We got to Preston a little later than expected because of a mishap with the air pump at the local garage. I was checking the tyre pressures, and discovered that the first one was at only a quarter of its proper pressure. I duly pumped it up, and was surprised that it seemed to be taking a lot. It wasn't like I could hear air leaking. It was then that the heat from my hand melted the ice on the gauge, and it flicked from 20PSI to 65PSI in one go. Ooops; especially as the tyre is supposed to run at 40PSI and has a maximum safe pressure of 50PSI. I let the air out, but I'm glad that it is a tyre that I'll be replacing for a new one soon.
We still got to the Waterstones on time, but not with much time to spare. We had to park in our secret free parking location which was about twenty minutes' walk away, which din't help, but it was all right in the end. They put us to work immediately at the signing table by the door where I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had sold a few copies over the last week or so. That's always a good start.
Preston was a tough crowd yesterday. I signed no books for the first two hours and that's a pretty poor record to take. We even tried moving the table around, but to no avail. It's a real sinking feeling when no-one is interested in stopping to take a look, made worse by a mound of books smiling on the table in front of you. At a shop that we had never been to before too.
Luckily the lunchtime crowd were different and the signings turned from nothing to a lot in the space of an hour. It was actually quite amazing, and I beat my hourly signing record at around 3:00pm. I also had an interesting experience with one person who stopped for a chat and to take a look at the book. I knew that I recognised him, but couldn't place him. He was a large fellow, with a serious expression as if thinking deeply about everything. He asked if I was a local author, asked about the writing process; how long it all took. He then asked me about how long a book took to plan out. He was a very pleasant chap; very polite. All the time I'm thinking "Where do I know him from". He wished me the best of luck, we shook hands, then he left the shop. I then discovered from the shop's manager who had been close by that I had spoken to and shaken the hand of Lenny Henry. I can only assume that he was doing a show somewhere in Preston that evening.
We finished at 5:00pm with every copy signed. It's always nice to be at that stage. We've been told we can come back again, and will hopefully arrange something in April this year. Afterwards we tottered off to a coffee café (that's hard to say I guess if drunk) and had a cuppa and a chat before having a browse of the shops. I don't get a chance during the day, so it's nice to take a look just before they close.
We were off to a friend's 50th birthday party in Chorley that evening, so headed straight down there and had a really good night. Happy birthday Malcolm! It was an excellent party and the perfect way to wind down from a busy day.
Next stop on the tour is currently booked as Wigan Waterstones on the 19th of February; I get a couple of weekends to myself again. I'm going to be concentrating on the meantime with finishing off the Kindle edition of 'Orb of Arawaan' which should also be a prelude to it becoming at some point the first of my back catalogue to be reprinted for a hard edition. However, the follow-up to 'Bringing home the stars' will appear in hard copy before it.
Many thanks to all of you who continue to support me and my work!
Sunday 30 January 2011
Friday 28 January 2011
Preston Waterstones book signing.
I'm getting ready to head out now to the book signing at the Waterstones in Preston. I'm a little pushed for time, so I won't type much, but I'm looking forward to seeing people there today!
Thursday 27 January 2011
Kindling for the fire!
After the signing at the Trafford Centre last Saturday I've been working hard to prepare some of my back catalogue for the Kindle reader. As I've said before, it seems that a lot of people have received one of these over Christmas 2010 and they look set to do for books what downloads did to music. To that end, I've sold more Kindle copies of 'Bringing home the stars' for the Kindle reader in the last week than I did in the last six months, according to the publisher.
I was already doing a lot of editing for new editions, but that got stepped up a pace. Today the finished edit of 'The Atlantic Connection' was uploaded today for the Kindle, and should go live to buy by the end of tomorrow. All-in-all that bodes well for the signing in Preston on this coming Saturday. My hope is that people who buy on the Kindle will be tempted to buy more than one of my books, and there should be a resultant increase in Kindle sales as a result.
With 'The Atlantic Connection' done, I'm working hard on a Kindle copy of ''Orb of Arawaan' which was always a bit of a behemoth of a book, coming in at nearly twice the length of my other books. It's early days, but I'm pleased to say that I'm actually pleasantly surprised at this one. I'm reading through it, and there isn't an awful lot of changes that I feel need to be done, other than to correct a few of the usual typos that seem to get into first editions. It's a really good story, even if I say so myself! If I can continue the pace today and tomorrow, there's every chance that the publisher can get it uploaded over the weekend so that by the Wigan signing I'll have three books on the Kindle.
I'm quite excited by it all - a new dawn of selling books! The last book that I definitely intend to go through to put up on Kindle from the back catalogue is 'Countdown to Extinction'. This will be the earliest book on there, and might need a lot of editing to make me happy enough to re-release it. Writing is like anything else: the more you practice at it, the better you get. My style has changed, and I have got better. That's one of the reasons that some of the other books might eventually get completely rewritten rather than just a heavy edit. I feel a little about my earlier work as to how Terry Pratchett seems to have felt when he went back to do a new edition of 'The Carpet People'.
I was already doing a lot of editing for new editions, but that got stepped up a pace. Today the finished edit of 'The Atlantic Connection' was uploaded today for the Kindle, and should go live to buy by the end of tomorrow. All-in-all that bodes well for the signing in Preston on this coming Saturday. My hope is that people who buy on the Kindle will be tempted to buy more than one of my books, and there should be a resultant increase in Kindle sales as a result.
With 'The Atlantic Connection' done, I'm working hard on a Kindle copy of ''Orb of Arawaan' which was always a bit of a behemoth of a book, coming in at nearly twice the length of my other books. It's early days, but I'm pleased to say that I'm actually pleasantly surprised at this one. I'm reading through it, and there isn't an awful lot of changes that I feel need to be done, other than to correct a few of the usual typos that seem to get into first editions. It's a really good story, even if I say so myself! If I can continue the pace today and tomorrow, there's every chance that the publisher can get it uploaded over the weekend so that by the Wigan signing I'll have three books on the Kindle.
I'm quite excited by it all - a new dawn of selling books! The last book that I definitely intend to go through to put up on Kindle from the back catalogue is 'Countdown to Extinction'. This will be the earliest book on there, and might need a lot of editing to make me happy enough to re-release it. Writing is like anything else: the more you practice at it, the better you get. My style has changed, and I have got better. That's one of the reasons that some of the other books might eventually get completely rewritten rather than just a heavy edit. I feel a little about my earlier work as to how Terry Pratchett seems to have felt when he went back to do a new edition of 'The Carpet People'.
Wednesday 26 January 2011
Sunday 23 January 2011
Saturday 22 January 2011
Trafford Centre debrief and news of the Kindle.
Today's signing at the Trafford Centre went extremely well. We did very well signing books and it was great to meet and talk with so many people. It was a good crowd, and a talkative bunch. One thing that surprised me is the number of people buying Kindle editions. I can only assume that these have been very popular devices for Christmas 2010! If you roll into the number that I signed on hard copy all the ones sold today for Kindle, you would have a new record daily number sold. What is clear to both myself and my publisher is that it is high time that a Kindle edition of my currently out of print books appeared as a stop gap before a hard copy print run. To this end I have been instructed to complete the editing of 'The Atlantic Connection' (should be done by next weekend and the signing in Preston) as well as running my eye over 'Orb of Arawaan' and 'Countdown to Extinction' so that all three can be formatted and uploaded to be available to Kindle users.
Bedtime beckons, but I shall be a busy little girl tomorrow.
Bedtime beckons, but I shall be a busy little girl tomorrow.
Friday 21 January 2011
A potted history of making your own luck.
Prompted by debate elsewhere over CVs, interviews and jobhunting in today's job market.
Over the years I've had more job interviews than I can remember from punting around my CV. The number of jobs I've actually had from all these interviews is precisely two. I found that a lot of companies wanted the moon on a stick, but didn't want to pay for it. More often than not they expected a candidate to come to the role ready trained, ready qualified, ready experienced, but no-one was particularly keen to actually provide any of that to applicants. Over the years I've had a lot of unusual jobs, mostly got via networking and getting to know people. Do favours when you easily can, because there are a lot of people who appreciate it and will return the favour at a later date which can be very useful. There is no substitute in the jobs market for working hard to better yourself and move up taking opportunities whenever they come. Some people claim not to be lucky. That's rubbish. Luck is about recognising opportunities when they come and making the most of them. 'Lucky' people are merely those who look at what's going on around them and make the most of it.
My Father was a transport manager, though he had moved on to become a consultant by the time I came out of University. He gave me a piece of advice: "Get an HGV licence, because you will always find work driving trucks when the job market is a little thin". He was right, and I've odd-jobbed trucking through agencies all through my working life when between other jobs. Even now I escape from the keyboard to go rig-jockeying once every couple of weeks, because it makes a change and everyone needs a hobby. Having an unusual skill that you can fall back on is very useful, and it looks interesting on your CV too even if it isn't relevant to the job you are applying for - it shows a prospective employer that you actually do something interesting outside of the daily grind. I also added sailing and power-boating qualifications and a CPC National certificate in my spare time too, just because they seemed like fun and they made me a more interesting person to employ. It also meant that when I did time freelance at the BBC, I had the advantage that I could drive any of the OB vehicles which was something that none of the other people applying for the job had.
I did unpaid work experience whilst I was a student. It involved a summer of commuting into Manchester at my own expense to work at an ad agency penning adverts to sell tat to the country. I never got a job out of it, because it turned out that the company was happy to get a steady stream of work experience people through to work for free, such was the demand for jobs working in what was actually a fun industry to work in. That taught me a lot about how a lot of companies work in the UK.
I kept networking, and that's meant that over time I could bin all of that and work for myself as a writer. It doesn't make mega money, but it's enough to live on and I'm happy doing it. That's taught me the biggest lessons of my work career: A job that you are happy doing is worth a lot more than one you hate, even if the one you hate earns more money. It also taught me that success doesn't come knocking on your door hand delivered on a silver platter by a flunky. If you want to be successful at something, you can be but you have to work hard and make it happen.
Over the years I've had more job interviews than I can remember from punting around my CV. The number of jobs I've actually had from all these interviews is precisely two. I found that a lot of companies wanted the moon on a stick, but didn't want to pay for it. More often than not they expected a candidate to come to the role ready trained, ready qualified, ready experienced, but no-one was particularly keen to actually provide any of that to applicants. Over the years I've had a lot of unusual jobs, mostly got via networking and getting to know people. Do favours when you easily can, because there are a lot of people who appreciate it and will return the favour at a later date which can be very useful. There is no substitute in the jobs market for working hard to better yourself and move up taking opportunities whenever they come. Some people claim not to be lucky. That's rubbish. Luck is about recognising opportunities when they come and making the most of them. 'Lucky' people are merely those who look at what's going on around them and make the most of it.
My Father was a transport manager, though he had moved on to become a consultant by the time I came out of University. He gave me a piece of advice: "Get an HGV licence, because you will always find work driving trucks when the job market is a little thin". He was right, and I've odd-jobbed trucking through agencies all through my working life when between other jobs. Even now I escape from the keyboard to go rig-jockeying once every couple of weeks, because it makes a change and everyone needs a hobby. Having an unusual skill that you can fall back on is very useful, and it looks interesting on your CV too even if it isn't relevant to the job you are applying for - it shows a prospective employer that you actually do something interesting outside of the daily grind. I also added sailing and power-boating qualifications and a CPC National certificate in my spare time too, just because they seemed like fun and they made me a more interesting person to employ. It also meant that when I did time freelance at the BBC, I had the advantage that I could drive any of the OB vehicles which was something that none of the other people applying for the job had.
I did unpaid work experience whilst I was a student. It involved a summer of commuting into Manchester at my own expense to work at an ad agency penning adverts to sell tat to the country. I never got a job out of it, because it turned out that the company was happy to get a steady stream of work experience people through to work for free, such was the demand for jobs working in what was actually a fun industry to work in. That taught me a lot about how a lot of companies work in the UK.
I kept networking, and that's meant that over time I could bin all of that and work for myself as a writer. It doesn't make mega money, but it's enough to live on and I'm happy doing it. That's taught me the biggest lessons of my work career: A job that you are happy doing is worth a lot more than one you hate, even if the one you hate earns more money. It also taught me that success doesn't come knocking on your door hand delivered on a silver platter by a flunky. If you want to be successful at something, you can be but you have to work hard and make it happen.
Will some-one can this fad for the shake-o-cam?
For the last ten years I've seen a worrying development in film and television. I know ~I'm not alone in hating it. It is the shake-o-cam, where film makers seem to think that by shaking the camera and making it look like the cameraman has not yet discovered the invention of the steadycam, or standing still, or even not jogging on the spot whilst filming, that this somehow adds something to the image filmed.
Actually, it doesn't. Not by a long way. The argument for the shake-o-cam is that it makes it look like the viewer is there, looking on and that we are seeing everything from an observer's point of view. I have news for these film makers: if that is how you really see the world, then there is something wrong with the muscles in your eyes and your brain's ability to compensate so that what you see is smoothed out. When I look at the world around me, I don't see everything jiggling madly around. Of course, I can mimic this effect by placing my head on the side of my washing machine on the spin cycle and watch my kitchen appear to jiggle around. But it isn't how I normally chose to see the world.
Try for yourself: look at what you are seeing and think about it. Jog on the spot and look at something. See! It doesn't move around as wildly as you think, because the muscles in your eye and your brain are working together like a steadycam would for film and television. What the shake-o-cam does is make it look like the cameraman is an amateur who has no talent, and the director and editor didn't bother looking at the film when they were editing it up.
Film and television producers and directors please take note: shake-o-cam looks sh!t.
This public service message was brought to you by me, after having had to sit through too many films and programmes that looked like the cameraman was practising his body-popping moves whilst shooting each scene.
Actually, it doesn't. Not by a long way. The argument for the shake-o-cam is that it makes it look like the viewer is there, looking on and that we are seeing everything from an observer's point of view. I have news for these film makers: if that is how you really see the world, then there is something wrong with the muscles in your eyes and your brain's ability to compensate so that what you see is smoothed out. When I look at the world around me, I don't see everything jiggling madly around. Of course, I can mimic this effect by placing my head on the side of my washing machine on the spin cycle and watch my kitchen appear to jiggle around. But it isn't how I normally chose to see the world.
Try for yourself: look at what you are seeing and think about it. Jog on the spot and look at something. See! It doesn't move around as wildly as you think, because the muscles in your eye and your brain are working together like a steadycam would for film and television. What the shake-o-cam does is make it look like the cameraman is an amateur who has no talent, and the director and editor didn't bother looking at the film when they were editing it up.
Film and television producers and directors please take note: shake-o-cam looks sh!t.
This public service message was brought to you by me, after having had to sit through too many films and programmes that looked like the cameraman was practising his body-popping moves whilst shooting each scene.
Wednesday 19 January 2011
Back to Durham
I've been booked to return to Waterstones in Durham on Saturday the 12th of March. This makes it the third branch of Waterstones to invite me back for a return signing. With the Trafford Centre, Preston and Wigan Waterstones already booked, it's going to be a busy couple of months.
See you there!
See you there!
Tuesday 18 January 2011
Sending your junk to hell.
I rather like today's All over the house strip. It came from an idea that I had a few days ago. It makes a change to see scripts that Zoë and I develop in the most strange of places appear so quickly. I think I was in the bath when I thought of this one. Does that mean that I have to shout "Eureka!" or something?
Go to hell!
Go to hell!
The perfectionist in us all.
Trying to edit one book, knowing that I probably ought to be editing another or writing yet another. I never seem satisfied with what I have achieved as a writer. Still, signing copies of 'Bringing home the stars' at the Trafford Centre on Saturday, so it can't be all bad.
I find myself to be something of a perfectionist, even if sometimes the end results might not feel perfect. I think it is the curse of all artistic types that we are never happy. That's what drives us on. The trick is knowing when to let go of a previous project and move on. Sometimes though I feel that I've improved a lot and break my rules by going back and editing previous stuff. 'The Atlantic Connection' is coming on well, but my style has improved so much that it won't become like I currently write - that would involve binning everything and rewriting it from scratch with the same plot and characters.
I'm listening to a Crystal Method album whilst I write. They are a group I got into when the album Vegas came out (which I have a copy of). Unfortunately they are proving impossible to find copies of in the UK at non-ripoff prices. Before anyone mentions iTunes and downloads, forget it. I do only physical formats so would be looking for CD or LP copies. I can't be the only one who feels that music is more than just listening but the whole tactile experience of the sleeve notes and using playback equipment.
I find myself to be something of a perfectionist, even if sometimes the end results might not feel perfect. I think it is the curse of all artistic types that we are never happy. That's what drives us on. The trick is knowing when to let go of a previous project and move on. Sometimes though I feel that I've improved a lot and break my rules by going back and editing previous stuff. 'The Atlantic Connection' is coming on well, but my style has improved so much that it won't become like I currently write - that would involve binning everything and rewriting it from scratch with the same plot and characters.
I'm listening to a Crystal Method album whilst I write. They are a group I got into when the album Vegas came out (which I have a copy of). Unfortunately they are proving impossible to find copies of in the UK at non-ripoff prices. Before anyone mentions iTunes and downloads, forget it. I do only physical formats so would be looking for CD or LP copies. I can't be the only one who feels that music is more than just listening but the whole tactile experience of the sleeve notes and using playback equipment.
Sunday 16 January 2011
The subjectiveness of art and literature.
The following strip from All over the house - click here - goes a long way to explain subjectivity of art and literature. It achieved a record number of hits (around 1.3k) and was shared 55 times on Facebook alone at the time of writing this. It was a joke that Zoë came up with, and whilst I sort of get it after she explained it (but not before) I personally didn't find it anywhere near our funniest. Apparently the internet disagreed and thought it was the funniest thing since that woman got stuck inside her front loading washing machine (well, not quite - but you get the picture).
Cars and cupcakes.
I hate cars. I treat it to a set of new spark plugs and an oil change and what does it do to reward me? Seized front brake. Well, if it thinks it's getting cleaned then it is very much mistaken.
I've spent the last week hard at work on editing. With the rather impressive sales of 'Bringing home the stars' has come a renewed interest in some of my earlier books. The only problem is that they are currently out of print whilst All Mouse Media concentrates on the current book. I went back and had a glance through the manuscripts of my previous books and have come to the conclusion that I want to edit them first. The book I have chosen to work on first is The Atlantic Connection. Writing is like anything else that if you practice it enough, you get better. I look back now and feel that I had good ideas that could be realised a little better. So I've done what Terry Pratchett did with the second edition of his The Carpet People and pulled the threads and rewritten it somewhat. That makes the editing process a lot slower, but it should be worth it.
After I'm done with The Atlantic Connection I'm going to move on to editing the follow up book to BHTS. I don't like to think of it as a sequel, as that implies that you have to have read the first book first - you don't. It is also true to say that the first book ties up loose ends so that it does not leave you thinking at the end "So I have to buy another?" But AMM requested that a follow up be on the cards, and the popularity of BHTS suggests that more on a similar theme would be good. Zoë said this even before BHTS went to print so I obliged in writing a first draft then. I'm glad I did, because I haven't had an awful lot of time to do more writing on the signing tour (other than my name in the front of books). I'll work on editing up a second draft then Zoë wants to read it before suggesting corrections.
I'm signing off now to go and fetch a lovely universal one-size-fits-all screwdriver - aka a hammer - and adjust that sticking front brake calliper on my car. No doubt the air will turn blue, so children cover those ears!
I've spent the last week hard at work on editing. With the rather impressive sales of 'Bringing home the stars' has come a renewed interest in some of my earlier books. The only problem is that they are currently out of print whilst All Mouse Media concentrates on the current book. I went back and had a glance through the manuscripts of my previous books and have come to the conclusion that I want to edit them first. The book I have chosen to work on first is The Atlantic Connection. Writing is like anything else that if you practice it enough, you get better. I look back now and feel that I had good ideas that could be realised a little better. So I've done what Terry Pratchett did with the second edition of his The Carpet People and pulled the threads and rewritten it somewhat. That makes the editing process a lot slower, but it should be worth it.
After I'm done with The Atlantic Connection I'm going to move on to editing the follow up book to BHTS. I don't like to think of it as a sequel, as that implies that you have to have read the first book first - you don't. It is also true to say that the first book ties up loose ends so that it does not leave you thinking at the end "So I have to buy another?" But AMM requested that a follow up be on the cards, and the popularity of BHTS suggests that more on a similar theme would be good. Zoë said this even before BHTS went to print so I obliged in writing a first draft then. I'm glad I did, because I haven't had an awful lot of time to do more writing on the signing tour (other than my name in the front of books). I'll work on editing up a second draft then Zoë wants to read it before suggesting corrections.
I'm signing off now to go and fetch a lovely universal one-size-fits-all screwdriver - aka a hammer - and adjust that sticking front brake calliper on my car. No doubt the air will turn blue, so children cover those ears!
Thursday 13 January 2011
All over the house cuteness!
Zoë came up with this strip and I can't stop laughing at it. It's just one of those jokes that is so ludicrous and silly that it hits the spot.
All over the house cuteness this way...
All over the house cuteness this way...
Tuesday 11 January 2011
Another signing date.
I have just been told that another date has been added to the signing tour. This will be at the Waterstones branch in Wigan on the 19th of February. I'm looking forward to it as it will be the first time I will have been to Wigan since a school visit to Wigan Pier many, many years ago. Do they still sell those glass jars filled with pear drops I wonder? I remember the jars were very handy for keeping other stuff in afterwards when the original sugary contents had been scoffed!
Beware the internet 'experts'!
The internet is full of a lot of useful stuff. However, it is also stuffed with a lot of bad advice and misinformation. But we already knew that, didn't we?
For a long time now my File Server has failed to see any capacity on a hard disk above 128Gb. Even if the hard drive is physically a lot bigger. The usual fix for this with Windows XP is to install Service Pack 2. On my File Server this doesn't work. Google is our friend, and a search on the Motherboard (Asus A7V133) reveals many other people with the same issue. On all the tech fora there are a multitude of 'fixes' involving downloading drivers, editing the Windows registry and all sorts. You would have thought that techie nerds would have the answer? Well, no. After wading through a lot of advice, I hazarded upon the Asus website and the download section.
The A7V133 motherboard is there, along with hundreds of other products. Low and behold the answer came up in a flash:
"Upgrade to BIOS version 1010A - fixes 48bit disk access issue allowing drives bigger than 128Gb with Windows XP"
Well, there you are. Why were all the techie fora filled with nonesense about potentially system crashing editing of the registry? I don't know. Now I have the fix in a handy 256Kb file. There's only one problem - I have to flash the BIOS from a bootable floppy disk. The only thing is, the File server does not have one of these archaic devices. I have the fix, but not the inclination to find a floppy drive and doing the BIOS flash. A solution for another day - it isn't like I urgently need the space.
It's amazing how quickly hardware becomes outdated. It wasn't that long ago that a floppy drive was essential to set up a computer. Now you cannot find such a thing or the disks to go in them for love nor money. Well, probably a lot of money off Ebay, but let's not go there. I'd only get sniped at the last minute by some-one who wants every floppy drive in existence for any price. Where are these people when I'm actually selling something?
For a long time now my File Server has failed to see any capacity on a hard disk above 128Gb. Even if the hard drive is physically a lot bigger. The usual fix for this with Windows XP is to install Service Pack 2. On my File Server this doesn't work. Google is our friend, and a search on the Motherboard (Asus A7V133) reveals many other people with the same issue. On all the tech fora there are a multitude of 'fixes' involving downloading drivers, editing the Windows registry and all sorts. You would have thought that techie nerds would have the answer? Well, no. After wading through a lot of advice, I hazarded upon the Asus website and the download section.
The A7V133 motherboard is there, along with hundreds of other products. Low and behold the answer came up in a flash:
"Upgrade to BIOS version 1010A - fixes 48bit disk access issue allowing drives bigger than 128Gb with Windows XP"
Well, there you are. Why were all the techie fora filled with nonesense about potentially system crashing editing of the registry? I don't know. Now I have the fix in a handy 256Kb file. There's only one problem - I have to flash the BIOS from a bootable floppy disk. The only thing is, the File server does not have one of these archaic devices. I have the fix, but not the inclination to find a floppy drive and doing the BIOS flash. A solution for another day - it isn't like I urgently need the space.
It's amazing how quickly hardware becomes outdated. It wasn't that long ago that a floppy drive was essential to set up a computer. Now you cannot find such a thing or the disks to go in them for love nor money. Well, probably a lot of money off Ebay, but let's not go there. I'd only get sniped at the last minute by some-one who wants every floppy drive in existence for any price. Where are these people when I'm actually selling something?
Thursday 6 January 2011
Value added?
The VAT rise, which occurred back on Tuesday, has raised a number of questions and points. Namely, that there are a lot of people who don't think or even do their sums before they call into radio talk shows. I heard one woman ranting about how "Something that costs £10 will now be £12.50". Er, no. That would actually be a 25% increase. A lot of other people had equally bizarre theories, claiming in one case that "prices will rise by 20%". Er, again - no. VAT may be going up to 20%, but it was already at 17.5%. Another little nark is people and businesses that make the claim that prices will rise by 2.5%. Again, no. If a £100 item is subject to a 2.5% VAT increase, the price would rise only by 2.13%.
Right, the maths over, there were a few other things that I found despairing yet amusing. Businesses that claim that this rise will put them out of business were another firm favourite. Quite frankly if a business' margins are so tight that having to raise prices by 2.13% to cover the VAT increase will put them out of business then they were running on questionable economics anyway. Other points that prices will be hiked by a lot as retailers try and sneak in a boost to the profit margin and blame it on the VAT increase were also somewhat questionable. Yes, some businesses might try this but the consumer is not that thick (one hopes). Businesses that try to profiteer off the back of this will be punished by the consumer, just as retailers have been punished for attempts to profiteer in the past.
One thing that annoyed me the most was the chancellor's boast about how the VAT rise would be a boost for jobs. Who is he trying to BS? He would have been well advised to keep his gob from shooting the breeze on that one. People aren't that stupid Mr. Osbourne, so keep your political double-speak to yourself because we all were made to read George Orwell's 1984 at school so know how it works.
Will the VAT rise make a huge difference? It remains to be seen. In the grand scheme of things, it isn't a huge amount extra. But it is one extra cost amongst many extra costs that the British public has to endure, and I can't help thinking that at some point there will be a straw that breaks the camel's back.
The very real problem though is that certain things are subject to VAT that quite frankly should not be. Fuel is the big thing. Now, VAT is supposedly a luxury tax - hence 'value added'. I rather feel that fuel is a necessity, not a luxury and I'm sure there are an awful lot of people filling up their cars to be able to commute to and from work who would agree. We already pay a stifling amount of fuel tax already, so it is rather galling to then find another tax heaped on top of that. What is more in a rather unfair piece of double accounting, the government makes us pay VAT (now at 20%) on the proportion of the fuel price that was already tax in the form of fuel tax. I've seen pump prices now rise to beyond the 130p/litre mark in a lot of places. That's £5.85 per gallon if you want to strip away the façade that tries to hide from people the true cost of this commodity. Remember when prices were actually on the pump in gallons? Back then they would not dare raise the price by 4.5p per go, but they do just that now thanks to using a smaller unit of measurement. One for the conspiracy theorists I think!
I leave you with a sobering thought in the wake of the VAT increase. Next time you see a lorry trundling long distance up the motorway, spare a thought for the driver. In the course of his shift, the lorry will use a greater value of diesel than they are getting paid to drive it.
Right, the maths over, there were a few other things that I found despairing yet amusing. Businesses that claim that this rise will put them out of business were another firm favourite. Quite frankly if a business' margins are so tight that having to raise prices by 2.13% to cover the VAT increase will put them out of business then they were running on questionable economics anyway. Other points that prices will be hiked by a lot as retailers try and sneak in a boost to the profit margin and blame it on the VAT increase were also somewhat questionable. Yes, some businesses might try this but the consumer is not that thick (one hopes). Businesses that try to profiteer off the back of this will be punished by the consumer, just as retailers have been punished for attempts to profiteer in the past.
One thing that annoyed me the most was the chancellor's boast about how the VAT rise would be a boost for jobs. Who is he trying to BS? He would have been well advised to keep his gob from shooting the breeze on that one. People aren't that stupid Mr. Osbourne, so keep your political double-speak to yourself because we all were made to read George Orwell's 1984 at school so know how it works.
Will the VAT rise make a huge difference? It remains to be seen. In the grand scheme of things, it isn't a huge amount extra. But it is one extra cost amongst many extra costs that the British public has to endure, and I can't help thinking that at some point there will be a straw that breaks the camel's back.
The very real problem though is that certain things are subject to VAT that quite frankly should not be. Fuel is the big thing. Now, VAT is supposedly a luxury tax - hence 'value added'. I rather feel that fuel is a necessity, not a luxury and I'm sure there are an awful lot of people filling up their cars to be able to commute to and from work who would agree. We already pay a stifling amount of fuel tax already, so it is rather galling to then find another tax heaped on top of that. What is more in a rather unfair piece of double accounting, the government makes us pay VAT (now at 20%) on the proportion of the fuel price that was already tax in the form of fuel tax. I've seen pump prices now rise to beyond the 130p/litre mark in a lot of places. That's £5.85 per gallon if you want to strip away the façade that tries to hide from people the true cost of this commodity. Remember when prices were actually on the pump in gallons? Back then they would not dare raise the price by 4.5p per go, but they do just that now thanks to using a smaller unit of measurement. One for the conspiracy theorists I think!
I leave you with a sobering thought in the wake of the VAT increase. Next time you see a lorry trundling long distance up the motorway, spare a thought for the driver. In the course of his shift, the lorry will use a greater value of diesel than they are getting paid to drive it.
Sunday 2 January 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
