#London storage deals

[mtcremovalsposts]

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[ghostgirl-22]

Brown Eyed Girl

Day 8: Sleep deprivation

—————————————————————-

It’s the first week alone since Tashi’s mom left. Now it’s just the two of them and a newborn. Lily’s been fussy all night and Tashi is nursing, she’s exhausted and they have to leave for London in two hours.

Art stays up with her, he doesn’t know what to do but he doesn’t want to be somewhere snoring while Tashi’s up all night. Lily’s the smallest and most precious thing. Art didn’t think he could love Tashi anymore and then she carried his child into the world. And yeah they’re sleep deprived, maybe a little delusional but he’s also the happiest he’s ever been.

They don’t bother going back to sleep. The 30 minute uber ride to the airport is all the rest they get. Lily sleeps for about an hour and a half while they check in and head through security. Then she starts crying again.

Art tries to soothe her, he nearly gets her too relax but then they’re called to board. He places Lily in the carrier and Tashi groans as she cries.

Art rubs her back, “I’ll pick her up in a minute.”

“I can’t take the crying,” she says. “My body is…” she touches her t-shirt and Art can see she’s starting to leak through it. He licks his bottom lip but tries not to be perverted because she’s clearly mortified. He pulls his sweatshirt off to give it to her and she pulls it over her head, relieved. She secures Lily, still fussing in a carrier strapped to her chest and they go to the gate and board quickly in first class. Art carries the baby bag and the carrier and a separate bag for the two of them. He loads them up in overhead storage. Tashi’s able to feed Lily, which soothes her way faster than Art could do.

Once she’s calm they’re dozing off before the plane even fills up. Unfortunately, they wake up when the plane is gaining altitude. Lily starts to cry. Her first plane ride and Art just knows her little ears are probably popping. Tashi is trying to feed her but she’s crying her eyes out and Tashi looks so defeated.

“I wish we would have canceled,” she says, emotionally. The other passengers are looking over, clearly not impressed.

Art knows better than to say I told you so… not right now. “It’s okay… if anything we can find a night nurse or something when we get there.”

”I don’t want to be one of those moms who can’t take care of their own child,” Tashi sighs.

“You won’t be, it’s just a little help so we’re rested. It’s gonna be busy and…well we’re both gonna have a lot to do…” Art says gently.

She doesn’t respond but this seems to be the first time she’s at least considering getting help outside of her parents.

The seatbelt sound goes off and he looks up to see if the light is off. Lily is still crying, Art watches Tashi struggle as Lily latches on for minutes but then starts crying again. “I fucking suck at this,” Tashi says helplessly.

“No, it’s okay. I… here I can take her.” Art says. He thinks she’s more upset about the pressure than she is needing to be fed. He knows Tashi is emotional and uncomfortable, and tired. Tired beyond reason. So he takes Lily and the carrier and adjusts it so he can strap it on himself with her inside. He walks her around the plane for about an hour while Tashi tries to sleep. He stays near the bathrooms trying to be as far from the other passengers as possible since her cry isn’t as loud as he’s been told it could be, yet. She starts to cry herself out and she does sleep for about an hour. When he sits down though she starts to fuss again, so he gets back on his feet. He takes a few selfies with a couple passengers who chat with him on their way to the bathroom. For each of them he makes sure Lily is covered. Last thing he wants is some tabloid getting her image and posting it on their website. He doesn’t feel that famous…and by comparison hes not. He’s only won one slam but it was Wimbledon and as an American it was kind of a big deal. It’s why Tashi wanted him to come back despite knowing they’d have a 6 week old.

Tashi gets about an hour and a half on the plane. He gets no sleep. It’s about 6pm when they land in London. A car takes them to their hotel near the Wimbledon grounds. A Four Seasons, much, much nicer than where they stayed the year before. It’s a luxury suite with a king bed and a crib. Lily is probably as tired from the trip as he is. Usually they like to keep themselves awake to adjust quickly as possible to the time change but this time they make sure Lily is settled and then they both fall asleep fully clothed on the bed.

It’s the most hours of sleep they’ve had in a row for 4 days. Five full hours. It’s 12:30 am when they wake up to Lily fussing and they order room service.

“We’re gonna be so thrown off tomorrow,” Tashi says. She’s in a better mood now that she got to sleep. Her hair’s in a messy ponytail, she’s in oversized clothes, stained with spit up. She’s breast feeding while eating a hamburger. Art doesn’t think she could be anymore beautiful.

“I love you,” he sighs.

She smirks at him and shakes her head looking down at Lily.

”What?” He smiles back.

She looks back up at him, her eyes are soft. “I know you do.”

[londonhalcyon]

A handful of interactions that have stuck with me lately:

1.

I applied for a storage unit. The storage place called me to complete the paperwork.

“Hello, this is London speaking.”

��Hi, this is [storage place]. How can I help you today?” A brief pause. “Wait, I’m calling you.”

2.

Only two checkout scanners in the entirety of Home Depot were working. The singular employee overseeing them was hilariously upbeat (if mildly stressed) about this.

“Everything’s coming up Home Depot!” she said.

3.

My car got rear-ended at a stoplight the other day. My car was fine. All parties were fine. The gal was enormously apologetic about it. She paid me for any potential damages, and my dash cameras had video I could use on the slim chance I needed it.

After she drove away, a young guy ran across the street and waved at me to roll my window down. He wanted to make sure I was okay. He had been watching at a distance just in case, and he had video of the whole thing that he could send me if I wanted. I fortunately had my dash cam video, but I definitely thanked him.

“My girlfriend had to deal with a whole mess of damages after an accident,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure that didn’t happen to you.”

4.

I had barely eaten all day because I hadn’t been feeling well. Since my fridge was sparse and I had been inside for nearly a week (and delivery doesn’t really work at my location), I masked up as well as I could and walked thirty minutes to the market for noodles. It was 5pm and ninety degrees out. I arrived hot, sweaty, dehydrated, and feeling like a mess.

A gal immediately stopped to tell me how much she loved my socks, which had animals on them. I showed her they were horses. I couldn’t remember where I had got them, but I mentioned they might have come from my grandma, who boards horses on her farm. She asked if the farm was here in California. I clarified that it was in my home state in the South.

This started a whole conversation about how I came to move here and how nice this town was and how the market had only been built in recent years. I had not initiated this conversation in the slightest.

“You’re really friendly,” she said. “Are you Christian by any chance? I get that vibe.”

“No?? Maybe it’s the Southern manners?”

“Maybe! I’ve just never met anyone here like you.”

I still had not initiated this conversation. We never exchanged names. I didn’t feel as miserable anymore.

[phanfictioncatalogue]

Friends To Lovers + Smut/PWP Masterlist

7 Minutes In Heaven - interrupted-by-fireworks

Summary: Dan and Phil have to play 7 Minutes in Heaven at a party.

A Koi pond, love, sex, and all the crap that comes with it (ao3) - winstonlives

Summary: Dan can't sleep, but Phil can. Dan thinks too much. What happens after the tour?

A Sleepless Night With Dan (ao3) - cockwhoredan

Summary: Dan and Phil live together, and they’re just friends. One night Dan can’t sleep. Naturally, he decides to give Phil a blowjob.

Break Me Down (ao3) - gayestever

Summary: The tour bus breaks down and Dan and Phil struggle to find a hotel room- or at least one that has two beds.

Can't Help The Itch To Touch- To Kiss (ao3) - thescienceofphan

Summary: Phil is deaf and Dan is a manwhore. When people see them together, they worry about Phil’s emotional well being and shame on Dan for targeting a deaf boy, but it’s not like that. Not at all.

Craving Control (ao3) - starwatersong

Summary: Phil is intrigued by the hypnotist at the YouTuber Summit in 2016 and finds himself oddly fascinated by hypnotism. Is Dan helping him find one for a video for Phil’s benefit… or Dan’s? Some timeline mixing where Phil’s fortune telling video takes place in an earlier time. They’re living in London apartment #1 in this story.

drop your heart I'll save it for you (ao3) - Anonymous

Summary: Tenderness isn't part of the deal, nor are soft words, or feelings, or kisses that don't lead to fucking. It's not what Dan asked for, and it's certainly not why someone would choose to fuck their friend slash flatmate slash colleague who they absolutely don’t have any feelings for.

How do you Sleep? (When you Lie to Me.) (ao3) - CactiPhan

Summary: Dan is about to be married to his longtime boyfriend Henry, but plans change when he walks in on him cheating on Dan. The only person he can run back to is his best friend, who he was blind not to see was perfect for him.

If You Don't Love Me, Pretend (ao3) - phantasticworks

Summary: All his life, Dan has wanted to have the chance to be a parent someday. He would be the best parent that ever existed, he was sure of it. Fostering might not be the most traditional way on the road to parenting, but Dan's dead set on doing it anyway. But, well, it would be easier with a co-parent, right?

the bed-sharing, fake relationship, friends-to-lovers, parent fic i was desperate to read; when i shouted into the void and was met with silence, i decided i'd do it myself

No They're Not (ao3) - bandhoez9194

Summary: Against Phil's better judgement, Dan goes to a small house party with friends. He had been assured by both Dan and the party host that there would be no alcohol after all.

Unfortunately, someone else has a change of plans and gets Dan drunk anyway. Which makes him start talking about buttholes and storage places.

When Phil picks him up though, things get soft, steamy, and bendy, just like the spaghetti he left on the stove.

Very sexy, very smutty, very random, very cute. Also, drunk Dan so who doesn't like that?

Read It and Weep (ao3) - phansomedevil

Summary: Dan's feelings toward Phil are nothing but platonic, or so he thinks before stumbling upon some actually decent phanfiction and falling face-first into the abyss.

Something New (ao3) - benotafraidofwriting

Summary: Dan wants Phil's help when trying something new, but can Phil keep his feelings for his best friend at bay?

stuck on you (ao3) - watergator

Summary: dan finds himself in a rather awkward predicament and phil ends up having to helping him

The Parent Project (ao3) - ATEEZpresent (orphan_account)

Summary: Dan and Phil get paired to take care of a realistic baby doll for a few days. Feelings arise.

The Sun, The Snow, And Everything In Between - chocolatesaucelester

Summary: A lot can happen in the span of one year, or a cycle of four seasons, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes and 31,536,000 seconds. In that common amount of time Phil met Dan at bonfire night in the fall and over the course of a year, realizes he found a person he would’ve never guessed he’d found that night.

Two Man Team (ao3) - Nefertiti1052 (Succubusphan)

Summary: This is the story of two struggling friends who after many trials and tribulations find their way back to each other and build the life they’ve always dreamed of.

Or how Phil changed his life by talking to random strangers on the internet.

Unspoken Rules (ao3) - jestbee

Summary: They have rules.

1. They don't kiss 2. They don't talk about it 3. They aren't exclusive 4. They don't get attached 5. It's over when the tour is

As long as they abide by the rules, no one gets hurt. Simple, right?

Want (ao3) - yoidnp

Summary: It was a rare night alone in a hotel room away from the confines of the tour bus. Dan and Phil discover a few things about each other.

Watching You, Watching Me (ao3) - Spring_Haze

Summary: Dan accidentally discovers his best friend and roommate pleasuring himself in the early hours of the morning and can't look away. In fact, he can't keep his hands off of himself. Phil is surprised by Dan's reaction, and two best friends make long-time confessions.

[fatehbaz]

After the closure of their flagship shopping location in Winnipeg in 2020, what’s going on with Canada’s beloved retail department store, the former fur trade monopoly leader, once a central force in the British Empire’s control of North America, the Hudson’s Bay Company? The empire lives on, continuing to control land through Canadian and US real estate companies. Liquidating real estate can keep the money and keep the land in the same hands.

Regarding the decline of the oldest European company in North America, and “new” manifestations of imperialist conceptions of land: I wanted to summarize the reporting work of Don Gillmor, in an article for The Walrus published in January 2023. (Credit to Gillmor for piecing together these threads of thought and framing the story, here.)

So the “oldest company in North America” is the Hudson’s Bay Company. After chartering in the 1670s, HBC “owned” vast stretches of land and was central to British and later Canadian control of “the West,” and then enjoyed decades of celebration in the twentieth century as a retail department store chain. HBC’s flagship store in Winnipeg was finally closed in November 2020. At the time, commercial real estate firms “valued the building at $0.” As Gillmor puts it: “Millions of Canadians grew up with the Hudson’s Bay Company as a place to buy towels and clothes, but land has always been at the heart of HBC. Canada’s oldest company began as a land deal (at least from the European perspective) during an outbreak of the bubonic plague and may end as a real estate deal in another plague.”

---

In 2022, as part of what many observers and some Indigenous critics considered a superficial public relations campaign, HBC “gifted” the 500,000 square-foot downtown Winnipeg building to the Southern Chiefs’ Organization, an “alliance of southern First Nations communities in Manitoba.” Critics haven’t all been impressed.

Here, Gillmor cites some local commentary: “[A]n episode of Media Indigena, a podcast broadcast from Winnipeg by journalist Rick Harp, [...] offered another perspective. A guest, Kenneth Williams, an assistant professor with the University of Alberta’s department of drama, suggested that, as reparations, it wasn’t enough. HBC exploited Indigenous people for centuries [...]. And the Winnipeg store was ground zero for this trade, with the largest fur storage facility in western Canada, a vault that could hold 12,000 furs. Williams suggested ‘the inspired act of reclamation’ was merely HBC getting rid of a toxic asset.”

Current HBC governor and chairman, Richard Baker, seems to be purposely liquidating HBC’s assets, to cash out, so to speak. In a 2020 interview, Baker said: “We’re not a department store chain. We’re a holding company that owns many billions of dollars of real estate.”

---

Since inception, it been all about land.

So the “company’s roots can be traced back to 1665″ when Pierre-Espirit Radisson traveled to London to ask for the financial backing of King Charles II. This was the same year that up to one-fifth of London’s population had died during an outbreak of bubonic plague. By 1670, King Charles II “granted the charter that started the Hudson’s Bay Company, but the ownership of the land was largely an abstraction. He had no idea of its size and viewed it as a commodity. [...] The imbalance of power meant that the colonizer’s mercantile philosophies” including apparent human detachment from and lordship over land “became the foundation” for British imperial power in Canada.

---

In 1867, “the Dominion of Canada was formed, but much of the west was still controlled by HBC.” In that same year, “the Americans bought Alaska from the Russians,” and so, to compete with the United States, both the British government and infamous Canadian prime minister Macdonald pressured HBC to sell much of western North America to the Canadian government at a discount price, giving Canada so-called “ownership” of a massive stretch of land "twice the size of Alaska.”

---

And now, the chairman of HBC is cashing out. And the Empire’s found new ways to mask its activities while still keeping land in the same hands.

According to Gillmor: “In 2012, he took the company public and acquired the upscale department store Saks [...]. In March 2020, [...] Baker won his bid to take the company private once more [...]. In Canada, the last of the big homegrown department stores (Simpson’s, Eaton’s, Sears, and Zellers) were all gone. In the US, Macy’s was closing stores; Neiman Marcus, Barneys, JCPenney had all filed for bankruptcy [...]. Mark Cohen, director of retail studies at Columbia University and a former CEO of Sears Canada, saw it as a thinly veiled strategy to strip the assets of HBC so only the real estate remained [...]. ‘It’s a ­financial play,’ he said, ‘which gives him the ability to manipulate the real estate assets of Hudson’s Bay, both in Canada and the US.’ [...] ‘Baker will liquidate the Bay,’ Cohen predicted. ‘He will liquidate.’ If he does -- its Bay Days sales and Stanfield underwear finally gone -- all that will be left will be the land. Currently, it is controlled by deeds, leaseholds, and leases that are shared by Baker, venture capitalists, equity partners [...].”

Meaning that the future of the HBC stores and other properties across North America remains similar to the initial colonization project. Again from Gillmor: “[T]his version of the land echoes that of the seventeenth century: its ownership [...] complex [...] and profiting someone in another country.”

Land profited kings. Land now profits CEOs and venture capitalists and property management companies.

---

All quotes above were excerpted from Gillmor’s article: Don Gillmor. “Why Hudson’s Bay Company’s Future Is in Question.” The Walrus. 4 January 2023. [Bold emphasis added by me.]

---

Related.

In an article from October 2020, on the eve of the Winnipeg store’s closure, Manitoba-based reporter Niigaan Sinclair offered some commentary. Following quote from: Niigaan Sinclair. “Right place, right time: Downtown Bay building a monument to colonization’s brutality, but it could be transformed into a place of Indigenous positvity, reconciliation.” Winnipeg Free Press. 5 October 2020.

Three-and-a-half centuries after Hudson’s Bay Co. received its first charter -- giving Prince Rupert and his “Company of Adventurer’s of England” an exclusive trading monopoly over the entire Hudson Bay drainage basin -- it’s biggest symbol of colonization is coming to an end. [...] [T]he company plans to close its six-storey flagship store at Portage Avenue and Memorial Boulevard, literally Canada’s gateway to the West. So this is how colonization ends. The people who profit the most take all they can from the land and people within it, and then quietly leave when there’s nothing left to take. Soon, all that will be left is an empty [...] pile of plaster and metal that will cost millions to repair or remove for those who actually live here. Really, though, this is how colonization continues. HBC is not a retail empire -- never really was -- but a massive real estate company. Just as King Charles II gave Prince Rupert lands that were not his to give, HBC holds deeds to billions of dollars of global property [...] and will march on. [...] HBC’s legacy of exploitation, violence and theft is permanent, though. HBC began with profits from the slave trade and cheap goods from the British colonies. It was instrumental in manufacturing goods for the Commonwealth [...]. Alongside were billions built off Indigenous lands and resources.

[blazenfire223]

[ID in undercut]

My reverse AU Darlings Part 2: Zaraphim 🥰🥰

If you have any questions about them feel free to ask. I'd love to answer them :] Also his main hair and sunglasses are different now compared to when I originally drew this because I still had no idea what I was doing with his design.

[ID: A character sheet of my Reverse AU Crowley, Zaraphim. They are the angel from Heaven stationed on Earth in London. He has a half up style, gold sunglasses, freckles, a gold nose ring, gold earings, white and blue angel bites, and a gold cross necklace. He also has a tongue piercing and wears various amounts of rings and bracelets and colored nails. Her clothes consist of a grey turtleneck, a muted or olive green cardigan, tan trousers, and grey zipped boots. There are various doodles around the main full body; A profile of him with short hair and lipstick, a front facing head with their tongue sticking out to see their piercing, a close up of their eyes which are multicolored and change depending on Zaraphim's mental state, A potted plant with gems surrounding it, a chibi doodle of them with their wings out, they are black with stardust covering them and eyes all around them and fiery glowing hair, another chibi of them on their knees and crying gold tears that go up, another chibi of Zaraphim chilling, A close up of their hands that are covered in accessories but only one is important and that is a sapphire with pearls surrounding it, a close up of Zaraphim's ass that has a tattoo that says "Frostie" in white, that is Zaraphim's pet name for Ario, and a final chibi of him looking surprised because they picked up Ario's flaming sword. There is a big box with more information; Phillip Z. Zaraphim (P.Z.Z) During the war: Avoided most of it because they were painting stars while it was happening. He didn't take the idea of angels fighting amongst themselves seriously. She genuinely thought it was a joke she just didn't understand. It wasn't until later when another angel finally came to look for her, that she realized what had just occurred. They were put in as a recovery angel and helped to heal all the angels that were hurt during the war. Ex Star maker. Found Ario's sword and gave it to Adam and Eve. They were originally supposed to be given a weapon but they never took it because they thought nothing could hurt them. He works as a bartender at a nearby pub and is good friends with the owner. When they pass away Zaraphim promised to take the place. Her flat is an aesthetic piece of comfort covered in plants, art, and trinkets. It is more of a storage than a home but it makes her happy. Truly channels their inner office angel when dealing with their plants. They don't like slack offs and will make them suffer through a lecture/ 'talking to' or angry screaming (depending on the plant) if needed. Some of those rants will turn into terrible motivational speeches. He does give praise out but only to the most worthy of plants. Just generally talks to their plants, they know all about Ario. He collects crystals and gems and such. They know all about what they do but he doesn't use or buy them for those reasons. They just like pretty things. They met Madame Tracy at an occulty type store and they became friends. That's how they know Shadwell. She loves making art just as much as they love collecting it and they have dabbled in tons of different artistic mediums over the years. The Bentley is alive and her name is Daria. She is a troll and we love her. /End ID]

[b1rdbr41n]

tell me the milo lore, coward (lighthearted)

bet, to preface though, i am a gay lil shit and so theres a fair bit of oc x canon and weaving his backstory into pre-existing characters ect ect because its fun

the very basics!! Milo is an avatar of the dark that is not entangled in the whole mess of the peoples church of the divine host, however he does have some history with the catholic church.

BACKSTORY- START OF S1 STUFF

he was marked by the dark when he was very young, in an incident that ended up with his immediate family dead and him missing, during which he was also marked by the lonely. eventually he was found and was placed to live with his aunt (mothers side), who was a nun and got him into the church. he was unfortunately targeted and groomed by the priest (i dont know how to make that sound any less harsh my apologies) and generally did a lot of suffering in silence, all the while the temptations of the dark were eating at him. he made a plan to escape to go to college in london, but was found out and accused of being possessed (because they wanted to keep him in the church not out of any genuine concern of him being possessed). an exorcism was attempted on him and he ended up 'dying' in the process. his death was the catalyst for him becoming a full avatar (think like how jon only became a full avatar after pretty much dying in the unknowing) and he killed the priest in an act of revenge and then made his escape, still not knowing what exactly was going on with him as he didnt have any idea what the fears were. since he was declared dead he wasnt a suspect in the priests death, but had some trouble with creating a new identity to go by afterwards because he was still trying to live like a normal person and go to college and all that jazz.

in college was where he ended up meeting Oliver Banks, who took pity on him and finally explained what on earth was going on with him. the two dated briefly before they graduated, milo graduated with a bachelors in library science (if that is the correct name for it im not sure) and ended up getting a job in artifact storage in the magnus institute. (circa 2007, so gertrude era) he was pretty good at his job but was really quiet and private to the point he got a joke reputation for just being a ghost.

when jon became archivist he was transferred to the archives as an assistant, after a 'deal' with elias. elias would make sure he didnt have to hurt ppl to get fear, in return for making sure jon (he said everyone but he rlly only cared abt jon making it) lasted long enough for elias' goals (which he did not share with milo obviously). so milo was sent down to the archives to be a guard dog of sorts.

HOW HIS AVATAR SHIT WORKS

hes less associated with the whole cult-y aspect of the dark (and in fact actively despises the peoples church of the divine host despite their attempts to recruit him) and is closely tied to the 'brackish water' thats often associated with it. both his parents and the priest he killed died via their lungs being filled with black water. he needs skin to skin contact and intention in order to actually kill, which is why he constantly wears gloves, just in case. if he were to touch someone on. say, their chest, they'd get very cold, their throat would start to close and their vision would darken, like the background, other than milo, is fading to black. their lungs fill with black fluid and it usually pours from their mouth, nose and eyes. they basically drown on dry land and he's the only thing they see. its not super flashy and is usually very quiet up until when they yk. collapse

OTHER RELATIONS

the lukas family! milos father was one of the few lukas' that rejected the lonely and left, in an attempt to keep his children away from the lonely/the fears in general. however he sadly was unsuccessful.

Tim Stoker!! milo had a fwb situation with tim up until his death, the two had fallen for each other but never got the chance to say it, and with tim being so volatile in s3, when he learned that milo was an avatar they had a huge fight

Michael (distortion)! the two are.. i dont want to say friends but milo is very colorblind and that takes away so much of what makes the distortion scary so hes not very afraid of it, which it is fascinated by.

hes also got some history with @itschesshire 's ocs bastian and silas :))))

Gertrude Robinson. she pretty quickly found him out and they had a deal of sorts. they left each other alone and he wrote a statement (which jon later finds) as a sort of failsafe if he ended up being a problem for gertrude

OTHER????

he is a folk musician!! this has nothing to do with him being an avatar. boy just is trying to be as normal as he can ( i imagine he sounds like a mix of these two artists: https://youtu.be/HDHrQnIptq0?si=hCjZ-m_dJESkU5rW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMTaOoYXzEk)

hes a very kind and generally good person, and is very distraught with what hes done/has to do as an avatar

he cant go in the sun, at least not much

hes classically trained in piano

his shadow constantly changes, but never actually reflects his form like it should

he is CONSTANTLY cold

hes naturally blonde

im running out of things to put here just off the top of my head

[master-john-uk]

Today was my first day working on the farm. I did not do a great deal of real work... I spent most of the day being briefed on all the latest developments, and re-familiarising myself with the farm machinery before spending a few hours driving a tractor, taking wheat to the storage barns.

The weather has remained very warm, and mainly dry this week, so the harvesting of the Winter crops is now complete, although yields are down to the record breaking rainfall earlier this year. The weather looks set to remain dry, so harvesting of the spring barley should start in the next few days.

There is some good news, and some not-so-good news regarding my London based business. I no longer have to attend an exercise in West London tomorrow... BUT, I have be summoned to attend meetings in Central London on Monday!

Tomorrow (Saturday) I will be at the dairy for most of the day. And Sunday Ops. Manager Tomas has asked me to do the early morning animal feeding round, so that he can get ahead with office work.

[topazadine]

Because it's my birthday I am going to share 23 random facts about me (that no one cares about except me, I care very much)

1. I was born in Okinawa, Japan. No I'm not Japanese, my mom was an accountant for the Air Force. And no, I don't remember anything about Japan; we moved back when I was six months old. The military broke into our apartment and forced us to leave the country because my mom criticized the Air Force for having religious programming on the government-funded radio station. She wrote a screenplay about it which has sadly never been sold :(

2. I've written over 2 million words of fiction, most of which you can read over on Archive of Our Own.

3. I was named for two typhoons that hit Japan around when I was born (first and middle name). Every year, we used to get horrible insane bad weather around my birthday. After I changed my birth name and kept only one of the typhoon names, we don't get bad weather anymore :)

4. I've lived in 10 different houses and three different time zones over my lifetime.

5. I won a Gilman Scholarship for the most competitive country in the program and got to study abroad in Stirling, Scotland, during undergrad. I got all As in my classes while there, despite the fact that I was dealing with repeated bouts of antispychotic-induced trismus where my jaw would lock open for up to six hours. It was ouchie.

6. Over my lifetime, I have kept dogs, cats, betta fish, koi fish, zebra finches, guinea pigs, hamsters, ferrets, and chickens.

7. My favorite time of year is autumn.

8. Back in the early 2010s, I anonymously pretended to be Darren Criss (from Glee) in random peoples' inboxes, and I was so good at it that there was a theory that I was, indeed, Darren Criss. I eventually had to come clean about it because other people tried to copy me.

9. I also caused a controversy in the Sherlock fandom by Photoshopping Sherlock-related graffiti on a photo of the Baker Street Underground station. People literally thought someone was going around spraypainting the London Tube while I was comfortably at home in my apartment in Chicago.

10. While living in Chicago, I once found an iguana in a tree, in the middle of winter. Poor thing would have died if it was left out any longer. I captured it and gave it to my friend who kept reptiles; the original owner never came forward for it.

11. I have dyscalculia, meaning it's nigh-on impossible for me to do anything other than basic math.

12. Because of my dyscalculia, I can't read sheet music. Despite this, I was in choir and musicals because I had a good singing voice. To get around this, my teachers would give me CDs of the music, and I would learn everything by ear.

13. My first ever fannish hyperfixation was The Beatles. I used to roleplay Beatles RPF with my best friend by passing a notebook around between classes. My character had a whole city in North Carolina named after her, plus a lime green Bugatti Veyron and a mansion. Typical middle schooler power fantasy lmao

14. My favorite animal is the unicorn. Barring mythical creatures, my favorite animal is the cow.

15. I collect music boxes, specifically ones with moving parts. My favorite present anyone has ever given me is a singing bird music box with a little canary that dances while it sings.

16. I also collect vintage luggage. Look, it's a cooler storage system than tote boxes, ok??

17. I have been knitting since I was around 9. My favorite thing to make is socks, and the favorite project I've ever done is a seashell-patterned shawl for my mom.

18. In the summer, I love kayaking; in the winter, I love doing nothing whatsoever. Though I'm tempted to try cross-country skiing, ngl.

19. Last year, I made my first roombox; I'm now working on a three-story dollhouse. I also mod Nendoroids.

20. I've had nearly every hair color, which includes blonde, brunet, black, red, purple, teal, blue, green, and pink. My favorite is green.

21. I have seven tattoos, including the term "Mors ad Raptoribus" written across my chest. I got this one after being sexually assaulted; it means "Death to Rapists" in Latin. The other most important one is a portrait of my late dog Luke.

22. I like all sorts of music, including alt, indie, (some) folk, pop, metal, rap, blues, jazz, and classical. The only music I really don't like is gospel. If you ask me my favorite band, rest assured it'll change in about three weeks.

23. I'm a late bloomer horse girl. I rode a little bit as a child but was too broke to afford regular lessons. Now that I'm an Adult, I go riding once a week and wish I could go more!

Happy birthday to me! And yes, I am always this insufferable about myself on my birthday. Look I get one day a year ok

[berniesrevolution]

CATALYST JOURNAL

Does capitalism in fact produce bullshit jobs? This essay examines David Graeber’s influential argument that it does and suggests it is flawed in important respects. Graeber correctly notes that many occupations today seem to comprise a great deal of wasteful activity — but this is more appropriately viewed as an aspect of tasks within the job rather than the jobs themselves. More to the point, Graeber’s framework weakens the link between economic analysis and political strategy. We offer an alternative framework that attends to both these weaknesses.

I.

For a few years during the mid-2010s, a friend of mine worked as an office temp. Her agency would send her to work short shifts for different companies around London, normally as temporary cover or during a particularly busy period. Except that it was never clear how much work really needed to be done. At a loss for how to spend her days, she would film herself engaged in a variety of office tasks: spinning on her desk chair, shredding blank pieces of paper by hand, neatening stacks of desks in the storage room, pretending to answer a phone that never rang, creating elaborate artwork out of the piles of mints at reception. After twelve months of this hard graft, her agency named her the official “Temp of the Year.”

There is a dark humor to be found in this pointless corporate existence, in stories of people desperately trying to look busy while struggling to find out what they’re meant to be busy doing; of people being paid to fill space, look smart, check boxes; of jobs being done deliberately badly so that someone else has to come in and clean up the mess.

These studies in time-wasting provide the basis for an enormously influential theory of contemporary capitalism and the pointless work it produces: that presented in David Graeber’s Bullshit Jobs.1 Graeber’s focus was on the spiritual and psychic damage caused by those jobs, but what made the book a sensation was the idea that “a large proportion of our workforce” — Graeber estimated somewhere between 20 and 50 percent — “find themselves labouring at tasks that they themselves consider pointless.”2

Graeber’s pessimism about the state of our working lives was turned into a theory with the help of two specific empirical claims: first, that the number of bullshit jobs is increasing rapidly; and second, that those jobs are particularly abundant in the neoliberal corporate sector. However, as I show below, neither of these claims seems to be true. Instead, statistical evidence from a range of advanced economies reveals that what Graeber calls “bullshit jobs” are actually concentrated in low-paid, insecure, manual employment, and that they seem to have become less common over the past few decades.

But rather than celebrate the fact that so many of us seem to love our jobs, I think we can salvage Graeber’s central insight that there is a profound disconnect between the jobs many of us do and the common good. Doing justice to that idea means abandoning Graeber’s subjective definition of “bullshit jobs.” Instead, I start with a properly materialist analysis of the way our jobs have been transformed by contemporary capitalism. Our working lives are full of bullshit. They are consumed by bureaucracy, by our bosses’ obsession with control, and directed to ends that no one would freely choose to pursue. Understanding how this came about means moving far beyond Graeber’s theory. But it also allows us to realize the full potential of his animating question: Why do we spend so much energy working jobs that do not contribute to the wider social good?

II.

Graeber’s claim that 20 to 50 percent of jobs are bullshit was based on YouGov polling that asked whether people thought their work “is making a meaningful contribution to the world.” Over the last seven years, YouGov has asked this question twice in the United States and once in the United Kingdom, and each time, the results were stark: between 20 and 40 percent of workers said their work was not making a meaningful contribution, while another 10 to 20 percent were uncertain.

It’s easy to see why some people would describe their jobs in those terms, and Graeber’s book is full of stories of pointless toil. Betsy spends her days interviewing nursing home residents and filling out forms that list their preferred recreational activities. The forms are then logged and “promptly forgotten about forever.”3 Ben has ten people who work for him, “but from what I can tell,” he says, “they can all do the work without my oversight. My only function is to hand them work, which I suppose the people that actually generate the work could do themselves.”4

But while no one denies that these jobs exist, many people have been skeptical about how widespread they are. And, over the last few years, a small cottage industry of social scientists has emerged, all trying to prove that Graeber’s “nonacademic thesis” (as they insist on calling it) doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.5

These critiques are based on two statistical sources. The first is the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), which has, since 1989, asked workers around the world how much they agree or disagree with the claim “My job is useful to society.” The most recent data we have is from 2015, and the findings are firmly at the low end of Graeber’s estimate: in the United Kingdom, only 30 percent disagreed or were unsure whether their job was useful to society. In the United States, that figure was even lower, at just over 20 percent.

More troublingly for Graeber, the second data set used by his critics — the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) — gives even lower figures. There the number of European workers who say they sometimes or rarely “have the feeling of doing useful work” is less than 20 percent. If we focus on the original fifteen countries that made up the European Union, that number falls to just 14 percent.

It is always possible to quibble with the results of these kinds of surveys. In particular, it is worth noting that the EWCS says nothing about who the work is useful for, while the YouGov and ISSP questions make some reference to a wider social good. That is a higher bar, probably close to the spirit of Graeber’s critique, and might explain why the proportion of bullshit jobs is lower in that particular survey. But however you cut the data, it seems clear that the proportion of people who “find themselves laboring at tasks that they themselves consider pointless” is right at the bottom of Graeber’s estimate. That doesn’t mean that bullshit jobs are not a phenomenon worthy of study. But it does cast doubt on the claim that they capture something novel and essential about work under contemporary capitalism.

Yet Graeber’s theory doesn’t just rest on his estimate of the number of people who feel their own job to be pointless. One important element is his claim about the kinds of jobs people think are bullshit. Graeber gives many examples: lobbyists, political consultants, and PR specialists; doormen, receptionists, and bailiffs; sales, marketing, and advertising specialists; HR professionals and administrators; management consultants and corporate lawyers. He also singles out “information workers” — administrators, consultants, clerical and accounting staff, IT professionals, and the like — as being “precisely the zone where bullshit jobs proliferate.”6

These examples fit neatly within Graeber’s taxonomy of different flavors of bullshit, but, unfortunately, the statistical evidence is much messier. There is some suggestion from the ISSP that information workers find it slightly harder to justify the utility of their work than everyone else.7 But this obscures a much stronger pattern: the workers most likely to doubt whether their jobs are useful to society are overwhelmingly found in “unskilled,” routine, and manual occupations.

This correlation between what Graeber calls “shit jobs” and a feeling of pointlessness is even more pronounced in the data from the EWCS. There the people who are most likely to describe their jobs as bullshit are cleaners, farmers, laborers, machine operators, trash collectors, sales workers, and clerks. The EWCS also shows that, in countries like the United Kingdom, information workers are less likely to feel their job is pointless than the rest of us. Finally, more granular statistical analysis suggests that some of the best predictors of doubting the value of your job are poor management, toxic culture, lack of autonomy, and low pay.8

On one level, there should be nothing surprising about this. If your job pays you badly and treats you worse, then you’re more likely to complain about it to a stranger with a clipboard. But reading back through Graeber’s list of bullshit occupations with this evidence in mind, it starts to feel less like a well-developed theory and more like a list of jobs that Graeber doesn’t particularly care for.

Arguably, the most important element of Graeber’s theory is his claim that “the overall percentage of jobs considered bullshit by those who hold them has been increasing rapidly in recent years.”9 Graeber dedicates a whole chapter to explaining this historical trend, focusing in particular on neoliberalism. In his account, the move away from manufacturing and toward extractive and financialized industries has led to the growth of a whole series of bullshit corporate services (such as advertising, consultancy, and corporate law) and of pointless office jobs that consist mostly of moving piles of paper from one place to another. It has also defanged the organizations that might otherwise have redirected our economies toward more socially useful pursuits, crushing trade unions and left parties around the world.

Unfortunately, there is no statistical evidence to support this supposed historical trend. The ISSP data goes back to 1989 and suggests that, if anything, the proportion of people who think their own job is bullshit has fallen over the last twenty-five years. We get the same result from the EWCS, which shows the number of bullshit jobs falling between 2005 and 2015.

Graeber’s theory is premised on a long-run increase in the amount of bullshit in the economy, with a growing corporate sector awash with dejected workers. This has been a hugely influential characterization of contemporary capitalism — but on the basis of the evidence surveyed above, it stands in need of fundamental revision.

(Continue Reading)

[scotianostra]

On January 22nd 1732, Rachel Chiesley, Lady Grange was taken from her Edinburgh lodgings, ending up being “imprisoned” on  the remote Scottish archipelago of St Kilda.

This is quite an extraordinary tale, of a privileged strong woman being spirited away from her home in Niddry Street in the Old Town, Cassells Old and New has a wee bit about it stating she was “seized her with violence, knocking out some of her teeth, and, tying a cloth over her head, bore her forth, as if she had been a corpse.”

The bit about the corpse relates to the fact that later a funeral,  attended by her children, was faked by her husband with Lady Grange dispatched first to Polmaise and eventually on to the Western Isles, where she lived in a primitive stone cleit,  a stone storage hut or bothy, uniquely found on the remote isles. A bit of background on the Lady herself, she was born the child of John Chiesley of Dalry (Edinburgh, not Ayrshire) who was convicted of murder and publicly hanged for his crime in the city when she was just ten years old.  

Raised as one of many children, Rachel Chiesley met her future husband James Erskine – just six months her junior – in the early 1700s, marrying him in 1707 as the Act of Union formally bound Scotland and England, becoming Lord and Lady Grange. I covered Lord Erskine on the anniversary of his death in a post Here

The marriage was not a happy one, the term “unlikely bedfellows" has been used, and that she allegedly keeping a razor blade under her pillow to remind him of her volatile nature and that she was the daughter of a murderer; he was apparently forced to marry her at the point of a gun owing to a pregnancy out of wedlock, your actual shotgun wedding! 

The household was a hotbed of intrigue, Erskine may have been at the beck and call of the Westminster Government, but his brother was a more complex creature who became known as “Bobbin John” a man of contraries, he voted for the Union of the countries, but The Earl of Mar, to call him by his title, by 1715, was at the head of the Jacobite Uprising of that year.  

Lord Grange was in favour of the Jacobite rebellion, but kept it quiet in public circles due to his esteemed public position. As his marriage descended into trouble due in no small part to his infidelity, he became convinced that Lady Grange would expose his traitorous views.

As manager of his affairs, Lady Grange was regularly privy to secrets relating to her husband’s affairs, including the reality that Preston House was being used as a meeting place for those interested in Jacobitism.

Although her husband frequently wrote her flattering letters from London, as her frustration grew over his infidelity and political activity, suspicion mounted she would try to put a stop to one by blowing the whistle on the other.

Lord Grange roped in colleagues to deal with his wife, enraging her further by making sure the lock to his study was changed to prevent her gaining access to his papers – and she wasn’t the sort of woman to give in quietly.

In a daring and elaborate plan, Lord Grange and his co-conspirators planned a ruthless attack, kidnapping Lady Grange from her home in the middle of the night and whisking her away to North Uist.

Here she stayed for a few days before making the journey to Hirta in St Kilda - over 40 miles away from the Western Isles.

She would never see him or her children again, with friends and neighbours left mystified by her disappearance.

Lady Grange was firstly taken to the island of Heskeir, then to St Kilda and later to Skye where she would eventually die in 1745 – although her husband had previously held a “funeral” at the city’s Greyfriars Kirk for her many years before.

On the islands she lived in virtual solitude, except for the company of at least one of her husband’s colleagues, instructed to watch her at all times, and a Gaelic-speaking maid from whom she learned to speak the language of the islands.

Despite the bafflement caused by island life and the Gaelic language, Lady Grange lived amongst the fishermen and local tradespeople of the island.

She spent nearly ten years in exile before dying in Skye in 1745 - and all the while still married to her husband of 25 years.

Despite her being “dead” there are letters held by Edinburgh University, describes in brutal detail how she was beaten and seized from her home by a group of men including Roderick McLeod, writer to the signet and several servants of another leading Jacobite. Lord Lovat, aye The Old Fox himself! 

One letter, written on January 20th 1738 and marked St Kilda, said: “They threw me down upon the floor in a barbarous manner. I cried murther, murther (murder), they stopped my mouth. I pulled out the cloth and told Rod McLeod I knew him.”

Lady Grange claimed in the letter that her hair and her teeth were “torn out” by the mob.

She lived in isolation for two years on the Monach Isles before being moved in June 1734 to St Kilda. Here she lived in a tiny stone cleit, now recorded as Cleit 85, on Hirta. Lady Grange, in a further letter, described Hirta as a “vile, neasty (sic), stinking poor isle" where she was unable to communicate, given she did not know Gaelic. As always there are conflicting versions of this story, I can't really see how Lady Grange would have survived in a cleat and knowing the Highlands (and Islands) hospitality, she would have been invited into a home on Hirta. The structure that Rachel was held on St Kilda is seen in the second pic, the Ambaille website say, there is no evidence to support this. For much of her time on the Archipelago she was said to " have drunk all the whisky she could get her hands on and wandered the shores"

Later, she she was moved to Skye in 1742 where she died four years later, aged 64.

She was “decently interred” shortly after her death at a churchyard at Waternish but for some unknown reason, a second funeral was held at Duirnish some time thereafter, where a crowd gathered the watch a coffin filled with turf and stones put to rest in the ground. History records her grave is at Trumpan Churchyard the headstone reads:

RIP Rachel wife of The Hon James Erskine Lord Grange Died AD 1746

Nobody knows why three funerals for Lady Grange were found to be necessary.

The story  of Lady Grange is a complex tale and if you want to find out more their is a full book about it The Unreliable Death of Lady Grange is available on Amazon, only £2.89 on kindle or £7.13 in paperback, it has many great reviews and 4 and half stars over 37 reviews, one stating it is “A must for Outlander fans”

[soovermyself]

He had a house before Sophia. A house, I doubt he sold. Maybe rented? Would be great passive income. I don’t know how divorce proceedings work but the fact he is in another country leaving his ex to deal with a fuck ton of shit is just utterly mind blowing to me.

Like yeah, they cleared out the ranch and treehouse because they were expecting to be in London until September but like where are his personal belongings? You’re just going to let Sophia deal with that shit? Because I doubt they got two separate storage units to put his stuff and her stuff while they attempted to rent the houses.

who once looked like her knight in shining armor is starting to look like a person she needed rescuing from.

and who knows, maybe not all of her friends/family liked him and saw through some bullshit but didn’t want to tell her because they have never seen her so in love like this.

I have no idea what he did with his own house once he moved in the treehouse in 2020. I figured he either sold or put it on airbnb or something like that because obviously I don’t think he was planning on living in it again. As for proceedings, I’m not familiar either, but once she filed, he has to either respond and if he doesn’t it means he agrees with whatever her and her lawyers have comes up with and then, they just let the lawyers/state/whatever do their job for the legal side of it.

But yeah, for his stuff, from the looks of it, definitely seems like she’s “stuck” with it. Or he had someone take care of it. I hope he was man enough to take care of his stuff one way or another so she doesn’t have to deal with all of it herself. She doesn’t deserve it. I think she’s going through enough already w/o having to deal with extra unnecessary stuff.

As for friends/family, it’s hard to say for sure. Maybe some did, or maybe he won them over all too. I think they did love him. Or at least the version he “sold” to S when she agreed to marry him. And again, I don’t think he’s a bad guy or anything. I simply think their lifestyles right now do not really align anymore. She clearly wants to settle down. Maybe he’s not ready to stop travelling, exploring, meeting new friends, etc.

[cloudmombo]

Junk Clearance Gives a Better Environment

You genuinely must hire a reliable and believable company. If you require junk clearance in London there are companies that will service your needs. These companies are perfect as they are professionals and have a cutthroat pricing structure. Because of longer working hours and busier lifestyles individuals these days find they lack opportunity and energy to dispose of their junk. Pretty much every home and office will collect junk at some point and some of these items can't be disposed of similarly you would dispose of customary rubbish.

Junk clearance companies assume on the liability of dealing with all junk materials they gather and disposing of them in the absolute most environmentally cordial manner. If you need a junk clearance company in London it is ideal to use a local one as they will have branches that are in nearness to where you and the junk you need clearing are, offering a more helpful support. Make sure you really do some examination first as you should understand what the expenses they charge are and whether they have the ability to remove your undesirable junk. If you require removal of plastics or unsafe electric parts you should make sure the junk removal company have the facilities to dispose of these so make sure you make requests before you use any of their services.

Removing junk is definitely not a basic errand and representatives working for a junk clearance company need to be wearing the right footwear, eye security and clothing. This is extremely significant, and if you see one of their workers not wearing the right way you need to stop them right away and this could end up being exceptionally dangerous.

Some junk clearance companies in London have the facilities to work on a bigger scale than just junk clearance from a residential location. Their services can be utilized at large building locales to clear away undesirable items that have been collected throughout the span of the structure interaction. A great deal of retail and business premises use these services to keep their structures tidy, clean and safe. Individuals living in residential areas can likewise profit from using a junk clearance London company. If you have a cluttered storage room, carport or garden and don't have the opportunity yourself to clear it, a clearance company will come in and survey what is going on and remove the junk for you.

[ladybirdtaxis]

Family-Friendly Guide to London Luton Airport Taxis: Tips for a Smooth Journey

Are you traveling to or from London Luton Airport with your family? Selecting the right transportation can significantly enhance your travel experience. This guide provides everything UK families need to know about using London Luton Airport taxi services, ensuring a smooth, stress-free journey that caters to both family needs and budget.

Why Opt for a London Luton Airport Taxi for Family Travel?

When traveling with kids, a taxi to or from Luton Airport offers unmatched convenience and comfort. Unlike public transport, which can often be overcrowded and challenging to navigate, a private taxi gives your family the space and flexibility to travel stress-free. No long waits, no heavy lifting—just a direct, comfortable journey to your destination.

Key Benefits of Choosing a Luton Airport Taxi

Here’s why taxis are the ideal transportation choice for families at Luton Airport:

Door-to-Door Service: Skip the hassle of transfers, bus changes, and long walks with luggage. A taxi takes you straight to your destination.

Ample Space: Airport taxis are often equipped with roomy vehicles to accommodate both your family and your luggage comfortably.

Save Time: Taxis are faster than public transport, allowing your family to start or finish your trip without unnecessary delays.

Easy Booking: Booking your airport taxi in advance is a simple process, ensuring you get a vehicle that perfectly suits your family’s needs.

Family-Friendly Taxi Options at Luton Airport

Luton Airport offers a variety of taxi options to suit families of all sizes. Consider these options when booking:

Standard Taxis: These four-seater taxis are perfect for smaller families with limited luggage.

Minivans or MPVs: Ideal for larger families, these vehicles provide additional seating and storage space for luggage.

Executive Vehicles: If you're looking for luxury or need a special ride for an occasion, these vehicles offer extra comfort and premium features.

How to Book a Family-Friendly Taxi to Luton Airport

Booking a taxi to Luton Airport is simple. You can book online through various services or apps. It’s advisable to pre-book to avoid waiting and ensure you get a vehicle that can comfortably accommodate your family.

Tips for Booking the Perfect Taxi for Family Travel:

Specify the Number of Passengers and Luggage: Make sure the taxi is big enough for everyone and your bags.

Request Child Seats if Necessary: If you’re traveling with young children, ensure the service provides child car seats.

Check Cancellation Policies: Plans can change, so choose a service that offers flexible cancellation options.

What’s the Cost of a Taxi to Luton Airport?

Taxi prices to Luton Airport depend on factors such as distance, time of day, and vehicle type. Generally, larger vehicles or executive options will cost more. To get the best deal, compare rates from different services. For families on a budget, there are affordable options available that still meet safety and comfort standards.

Families traveling from Milton Keynes, for example, can find specialized taxis that offer efficient and comfortable service from Milton Keynes to Luton Airport at competitive rates.

Additional Family-Friendly Services in Luton Airport Taxis

Many taxi services offer extra conveniences for families, such as:

Child Seats: Always request these in advance if you need them for your little ones.

Meet and Greet Service: Your driver will be waiting for you at the arrivals area, holding a sign with your name, making it easy for you to find your ride.

Flight Tracking: Some services monitor your flight’s arrival time and adjust the pickup schedule if there are any delays.

Tips for Finding a Cheap Taxi to Luton Airport

To save money on your taxi to Luton, consider these tips:

Book in Advance: Early bookings often come with discounts.

Compare Prices: Use comparison websites to find the best deals.

Avoid Peak Hours: Booking during off-peak times can help you avoid surcharges.

Check for Family Discounts: Some taxi services offer discounts for families or larger groups.

Safety Tips for Traveling with Family in Luton Airport Taxis

Safety is paramount when traveling with family. Follow these tips to ensure a safe trip:

Confirm Child Seat Availability: Make sure your taxi can provide appropriate seats for children.

Verify Driver and Vehicle Details: Reliable services provide driver and vehicle information before you travel, adding an extra layer of security.

Choose Reputable Services: Opt for well-reviewed and reliable taxi services to ensure a quality experience.

Making Your Family’s Journey Stress-Free with Luton Airport Taxis

Choosing the right taxi service to or from Luton Airport can ensure your family’s trip is comfortable, safe, and hassle-free. By booking in advance and selecting a trusted service, you can avoid common travel challenges, such as finding public transport for a large group, managing luggage, and keeping children entertained.

Whether you're heading to or arriving from London Luton, a taxi is the ideal solution for family travel. With convenient online booking and a range of family-friendly options, you can make sure your journey is smooth from start to finish.

[master-john-uk]

My late grandfather's stockbroking and insurance business was one of the first companies to move into the new Hay's Galleria development when it opened in 1987, relocating from the City of London. Three of my cousins continue to run the "family" business from the same office.

I, like my father, never had any interest in joining the family firm, and by 1987 I had already established myself in the Ministry of Defence. Due to my grandfather's complicated Last Will and Testament, I owned 30% of the company at that time. Something my stockbroker cousins were not happy about. Uncle Charlie was struggling to sell the City of London office building which was built for my grandfather in the early 20th Century.

Uncle Charlie and his two sons offered me a deal. I could buy the six storey building near the Bank of England for a very discounted price, in exchange for most of my shares in the business that they were running. I jumped at the chance.

It was not the wisest business decision I have ever made, (but it proved to be profitable a few years later.) I had this huge building in the City which I had no idea, or long-term plan of how I was going to use it... and I now only had a negligible income from my remaining 2% shareholding in the family business. From 1988 to 1997, with the help of my newly recruited Business Advisor I managed to rent out the office space to several other businesses, which paid for the upkeep of the property and generated a small income.

In 1997, I began formulating a plan to start my own business in defense and security research and development. At that time the MoD had begun subcontracting their R&D work to private companies, and there was talk about large-scale redundancies.

Also in '97, the City office building was in desperate need of a refit and renovation, and most of my tenant businesses moved out.

In 1998, I started my own business after securing two contracts from the UK Government. I rented workshop space at my original employment base of MoD Fort Halstead, which doubled as my office initially. (I was still officially employed by the Ministry. This put a strain on my time, but also helped fund my business in the early days.)

In late 1999 refurbishment complete, my company's head office opened in the City of London. We began a rapid expansion gaining work from other UK based businesses, and seeking international clients.

The beginning of the 21st Century was an exciting time, but financially very difficult. Competing against £billion companies such as BritishAerospace was not easy. This was when having a prestigious City of London address proved to be a big advantage. (In those days, most business contracts were negotiated face-to-face.)

In 2002 my hard work paid off, and our business boomed (in more ways than one!) The City office became a very busy place. More and more administration staff required, as well as IT experts, a small electronics workshop and London-area technician's base.

Today my company occupies the top three floors of the City building, two floors are currently rented out to other businesses, the 1st and ground floors are currently under-utilised and used by the building management team, as well as providing bicycle storage, shower and changing facilities... nobody wants to sit next to a sweaty, lycra-clad cyclist all day long! I was looking at the possibility of opening the ground floor to the public with a coffee shop and, maybe a small gymnasium... but, then COVID struck... luckily before I decided to go ahead with these plans.

In January 2020, my company's R&D team and workshop relocated to Wiltshire, from Fort Halstead on the outskirts of London. (That was a sad for me, as that is where I began my career forty years earlier.) When the pandemic hit in March of that year, my company took a big financial hit when our largest ever non-military contract was cancelled.

We survived, but since then I have been looking to relocate the office and sell the City of London building. Like Uncle Charlie in 1987, I have struggled to find a potential buyer who would make me a sensible offer. Early in 2023 a property developer made a very generous offer. I am now struggling to find a suitable alternative site. I do not want to lose any of my loyal office staff... so, it needs to be secure, close to London, have ample parking and be close to a mainline railway station. I recently found an ideal building on a new industrial estate south of Gatwick Airport, but the nearest railway station is too far away.

There is a possibility of building a new office at the site we rent near Croydon where we currently keep our London-based technician's vehicles and equipment. I can drive there in just over 30 minutes and it has (fairly) good transport links. The owner of the site is not keen on the idea, but I have submitted plans to the council. If approved, I will make an offer to the current owner to buy the site. (They need to recoup their losses from the ongoing rail strikes somehow!)