Post 229: Grumpy Old Man

This week I've finally submitted my 2007/2008 tax return to the Inland Revenue and TRD have asked for my expense receipts for the month of April. I'm self-employed and as such, I'm legally bound to make sure that any expenses I submit are directly related to the income that I produce. If I make an 'Accounting Error', accidental or otherwise, then I face prosecution and if found guilty could receive a sentence of up to ten years in prison. I'm not an MP, I don't own a first or second home that I can 'flip', my rented room isn't big enough for a plasma TV and while my room is definitely my castle, it certainly doesn't have a moat. I fully expect the Inland Revenue to question my claims .... they always do. In a few months time, they'll insist that I owe them more money .... they always do. Of course I'll pay them .... I always do. They understand that for individuals like me, it's cheaper to pay them than it is to fight them. They grind you down until you finally reach for the cheque book and willingly bend over to accept your punishment with a smile.

Our MP's don't seem to see anything wrong with having their collective snouts in the Westminster trough, they just seem to be miffed about the fact that they eventually got caught doing it. They expect me to purchase and carry an ID card, they want to store all of my personal data with unknown third-parties, they want to read my personal eMails yet these same MP's tried to defeat the freedom of information request that finally brought their expenses into the public eye. In a few weeks time we'll have the European Elections and the three main political parties are worried that we'll all go out and vote for the loony fringe. But who the hell should we vote for?

Our elected leaders seem to think that because of 'Expensegate', we've lost all confidence in them ...... which suggests that they are totally dim or have very short memories, perhaps both. War on Iraq? 45 minutes from Destruction? 48 Hours to save the NHS? The Hutton Report? Cash for Questions? Cash for Honours? Referendum on the European Constitution? Light Touch Banking Regulation? Britain best placed to endure the Global Recession? Economic Growth of 3.5% in 2010? The only politician that seems to have brought any glimmer of light to the dark hole that is Westminster, is Vince Cable of the Liberal Democrats. Unfortunately St. Vince isn't standing as an MEP in my constituency and therefore I couldn't vote for him even I wanted to. Maybe I'll vote, maybe I wont ....... but at the moment I'm in favour of 'None of the above'.

On a much happier note, BMW seem to be trusting TRD to ride their latest range of superbikes; the K1300RR, K1300GT and K1300S. It's bound to be raining in South London on Monday morning ....... but somebody has to do it. I've no idea what we're going to do with the bikes or where we'll be riding, but I'll certainly make sure that my fuel receipts are in order.

www.justgiving.com/geoffgthomas