I'm very cooperative

This month, as an email from ABCUL reminded me, sees the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Fenwick Weavers Society. It is claimed that this is the first known co-operative in the world for which full records are held. Which could put the collective noses of the Rochdale Pioneers out of joint by 84 years, if such things mattered. The residents of Toad Lane have traditionally considered themselves the first among equals.

An interesting article in the Grauniad concerning the Big Society in the Basque Country (Euskadi). Great stuff but not without its problems as the last three paragraphs outline.

Mondragón's utopian ideal, however, is tempered by the fact that only half of staff are co-op members and their vote decides the future of the other 50%. The result is a two-tier system.
During the recession it was non-member staff who suffered, losing jobs as temporary contracts were not renewed. None of its foreign divisions have become co-ops, stymied by a lack of profits and trade unions abroad suspicious of worker ownership.
Carlos Fernández Isoird, a former manager who left to set up social enterprises, says Mondragón is too large, too multinational and too capitalist in outlook: "Mondragón stopped forming co-ops years ago. They have 6,000 workers in China and just opened two factories in India. Tell me when will a Chinese get to be president of Mondragón?"

Ah yes membership, equality and globalisation!

What would a network of cooperatives, mutuals, non-profits etc. look like? Hmmm...

Once upon time in a London Borough far, far away a young lad was enchanted listening to the tale told by a colleague of some considerable experience. On a visit to explore the, architectural, wonders of Bordeaux he fell in with a wine coop which had celebrated its 100th anniversary. The way they had chosen to do this was by bottling an anniversary wine with the label Chateau Rochdale in honour of our friends in Toad Lane!

Let me know if you find a bottle and how good it was!

El Norte

I was delighted with this post by Nicholas Carr which links to a series of photos by Sebastian Schutyser of the Ermitas of Northern Spain. Schutyser gives a brief but fascinating account of the series in Carr's blog.
We spent some time here and it really is that interesting and delightful. We blunbled on so much that has stayed with us and sustained us. The shot below is of a small but perfectly formed church in a village near where we lived in the magic valley.

These are copies of copies. See the real thing!

Warning! These locations contain peace and beauty!

Out of the Mouths of Bankers and Sucklings

A bright spring morn. To the local flea pit for a screening of the film.
Inside Job. Yes, we all know the origins of our current shortage of the old readies. We know our CDOs from our CDSs. We know the perfidy of Lehman and others, the Gargantua of investment banking and the beggaring of a number of countries by Merchants of Greed. (MoGs)

It was good to see it set out so clearly and unequivocally with mug shots of the players Henry Paulson, Ben Bernanke & Timothy Geithner, for example. Whatever happened to them?
Christine Lagarde calling him Honk Paulson, Glenn Hubbard caught in the headlights like a rabbit; it's all good clean fun!

We should not forget what these people did and the effect they will have on the lives of those that are not able to deal with it! But we will, we will.

The director, Charles Ferguson, was asked in October 2010 what the most important lesson in his film was:-

"Oh that's simple. That finance is too important to be left to the financiers."

The MoGs are still out there sucking.

Passing through the graveyard.

I thought it was a memorial to a Victorian balladeer with a weakness for triple alliteration. However, it is a sad tale of bankruptcy, penury and writing dreadful novels to bring the pennies in. The memorial stone gets seven hits on flickr. If I don’t mention his name he will sink into obscurity in this blog! Now there’s a thought. Sic transit gloria mundi.

How do you make a phlebotomist laugh?

I regularly visit the blood testing department at our local hospital.
Phlebotomists are usually very professional, more competent than doctors at drawing blood and probably have to put up with their fair share of rotten jokes about vampires and armfuls. Maybe as a consequence they all seem to have a dour expression permanently attached. I have been thinking of awarding myself a few points if I could raise a smile from the phlebotomist.
My chance came today. I was ushered into the cubical asked to take a seat and as a precaution (Know your customer) required to give my name, address and date of birth. I complied. After this I was required to give the current dose of Warfarin that I was taking.

"4mg during the week and 5mg at the weekend. Party time!"

A smile, a chuckle and then back to sooking the lemon pan drops.

And Another One Bites the Dust

Lovely day for it.




Beccles 19/3/2011

Out of the Mouths of Chartered Accountants

I wish I was young and healthy enough to participate on March 26th. I would enjoy the carnival spirit, especially as it is Lent. There is no substitute for the joining together of honest men, women and children in whatever numbers to raise their voices to call for peace and justice and to speak truth to power. We stereotype, we discriminate, we exclude and we judge where we should be judged. We can also unite, cooperate, demonstrate that we share a common humanity, up to a point, even with accountants. Mr Murphy's excellent Blog, Tax Research UK hits the 2 inch wire lost head on its apex as usual!

I shall expect to see rubberman Cameron, Gideon, and St Vincent de Cable at the march, proudly bearing a placard with the legend - Cabinet Members Against the Cuts. The Claggster will be spending more time with his family, of course.

It is very tempting. If you see a doddery old codger underneath a sign :-

Buddhist Pizza :- Accept no Cuts or Substitutes

you will know I have succumbed to irrational exuberance.

The Discrete Charm of the Embussed

I can't spell for toffee but I had a chuckle at the Beeb's report on The Cunning
Plan of Her Britannic Majesty's Metropolitan Police Force (or violence as we called it back in the day)
It is reported that The Met police briefing document advises

Avoid hasty actions or taking the bait - this will require nerve, discretion and discipline.

and when waiting around in police vans:

If drinking coffee or reading the paper when embussed (sic), please be discrete (sic).

Oh lordy, lordy Friday already an we hent paid the rent.

Still good to know the lads were paid a decent wage for their discrete embussment, coffee and papers provided!

A Tax on all of us.

As the end of the financial year draws nigh at Buddhist Pizza Inc. we have considered various salaries, payments, emoluments, bonuses and other matters of remuneration. The year has not been without its challenges and the modest profit of 4 trillion dollars has only been achieved through the tried and tested methods that have stood the financial services industry in such good stead for many years. Through the good offices and endeavours of our accountants, Messrs Bent, Filchit, Haven and Transfer-Pricing, we will pay tax of some 2,000 dollars to the government of the Cayenne Islands, where we are incorporated and have our magnificent headquarters alongside Fast Willy’s Chicken Diner. It is only fitting that we accept our corporate social responsibility and contribute to the economy of the Cayenne Islands. As a gesture of good will over and above this we will pay for a re-spray on Fast Willy’s van, in our corporate colours of course. Waste receptacles will also be provided to assist with the conservation of the environment and to reduce expenditure on rat poison. We expect, after dividend, professional services and other unavoidable costs, to be able to distribute 3.999 trillion dollars to board members and senior staff.

However, the way ahead is not without its dangers. My friends in the City of London have alerted me to moves by the great unwashed to force dynamic entrepreneurs, myself included, to pay more tax! I have created the magnificent wealth generating behemoth Buddhist Pizza Inc. as a contribution to humanity. It is my life’s work, it is my contribution to society. I have gained so little and given so much! What do they want now, blood? Oh no they want to:-

Pursue transparency,

Prioritise the needs of developing countries,

Abolish the City of London Corporation,

Reform onshore taxation,

Tackle the intermediaries and private users of offshore vehicles,

Reform the financial sector.

My god!

(see Treasure Islands – Tax havens and the men who stole the world. Nicholas Shaxson)

There are men like John Christensen biting the hand that is trying to take food from your table. I must confess that I had to sit down with a very stiff drink (40 year old Glen Trust – 2,000 sovs. a bottle) when I saw the anti-wealth pornography at Mr Murphy’s site.

I couldn’t finish watching it all. I had to finish the bottle instead.

So I say to Mr Cameron:- Stand firm rubber man!

And to Gideon:- Don’t be lily livered, live up to your name; cut, cut and cut again!

St Vincent De Cable remember:- the poor will always be with us, who else are we going to tax?

Dig This

I always wanted a Swiss Army Knife, the one with a thing for getting boy scouts out of horses hooves. Well the PLA have come up with something better, much better! If you are one of those people who like to call a spade a spade Dig This It's worth taking a few minutes out of a busy day for the soundtrack alone.

Just the thing for getting out of the Laogai, no political prisoner should be without one.

Thanks to her outdoors and FSC for this