Unique and untouched!
Seixal Beach, Madeira
Nature’s Finest
Which aspects do you think makes a person unique?
How we interact with wildlife and connect with nature can reveal so much about our own unique qualities.
Like nature itself, we all have something distinctive and extraordinary to share – even if we don’t see it in ourselves.
Homophones
noun
plural noun: homophones
- each of two or more words having the same pronunciation but different meanings, origins, or spelling, for example new and knew.
Anti/ante
Bare and bear
Break/brake
By/buy
Compliment/complement
Fair/fare
Hear/here
Hole/whole
Its/it’s
New/knew
One/won
Peace/piece
Principal/principle
Right/write
Sight/site
Steal/steel
Stationery/stationary
There/their/they’re
To/too/two
You’re/your
[The] Pirates (Aardman)
What movies or TV series have you watched more than 5 times?
It’s hard to dislike a clay animation about a motley crew of misfit pirates who sail to Victorian London intending to boost their booty and enter The Pirate of the Year competition.
Unfortunately for them, Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton) hates pirates and will do anything to get rid of them. Charles Darwin (David Tennant) is besotted with her and almost scuppers The Pirate Captain’s (Hugh Grant) attempts to compete and win the coveted prize.
Full of punchy puns and witty one-liners, this light-hearted family flick will have you chuckling for days to come.
The Vicuña
Which animal would you compare yourself to and why?
How about the Vicuña, with its continuously growing teeth, long neck and tendency to spit?
It may not be your first choice, but the Vicuña is super resilient and can cope with extreme temperature changes. It lives in South America and the central Andes and populates high-altitude plains and grasses.
Coupled with that, it is swift and graceful and has excellent vision and hearing – helping it to flee from stalking pumas and humans.
The Incas hunted the Vicuña for its meat and wool and it was pushed to the brink of extinction during Spanish colonial times, yet after protective legislation was introduced in the 19th century, the population of this plucky animal steadily increased and now there are more than 450,000 in the wild.
Favourite Quotes
“Now my tooth has gone, my tongue doesn’t fit in my mouth.”
Shocked kiddie after his first tooth fell out.
“You can’t take my bum, my pants need it!”
The little one reacts after the parent jokes with him.
“I can’t go outside, I’ve only got my feet on!”
A toddler with no socks on.
“I’ve run out of sand!”
A young girl on the beach trying to bury her legs.
“I made the corners of my belly button bleed today.”
Little boy with a sore belly button.
Shopperholics
Where would you go on a shopping spree?
Personally, I wouldn’t go anywhere on a shopping spree, I would go to the beach instead.
I’m not an impulsive shopper, but I always seem to leave a shop with more than I planned to buy.
Maybe the solution is to go cold turkey and leave my wallet at home…
Spangler or Hoover?
James Spangler was a tinkerer and an inventor who lived between 1848 and 1915.
He struggled to make his patented inventions viable and profitable and in his later years ended up working as a cleaner sweeping dust from a department store floor. As an asthmatic this severely aggravated his health condition and drove him to invent a primitive electric portable vacuum cleaner.
After much refinement, he was given an investment of $5,000 and patented the vacuum cleaner. Joy was short-lived and he was unable to bring the vacuum to full production. Fortuitously, he showed the invention to his cousin, Susan Hoover, who was suitably impressed and then had it demonstrated to her husband, William Hoover, a leather goods manufacturer. This was at a time when the motor car was starting to gain popularity and William was concerned about the potential future downturn in business for horse saddles and related leather goods.
In order to diversify he bought the patent from James Spangler and set up a small vacuum cleaner manufacturing base in one corner of his leather factory. Initially the company made and sold just six units a week until William Hoover ingeniously offered a ten day trial or your money back on every hoover, as well as a free demonstration of the product.
James Spangler died in 1915, a day before his first big vacation in Florida, at the age of 66. His family continued to receive royalties until the patent ran out in 1925.
So should it be called a Spangler or a Hoover? Doesn’t sound quite so catchy does it? I’m off to do the spangling! You need to spangle that up! Fetch me the Spangler…
A Penchant for Pensions
For some, the thought of a pension fills them with dread. Maybe you’ve been scarred by stories of failing pension schemes or it just makes you feel old as you stop and consider the distant or not-so-distant future.
Yet, the truth is, to give ourselves a measure of financial stability in the future, we have to start thinking sooner rather than later about the long-term effects of our regular day-to-day decisions.
It is always the course of wisdom to seek financial guidance from a qualified adviser. They’ll share with you the latest pertinent information to empower you to make an informed decision.
Does a private pension offer any tax advantages?
Well, every situation is different, but broadly speaking, yes it does. For every £100 you pay and lock into your private pension, HMRC will give you £25. It is important to speak to your tax adviser to establish what tax relief mechanisms are appropriate for you and can be implemented into your business.
Are there any self-employed pensions available?
Yes, self-employed pensions are readily available. You can pay a regular recurring amount or make an ad-hoc payment based on your earnings. Companies like PensionBee offer free, easy-to-use calculators to work out your pension budget and the future yield.
Who would benefit from my pension if I died?
You can stipulate who will be the beneficiary of your pension pot in the event of your death.
Are there any other advantages?
If you desire, when you reach the age of 55 you can withdraw 25% of your private pension pot tax-free.
What if I’m keen to get a quick return on my money?
Private pensions are not quick-fix short-term money schemes. They’re designed to give you a regular, consistent sum of money on top of your statutory pension – a pension paid by the government – after retirement.
What is the current statutory pension?
In the UK it is £10,600 a year. To qualify for the full amount you must have paid at least 35 years of National Insurance.
Is there any risk involved?
As with most things in life, there is a measure of risk involved. Pension pots can go up and down in value. There are ways to mitigate the risk by choosing a pension provider with a good track record and the type of pension pot based on your risk appetite.
PensionBee offers a broad range of options and presents all the information in plain English.
After seeking professional advice and considering your options, please feel free to use the following link to qualify for a £100 injection into your PensionBee pension pot. Once your pot hits £100 of your own investment, PensionBee adds another £100 for your future benefit.
https://www.pensionbee.com/?rsCode=-Nd4ust6tn9_r&utm_source=saas&utm_medium=RAF
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