Our latest Investing Matters Podcast episode with QuotedData's Edward Marten has just been released. Listen here.
I was reaching for the defibrillator when I read that! I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that his comments were tongue in cheek. Wouldn't want to epitimise the image of the chippy Jock. We're quite decent guys at heart and when 88e comes in big, the drams are on me. I might even buy friend Miloh one! :)
Good morning to you too Miloh. Didn't know you had the gaelic (pronounced gaa-lic, not gay-lik)! Refreshing to see a small lift in the sp today but like many others I'm anticipating an RNS to say the rig is en route and hopefully that PTD has been granted. Or is it too soon for that? Maybe Brom can guide?
Miloh... it's TOO, not 'to'! And I did have purrage this morning, the Scottish way, with salt and not sugar. We've just celebrated in Scotland the birthday of arguably the world's greatest poet and he had some words for those on the brink of falling out. Burns said:' Then let us pray that come it may,
(As come it will for a' that,)
That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth,
Shall bear the gree, an' a' that.
For a' that, an' a' that,
It's coming yet for a' that,
That Man to Man, the world o'er,
Shall brothers be for a' that.
Sound advice, don't you agree, Miloh? :)
And I look forward to buying you a beer there, in whichever currency! As I say, minor debates (never arguments) are only to pass the time while there is no 88e news to chew over. I genuinely think our time has come.
Miloh...grow up son. The phrase 'legal tender' is a narrow, restrictive technical term only. Scottish notes are generally accepted by custom and practice. We often pay things with bank cards...are they legal tender? No. Cheques? No. But they are accepted. Technically, English bank notes are not legal tender in Scotland but are accepted. Just imagine if you went into a bar in Scotland, tried to pay with an English note, the bar tender holds it up to the light, squints at it then says he won't take it as '.they only take British notes'. That has happened to many Scots in England and it's patronising and insulting. It's the same with Northern Irish notes. I was in a pub in Warwick when the bar person refused to take a Scottish tenner. I asked for the manager, who also refused it. I then offered to pay in Euros, which he said they would accept . But we're not in the Euro! Let's not talk politics but it's this type of casual dismissal that makes many Scots want to leave the UK. I don't think we're ready for it yet and won't be for a while. But the garbage spewed out by the Daily Mail that English people pay for free bus passes at 60, free medical care and further education in Scotland is just that.. garbage. Scotland sends our taxes down to London and we get some of it back - not more - and we choose to spend it on social care. England spends it in a different fashion. That's all there is to it.
And being a former BBC journalist, balance is important! However, it's now got to the ridiculous stage. If a weather presenter tells us it's raining, a BBC journalist will say ' However, I've just looked out the window and it isn't where I am'. Where will it all end? Anyway, spud won't be far away (although subject to logistical possibilities such as weather etc) and I hope it gives us all a lft.
LeMajor...at last a bit of humour on this board! I forgive you for the foul slur on my nation. In fact, we keep our coins for at least a year before spending them...mainly to buy our English pals beer. This board's tenor has been pretty grim recently and any attempt at humour is welcome. Also, a plea to 88e-ers….there are many decent posts on here too but the lack in some cases of proper spelling, grammar and punctuation make them difficult to read. Some take three or four times before the message gets through so please can we make them intelligible before posting? Otherwise informative material goes unrecognised. And before anyone starts bleating about the grammar police...the only people who make that complaint are folk who don't have the basics. Folk whose own language is not English I can understand - but most of us here have been reading and writing since we were five! This is not a serious rant, only a request! :) Let's hope good times are just round the corner for us all and roll on results in Spring.
I have read with interest the posts about a gravel road and possible costs. I don't think 88e will get that far - don't think we have the cash for it. I think - indeed, hope - that if we get positive results from Charlie 1 - 88e, Bex, Accumulate Energy will sell that part. If the shale also looks positive, that will make it more attractive to potential buyers. We could then retain Yukon (the quarterly report looked interesting), the Western blocks and sell them later if they prove up. I continue to adhere to the original stated intention of this company - prove up and sell up at the earliest possible time as don't have the resources to produce. I see opinions that we'll be lucky ever to get to 3p. If you consider our genius Paul Basinski reckoned there are 3.6 billion barrels in the shale alone, you only have to multiply even half of that at $3 a barrel to realise the 3p prediction is a bit understated. And then there's the conventional. This is of course all conjecture and the whole thing might go boobs up.
Cheers CSW, appreviate your comments. Thing is only 5% of Scots earn more than £26k. Is it too much to ask the ones who do to pay a wee bit more for the greater good of all? Human decency, surely? And they can afford it. Anyway, thanks all for the good spirit in which our chat was conducted. And come on 88e!
Mr V11JAS..ta much for your reply and ta also for the decent manner in which it was couched. I'll be brief because nae doot anyone still reading the board will be getting bored by a Scottish internecine debate (and certainly not an argument). Of course the issue is a complex ome and not to be dashed off here. But I must admit I fail to understand why Scotland is written off as an economic basket case. If we were to become independent, there are so many financial levers that would become available to us. Our fiscal defecit would not include costs attributed to us for UK projects which are of no benefit to us. HS2 will bring us nothing but our share is £1.5bn. Same with Crossrail. So suddenly our defecit drops dramatically. Sturgeon ( I think Mickey secretely fancies her but few others do!) has already admitted the first five years of independence would mean higher taxes. And yet she increased the SNP vote and number of Westminster seats in the December election, so many Scots clearly think it's a price worth paying. Look at the emerging former Soviet bloc countries..Latvia, Estonia etc..they're booming. So why coudn't we? Scotland has massive natural resources those other countries don't, benefits that are rightly shared just now with the rest of the UK. But if we had them to ourselves, that would change things over a period and I really can't agree with the argument we're too wee, too poor and too stupid. But as I say, a chat and not a row!
Mr V11JAS....with total resect, I doubt very much if the poster meant what you say. There is an unintended and non-malicious propensity
for some folk to think that the word England means the UK. It's because the UK media (and I've worked in it for more than 40 years) used to refer the 'Queen of England, the Prime Minister of England'....and so on. The BBC had to publish internal guidelines, which I still have, saying it had to stop because it was alienating the audience of the other three UK nations who pay their licence fees. So it's a natural thing to do with 85% of the UK population living in England. But for the rest of us, it's at least dismissive and at worst insulting, as if we don't count. Again with respect, Sturgeon has said we will never join the euro and we never will. And why would any new Scottish currency be worth 50% of the 'English' pound. Not according to the European Central Bank! Anyway, my initial remark was merely a joke, as indicated by the smiley face. So let's agree not to fall out, hope that 88e makes us rich and I would look forward to sharing a bottle of champers with you when things come good. My treat!
Hi Mickey..great to hear from you and hope you and the family are well. And that the farm is booming and I look forward to your £ party! To continue the banter...the Bank of England was founded by William Paterson, from Dumfriesshire! And if we do secure independence (still not the choice of the majority north of the border, but coming closer) we wouldn't have to use the euro cos lots of EU countries don't. We could continue to use the quid as our currency if we wanted cos it's ours as much as the rest of the UK, but would probably not. So what could it be? Er...a Rabbie? A tumshy? (swede in England, turnip in Scotland). A mickle? (old Scottish saying...many a mickle maks a muckle). The possibilities are endless! Enjoy the craic with you as always, Mickey and I look forward to seeing you next time around. Serious note..I see comments that this share will only ever be 5-10p. But if we get even a reasoable amount of recoverable oil and sell it at the going rate, then..well, folk should do their sums. All the best, Islayman.
TarquinPike...Thanks for your comments, much appreciated. I've been lucky most of my life with good parents and a great Scottish education (the best in the world at one point) which allowed me to get a decent job. But just when things are going well, Fate sometimes puts in a late sliding tackle in the box ( Sorry..I was a football reporter and can't get out of the habit) and life changes, not just for yourself, but your family. However, your post truly reflects the decency of most of our posters here and I thank you for it. I agree 60p is an optimistic prediction for now...but it's not outlandish. Ta much again, TarquinPike.