Cue replies of "grow up" and "it's all fake" ;-) but I can't let today go without mentioning the retirement of one of my childhood heroes. My childhood football hero was Roberto Baggio but in the world of "Sports Entertainment" it was the Undertaker. After a quarter of a century the "Dead Man" finally laid his distinctive black gloves, trenchcoat and hat in the centre of the ring as arguably one of the most iconic wrestling figures of all time finally 'retired' after his match on the grandest stage of all - Wrestlemania. We all have vices and for me from the late 1980's following the larger than life characters of WWF/WWE has given me the opportunity to immerse myself at times away from 'the real world'. Despite a feud with Hulk Hogan who was everybody's feavourite wrestling in the late 80's / early 90's I quickly warmed to Undertaker and have followed his life in and out of the ring ever since. We all need to take time out and get away from the hustle and bustle of life and for me wrestling has been one of those quick fixes I needed over the years but after today it will never be the same for me and like all other "sports entertainment" fans today all I can say is #ThankYouTaker 2/4/2017 Community SpiritOn Friday evening I attended a small event in our village to celebrate 40 years of Cambusbarron Community Council.
Cambusbarron is one of the oldest community councils in Scotland and a number of the founding councillors were present at the event. Like Fallin, the village I grew up in, Cambusbarron has a strong community spirit enhanced by both old and newer residents to the village. Engaging with your local community council as well as our village organisations is vital in supporting and influencing your local area. 13/3/2017 Scotland - #ScotRef on again ?The political landscape of Scotland and UK took another twist today when First Minister Nicola Sturgeon stated her intention to start the procedure for a potential second Scottish Independence Referendum.
With the upcoming UK exit from the EU and subsequent removal of Scotland - who voted to remain part of the EU, accompanied by frustration with the lack of compromise and negotiation coming from the UK Government, our First Minister believes the option of Independence for our country or the option of a Conservative led Brexit should be a choice the people of Scotland have the opportunity to make. The debate over the political future of Scotland is now back on. We can only hope that those who will once again have the future of Scotland in their hands will listen to all the options from both sides and arrive at a decision that not only is best for the present time but also for the future of our own children and future generations of those who live and work in Scotland. In an inaugural presidential speech that set a very high bar full of promises President Trump has now been sworn in as the most powerful man in the world.
I believe that some of his future decisions will be not be as bad as some fear but in his #TrumpSpeech today in which was very much all about putting America first and making that country great again, which I do get, some of his patriotic words in his speech whether over immigration, trade or world relations will no doubt fuel the fire of his supporters ill feelings towards others in the world and that is something that worries me the most. An out of control fire of hatred of others by some Americans fuelled by ill words from the President will easily spread and burn relations with the rest of the world and the unknown consequences that may bring. Stating what is wrong and who is to blame for all of America and World problems is easy to do while in opposition or on a campaign trail, well now that journey is over and a new journey begins where his actions now must match his frank words and the accountability begins. Closer to home we have the Brexit journey about to begin and along that path may be an option of a second Scottish Independance journey. While we must continue to put our full efforts into our own life in our family and business journeys there is no doubt that the political journey that will be swirling around over all our heads in the coming years will have many many bumps along the way. Fasten Your Seatbelts - several unknown journeys are about to begin. 15/1/2017 Just Say HelloDo you go out of your way to say 'hello' or 'good morning' etc to a passer by in the street. I'm not the most upfront or forward person in the world but I do know that I find it hard to walk past someone without trying to give some sort of greeting to them. I'm not talking about walking past someone in a busy London street or in the foyer of a pop concert hall, I'm more talking about when you pass someone in your small town or village while walking on the pavement as you pass each other by when there's not many other people around. Just like waving to acknowledge a car driver when they have stopped for you to let you pass I believe where you were brought up and where you live now has a lot to do whether you will or not give out a small greeting or thank you gesture. For example I've worked on the Isle of Islay and every car driver waves at you to say hello as you drive past, while in the village where I now live sometimes you can tell if someone has lived elsewhere simply if they do or don't do these greeting or thank you gestures. Going for an early Sunday morning walk like I did today is a prime time to see how many people will say hello to you. This time is when you are more than likely to receive a response. Every time I walk past someone in a relatively quiet street I always raise my head or glance towards the person to try and say hello or good morning to them but it still amazes me how many people 'of all ages' just don't glance back in your direction so the hello interaction can never begin. Don't get me wrong as I approach these people I will likely have my head lowered and nose buried in my iPhone working away and responding to emails but I feel awkward and wrong if when people approach to pass me if I dont raise my head and glance at them to see if they look towards me so the opportunity to say hello to each other can take place. Is a simple kindness greeting too much to ask for in this situation? So as the first week of 2017 draws to a close and we all stop talking about the festivities of the last few weeks our minds start to focus on the year ahead and we start to concentrate and work on the steps we need to take to reach the goals we have set for the months ahead. This very weekend 4 years ago I took my first step(up and around a big hill) towards one of my 2013 goals which was to lose weight and improve my health by setting a running challenge target in aid of charity. Over the months of 2013 I would take part in numerous 5k and 10k running events in support of various charities which would help and motivate me to reach my goal by the end of that year. So a dozen official race events later and 3 stone lighter in weight I had achieved my goal by treating each race as taking a small step along the way which when combined would in turn help me achieve this big hairy yearly goal I had set myself. Similarly last year in 2016 I set my myself a 40th birthday year challenge of taking part and completing my first ever marathon which after achieving smaller training steps and challenges in the many months before the marathon I managed to achieve my goal and complete the Edinburgh marathon. Whether in business or personal life we need to set ourself various big hairy goals. To achieve the target though we need to break down how we are going to reach our goal by setting smaller achievable targets (mini goals) which when taken lead us to our end big hairy goal. One of my big hairy goals for 2017 is to complete my second marathon which will be in my home city of Stirling but the only way to achieve that goal is by getting the hard work done in the many months before by setting training targets and achieving the smaller steps through hard work. No one ever accomplished a big hairy goal by not putting in the hard work and taking smaller steps beforehand. 6/8/2016 FootballGood luck to Stirling Albion from all at Stirling Electrical Services and Stirling Alarms for the new league campaign which gets underway today.
26/7/2016 Amazon DronesI'm fascinated to see how this all develops especially in regards to the routes drones will take and the safety issues.
I'm sure logistics regarding batteries and charging will be resolved pretty quickly but how the routes will be planned and issues over safety will be more difficult. With this and the Facebook trials with internet drones it's interesting times. http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/amazon-is-closer-to-delivering-by-drone-r2cdnrwd7?shareToken=9b3f8a76252dcc775c21003067880911 25/7/2016 Bring Back Vehicle Tax DiscsYes, like the article below says, there are indeed a number of reasons why the revenue from vehicle excise duty is down but I'm still shaking my head nearly two years later at the decision to remove the visual tax disk from vehicles.
I have around 10 vehicles I need to make sure are all legal and road worthy and the visual windscreen tax disk expiry date was a simple but efficient way of ensuring this but the more crucial fight against un-taxed vehicles I believe is much harder to monitor now that the visual disks are gone. With police budgets stretched over the past two years the number of police vehicles with built in license plate recognition cameras can't be as much as predicted so I'm not surprised revenue is down and I would bet that any new survey figures would show the number of un-taxed vehicles would now be greater than before the tax disk was culled. 28/6/2016 Pointless ThoughtsIt was my intention to write a follow up after my initial post on Friday to give update thoughts on Brexit but I'm sure you will all agree if I were to try and digest all what's happened since Friday then it would probably drive me to 'resign' from this blog.
Resign or Not to Resign is certainly the theme of the week and as predicted Labour imploding is taking centre stage before the Tory leadership battle begins in earnest. I just don't know where to focus this post - should it be on Westminster and its many characters all battling it out, should it be on the European reaction or should it focus on the many scenarios that could affect Scotland. Lots more fun and games, twists and turns and appointments and resignations will I'm sure continue over the next few days so lets see how the situation lies at the weekend. Plus, If I'm not sure what direction to blog about then I could always turn my attention to the other great exit from Europe this week - 'England at Football': no lets not go there either as laughing is beginning to hurt. 24/6/2016 I Was Only Gone 36 Hours #EUrefWhat Have You All Done!!! - I leave for 36 hours to a quiet West of Scotland Island and return to mainland UK only to find political and economic turmoil in Scotland, UK, Europe and possibly the whole World.......jeeesh!!! I was only gone for less than two days.
At 7am on Thursday morning before travelling to Isle of Bute in the West Coast of Scotland like 62% of Scotland I voted for UK to Remain a member of the European Union. Less than 24 hours after casting my vote I was on the losing side in this referendum and the UK and Scotland were officially heading out of the EU for the first time in my lifetime. Prime Minister David Cameron is resigning, one from Conservatives Theresa May, Michael Gove, George Osbourne, Boris Johnson could be our new unelected leader, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is facing a vote of no confidence from within his own party and from the outside UKIP's Nigel Farage and David Coburn continue to stir up the right-wing vote which started all of this off. Will this all lead to a new Autumn or Spring UK General Election. While here in Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says a 2nd Independence Referendum is "highly likely" after Scotland voted to remain in EU but faces the prospect of being removed due to most of England and Wales voting Leave. I yearn for Scottish Independence and there is now a huge decision to be made by the SNP to whether they should and if so when they should start the process of gaining a mandate for a new Scottish Independence Referendum, but is the time right, is it too soon, is this a new chance thats too tempting not to try again, is there the support for a Yes win this time, will we see No but EU supporting voters change to Yes, a new referendum may not even be granted by UK Government so a decision to have a 2nd Yes/No vote may even end up in the courts. Financial markets around the world have reacted badly to the Leave win and many businesses, families and workers in the UK just don't know whats going to happen next and are rightly concerned. Developments over the past few hours have been fast and furious and just where and when will it all end, who will be the personal casualties and who will be the winners, which country will benefit most, will we see a break up of the UK or even Europe. The next chapter in all our histories is about to be written and a big question is will the people living and working in Scotland have a say on what will be written in this new chapter. 22/6/2016 Community CouncilI was delighted on Tuesday evening to have been re-elected as Vice-Chair of Cambusbarron Community Council. I became a member of our local community council in 2012 and have served as Vice-Chair since November 2015. At Tuesday's AGM members voted in the following office bearers for the next 12 months. - Chair: Alan Rennie - Vice Chair: Scott McLean - Secretary: Keith Ratcliffe - Treasurer: Marion MacAllister - Planning: Alan Rennie You can contact Cambusbarron Community Council by emailing Secretary Keith Ratcliffe or by private message to our village Facebook page. I was invited as part of Cambusbarron Community Council to attend this evenings lighting of the beacon ceremony to celebrate the Queen's 90th birthday.
11/3/2016 Stirling Street Rename RejectedA few weeks back I posted about a proposal to rename a historic street in Stirling to Queen Elizabeth Road ahead of the Queen's 90th birthday.
The proposal certainly got a debate going and was largely met with local opposition and just recently the proposal was rejected at a full Stirling Council meeting - see local newspaper story. 1/3/2016 If you use Facebook like I do for many of my business and community activities why not use the power of social media to connect and have a conversation. My new Facebook page is now live and starting to increase its profile. If Twitter is your thing then I'm also on that and you can follow me on @ScottLMcLean 28/2/2016 Queen Elizabeth Road, StirlingIn addition to the existing King Street, Queen Street and Princess Street it appears the City of Stirling could soon have a street named Queen Elizabeth Road.
A motion(see image below) from two Conservative Stirling Councillors will be put forward to Stirling Council containing a number of proposals to celebrate Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's 90th Birthday which is in April 2016. The main proposal is to rename Corn Exchange Road, where Stirling Council Municipal Buildings are based, to Queen Elizabeth Road as well as to update maps and signage for the new street name. A portrait of the Queen at the Labour and Conservative run Stirling Council headquarters is also proposed. The final proposal is to send heartfelt best wishes from the Council and the people of Stirling to the Queen for her 90th Birthday. Funds from the council's civic budget will possibly be used for these proposals. These proposals will certainly get the 'town talking' especially in the current climate of upcoming budget cuts and job losses at the council. I have no great affection for the Queen or the royals but in the same tone I don't wish them any ill and I appreciate the Queens purpose and the longevity of her role as Queen Elizabeth of Scotland. So what's peoples thoughts, should the final proposal of a simple heartfelt birthday message from the City be enough or is spending the time and money renaming a street a more fitting recognition. Perhaps the chewing gum filled pavements of Corn Exchange Road will now be part of Clean for the Queen ;-) 1/6/2015 Meeting Charlie Mullins OBEI had the pleasure last week to attend the book launch of the most famous and richest plumber in the UK - Charlie Mullins OBE.
I have been a big fan of Charlie and his plumbing company Pimlico Plumbers in London for a good number of years now and I jumped at the chance to travel south and attend his book launch at the The Hippodrome Casino in Leicester Square. A thoroughly enjoyable evening and great hospitality which continued the following day when I visited Pimlico Plumbers HQ for a tour where I was made to feel very welcome which also included a hearty lunchtime meal. Thank you to all at Pimlico Plumbers. 18/2/2015 Receipts, Taxes and VATPolitics and Receipts have been in the news this week after Labour Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls called for people to make sure they get receipts for small jobs carried out by businesses around the home such as hedge cutting.
While the person carrying out the work has no legal obligation to provide such receipts to the homeowner they are responsible for declaring this income and paying tax on it and this reminded me of one of the two biggest bug-bearers I have as a business owner and as an employer. The first one and one I will surely discuss again at some point in the near future is Employers National Insurance where the employer has to find nearly £14.00 in every £100.00 just to employ someone - a tax to employ people on top of the tax the employee will have to pay in their salary. That's not right in my book. But this post is about VAT, the 20% tax put on most services and goods that businesses with a turnover of (currently) £81,000 have to charge. While for most business to business transactions this tax usually balances itself out as companies who charge VAT can claim VAT back on most expenses, in our line of work a percentage of our business deals with domestic sales where we have to charge the homeowner an extra 20% on our services but the homeowner can't claim this VAT back. So while the guy cutting your hedge may declare his earnings for income tax, if he works for himself the likelihood will be that he is under the VAT threshold of £81,000 while if we were this larger company coming along carrying out a like for like service for this homeowner we would be penalised 20% for employing a larger number of hedge cutters taking us over the VAT threshold and we would likely miss out on this sale, as the guy comes along at least 20% cheaper. I have seen on multiple occasions tradesmen going into suppliers with customers to make sure the customer buys the materials so the extra costs does not go onto the tradesman turnover to enable them to stay under the VAT threshold. Overnight governments and the whole country could benefit from extra tax revenues and the playing field would be evened out and companies like mine who have a play in the domestic field, if every single business no matter how big or in this case how small charged VAT for services and goods(which are not currently exempt). It's a simple rule for me and the biggest tax wish from me - If you provide a service or sell goods, no matter what that is, how big or small your transactions are - then you are a business and you should be charging VAT - it's as simple as that. 19/5/2014 Congratulations Stirling Albion25/10/2013 Tick, Tock, TestTick, Tock, Test.
This weekend when you change your clocks please test your smoke alarms as well - oh and make sure there are batteries in them. A working smoke alarm can buy you and your family the valuable time you need to get out of a house fire and call 999. 4/8/2013 Scottish Bank Holiday DatesThis country really needs to sort out it's Bank Holiday dates and have most people/companies singing from the same hymn sheet.
Today, Monday 5th August 2013 is an official Scottish Bank Holiday yet very few people, let alone companies actually know about it. Most of this country will adhere to the late UK summer holiday on 26th August. Now throw into the mix the many local holidays in Scotland where different towns and regions have traditional holiday week's or fortnights throughout the summer where some businesses close then the whole mis-match of holiday dates is muddied even further. A few years ago we lined ourselves up with the Scottish Governments list of bank holidays, a sensible move you would think since we are a Scottish company doing business in Scotland, but we have quickly found that we can be caught out by giving electricians this day off because the majority of our customers are still working. We never make it easy to do business in this country do we. 1/7/2013 VAT and TAXThere is an interesting article on the BBC Scotland Website today about tradesmen carrying out work without charging VAT when they should be and some customers happy to accept this.
Personally I feel this clampdown is well overdue and I welcome any moves the Scottish Building Federation and other organisations do to try and stamp out this unlawful behaviour. While there are tradesman who do not require to charge VAT because their turnover is under the current £79,000 turnover threshold there are also tradesman out there who "work the system" by making sure they stay under the threshold by allowing the customer to pay for materials or by some how splitting their turnover over different registered companies. So lets take the VAT set up a step further bringing me back round to my ultimate employer wish - if you are in business and trade then you must charge VAT, why should different companies or individuals be discriminated against just because of turnover. "You Trade You Charge VAT" and make it a level playing field it's as simple as that. Plus in doing this and raising extra VAT from the current under the threshold businesses then the UK Government could possibly afford to reduce the VAT level back down to 17.5% or even lower. We need to stop the unfair differences in the tax system which discriminates against progressive companies who are penalised against other busiensses by having to pay VAT and Employers PAYE(which is a different story you don't want to get me started on again.) |
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