in the Woking shop always cheers me up with his enthusiasm whenever I'm dragged in by my sprogs, so some credit where credit's due 

Quote from: O Dinas Powys on 19 July 2020, 06:09:52 PM
My feeling - admittedly from the small sample of a visit to Warhammer World in Nottingham last year and the Woking shop - is that there's been a bit of a turn around in company ethos compared to the darkest days.  I believe there has been changes at the top and they're actually listening to the customers now.

I went right off them when they introduced their new paint range a few years ago, and the chairman boasted that one of the reasons was so that every paint now had a trademarked/copyrighted name.

They then did the same with elves and dwarfs and orcses, etc., and gave them all really stupid names when they reset the fantasy game a couple of years ago.