"Hastings 2012 - The bean counters strike again ..." Topic

Hi

This is direct from the top, official and I'm afraid, the news we all feared.

"The Vikings have been informed by English Heritage that the EH Special Events Team bid to hold a large Hastings in 2012 has been rejected. As far as we know, to date, the 2012 event will be of the usual size. The EH Special Events Team have done everything possible, with our support, to finance a large event but their management felt it was too great a financial risk in the current economic climate."

If there are any changes, I will update as soon as I hear them

Pete

EH is a government organisation (quango ?), we live in times of austerity, parties to entertain the masses are no longer possible.

Defecit.

Denier.

Last Government.

Really not the bankers.

Defecit.

Defecit.

Defecit.

Defecit.

Defecit.

Defecit.

Defecit.

Defecit.

Defecit.

Defecit.

Defecit.

Defecit.

Not the bankers.

Defecit.

Defecit.

Defecit.

Defecit.

Defecit.

Defecit.

Defecit.

Defecit.

Defecit.

Defecit.

Defecit.

Defecit………….

So will the next 'big one' be 2016?

The 2006 event was mega….

We didn't do too bad this year with about 250 warriors per side, and next year will still be about the same size.

Strictly speaking the next BIG one (when the 14th falls on a weekend) would be scheduled for 2017, but it would be nice to think they could find the cash to support the 950th anniversary.

Who gets to take an arrow in the eye?

Who gets to take an arrow in the eye?

Not the Bankers

Just a point – I really, REALLY hate getting called a Bean Counter. As I always say to the salesmen when they complain about us Bean Counters, if you are getting your wages paid in Beans, I think you may want to check your contract.

In this case, if you are paying your taxes in Beans, good for you. Otherwise, ing money up the wall that English Heritage does not have on a reenactment for 'wierdos with rubber swords and knitted chainmail' may strike those of us who pay our taxes in money as poor prioritisation.

Given that EHs main role is preserving historic monuments, rather than staging LARP, I can't help agreeing.

Pat

Oh, and why do we blame the bankers for the recession? If someone goes for a job at a Merchant bank and lists his priorities as 'saving rainforests, part-time charity work for kittens and my family' he will not get a job. These are people paid to take risks with money. They are meant to be rapacious money-driven egomaniacs. It's the GOVERNMENT's job to put safeguards in place to stop them running amock.

That Zookeeper in the US who let all his lions out should have run for the Senate. If one of his Lions bit someone, should we have staged a protest on the African Savannah against Lions?

Pat

Oh, and why do we blame the bankers for the recession?

Because they had argued away a lot of restrictions on their behaviour by promising to "self-regulate". They clearly failed to do so and will have to put up with a verbal kicking (whilst still pocketing eye watering large bonuses).

by promising to "self-regulate"

but it was the Politicians we elected that believed them.

"If you let me out of this nasty old cage I promise not to eat any of you…"

Pat

If one doctor becomes a mass murderer we don't react by hating all doctors. If 10% of doctors give their patients a lethal injection (after charging them) then I expect attitudes would change.

But that's just it – comparing Bankers to Doctors is like comparing sheep to wolves. A banker who is not a money-obsessed er is going to be a rubbish banker. While Doctors like money, If you offered one Ten Grand to shoot your gran they would mostly demur. You would want to start at 1k with a banker, and work your way up, saving yourself some cash.

"Motorsport would have a far lower fatality rate if these racing drivers would just slow down and overtake more carefully"

Pat

So, now you are questioning why I should dislike and mistrust a ravaneous rampaging wolf with no moral compass ?

Really ?

If you have to ask…you'll never know.

I said nothing about dislike. Dislike away, just don't BLAME them for what they do when given Carte Blanche.

Oh, and they DO have a moral Compass. Wherever they are in the world It points toward them

Pat

But they weren't given carte blanche – they were regulated, self policing, they fell down on the job and…should have reaped some sort of punishment. Only (mostly) they didn't.

Otherwise, ing money up the wall that English Heritage does not have on a reenactment for 'wierdos with rubber swords and knitted chainmail' may strike those of us who pay our taxes in money as poor prioritisation.

Do you even know the difference between LARPing and rebated steel combat? The Vikings reenactment society is in charge of the kit and combat training/certification. There is no phony armor or rubber swords, period. Everything looks as authentic as possible, with even visible stitching on garments done by hand; no fake modern clothing either; and the armor and weapons are real. The weapons don't have an edge, and the blows are pulled. Arrows are rubber blunts, maybe that's the "rubber" you heard about….

As an ex-tax consultant I always enjoy hearing accounts bleat. "It wasn't us" they like to cry. No? so who is it designing the tax avoidance schemes? Who is it analysing tax legislation to find the gaps between legal intent and legally binding wording. And before the accountants cry.."It was a big tax consultant did it and then he ran away"..please recall that almost every tax consultant involved in tax avoidance planning is a "Tax Accountant", that is someone who has qualified as an Accountant and then specialised in tax.

They used to tell me that the you can tell the difference between a tax official. a tax consultant and an accountant by asking a single question. The question is how much will my tax bill be? The tax official will give you a firm answer to the penny (and it will probably make your eyes water), the tax consultant will tell you the same thing and then qualify it with, but I think we can take 10% of that be using tax case xyz. The accountant will stop and think for a moment and respond with his own question…."Well, what sort of number did you have in mind?"

I think also that English heritage have a remit to educate the public part of which they do through living history events.

If the Dark Age LARPers (I know a lot of them and remain to be convinced that it's anything more than a LARPing/Drinking club) are so convinced that it's going to be a huge, educational success that the public will pay to come and see (even on a rainy weekend) and not simply a fun, free LARPing weekend, why don't they put their money where their mouth is and fund the event themselves, instead of expecting EH to pay for their hobby and take the massive financial risk?