Sword

No, I don't believe that the possibility of getting a well-paid EU job after Westminster is a factor on why many MPs don't want the country to Leave the Union. Senior politicians can make big money after leaving parliament as directors, by writing or by making speeches. For example, William Hague, Gordon Brown etc make well over a million a year by giving speeches etc. EU commissioners in comparison get paid 260k euros to 307K euro (for the president) + perks each year and each member state has only the the right of having one commissioner.

OK. But the friction between you and Chris has been obvious for months now. It will be really nice if it is possible to move on and keep things congenial. (This whole Brexit process is already depressing enough as it is)

I don't think there is anything wrong with the way Chris replies to posts either. Just a friendly word ozjohn, I think some of your remarks are getting too sharp and personal. Chris has refrained from commenting on your posts regarding Brexit for a while now. Perhaps it is diplomatic to do the same and accept his opinions differ from yours.

I have never heard of it until about a year ago when I took my toddler nephew to see the Gruffalo show at a theatre. (The original book was published in 1999) and young kids love the character apparently.

It is a better design than some but still doesn't do it for me. Good quality Wedgwood vases are characterised by sharp and detailed design. The design on particularly the BU version is neither sharp or detailed. The mintage numbers are low and so should sell out. But I still don't think it will maintain value in the secondary market. People who like Wedgwood would buy real Wedgwood. Kids wanting a Gruffalo would buy Gruffalo toys. Grown-ups still young at heart might want to have Gruffalo coins. Might be I am just being naive and people would still want them in a few years time?

I think modern issues usually do badly in the secondary market with the exception of those which are able to "strike a cord" with the public. I don't honestly think this Wedgwood has any chance of doing well. Who cares about Wedgwood? At least seeing the Gruffalo or Snowman can make someone smile and hence they have got some potential.

Wish this is mine. It was actually exhibited in the Tower of London

I listened to Mrs May's statement tonight. All she did was to blame the MPs rather than taking some personal responsibility. If I have a chance to talk to her, I would give her the following responses to her statement. "I passionately hope MPs will find a way to back the deal I've negotiated with the EU, a deal that delivers on the result of the referendum and is the very best deal negotiable.” The problem is using “I” rather than “we”. Saying that it is “the very best deal negotiable” is arrogance. No politician should claim that they have done such a good job and that no one else could have done better. "And I will continue to work night and day to secure the support of my colleagues, the DUP and others for this deal.” Why do you need to work day and night for the support of just 10 DUP MPs? That’s because you managed to lose your majority against Jeremy Corbyn? Even after Corbyn was weakened after scores and scores of resignations? After the Tory had such a big lead in the polls. And then your famous billion pounds bribe to get the support of just 10 DUP MPs. If you weren’t competent enough to win that general election, do you honestly think you were capable of handling the much harder issue of Brexit? "But I am not prepared to delay Brexit any further than the 30th of June.” Yes, it is your deal or no deal isn't it. You should have already held indicative votes. "Some argue that I'm making the wrong choice and I should ask for a longer extension to the end of the year or beyond to give more time for politicians to argue over the way forward.” "That would mean asking you to vote in European elections nearly three years after our country decided to leave.” "What kind of message would that send? And just how bitter and divisive would that election campaign be at a time when the country desperately needs bringing back together.” Please wake up Prime Minister, the country cannot be any more divided ever since that ill-fated first referendum. "Some have suggested holding a second referendum. "I don't believe that's what you want and it is not what I want. Prime minister, please stop telling us what the public wants. The reason you lost your majority in the last election was because you misjudged what the public wanted then. Perhaps you should ask the public what they want now? "We asked you the question already and you've given us your answer. So why are you asking parliament for the third time if they want your deal after it has been rejected twice. Are you hoping that MPs will change their minds? But you don’t want to find out if the nation has changed its mind about Brexit however. "Now you want us to get on with it. "And that is what I am determined to do." But are you capable of doing that? If it makes you feel better Prime Minister, I think Corbyn would have done much worse. My question to you Prime Minister is this: If a second referendum is held (and you probably should quit if that were to happen) and the country decides to stay, what do you think it is the right thing for the UK to do then?

Looks like nothing will actually happen on the 29th March. With hindsight, the prime minister should have set the original Brexit date three days after that date.

Apparently, Philip Hammond was asked about the "wrong" date on the prototype pieces on the Andrew Marr Show. He simply replied “They could become collectors’ pieces”.

I don't think that's a fantasy piece but is the official Royal Mint proposed design.

From memory, I think Paulus was shown their grading process once and said CGS didn't wear gloves either. Personally, I don't think they show enough care and some of my CGS slabs have foreign objects inside.

2 months is not a long time to wait for a decent piece of handmade furniture. LCGS can take more than 3 months to grade a coin... 🙂

I do like the thickness of the wooden frame. Quality.

"I was looking for this coin for about 3 years and i think this is the best example that I found." You just got to laugh.

Great. I will need to stock up on a sufficient quantity of wine then.

Just arrogance. The PCGS grading video also shows coins being handled without gloves etc. If you want your coin graded, then it is either PCGS or NGC and you don't have much of a third choice.

Nice find. I wonder if there are hallmarks on it.

Problem is that "good" and "bad" are just subjective. May is still insisting that she has got a "good deal" for the UK. She even insisted that there was "strength and stability" after she lost her majority. Of course the Leave Manifesto didn't mention the possibility that we might find ourselves worse off after leaving. It is the obvious risk for voting Leave. In the same way, the Remain Manifesto never mentioned that we would never find out what new opportunities are possible if we stayed. Corbyn is still behind in the polls. At least that's still something to be thankful for.

There were three possibilities from a simplistic viewpoint: 1) Remain and keep status quo 2) Leave (with no deal if necessary) for better or worse 3) Leave, in the believe that UK will be better off with new deals Parliament has voted against no deal. To be fair to to them, opinion polls indicate that the majority of population don't want no deal either. So realistically, "no deal" will probably now need to win a second referendum if it is going to happen. Category 2 Leavers (quite understandably won't like this one bit and feel cheated) but this look like the reality now. Not many believe UK will be better off with leaving with May's deal. Yes, one can say that she negotiated badly, was incompetent etc etc but this doesn't change the fact that EU is not going to give us a better deal now or in two years time. It is very possible that a percentage of Leave voters in category 3 don't want Brexit if it means May's deal. And if we were to give up Brexit, many of the Leavers will be understanding very upset and there will be political and social chaos for years to come. Hence the mess we are in. The government and parliament are in a no-win situation and this will drag on. Hence, however unpalatable a second referendum is in principle, it is a way out of this deadlock and give some "sort" of legitimacy to the final decision made.

March LCA catalogue now online if anyone is interested,

Hypocrisy? Brexit Secretary tried hard to persuade MPs all day to vote for a Brexit extension and then voted against it himself... Labour claiming that they wanted to pursue a second referendum and then failed to vote for it ... Prime minister said it is wrong to ask the population twice with regard to Brexit but is planning to put "her deal" before the Commons for the third and possibly fourth time hoping to get the result she wanted ...

Hopefully not in a three coin set with the Gruffalo and the Snowman.

The information and design have only been officially released by the Royal Mint today and incredibly, the limited editions of silver, silver piedfort, and the gold versions have already been fully reserved and no longer available! BU £10 awaiting stock Silver proof £55 limited edition of 5500 Silver piedfort £95 limited edition of 2500 Gold£795 limited edition of 400

From NGC's website: "Deterioration of Certain Coins. The NGC Guarantee does not apply to certain Coins where the appearance of the Coin changes or deteriorates over time and such change or deterioration is responsible for any discrepancy between the assigned grade and the Coin’s actual grade. NGC shall make the sole reasonable determination as to whether this deterioration has occurred. The following specific parameters apply: In certain Coins, natural environmental deterioration may cause undesired features to appear, such as (but not limited to) spotting, hazing, PVC and corrosion. Spots, for example, can occur on modern silver Coins as a result of the minting process or other natural conditions over which NGC has no control. Therefore, the NGC Guarantee does not apply to Coins exhibiting any of these issues. Coins made of copper, bronze and brass or are copper-plated can change over time. Accordingly, with regard to copper, bronze, brass or copper-plated Coins graded by NGC, the grade portion of the NGC Guarantee will no longer apply after the 10-year anniversary of their date of encapsulation by NGC. The expiration date of the grade portion of the NGC Guarantee can be found by entering the Coin’s certification number in the Verify NGC Certification section of the NGC website or by contacting NGC Customer Service." Hence NGC is saying that they are not responsible for problems such as spots, hazing etc appearing after encapsulation. And for copper, bronze or brass coins, the grades expire after 10 years anyway. 😟