Hello everyone - just finished my two hours in the garden - time for poached eggs on toast I think - mind you, by the time I reach the kitchen that could have morphed into something entirely different!

Have a heap of carrots waiting for me to transform them into Carrot and Coriander soup, some trousers to shorten for a friend, laundry to do, stuff to move out of the wardrobe into charity bags, another shelf to put up in the Craft Room, and the last section of the forensics course to complete.

I'm sure I once read somewhere that Sunday was supposed to be a day of rest ?!

Ed thought he'd smarten his living room
He went to B&Q and bought paint and a broom
He went with such haste
he forgot to buy paste

The only one I am interested in is the Inheritance tax
I live in a small bungalow but because  of the area it is worth far more than the inheritance tax threshold of £325 k ( a figure that has not been raised for the last 18+ years )
The price of bungalows in North wiltshire is outrageous a one bedroomed one went recently for £550 - it did have a view which I suppose accounted  for this extraordinary price .

Of course my children might not inherit it as if (god forbid)  we need care it would be gobbled up in no time ( care home fees being about £2000 a week in the area ) that is £104,000 pa

Obviously if you can you must pay .
But 40%
People say give it to them while you are alive but for many people their house is their major asset and they are living in it unlike seriously wealthy  people they cannot just give it away .

The government also has all sorts of rules to cover this

I resent the idea of the government taking 40 % of my estate over the threshold I want it to go to my children and grandchildren to help them in this uncertain world .

Burnhams idea of a 'care levy ' capped at 10% seems reasonable but to pay for that he would raise income tax


https://archive.is/20260522062635/https://www.thetimes.com/money/tax/article/andy-burnhams-ambition-to-abolish-inheritance-tax-jxw30gfl7

What do other people think ?

Alf was once a bit of a hippy
And took Fleur to the local chippy
With vinegar he plied her,
then dipped her and fried her
He made a real mess of her lippy.

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Ed thought he'd smarten his living room
He went to B&Q and bought paint and a broom

Wordle 1,814 4/6

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What politicians propose before elections often has little resemblance to what they actually achieve. 

Wordle 1,814 4/6

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Alf was once a bit of a hippy
And took Fleur to the local chippy 
With vinegar he plied her,
then dipped her and fried her

Should we believe him ?

Ahead of his possible ascendancy to No. 10, here is a list of Burnham's U-turns and policy promises to date:

U-turns

• Trans: Despite having previously advocated for trans women to be able to use female loos, Burnham has now said he supports the Supreme Court ruling and that its findings should be implemented.
• Migrant benefits: Despite previously advocating for migrants on work, student or family visas to have access to handouts, Burnham now says he opposes the idea.
• Fiscal rules: At Labour conference last year, Burnham accused the government of being 'in hock to the bond markets'. Earlier this year he pledged to stick to Rachel Reeves's fiscal rules. On June 5 he said that actually the fiscal rules are up for debate. 
• Rejoining the EU: Also at Labour conference last year, Burnham insisted Britain should rejoin the EU. Since the Makerfield by-election kicked off, his stance has softened to 'respecting the result' and 'not advocating' a second referendum – in the short term.
• BLM: In 2020, Burnham signed a statement supporting Black Lives Matter, but on Question Time he disavowed 'taking the knee'.

New or reaffirmed policies

• Burnham has pledged to slash the number of peers in the House of Lords and called for the chamber to be subject to an 'indirect election that could be linked to a general election'.
• Cut business rates for pubs and music venues by 20 per cent.
• Replace council tax with a land value tax.
• Abolish death duties and replace them with a flat-rate 'national care levy'.
• Introduce proportional representation.
• All utilities brought under public ownership or wrapped in more red tape

Quote from: Michael Rolls on Yesterday at 08:03:31 AMeight years, four months thirteen days. What I miss most is her presence

I have no words  😢

Today at 12:19:09 AM

Quote from: GrannyMac on Yesterday at 07:37:32 PMI've never lived alone. It'll come to one of us, we're both 80 now. Several of my friends have been widowed in the last couple of years. 

You were very young Scrumpy, and Michael, you have talked about your Veronica so beautifully. 

Granny I'm the same I'v never lived alone .
I think about it a lot these days (especially when my blood pressure goes up  and I feel my heart thumping away .)
I see my husband getting less and less able and I worry for him .