#web order hamilton

[charles-jpg]

brocedes | drunk on this pain, crossing out the good years and you’re cursing my name, wishing i stayed

[scotianostra]

September 10th 1547 saw the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh.

Fought along the Firth of Forth near Musselburgh, southeast of Edinburgh, this battle is also sometimes called the Battle of Falside.

It marked the beginning of a new phase in the Rough Wooing, the sustained English attempt to compel the Scots to accept a marriage between their queen and the English king. The overwhelming English victory destroyed the main Scots field force, allowed the English to establish garrisons across southern Scotland, and brought the French into the war on the Scottish side.

When the Scottish Parliament refused to ratify the Treaty of Greenwich in December 1543, Henry VIII launched successive invasions of Scotland to force acceptance of the main provision of the treaty, the marriage of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, to Prince Edward, the future Edward VI. At Henry’s death in January 1547, the Scots remained defiant. Because of the king’s youth, control of the English government passed to Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, who, as the king’s eldest uncle, assumed office as lord protector. In Scotland, the government of the even more youthful queen was headed by James Hamilton, Earl of Arran, who worked in uneasy partnership with a pro-French party led by the queen mother, Marie de Guise.

In late August 1547, while massing a force of more than 16,000 on the border at Berwick, Somerset issued a proclamation to the people of Scotland reminding them of the 1543 agreement and of the history and geography they shared with the English. His army, he claimed, was coming not to threaten Scotland, but “to defend and maintain the honour of both the princes and realms” sounds like a previous King eh?!

Crossing the frontier on 31 August, the English marched along the coast toward Edinburgh, supported on their flank by a fleet under Edward Fiennes de Clinton, Lord Clinton. Moving swiftly, the English seized castles along their line of march and dispersed harassing bands of Scots. On 9 September, Somerset encountered the main Scottish force, 20,000 in number, holding a strong position along the river Esk.

Next morning, Somerset ordered his right wing to assault the Scottish line, thereby shifting the entire army toward the Forth and the protection of Clinton’s guns. Arran, in command of the Scottish force, misinterpreted the movement; he believed Somerset was trying to avoid an engagement by taking his men to the coast for embarkation on the fleet. Arran accordingly ordered the Scots to leave their well-prepared defences and attack.

Seeing the Scottish movement, Somerset halted his army and formed line of battle. The Scots, far inferior to the English in cavalry, had no cover for the flanks of their pikemen, the same bristling formations of spearmen that James IV had used so ineffectively at Flodden Field. Slowed by cavalry charges and broken by artillery, the Scottish formations disintegrated, and the battle degenerated into a slaughter as the English infantry pursued the fleeing Scots to the gates of Edinburgh.

While English losses numbered 500 to 600, the Scots, figures vary from 6 to 15 thousand, over 2,000 were captured.

Organised Scottish resistance ceased, and Somerset spent the following months securing southern Scotland by seizing strong points and establishing a web of English garrisons centred on the fortress at Haddington.

Thanks to French inducements- Arran, who was given the title Duke of Chatelherault-and the efforts of the queen mother, the Scots turned in this emergency to their ancient ally, France.

Concluded in July 1548, the Treaty of Haddington promised the Scots French military assistance in return for the marriage of their queen to the eldest son of Henri II. In late July, Mary was spirited into France, there to be raised at Henri’s court. Although a victory for English arms, Pinkie was a defeat for English policy, opening a decade of French dominance in Scotland and ensuring that the Scottish queen would become Catholic in religion and French in sympathy.

Pinkie Cleugh was the last pitched battle between Scotland and England. The Memorial to the battle is at Salters Road near Wallyford.

Members of the Old Musselburgh Club with the Pinkie Cleugh Battlefield Group will,as we I post this,, led by a piper, walk along the battlefield trail, starting from the Roman Bridge in Musselburgh. and meeting at the memorial stone in time for the commemoration at 1pm, where the laying of floral tribute and speeches are made.

Ian Wood, club treasurer, will read 10 of the names out of the 10,000 who lost their lives in the conflict, which will be followed by an act of remembrance.

Pics include a wood cut depiction of the battle from not long after it happened, “The Raising of The Fire Cross for the Assembly of the Highland Clans before the Battle, a depiction of the battle and two of the memorials to the battle, the second is a relatively new one showing two soldiers in combat.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Website for free COVID tests crashes as FDA appears to show September’s availability date - Published Sept 23, 2024

People want these tests bad enough to crash the site with traffic, but still no word from the Biden Administration when they'll be available.

BY Tracy Brown Hamilton

Some visitors to the government’s website received a ‘service unavailable’ error message on Monday, indicating high demand for the tests.

Update Tuesday:

The website link for free COVID tests was up and running as of Wednesday, with the link directing visitors to a USPS web page noting that tests will be available in “late September.” An exact date still hasn’t been announced.

Original story:

As cases of a new COVID-19 variant rise across the United States, the federal government has announced the return of free at-home test kits.

High demand for these tests, however, appears to have already caused the COVIDTests.gov website to crash or become unavailable for some users, hinting that households are eager to place orders ahead of the expected September 2024 launch of the program.

The program, overseen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is intended to enable each household to order up to four free tests.

The exact availability date for the tests had not officially been announced as of Monday afternoon.

A spokesperson for HHS had no immediate information about when the website would be fully functional.

Earlier on Monday, a page on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) site indicated that the tests would be available as of Monday, September 23. However, the page now just says “coming soon” and “late September.”

The over-the-counter kits are designed to detect current COVID-19 variants and can be used through the end of the year. Test kits were planned to be shipped by the U.S. Postal Service directly to homes, with many anticipated to arrive before the busy holiday travel season.

The federal initiative aims to alleviate the financial burden of purchasing over-the-counter tests, which can cost nearly $20 for a pack of two. Alongside this testing effort, the government encourages residents to get updated COVID-19 booster shots, with newly approved formulations from Pfizer and Moderna already available at pharmacies.

Both initiatives aim at being vital steps in controlling the spread of the virus during the upcoming fall and winter months.

[thoughts-of-caly]

ok y’all i’m finally making a pinned about me type post

it’s gonna be a long one so i’ll put it below the cut for those of you who don’t wanna read all that

i’m caly, us-based (virginia), currently a senior in high school

i’m also on ao3 at writings_of_caly, letterboxd at reviewsofcaly, and ellipsus (dm me for sharing). i also have a wattpad. no i will not drop the link. if you find my wattpad good for you i guess

i am a christian, specifically protestant, more specifically reformed baptist.

my asks are always open :)

i am in a ton of fandoms. like a lot. i’ll list the ones i can remember for now here. bear in mind that some will be repeats (if they’re a book & a movie adaptation for example). these are not in any particular order (sorry). dm me if you know i’m in one that’s not on here

books: dracula, kingdom keepers, artemis fowl, alex rider, percy jackson etc., the inheritance cycle, the maze runner, les mis, chronicles of narnia, the hunger games, the hobbit, the lord of the rings, lockwood & co, bartimaeus cycle, the wingfeather saga, the folk of the air, the iliad & the odyssey, cosmere (haven’t read all of them)

movies: the mcu, the maze runner, bond films, star wars, now you see me, ocean’s 11/12/whatever, the godfather, jaws, x-men, the maze runner, the lord of the rings, the hunger games, the chronicles of narnia, jurassic park, the sandlot, les mis, night at the museum, bourne films, dceu

tv shows: psych, the artful dodger, the chosen, hbowar (haven’t seen gen kill yet), percy jackson, miraculous ladybug, mighty med, lab rats, quantum leap (original & reboot), the waltons, fbi, downton abbey, brooklyn 99, the waltons

musicals: hamilton, dear evan hansen, les mis, newsies, wicked, six, the lightning thief, west side story, into the woods, the outsiders

wow that’s a lot. anyway haha i love this webbed site

[fourohfourlifenotfound]

The bonus chapter in Unstoppable: Breakaway fucking kills me. I love these three

Ian being Ian about his beverages

Hamilton either remembering Jonah'a order after he said it once or having gotten coffee with Johah enough to have it memorized

Hamilton getting hot chocolate :)

Jonah canonically having dated Selena Gomez

Jonah taking ballet

Hamilton's fangirl

That one paparazzi asking about Jonah's relationship with Selena instead of the whole "these teenagers are in a web of evil" thing

Hamilton presumably heatbutting the paparazzi

Jonah signing off his phone call with Amy-- who's recovering from hypothermia-- with "peace!"

Ian going "I'm not afraid of a few reporters." Honey you're afraid of 2% milk

Jonah: "we need agents ... who aren't followed by paparazzie"

Jonah: "being a Cahill is weirer than being an international hip-hop star"

Dan being Dan and sending Ian a photo of a booger. Dan is Ian's foil

[bainofjustice]

The Game Credits Suggest There Is A Cut Scene/I found Episode 7… In a way.

Hello everybody, if you are just joining me let me briefly catch you up on how we got here, I decided to rewatch the web series that was made early into Payday 2's lifespan to advertise the game to take notes, I am working on a retelling of Payday 2 with a friend so am researching everything I can.

While I was watching I got curious about the identity of a series of very similar characters, which lead to me researching their actresses for my wrap up post on the Notes posts I had been making. 

But the thing is that I found a site that had posted the credits of Payday 2 because the thing is, there is a section for The Payday Web Series, covering all the main characters, and then all extra characters scene by scene they are introduced though episodes one to six. And then there are scenes with names and credits that I never saw, there has been rumors of a episode 7 that never was publicly shown and I think I stumbled into the credits for this episode, so I will share these and give my best guess as to what was happening in these scenes.

Here is the site (also you can check this out in game) and here are a few notes on how it seems the credits work which will color my theories

The credits do not go over people multiple times, and there are two types of sections for the cast of the web series, there is the “Cast” section which consists of what could be considered the main cast, and then it goes scene by scene with minor characters with no repeating, for example Yuri's actor is not credited multiple times only for his first appearance.

The credits are not perfect, characters with names such as the news reporters are not credited with those names but just a title.

The minor characters section seems to be in chronological order of how one views the show, the last section with a scene we can actually watch is crediting the girls in the safehouse with Houston, Chains & Dallas, after this in episode 6 we don't meet any more minor characters, so everything after the Poker Credits Section is likely from episode 7

If a scene only has recurring characters I have no way to know about it, so my theories definitely going to be missing things in the episode such as Bain's monologs.

Now onto the scenes, again remember my theories can't really account for what other scenes could be in the episode with only recurring characters and I also don't know how long the episode would have been, I am going to assume like the later episodes it will make it to the teens of minutes at least. Also I am gonna assume you know the plot of the Web Series, if you don't then watch it and perhaps read my notes on the episodes on this blog

Payday: The Web Series - Gun Range

Hamilton - LeVar Burton

Firearms Instructor #1 - Bill Beasley

Firearms Instructor #2 - Sean Arli

Hamilton's Posse - Tomek Kosalka

Okay so my best guess is that this is

follow-up about The Haitian buying several guns from Gage & maybe testing them? 

The instructors could indicate this is a scene about training someone? Though the posse presence is throwing me off. For this option my beat guess is Dallas taking Houston here as petty revenge by implying Houston needs shooting lessons?

This could also be connected to Lukas's movie as later credits indicate we were going to see a bit more of him, so this could have been him procuring the weapons Bain mentions Lukas smuggles for Crime.Net. To me this seems the most likely since it relates to other scenes and other credits we have for episode 7.

As for the characters I think Hamilton was in most likelihood a alternative weapons dealer to Gage or otherwise the owner of the gun range

Payday: The Web Series - Guitar Warehouse

Don Elias - Carlos Gallardo

Tiago - Bill Hudson

Elias Bodyguard #2 - Ken Gust

Forklift Operator - Jeff Moore

Okay doing this one definitely as HOLY SHIT DON ELIAS! For those who didn't actually watch the series or read my notes before this, Don Elis is repeatedly mentioned in the web series as a dangerous criminal enemy of Crime.Net/Bain but we don't actually meet him in canon! Another fun fact is Carlos Gallardo's Wikipedia page incorrectly credits him of playing Don Elias in episode 6, but as someone who has watched that episode at least five times at this point let me tell you there are no guitar warehouses that show up after the Poker Game in episode 6.

Anyways my thoughts on this

Okay so really I think it's what is on the tin, probably a scene actually establishing who Don is, what is he doing, what the warehouse is a front for since I doubt it is actually guitars, that sort of stuff. 

This might be a meeting between Don & a established character given he has two body guards with him, the named guard Tiago and a unnamed one, given it's only two in likelihood some sort of ally? But right now I couldn't point to who this early in Payday 2 would have been shown as a traitor.

Payday: The Web Series - Outside FBI Office

FBI Agent DuJuan - DuJuan Johnson

Okay my only guess is this would have been another Jordan Griffin scene, possibly with Agent Riker also present but as for what would happen I earnestly don't know as Jordan is the only character in the web series to like have a ending that remotely works as a ending to her story in it, so another scene without any chance for followup would really really open a can of worms. But we only see the FBI HQ from Jordan's eyes so we can assume it would have been a scene with her.

Also I checked and none of the other names on Jordan's network match Agent DuJuan, so outside of that I don't have anything to base guesses off, I can assume they were spoken with at least once but as Dallas's bank assistant Sam whose lack of name being mentioned in episode made me so confused on who “Sam” was until the game credits can tell you: name in credits doesn't mean important or one's name being mentioned.

Payday: The Web Series - Additional Cast

Rami - Amir Perets

Noah - Tal Berkovich

Lukas Starlette #1 - Sue Ann Pien

Lukas Starlette #2 - Amber F. Rose

Lukas Starlette #3 - Heather P. Cohn

Gage Video Singer - Michelle Lewis

Okay this one doesn't give any context to the scenes they were in and I suspect these are actors from multiple scenes, possibly unfinished ones? Which would explain it being in this larger sections instead of scene by scene.

When it comes to the Starlettes that's why I guessed we would have seen more of Lukas in this episode and likely some stuff focused on his movie.

Rami & Noah could be anyone, Rami is played by a martial artist so perhaps would have been either in a fight scene or like a different characters bodyguard/goon, and then Noah's actress doesn't seem that notable, though given the trends in the show & her having brown hair she probably won't have been a girlfriend/arm candy character.

Now the “Gage Video Singer” is sadly not a dub actor for Gage himself, no it's a female singer either a folk singer or a lady that made some of the music for dc super hero girls. So either Gage was meant to listen to a song or a scene with him was going to have a song playing over it.

My Thoughts On This

I am left wondering who the episode would have been titled for, we had:

First World Bank Heist

Elephant 

Hector

Gage & Vlad

Greta

So we are mainly missing gang members, Bain and perhaps Don Elias? My main guesses are either Don Elias or… A Bain backstory episode? Which I doubt would have ended well but uh is possible in the fever dream of a web series.

Right now there isn't enough for me to like tell you what the episode would have been, but I think this is a pretty big step in knowing since before I haven't seen these credits unconnected to the unreleased episode 7.

If you have any theories or thoughts please send them my way! I would love to hear it!

[cinaed]

November 2024 Monthly Media

* = Rewatch/reread

Anime/Cartoons

Bob's Burgers 15.05-15.07

Dandadan 1.01-1.07

Books/Short Stories

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark

Gravity Falls: Journal 3 by Alex Hirsch

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher

The Book of Love by Kelly Link

Swordcrossed by Freya Marske

The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society by C.M. Waggoner

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler

Manga/Comics/Light Novels

One Piece Volumes 64-79 by Eiichiro Oda*

Oglaf (ongoing webcomic)

Order of the Stick (ongoing webcomic)

Wilde Life (ongoing webcomic)

Movies/Documentaries

Podcasts

Dungeons and Daddies  

Midst: Unend

Not Another D&D Podcast

Theater/Concerts

Six (National Theatre)

Vienna Teng (The Hamilton)

TV Shows/Web Series

911 ABC 8.01-8.08

Agatha All Along 1.01-1.09

Crime Scene Kitchen 3.06-3.09

Critical Role 3.112-3.115

Dimension 20: Misfits and Magic 2.01-2.10

Golden Girls 1.01-4.08

Only Murders in the Building 4.10

Survivor 47.08-47.11

Worst Cooks in America 17.01-17.09

Video Games

Deckscape: Heist in Venice (Board Game)

Horrified (Board Game)

Pandemic: Contagion (Board Game)

[sergeant-angels-trashcan]

Hi! I'm interested in working through the Hatchet field stuff while I'm on break. Is there a recommended viewing order? Or can I jump in anywhere?

ahahaaaa i am SO SORRY I am just now seeing this. in my defense i caught covid about the time you sent this (and also infected my mom who does NOT do sick well) buttt if you're still looking,

tbh you can start anywhere, because while they're all related, they aren't connected--like you'll appreciate certain jokes and callbacks, but in that way I guess it's like an anthology.

Technically, the first musical is The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals. If you know someone who doesn't like musicals, they might actually like this one (PROMISE ME YOU'LL THINK ABOUT THE IMPLICATIONS) It's the first introduction to Hatchetfield and there are some recurring characters in the next musical, which is Black Friday. It is about Black Friday and consumerism and the amazing line "I've met god. he had nothing nice to say about you" BITCH OMG. The most recent musical is Nerdy Prudes Must Die, and honestly imo it has the least connections to the first two, so you could probably start with that one if you wanted--again, you'll appreciate some jokes more if you've seen the other two. It does also have more Lore, but I still think you'd be fine not knowing anything about it. I don't know that much about it and it was still good, because--

---there's a whole series of web-icals? Social Distance Musicals? Whatever, it's called Nightmare Time and they dive deeper into the lore of Hatchetfield and I've never managed to watch more than the opening number of the first one (it's a sound quality issue, i just need to watch it on a laptop or something) but look to be really cool and interesting and maybe deal with the same Hatchetfield? Because the Hatchetfield in each of the musicals is...not the same one. Or it is, but different timelines. Or different dimensions. Something. I think Nightmare Time does more into that.

Basically, you could watch them all as standalones, there's not really a plot that goes through all three of them, but characters and concepts that do.

But that's the order I'd do them in. From a theatre nerd standpoint, it's also really cool to see how they've evolved musically. Just technically with how they're putting numbers together and adding vocal layers. NPMD has a few songs that i would LOVE to see the sheet music for so I could try and figure out who is singing what. Honestly the best comparison I can make is "Wait For It" from Hamilton.

Anyway I hope you enjoy them!!! If you want to shout opinions at me i am here for that :)

[circusfable]

Without further ado here is a quick run down of my trigun tma au.

First thing’s first the entities with which each character is aligned with, serves, is an avatar for, or otherwise affected by.

- Meryl Stryfe: the eye, current archivist at the institute

- Milly Thompson: the lonely (subject to change)

- Roberto de Niro: the stranger

- Brad: the eye (?)

- William Conrad: the eye, current head of the institute

- Rem Saverem: the eye, previous archivist of the institute

- Vash Saverem: the desolation

- Knives Saverem: the corruption

- Tesla Saverem: the flesh

- Nicholas D. Wolfwood: under the thrall of the hunt in life, the buried in death

- Livio Wolfwood: the hunt

- Razlo: the slaughter

- Luida Leitner: the eye

- Legato Bluesummers: the web

- Zazie the Beast: the corruption

- Monev the gale: the vast

- Leonof the puppet master: the stranger

- EG the mine, Ethan Gilbert Hamilton: the desolation

- Elendira Crimsonail: the slaughter

Meryl, Milly, Roberto, and Brad are our starting archival team with Vash, Wolfwood, and Livio joining/assisting them later on in the story.

As for the story itself, the plot will be significantly different but the set up is very similar. The gist of it is Meryl is the head archivist of the SEEDS institute, which is a research institute dedicated to researching the paranormal (such as hauntings or other creepy/strange experiences). Most of these accounts are given to the institute in the form of statements, previously all in written form. When Meryl begins her tenure as the head archivist she switches to an interview style statement in which she records audio of these accounts & starts doing the same for past accounts as well by reading them aloud. Over the course of her reading these statements she begins to develop these powers that allow her to compel people into telling her their stories and forces her to rely on these statements in order to maintain her strength.

The statements contain information about various encounters with entities of fear that use different methods to frighten others. There are also people who end up serving these fear gods. Either out of finding love within this fear, some other type of fulfillment, being born or forced into it, etc etc. they’re each essentially their own cult.

For example, Nai serves the Corruption the fear entity focused on the fear of corruption, disease, and filth. It manifests in the form of bugs, mold, rot, etc but also in that of toxic/unhealthy love and community. A toxic/unhealthy view of love is a major part of Nai’s character in canon as well as in this au. In this au, like in canon, it’s his obsession and fixation on Vash that ultimately leads to the corruption taking hold. It physically manifests for him in the form of mold and rot rather than bugs.

Vash on the other hand unwillingly serves the Desolation, which is the fear of loss, pain, burning, & destruction. It manifests in the form of fire, burns, and general destruction. Since Vash is an agent of destruction often against his will in canon the desolation felt fitting for him. In this au it’s similar with him being forced to destroy and ruin lives when all he truly wants is to live in peace and allow others to do the same, he does not derive any sort of pleasure from his actions of destruction.

A few of the others as well:

Meryl as the head archivist serves the Eye which is the fear of being watched, exposed, and followed as well as being driven by needing to understand and know things. It manifests as eyes, cameras, and watching figures. As a reporter in tristamp and in all versions someone who sticks by Vash despite the dangers because she’s curious to know more is a big reason why I picked the eye for her.

Wolfwood serves the Hunt which is the fear of being hunted or chased, the fear of being prey. It manifests as predators, animalistic/predatory instincts, and animalistic traits. But he later serves the Buried which is the fear of small spaces, being buried alive, being trapped in a literal or figurative sense, etc. it manifests as caves, dirt, underground tunnels, and tight spaces like coffins :) Wolfwood is both the hunter and the hunted in canon with how he’s essentially hunting Vash the entire time by leading him to Knives plus his role as an assassin for the EOM as well as being hunted by the same people hunting Vash and later those specifically after him. The buried is simply to inflict psychic damage on y’all.

Legato serves the Web which is the fear of being controlled or trapped, manipulated, and also of spiders. It manifests as spiders, spider webs, and puppets. His whole life prior to meeting Knives in canon was controlled by other people through the slavery he was sold into. In his confinement he develops his powers in such a way to control others so he can never be controlled against his will again and after his freedom he continues to do whatever he pleases even if he’s said to serve Knives, and he does this through being able to manipulate and physically control others.

I can explain my thoughts on the others as well if anyone is interested! Feel free to send me any questions you have about this au bc it’s literally everything to me.

[rayofmisfortune]

A little distraction was in order, thankfully Solar's carefully put together playlist was more than enough to keep them occupied.

Wait... what is Hamilton?

Did a one-shot make me watch a whole ahh 2 hour musical? Yep, yep it sure did. Fanfic research at it's finest

I find it very interesting how many characteristics and mannerisms Eclipse shares with Ruin.

I'm very aware of how suspicious they've been acting in the episodes BUT I'm choosing to live in denial and cope by writing silly works where they struggle to come to terms with their situation

[canadashotspots]

Collective Arts Brewing

Collective Arts Brewery is a dynamic and creative hub located in a historic building. Known for its expansive and dog-friendly space, the brewery is a vibrant spot featuring captivating street art and a relaxed atmosphere. It offers a diverse range of craft beers and ciders, with popular choices including Jam up the Mash, Circling the Sun, Ransack the Universe, and unique seasonal brews like chai tea sour. The venue regularly hosts engaging activities like music bingo and has a friendly and welcoming staff, ensuring memorable visits.

The brewery stands out for its innovative concept of featuring artwork by LGBTQ2S+ artists, Indigenous artists, and Black artists on its beer cans, making it a collector's delight. The fusion of art and beer creates a unique vibe, enhanced by a large patio with music and an on-site food truck serving delicious options like pulled pork tater tot poutine. Collective Arts also offers a fascinating tour, giving visitors a behind-the-scenes look at the brewing process. With its superb service, great brews, and commitment to supporting artists, Collective Arts Brewery is a must-visit destination.

Menu or list of services:

Services and amenities:

Order from the street Delivery Alcohol Beer Bar Unisex toilet

A safe place for transgender people LGBTQ+ friendly place

Name of institution:

Collective Arts Brewing

Address:

207 Burlington St E, Hamilton, ON L8L 4H2

Contact information:

+12894262374

Category of establishments:

Brewery

Web site: https://collectiveartsontario.com/

[28ms28]

Well well well look who wants to understand my driver rankings. Welcome to this long-ass post where i explain my crimes.

Short answer: My top 4 drivers are Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and George Russell in that particular order and the rest of them are not fixed and are interchangeable with each other!

and my favourite team is Ferrari but i think you must have gathered that from my pinned post.( I will be biased be warned )

and my take on RPF you ask? my answer is yeah sure why not. (you might catch me posting about lestappen!)(just memes i lack the cognitive function required to write)

mostly this blog is for shits and giggles but sometimes i get serious lmao

Long answer :

well first of all i want you to know that i don't hate any drivers so don't come up to me saying that you hate XYZ cause they have upset you or your driver. i won't like that. i will only hate them if they have committed heinous crimes in their personal lives(for example nikita mazepin f that guy).

and if I'm trash-talking a driver or if you think I'm trash-talking a driver (which I don't do) it's probably cause I'm frustrated with them atm, come morning I will forget about it because it does not affect my life and it should not affect yours either

LOL I warned you about this like I get complaints but no I'm very polite i promise no one has ever said a bad thing about me.

As always I'm not forcing my thoughts and rankings on you because you're your own person but you are very much welcome to join forces with me lol

My driver ratings and reasons as to why I love them this is all at the end of 2024 season and everything below top 4 isn't fixed!! Also as you will soon find out these rankings are deeply unserious and are NOT solely based on their racing and accomplishments it's a mix of everything and my personal preferences so yeah just keep that in mind.

1. Charles Leclerc

(Track Menace who is also Pookie Bear) (unintentionally funny) (just an inchident) (canonically listens to sad songs after bad races) (piano man was at some point higher in the iTunes chart than at the actual championship standings) (clueless cringefail loser) (Ice-cream man) (14 year old Max Verstappen's nightmare) (best qualifier on the grid imo) (idk something about someone who is on course for achieving greatness and will not stop until he achieves it no matter the cost, something about so much sacrifices for something he got soo close to achieving something that did not work out in the end something about how he devotes himself to Ferrari like no one else could before him something about how fate chose him to be in that seat something about how he made it look easy something about how it looked like the way was paved for him something red red red idk something about web weaving) (dogdad) (we love Leo) (went to Lewis Hamilton school of naming his dog after his rival) (oh and dreams about community services with said rival) (very strong mental health and even bigger therapy bills) (did i mention he's il predestinato of the tifosi) (biggest Ferrari fan) (only one who knows how to race max verstappen) (he was an ankle biting child see any photos of his childhood as proof) (everybody is maxplaining victim he's a maxplaining enjoyer) (suffers from middle child syndrome) (Seb's Ferrari child) (committed parricide on Sebastian Vettel in 2019 and 2020)

2. Max Verstappen

(pookiest pookie to ever pookie, track lion, big brother, catdad, certified victim ,4 time world champ, deserves so much more love, so so so incredibly talented, he's just a shy boy your honour ,free my man he did all of it but yeah vibes, because I'm dutch, fifa legend(just online), Danny kvyat has nightmares about him, geography nerd, has zero skills in any other physical sport, is planning to become a sim racer, tu tu tu du max verstappen (fun lore about Max did you know this guy was ranked 21st in the world in ultimate fifa in 2018(or was it 2016?? Doesn't matter) like can you imagine being that insane like bro you are a f1 driver in a top team like pls ??) (community service enjoyer) (certified yapper) (is terrified of fuel stations(jos verstappen when I catch you) ) (#1 lecfosi) (cringefail loser and he knows it) (teammate destroyer) (has read every rule in the rulebook and knows how to break every rule in the rulebook legally ofc all legally) (Seb's redbull child) (on his way to break most of Seb's record just to spite the old man)

(And is friends with an old Austrian man somehow)

3. Oscar Piastri

(Pookie bear, Mark Webbers child that has Sebastian Vettel's evil aura (Mark you will never know peace), koala, polite cat, eldest sibling energy, Android lover, Carlos Sainz's nightmare gremlin, loves cricket(cannot play well bless his heart), #1 lestappen shipper(I respect that) is also somehow the eldest of the lestappen children(his granddads are Webbanso) ) ( Him and Fernando have plotted the downfall of alpine) (I have a feeling he hates Zak brown deep down which I agree with) (grill the grid champ(like I said aura of Seb Vettel))(his one lap pace might not have been that great this season but i assure you he makes up for it in his racecraft)(also its his 2nd year cut him some slack)

4. George Russell

(British individual(derogatory), king of radio messages (oh crikey), has an evil aura which is probably why he gets along with Nando, makes amazing powerpoints(facts!!), head of the gdpa and he takes it V.E.R.Y seriously probably the admin to the f1 driver group chat, part-time driver part-time strategist, he's a better driver than people give him credit for unpopular opinion but I think he can be a wdc or least a close wdc contender if given the right car I think if he was in lando's car in 2024 he probably would have taken the fight to max idk about winning but he's for sure no easy breeze, f3 and f2 wdc too, very memefiable or wotever the word is) ( T pose)(t.a.l.l.)(one sweaty boi)(a very very good qualifier i swear you guys are sleeping on this guy)

5. Lewis Hamilton

(7-time world champion, goat behaviour, was friends with P Diddy, rich cool wine aunt, #blessed, fashionista, Hammertime, Fernando Alonso's nightmare gremlin, don't ever mention 2016 in front of him, is haunted by Nico Rosberg, is neighbours with Nico Rosberg, will avoid Greece for the rest of his life, had a very public divorce, thus vegan, Silverstone 2008 you will always be famous, this Barbie is an f1 driver, still we rise guys, Toto Wolff and David Croft will sacrifice their bloodline for him, certified Micheal Massi hater, certified Bottas lover, we love him and Seb being the activists on the grid, this is getting manipulated man, did not survive Abu Dhabi 2021, did not survive Abu Dhabi 2016, has had caps thrown at him, Left family for Italian mafia, uncle I beg you please get your qualifying form back pls pls, is embarrassed by those toxic #teamlh and you cannot convince me otherwise, has let 2 baddies named Nico slip from him, ISS THAT GLOCK???, Bono my tyres are gone)

6. Carlos Sainz

(Spanish chilli, smooth operator, dog lover, says bye to his racing career after 2024( no wait let me tell you something let me finish let m- *shot*), certified zoning out( Carlos has been called to the stewards), Lewis Hamilton hater prolly, certified Fred vassuer hater, poor guy really he leaves whenever a team is getting good like come on, has had very good teammates and has been friends with them, in 2025 will become the third person in history to have raced for Ferrari, McLaren and Williams, I feel like he lacks a bit of aggressiveness in his racing like he operates smoothly and intelligently sure but yk you should have a bite yk )(whenever he finds this said bite and aggressiveness it's usually against his teammate I'm observing you Carlos I'm noticing)( loves Lando Norris, golf master but humble about it, Maria Karey, one of the mature drivers on the grid, excellent at all sports, James aeiou has a crush on him, Lana del Ray coded, him and max were torro rosso nepo babies).

7. Lando Norris

(twitch streamer first f1 driver second, McLaren boy, hates papaya rules, has been multi21nd, mental health has been made very public by his own goddamn team, party-boy and DJ, fakes knowing how to play COD and Fortnite, very consistent racing good for him, terrified of first laps and poles, best friends with last laps and fastest laps(let's go Lando), shit at golf and geography but it's okay he makes up for it by being funny, probably misses being Carlos's teammate, but like Carlos lacks a bit of aggressiveness that is required, McLaren PR's nightmare gremlin, opposite of polite cat, has somehow managed to anger every fanbase and his car is the sole reason for the unification of RedBull, Ferrari and Mercedes, has been dealing with the wrath of Australia since 2021, at the end of the day just a curly haired guy ).

8. Fernando Alonso

(Spanish devil , Disney villain ahh character, 2005 and 2006 world champ, is looking for his 33rd win, Michael Schumacher's nightmare gremlin, grumpy old man first f1 driver second, lance lover(rare), Lawrence stroll's sugar baby, fast, prime Alonso I am scared of you, goat behaviour, holds a special grudge against McLaren and Lewis Hamilton(Alonso is sick of his ass), no more radio for the rest of the race, believes in karma, has dated Taylor swift apparently but is in love with Mark Webber( Jenson button is also somewhere in there), is known as El padre and has an el plan(everyone should be afraid), racecraft out of this world, 2005 Suzuka you will always be famous, all de time you have to leave da space, Alonso radio my love, aggressive but good racing the likes of which I have never seen and probably never will, what do mean by "I knew he'd brake earlier because he has 2 kids and a wife at home" like who says that what what??, worse career decisions than Ferrari strategies, bad luck so much bad luck, so chaotic so much chaos, has adopted Oscar and has plotted the downfall of alpine with him, Flavio haunts him, do not bring up Singapore 2008 in front of him especially not if Felipe Massa is present there, has driven the 2014 Ferrari and has not recovered from it, has outlasted Renault in formula one (wild), give Fernando Alonso 5 more points and he would be a 5 time wdc (even more wild), bye bye I'm still the bad guy)

9. Alex Albon

(alabonoo) ( bff with George Russell) ( is bullied by George Russell) (golf wag first f1 driver second) ( James aeiou has a favourite and it's Alex Albon) ( Alex really said I'm Thai first and a colonizer second and good for you Alex) (2020 Alex and 2022 onwards Alex are different people okay?) ( he's a consistent racer much like Lando but he makes mistakes more often, under pressure working is maybe not his forte sorry pals) ( he's a really nice dude tho and really funny as well ) ( dude has a Chipotle member card as one of his essentials and you tell me I'm not supposed to love him come on be reasonable)(he has his own zoo he's a certified pet owner) ( if I had the money for that amount of pets I would do the same Alex I get it ) (also he's a Ferrari fan so you just know bro is always on hopium) (I think he gets put under the radar often but he's great) ( he seems to be a chill dude imo)(we both love lily)

10. Nico Hulkenberg

(German but like in a cool way) ( has been giving dad energy before he was a dad) ( called Hulk but is probably the calmest person on the grid) ( give my man Bruce Banner his podium nah it's not even funny anymore he deserves so much better than that) ( he's won le mans on his first try yk give him the Redbull seat for godsakes) (Nico is so cheeky like I know he's a gen x or something but like I see the genz potential yk) (Audi better have a car good enough for a podium I swear to god if we say bye to him before a podium I'm uhm I'm uh I'm gonna cry).

11. Yuki Tsunoda

(anime boi) (wants a restaurant before he wants a world championship and I respect that Yuki) (has an evil aura) (certified hothead because he's a certified good chef) (has the bitch spirit to be a Redbull driver but is not. because of Horner issues) (Yuki does make the occasional mistakes but like he's far better than the alt no?) (in the words of Yuki "idk man wotever") (too much anger for too small body) (is in love with Pierre Gasly) (is bullied by Pierre Gasly) (everybody loves Yuki even Nando is a fan)(tbf nandos a fan of anyone who has an evil aura) (people are terrified of Yuki radio as they rightfully should be) (Yuki is nightmare gremlin of every race engineer).

12. Pierre Gasly

(French but like from the north of France)(known for being French and Max Verstappen's teammate thus known for being fucked over by Redbull, also known for his revenge win in Monza) ( he's just a great driver like if given the right car he can fight at the top and win he's not on Max and Charles level yet but I feel like around George and better than Lando) ( he's also a good qualifier maybe it has something to do with speaking French who knows but yeah amazing what he can do in that shit alpine) (unfortunately he has a severe case of resting bitch face but he's very nice actually unless you are Esteban then he's not very nice) (yeah he also has the brocedes case of childhood best friends turned enemies but like French and he's very much Lewis in that way which means he would much rather ignore estie bestie than talk about him e.v.e.r while estie brings up his bestie Pierre wherever he can like Nico)( oh and he loves one Japanese boi)(pierreeee gasllyyyyy)

13. Kevin Magnussen

(Kmag the Viking) (my god nobody races like kmag lol) Okay so maybe I put him this high because he's a track terror to everyone but like watcha want me to do? Not acknowledging kmag's great defending is a crime, he is here to cause menace no matter how many penalty points he gains or races he's banned from he's really coming for Ocon's penalty points honour tbh. Shame really that this is his last season... just when things got interesting *sigh* (off the track he's a chill girldad) (hulk and kmag had an enemies-to-lovers story arc and I think that's beautiful)(kmag you legend)

14. Esteban Ocon

(he's French, he's from Normandy in France which is the north of France so you just know he was a bored child) (he and Pierre were bored babies) (which is probably why he races the way he does lol) (5-second penalty for Ocon) (no but seriously this guy has mad potential but also he's a mad teammate killer and not in a good way) (he has made a way for himself in formula one and he belongs here it's just that maybe if he tried targeting people other than his teammates he would make it much easier for himself) (he's a very cheerful person irl) (big Marvel fan) (gives very early teenage boy vibes) (softie at heart) (cannot for the life of him pronounce squirrel)(oh he also loves lance(rare)) (Estie bestie is on the podium babyyy)

15. Daniel Riccardo

(Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi oi oi ) (damn Daniel) (it's not tears it's athlete sweat ) (I mean I knew it was time to go but still it didn't have to be this way it's okay tho Danny is enjoying retirement and dirt bikes) (yeah the performance was just not there for Danny boi not that we could see it anyway because of vcarbs shit strategy or whatever they call it) (I miss prime Daniel he was such an annoyance to Sebastian)(2014 Daniel took the Australian revenge on Seb for his crimes against Mark Webber) (but yeah Daniel you go out of this sport with lots of love and a fastest lap)(ki ki aye)

16. Valtteri Bottas

(Finnish when he was in Mercedes but is officially Australian since then) ( Bottas more like Bott-ass get what I mean) (I mean that he has a weird obsession with his gluteus maximus) (Valtteri pls I beg you stop this behaviour) (10 time Grand Prix winner Valtteri has nightmares about James aeiou) (Valtteri it's James) (he's pretty chill all he cares about is racing, cyclist girlfriend, and his mullet+moustache(not necessarily in that order)) also here's a sad fact since Valtteri won't be on the grid next year it would be the first time a Finnish racer is not in the grid since 1989 yeah everybody is waiting for Robin Raikkonen now.

17. Sergio Perez

(Checo damn man what happened) (no 2 Redbull driver curse got to checo) (he was doing so good in racing point like Sakhir 2020 my beloved last to first, man what a performance that was) (he is capable of doing such great things but nooo bro gets knocked out in q1 more than he has reached q3) (Redbull killed the dawg in him man) (certain Austrian man haunts his nightmares and no it's not Niki Lauda) (he and Logan are the nightmare gremlins for mechanics)(even when he performs it's usually in no human right countries so he's not really helping the allegations) ( this poor Latina I swear to god) (he can't drive and he's up and about with other women(Taylor swift 1989 reference) aye aye aye(checo go home to your wife and children).

18. Logan Sargeant

(American) (bald eagle noises) (collective groan of William mechanics) (sorry logie bear)(James aeiou shall face the wrath of Jenson button it's ok) (first American to score points in f1 since 1993 that's 30 years so yaaay!!) (American history will be kind to you Logan)(not sure about f1 history tho) (your last gift to us was a sick ass album cover and I respect it) (if only he knew what a kilometre was * sigh*)(bye bye miss American pie).

19. Zhou Guanyu

(China boy) (another alpine escapee) (Zhou I'm sorry but you're not him anymore) (I miss pre-Silverstone 2022 Zhou where has my dawg gone man) (Zhou may not be as good of a racer now but he makes it up by being a fashionista) (tbf to him that Sauber stake monstrosity is not really helpful so) (also he is a catdad and had an emo phase through f3) (He's the first Chinese to ever race in f1 I think he's done his country proud) (He's also a proud Valtteri lover)

Okay so rookies next I did not include them here well because they have had like on avg 6 races soo

1. Oliver bearman

(ollie) (what a wonderful job he has done my god) (p7 in Jeddah on a day's notice wow dude) (he's driving for Haas in 2025 and his teammate is Esteban so that's..great (my condolences!! ifykyk)) also points in Baku after he passed his teammate (tell me you are a lestappen child w/o telling me you're a lestappen child) what I've seen from him I can tell he's very relentless that's good(also he's the most employed unemployed person ever) (also I heard people criticising him by commenting on his current f2 season like babe did u see his rookie f2 season?? that's why he's here not because of this year but last year and he's not doing bad this year it's just the car is shit but yeah he was at one point higher in the f1 standings than in f2 so I get why people are confused lol) (also he's super likeable very Genz very demure very mindful) (Ferrari has grown him in a lab with utmost care so he's very much a PR baby)

(oh yeah also he's in love with Kimi Antonelli) (yeah they are being genz lestappen)

2. Franco Colapinto

(Frankie baby) (Argentinian and very proud) (is very funny) (is also very genz) (sent James aeiou into a crisis by doing a better job than Alex Albon) (scored 4 times the amount of points than his predecessor in his 2nd race) (looks like Senna goes for the gap like Senna( in racing!! in racing!! calm down man)) (he deserves his place in f1 next year my god) (like the racecraft he has shown is very impressive I'm impressed and so is very f1 team even if he does not get the seat next year I doubt people are gonna forget about him believe me he will be in the talks still) (like I said he's not even had a full f2 season when he was called in for Williams and yet the incredible pace he has shown is fantastic) (has all the 30+ aged drivers enthralled with him and I don't blame them I would be too) (also he refers to Ocon as the Frenchman so where do I submit my stan card??) (oh and he has been adopted by Max Verstappen)

3. Liam Lawson

(aka New Zealand's revenge on Australia) (he did a fantastic job in 2023 and has been doing a fantastic job in 2024) (his idol is Lighting McQueen.....so now that everybody knows that he's Genz you can probably understand why he is beefing with Nando and Checo(boomers) (I think he drives aggressively but not as smoothly he is yet to find a balance it looks like but hey it's working out for him no?) (honestly just give either him or Yuki the Redbull seat) (off the track he's quite an expressive person but I don't think we have seen much of his personality he's friendly for sure and I mean he's a cars fan like come on he's a Pixar kid) (idk something about him says yeah I'm Genz but I still go on Facebook) (not that it's bad not saying the vibes are bad just Liam show more personality).

So that's pretty much it let me kno-what ? what do you mean I forgot someone oh lance stroll?? yeah no I didn't forget I just have nothing to say really just that i expect better from him.

You see i view lance as an outlier, cause i know he's a great person, lovable, fun to be around, you can tell, look at the secret santa videos you can tell just from that, he's got that typical canadian aura, and although I made fun of him saying "lance lover(rare)" it's not actually rare, most of the drivers love lance the person. I just don't understand lance the driver cause sometimes he's good fantastic even but the other times from what I see he does somethings that don't sit right with me. I also understand that people are too quick to jump on the hate train when it comes to lance but I'm not like that I don't hate him just making that clear.

Also I assume many of you saw charles being my fav and must have thought me to be one of 'those' fans(that you people keep talking about idk I've never seen one) but I promise Im not like that 😭 can't believe I have to make this clear lol. I refuse to put down a driver to make mine look good okay?

PLS READ these rankings are in my opinion and my opinion only no hate to anyone!!

[alicewhitesblog]

Day 27 A Lifelong Curse - Mortician Raven

"It's just a story? Right! That you'll die within twenty-four hours of a Raven feather falling on you!"

Emma Reed sat shaking, nursing in both hands a cup of sweet tea that her friend Julie Hamilton had just made. Emma tried to sip her drink, but her shaking was creating a mini tsunami within the cup, its mini waves lapping up its sides.

Julie, placed her hand on her friends arm and gently took the cup away from her. "I'll make you a fresh one later." Walking back to the kitchen.

"It's just a story? Right!" shouted Emma to Julie. "About the black feather landing on you!"

Julie stared out of her kitchen window. What was she to say? "Of course, it's just a story." She shouted back. "There must be hundreds of people who've had black feathers fall on them and there're still here."

"Really? Who Julie who. Name me one!" Emma was desperate to know.

Julie just bit her lip. "I'll make us a fresh cup of tea." Trying to avoid the question.

An hour earlier, Emma had been out doing her Saturday morning grocery shopping when as she pushed her cart towards the car, out of the corner of her eye she saw a black feather land on her shoulder. Screaming, she jumped away from the cart, frantically brushing the feather off. Then she ran her hands over her face, down her arms, body and legs. The same type of hysterical response one does when walking into a spider web.

But this was no outburst of someone with an arachnid phobia, as far as Emma was concerned the feather had just given her a twenty-four-hour notice period to put her affairs in order before being visiting by the Morticians Raven, an avian Grim Reaper. Then taken off to who knows where.

She tried to carry on as normal for the rest of the day, but the incident with the feather was too much for her to bear. She needed to hear from someone that the story was just that, a story. And that a giant big black bird wasn't going to come and whisk her away to wherever. She abandoned what she was doing then fumbled for her cell phone.

Julie was having a duvet Saturday, when she answered the phone to an hysterical Emma. Julie thought at first that her friend had been mugged. When she finally got out of her that a black feather had just landed on her shoulder, there was nothing she could do but reluctantly ask her friend over.

Julie sat in her armchair wearing her favourite 'Duvet Day' Winnie the Pooh pyjamas. "Why don't you just chill out here with me today? I can order in pizza, chocolate chip ice cream and diet coke for later. What do you say?"

Emma thought in front of Julie, the story sounded ridiculous. Emma was a thirty-three-year-old who still believed in stories that adults told kids at Halloween. She finished her tea and then nodded.

"Good!" said Julie jumping off the chair. "Now, which set of PJ's would you like. 'Frozen' or 'Finding Nemo'?"

Julie handed over the 'Finding Nemo' pyjamas and suggested that Emma took a long hot bath. Then they would sit snuggled up on the sofa watching 'Netflix' movies.

Emma stood in front of the bathroom mirror watching her reflection mist up from the running hot water. It was good to be with Julie, but Emma was of the opinion that her friend was not being truthful with her about something. Then, shrugging off all nonsensical thoughts about feathers, began to undress. Emma took off her t-shirt and immediately froze when she saw the black mark on her shoulder!

The screams brought Julie running to the bathroom, "What's happened? Are you alright?"

Emma was back to being hysterical again, "LOOK!" she cried out turning her back towards Julie. She could see Emma had a black sooty mark, the pattern of a feather on her shoulder. Julie looked at the black feather shape and touched it with her finger. She smudged the black feather shape and held up a sooty index finger. 

"Look Em, It's just a dirty mark. See it comes off!"

"But...but how did it get there? And why does it look like a feather. I tell you I'm cursed!" Emma fell onto Julie's shoulder and wept. 

"Ssshhh! It's OK. Look you're tired why don't you lie down in the spare bedroom, have a couple of hours sleep." While she talked, Julie proceeded to wipe the black mark away from Emma's shoulder with a towel.

Emma gave up on her bath and changed into her cheerful pyjamas, although it was going to take more than an animated clown fish to bring her out of her depression. She opened the bathroom door and Julie watched as her friend went into the spare bedroom. It was when the the door closed, that Julie thought she heard Emma cough except it sounded more like a 'Craw!'

Three hours had passed, when Julie felt a cold breeze around her bare legs. She got up to see if there were any windows open. She checked around the apartment, but all the windows were shut. Then feeling the breeze again, she placed her hand at the bottom of Emma's bedroom door. The source of the draft.

Julie knocked. "Hi, you OK in there?"

There was no answer and  the breeze was starting to chill her feet. "Em, can I come in to close the window. My tootsies are getting cold." Still no answer. Julie gently turned the handle.

She stood in the doorway of the spare bedroom aghast. The sash window was wide open and the curtains were being whipped around by the wind coming into the room. Sitting on the window sill, sat a large black raven.  Upon seeing Julie, it took off, flying out of the open window.

Emma Reed was nowhere to be seen. Just a scattering of black feathers in the bed she previously occupied. Julie Hamilton sighed, she liked Emma but knew the same fate beheld her like it did for her own husband. Mike too was touched by a black feather some years ago, while they were both walking in the park. She knew her friend didn't have long, no-one ever does, who has been touched by the feather from the Mortician Raven.

Minding not to tread on any of the black feathers, Julie shut the window then went to fetch her vacuum cleaner. After the last feather had been safely sucked away, she returned to the window. 

The Mortician's Raven sat on a roof across from her apartment. The Raven was now accompanied by another black bird. Julie watched as the Mortician Raven shook itself and a single black feather from its wing drifted down to the crowd below. She followed its course, then heard a scream as the recipient of the feather could be heard saying:

"It's just a story? Right!"

[boldcompanynews]

Massy Group, 100 years and beyond - Notice Global Web - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/massy-group-100-years-and-beyond/?feed_id=174396&_unique_id=66c72140ecb50 Digital ProductsBusiness Ryan Hamilton-Davis2 Hrs AgoMassy SuperCentre, La Romain. – File Photo by Lincoln HolderThe Massy Group, distribution, retail, gas products and automobile and machine holdings company, celebrated its 101st year in February.The company, established on February 1, 1923, has grown over the past century to be an international conglomerate and a central figure in TT, and the Caribbean as a whole.Now, with the company facing a new direction for the next century and new leadership in the form of CEO David Affonso, Massy is well on its way to reaching its main goal of expanding to becoming a $25 billion company by the year 2030.Speaking to Affonso and chief financial officer James McLetchie at their office at BHP Building at Invaders Bay last Friday, Business Day was told its focus for the next hundred years is to expand in a responsible manner.Massy Group CFO James McLetchie. – Photo courtesy Massy GroupThe first goal in Massy’s plans for expansion is to pay dividends to shareholders, particularly the 600,000 shareholders who are pensioners.“We are simply the stewards of their money,” McLetchie said. “They invested their shares and a lot of them are institutional investors. That is an important role to play to make sure that those dividends are paid.”From Hi-Lo bags to Massy bagsIn 2014 Massy re-branded from the Neal and Massy Group to Massy, as part of a comprehensive re-branding exercise, with the aim of unifying all subsidiary companies and to create a strong corporate identity. The re-brand included a change in the group’s aesthetics, including the introduction of the now well-known Massy logo, which replaced iconic insignia such as the Hi-Lo logos on its grocery bags.“The Massy re-branding was to make it a little clearer the size and scope of the company, so the people buying shares would understand that Massy is not just Massy Motors or Massy Stores,” Affonso said. “Massy is into a lot of businesses and we have a significant footprint across the Caribbean. I think that, by and large, it worked, because people got a sense that Massy is pretty large.”Massy – which trades as Massy Holdings Ltd – employs more than 13,000 people, operates in eight countries, including the US, Colombia and several countries in the Caribbean and is the holding company for over 75 businesses. In its latest consolidated financial statements for the six months of the year ending June 30, the company boasted of a revenue of over $11 billion revenue, with a profit after tax of $465 million. Affonso said 70 per cent of the company’s business now comes from outside TT.Long ago, the company was considered a conglomerate, with several companies such as Nealco, Neal and Massy and Hi-Lo stores, which were not necessarily connected but operated under one umbrella.Massy Stores head office on Wrightson Road, Port of Spain. – File Photo by Roger Jacob“Each small company on its own doesn’t have strength, but when you say all of them are owned by Massy, then you will be borrowing on Massy’s strength,” Affonso said. “When you are negotiating with a service provider, if you are buying paper for the office, you are buying for 75 companies, so it gave some advantages.“What it doesn’t allow for is when you want to go further afield (internationally, etc) you don’t have the scale or size.”In 2019, Massy concluded that in order to achieve the growth that it wanted, it would have to expand wider regionally and even outside of the region.It also needed to design a business portfolio that would support the company’s plans.Massy divided its business into three portfolios – integrated retail, motors and machines and gas products.Its integrated retail portfolio, which includes Massy Stores and Massy Distribution, accounts for about 60 per cent of its business.“A lot of people see it as

just stores, but the distribution side is the same size, and maybe bigger than the stores side of the business. That is where we represent lines like Colgate, Palmolive, etc. We sell not only to Massy stores, but the competition as well,” Affonso explained.The motors and machines portfolio includes the Caterpillar dealership known as Trac Mac and all Massy Motors, including its motor dealerships in Colombia and Guyana.The gas products includes its gas distribution company IGL (St Lucia) IBC Ltd, which was acquired in 2022 for US$140.3 million.Massy Group CEO David Affonso. – Photo courtesy Massy Group –That same year Massy announced the acquisition of Rowe’s IGA Supermarkets – a chain in Florida – for US$47 million. It also announced the purchase of Air Liquide TT Ltd for US$58 million.With its new goals in mind, it is now refining its portfolios by evolving into an investment holdings company.“When we did the portfolio model, each of those pillars run like its own group – it has its own team, it makes its own decisions and it would feed back into the parent, so the parent would become the sum of its parts.“What we are doing now is refining the structures that support it. We will look for capital for the entire group and decide where they are deploying it to get the best returns,” Affonso said.McLetchie said the company will now look more into investing in the performance of the companies under its portfolios.“We are going to move to get to $25 billion by 2030. That is going to come from core growth, because the business is growing. It is going to come from expansion into markets like Guyana – we are going to put US capital in there and grow there, but in some cases we will find there are specific things we may buy. We know what we want to acquire and what we don’t want to acquire.”He added that the 2030 strategy also surrounds reducing its currency exposure.“That means a lot of our growth will generate hard currency so we can move around the markets.”Affonso said its decision to partner with SuperPharm, handing over its pharmaceutical section to the pharmaceutical distribution company. was also a move to help Massy focus on its core business portfolios while enhancing service and convenience for its customers.“Simply put, we put customers first,” he said. “We want the customer to have the best customer experience when they shop with us.”He compared the relationship to groceries and supermarkets in the US, noting that companies such as Target partners with CVS Pharmacy to provide the best service.“We want to focus on the supermarket business. We put the pharmacies there first of all to give customers convenience – but we are not pharmacy operators.“We always try to bring innovations such as the self-checkout and all these things. We always try to be first to market with first-world innovations and bring that to our customers here to elevate the shopping experience. The alliance with Superpharm gives us the opportunity to have our customers have the convenience of a pharmacy, but one that is run by a pharmacy operator, as opposed to a side business for us.”Massy Group CEO David Affonso and CFO James Mc Letchie, speak to Business Day on August 16. – Photo by Angelo MarcelleHe added that the change from Neal and Massy to Massy did not change its influence, as its branding can still be seen wherever there is a Caribbean person.“The Massy bag is almost as iconic as the Hi-Lo bag. I have seen that bag all over the world,” he said. “If you meet a Trini or someone from the Caribbean, they will have one in the back of their car. You can see it on the beach in some countries – you can’t miss it.”Facing changes and challengesMassy didn’t make it this far without facing a number of challenges and changes. One of its most recent was triggered at its annual general meeting in December 2023, when its then general counsel, Angelique Parisot-Potter, raised an issue over money being spent on a leadership programme. She claimed it trained people to communicate with the dead and heal with “white light.

” She said the programme took up valuable foreign exchange and required frequent travel to Fort Myers, Florida.After an internal investigation, the company’s executive decided that the programme did not pose any danger to Massy’s operations.Investigators concluded that Massy executives were free to select training programmes of their choosing.However, as the matter unfolded, CEO Gervase Warner decided in February to retire a year early, opening the door for Affonso to take up the role in April.Affonso said the situation caused a bit of noise in the public space.Warner chose to put the company first in taking early retirement, he said.“We are a publicly traded company and we were cognisant of that, because shares sometimes move on confidence as much as performance,” he said. “Gervase had one year left, and as he is, he took a hard look and asked himself what would be in the best interest of the company – would it be better to stay and run his time, or step aside and allow the company to move forward and not be at the centre of controversy. What he did, I think, is quite honourable, in that his thinking was that the company was more important than the individual.”Warner’s early retirement seemed to cause a domino effect, as in the following months several other executives decided to step down.Parisot-Potter took administrative leave during the investigation, leading to Wendy Kerry’s being appointed acting general counsel in January, and later on taking on the role permanently, as Parisot-Potter left the company.Vice president of global expansion David O’Brien announced his resignation from the group, effective June 8, in March.Alberto Rojo also retired as senior vice president of strategy and business development in the gas products portfolio effective June 30. His retirement was posted on May 13.On May 23, group executive vice president of people and culture Julie Avey also announced her retirement, effective May 31.Affonso said while the executive has seen several changes, it does not affect the company’s business operations. He said the fact that the company had replacements for all the people who retired was testament to the depth of the company’s executive roster.“I have always been the emergency successor for Gervase,” he said. “If he is out of the country I would normally hold his delegation.”He said when he was appointed CEO, he and Warner, who worked with each other for 14 years, went through a transition period, completing a checklist of tasks that needed to be done to complete the transition.He said while the transition was handled responsibly, changes at the top led to some executives making their own decisions on whether to stay or move on.“As with any change at the top, direction sometimes changes a bit. There may be some course correction, or the person at the top may probably have a different view of how things should happen,” he said. “Other executives will also have decisions to make, as with any inflection point, at any point of change.“Those changes take place and it is pretty normal, there is nothing sinister about it.”Massy, like other businesses, was also affected by crime, with the death of Che Mendez, an employee with Massy Distribution who was shot dead in St Ann’s in April. In June 2023, Allanlane Ramkissoon, employed with Massy Energy Engineered Solutions Ltd also died after suffering burns in an incident at the NiQuan Energy gas-to-liquids plant at the former Petrotrin compound at Pointe-a-PierreThe company’s challenges were not limited to crime and accidents:Massy Stores was also the victim of a cyber attack in 2022 affecting services in TT and Jamaica.Affonso said part of the systems and structures discussed in the development of its new directions included mitigating risks to infrastructure, systems and, most importantly, people.“We have a chief risk officer, and one of the things in his portfolio is to identify the likely risks,” Affonso said. “I like to put it that he handles what keeps you up at night, and what you worry about.

”“One of the risks you have is crime, with our stores. You can put security in place – physical security, that is one piece of mitigation there. You could have cameras, that is another piece of mitigation. You could have your car parks better lit; that is another piece of mitigation.“Even with cybersecurity there is a risk you put as much as you can in place in terms of firewalls and all the rest of it and then you insure against those risks. That is pretty much true across the entire business.”He said immediately after Mendez’ death the group stopped for a couple days to look again at the company’s security policies. He said the company spares no expense in protecting its people.Affonso added that the company also ensures staff have access to employee assistance programmes to help them deal with mental health and the struggle to maintain a proper work/life balance.The power to do more McLetchie said when Massy meets its goal in 2030, it will be able to do more for its employees, its shareholders and the communities in which it operates, and ultimately reach its goal of becoming a force for good.McLatchie and Affonso said Massy already contributes to people through the Massy Foundation which takes one per cent of the company’s profits to support communities and engage in giving back to the people.Affonso added that each Massy store is connected to one or more charities in its community.“Sometimes what gets lost in the performance numbers is the other things – the people, and the things we are able to do for employees and communities. We don’t like to boast about it,” McLetchie said. “I would argue that the more powerful we are financially, the more we get to do these things that we don’t talk about.”“We are not doing it for branding,” Affonso added. “It’s not about that, it’s a part of our culture. It is like when you bring up children you teach them certain values about doing things properly. I think it gives our team the opportunity to help others and give back.”Affonso, in speaking on becoming a $25 billion company said it would only take a ten per cent increase, year-on-year to meet the goal. He said, a major part of meeting the goal is managing the company’s cash flow.For the six months ending June 30, 2023, the company garnered $188.9 million in hard cash, according to its consolidated financial statements. For the same period this year, Massy garnered $640 million in cash.Affonso said the management of the cash flow through simple discipline – ensuring that the company doesn’t buy more than it needs, and that it gets paid on time – freed up over $400 million.Affonso added that the adjustment in cash flow directly affects its goals of ensuring shareholders are paid the dividends they deserve.“You can’t pay dividends with losses,” he said. “You have to pay them with profits.”Source of this programme “I be mad for add-ons, because they are awesome.”“The Massy Group, distribution, retail, gas products and automobile and machine holdings company, celebrated its 101st year in February. The company, established on February 1, 1923, has grown over the…”Source: Read MoreSource Link: https://newsday.co.tt/2024/08/22/massy-group-100-years-and-beyond/#DigitalProducts – BLOGGER – DigitalProducts http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/gaa6662b26da596cb5bad8f090faba63efaa67ea91991f6471ce418de0b1b9edf701cab3042ce8cb777440f9a7fc5419388a.jpeg #GLOBAL - BLOGGER ... BLOGGER - #GLOBAL

[onlinecompanynews]

Massy Group, 100 years and beyond - Notice Global Web https://www.merchant-business.com/massy-group-100-years-and-beyond/?feed_id=174394&_unique_id=66c720234a27b ... BLOGGER - #GLOBAL Digital ProductsBusiness Ryan Hamilton-Davis2 Hrs AgoMassy SuperCentre, La Romain. – File Photo by Lincoln HolderThe Massy Group, distribution, retail, gas products and automobile and machine holdings company, celebrated its 101st year in February.The company, established on February 1, 1923, has grown over the past century to be an international conglomerate and a central figure in TT, and the Caribbean as a whole.Now, with the company facing a new direction for the next century and new leadership in the form of CEO David Affonso, Massy is well on its way to reaching its main goal of expanding to becoming a $25 billion company by the year 2030.Speaking to Affonso and chief financial officer James McLetchie at their office at BHP Building at Invaders Bay last Friday, Business Day was told its focus for the next hundred years is to expand in a responsible manner.Massy Group CFO James McLetchie. – Photo courtesy Massy GroupThe first goal in Massy’s plans for expansion is to pay dividends to shareholders, particularly the 600,000 shareholders who are pensioners.“We are simply the stewards of their money,” McLetchie said. “They invested their shares and a lot of them are institutional investors. That is an important role to play to make sure that those dividends are paid.”From Hi-Lo bags to Massy bagsIn 2014 Massy re-branded from the Neal and Massy Group to Massy, as part of a comprehensive re-branding exercise, with the aim of unifying all subsidiary companies and to create a strong corporate identity. The re-brand included a change in the group’s aesthetics, including the introduction of the now well-known Massy logo, which replaced iconic insignia such as the Hi-Lo logos on its grocery bags.“The Massy re-branding was to make it a little clearer the size and scope of the company, so the people buying shares would understand that Massy is not just Massy Motors or Massy Stores,” Affonso said. “Massy is into a lot of businesses and we have a significant footprint across the Caribbean. I think that, by and large, it worked, because people got a sense that Massy is pretty large.”Massy – which trades as Massy Holdings Ltd – employs more than 13,000 people, operates in eight countries, including the US, Colombia and several countries in the Caribbean and is the holding company for over 75 businesses. In its latest consolidated financial statements for the six months of the year ending June 30, the company boasted of a revenue of over $11 billion revenue, with a profit after tax of $465 million. Affonso said 70 per cent of the company’s business now comes from outside TT.Long ago, the company was considered a conglomerate, with several companies such as Nealco, Neal and Massy and Hi-Lo stores, which were not necessarily connected but operated under one umbrella.Massy Stores head office on Wrightson Road, Port of Spain. – File Photo by Roger Jacob“Each small company on its own doesn’t have strength, but when you say all of them are owned by Massy, then you will be borrowing on Massy’s strength,” Affonso said. “When you are negotiating with a service provider, if you are buying paper for the office, you are buying for 75 companies, so it gave some advantages.“What it doesn’t allow for is when you want to go further afield (internationally, etc) you don’t have the scale or size.”In 2019, Massy concluded that in order to achieve the growth that it wanted, it would have to expand wider regionally and even outside of the region.It also needed to design a business portfolio that would support the company’s plans.Massy divided its business into three portfolios – integrated retail, motors and machines and gas products.Its integrated retail portfolio, which includes Massy Stores and Massy Distribution, accounts for about 60 per cent of its business.“A lot of people

see it as just stores, but the distribution side is the same size, and maybe bigger than the stores side of the business. That is where we represent lines like Colgate, Palmolive, etc. We sell not only to Massy stores, but the competition as well,” Affonso explained.The motors and machines portfolio includes the Caterpillar dealership known as Trac Mac and all Massy Motors, including its motor dealerships in Colombia and Guyana.The gas products includes its gas distribution company IGL (St Lucia) IBC Ltd, which was acquired in 2022 for US$140.3 million.Massy Group CEO David Affonso. – Photo courtesy Massy Group –That same year Massy announced the acquisition of Rowe’s IGA Supermarkets – a chain in Florida – for US$47 million. It also announced the purchase of Air Liquide TT Ltd for US$58 million.With its new goals in mind, it is now refining its portfolios by evolving into an investment holdings company.“When we did the portfolio model, each of those pillars run like its own group – it has its own team, it makes its own decisions and it would feed back into the parent, so the parent would become the sum of its parts.“What we are doing now is refining the structures that support it. We will look for capital for the entire group and decide where they are deploying it to get the best returns,” Affonso said.McLetchie said the company will now look more into investing in the performance of the companies under its portfolios.“We are going to move to get to $25 billion by 2030. That is going to come from core growth, because the business is growing. It is going to come from expansion into markets like Guyana – we are going to put US capital in there and grow there, but in some cases we will find there are specific things we may buy. We know what we want to acquire and what we don’t want to acquire.”He added that the 2030 strategy also surrounds reducing its currency exposure.“That means a lot of our growth will generate hard currency so we can move around the markets.”Affonso said its decision to partner with SuperPharm, handing over its pharmaceutical section to the pharmaceutical distribution company. was also a move to help Massy focus on its core business portfolios while enhancing service and convenience for its customers.“Simply put, we put customers first,” he said. “We want the customer to have the best customer experience when they shop with us.”He compared the relationship to groceries and supermarkets in the US, noting that companies such as Target partners with CVS Pharmacy to provide the best service.“We want to focus on the supermarket business. We put the pharmacies there first of all to give customers convenience – but we are not pharmacy operators.“We always try to bring innovations such as the self-checkout and all these things. We always try to be first to market with first-world innovations and bring that to our customers here to elevate the shopping experience. The alliance with Superpharm gives us the opportunity to have our customers have the convenience of a pharmacy, but one that is run by a pharmacy operator, as opposed to a side business for us.”Massy Group CEO David Affonso and CFO James Mc Letchie, speak to Business Day on August 16. – Photo by Angelo MarcelleHe added that the change from Neal and Massy to Massy did not change its influence, as its branding can still be seen wherever there is a Caribbean person.“The Massy bag is almost as iconic as the Hi-Lo bag. I have seen that bag all over the world,” he said. “If you meet a Trini or someone from the Caribbean, they will have one in the back of their car. You can see it on the beach in some countries – you can’t miss it.”Facing changes and challengesMassy didn’t make it this far without facing a number of challenges and changes. One of its most recent was triggered at its annual general meeting in December 2023, when its then general counsel, Angelique Parisot-Potter, raised an issue over money being spent on a leadership programme. She claimed it trained people to communicate with the dead and heal with “white light.

” She said the programme took up valuable foreign exchange and required frequent travel to Fort Myers, Florida.After an internal investigation, the company’s executive decided that the programme did not pose any danger to Massy’s operations.Investigators concluded that Massy executives were free to select training programmes of their choosing.However, as the matter unfolded, CEO Gervase Warner decided in February to retire a year early, opening the door for Affonso to take up the role in April.Affonso said the situation caused a bit of noise in the public space.Warner chose to put the company first in taking early retirement, he said.“We are a publicly traded company and we were cognisant of that, because shares sometimes move on confidence as much as performance,” he said. “Gervase had one year left, and as he is, he took a hard look and asked himself what would be in the best interest of the company – would it be better to stay and run his time, or step aside and allow the company to move forward and not be at the centre of controversy. What he did, I think, is quite honourable, in that his thinking was that the company was more important than the individual.”Warner’s early retirement seemed to cause a domino effect, as in the following months several other executives decided to step down.Parisot-Potter took administrative leave during the investigation, leading to Wendy Kerry’s being appointed acting general counsel in January, and later on taking on the role permanently, as Parisot-Potter left the company.Vice president of global expansion David O’Brien announced his resignation from the group, effective June 8, in March.Alberto Rojo also retired as senior vice president of strategy and business development in the gas products portfolio effective June 30. His retirement was posted on May 13.On May 23, group executive vice president of people and culture Julie Avey also announced her retirement, effective May 31.Affonso said while the executive has seen several changes, it does not affect the company’s business operations. He said the fact that the company had replacements for all the people who retired was testament to the depth of the company’s executive roster.“I have always been the emergency successor for Gervase,” he said. “If he is out of the country I would normally hold his delegation.”He said when he was appointed CEO, he and Warner, who worked with each other for 14 years, went through a transition period, completing a checklist of tasks that needed to be done to complete the transition.He said while the transition was handled responsibly, changes at the top led to some executives making their own decisions on whether to stay or move on.“As with any change at the top, direction sometimes changes a bit. There may be some course correction, or the person at the top may probably have a different view of how things should happen,” he said. “Other executives will also have decisions to make, as with any inflection point, at any point of change.“Those changes take place and it is pretty normal, there is nothing sinister about it.”Massy, like other businesses, was also affected by crime, with the death of Che Mendez, an employee with Massy Distribution who was shot dead in St Ann’s in April. In June 2023, Allanlane Ramkissoon, employed with Massy Energy Engineered Solutions Ltd also died after suffering burns in an incident at the NiQuan Energy gas-to-liquids plant at the former Petrotrin compound at Pointe-a-PierreThe company’s challenges were not limited to crime and accidents:Massy Stores was also the victim of a cyber attack in 2022 affecting services in TT and Jamaica.Affonso said part of the systems and structures discussed in the development of its new directions included mitigating risks to infrastructure, systems and, most importantly, people.“We have a chief risk officer, and one of the things in his portfolio is to identify the likely risks,” Affonso said. “I like to put it that he handles what keeps you up at night, and what you worry about.

”“One of the risks you have is crime, with our stores. You can put security in place – physical security, that is one piece of mitigation there. You could have cameras, that is another piece of mitigation. You could have your car parks better lit; that is another piece of mitigation.“Even with cybersecurity there is a risk you put as much as you can in place in terms of firewalls and all the rest of it and then you insure against those risks. That is pretty much true across the entire business.”He said immediately after Mendez’ death the group stopped for a couple days to look again at the company’s security policies. He said the company spares no expense in protecting its people.Affonso added that the company also ensures staff have access to employee assistance programmes to help them deal with mental health and the struggle to maintain a proper work/life balance.The power to do more McLetchie said when Massy meets its goal in 2030, it will be able to do more for its employees, its shareholders and the communities in which it operates, and ultimately reach its goal of becoming a force for good.McLatchie and Affonso said Massy already contributes to people through the Massy Foundation which takes one per cent of the company’s profits to support communities and engage in giving back to the people.Affonso added that each Massy store is connected to one or more charities in its community.“Sometimes what gets lost in the performance numbers is the other things – the people, and the things we are able to do for employees and communities. We don’t like to boast about it,” McLetchie said. “I would argue that the more powerful we are financially, the more we get to do these things that we don’t talk about.”“We are not doing it for branding,” Affonso added. “It’s not about that, it’s a part of our culture. It is like when you bring up children you teach them certain values about doing things properly. I think it gives our team the opportunity to help others and give back.”Affonso, in speaking on becoming a $25 billion company said it would only take a ten per cent increase, year-on-year to meet the goal. He said, a major part of meeting the goal is managing the company’s cash flow.For the six months ending June 30, 2023, the company garnered $188.9 million in hard cash, according to its consolidated financial statements. For the same period this year, Massy garnered $640 million in cash.Affonso said the management of the cash flow through simple discipline – ensuring that the company doesn’t buy more than it needs, and that it gets paid on time – freed up over $400 million.Affonso added that the adjustment in cash flow directly affects its goals of ensuring shareholders are paid the dividends they deserve.“You can’t pay dividends with losses,” he said. “You have to pay them with profits.”Source of this programme “I be mad for add-ons, because they are awesome.”“The Massy Group, distribution, retail, gas products and automobile and machine holdings company, celebrated its 101st year in February. The company, established on February 1, 1923, has grown over the…”Source: Read MoreSource Link: https://newsday.co.tt/2024/08/22/massy-group-100-years-and-beyond/#DigitalProducts – BLOGGER – DigitalProducts http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/gaa6662b26da596cb5bad8f090faba63efaa67ea91991f6471ce418de0b1b9edf701cab3042ce8cb777440f9a7fc5419388a.jpeg #GLOBAL - BLOGGER Digital Products Business Ryan Hamilton-Davis 2 Hrs Ago Massy SuperCentre, La Romain. – File Photo by Lincoln Holder The Massy Group, distribution, retail, gas products and automobile and machine holdings company, celebrated its 101st year in February. The company, established on February 1, 1923, has grown over the past century to be an international conglomerate … Read More

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Massy Group, 100 years and beyond - Notice Global Web - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/massy-group-100-years-and-beyond/?feed_id=174393&_unique_id=66c7202211a84 Digital ProductsBusiness Ryan Hamilton-Davis2 Hrs AgoMassy SuperCentre, La Romain. – File Photo by Lincoln HolderThe Massy Group, distribution, retail, gas products and automobile and machine holdings company, celebrated its 101st year in February.The company, established on February 1, 1923, has grown over the past century to be an international conglomerate and a central figure in TT, and the Caribbean as a whole.Now, with the company facing a new direction for the next century and new leadership in the form of CEO David Affonso, Massy is well on its way to reaching its main goal of expanding to becoming a $25 billion company by the year 2030.Speaking to Affonso and chief financial officer James McLetchie at their office at BHP Building at Invaders Bay last Friday, Business Day was told its focus for the next hundred years is to expand in a responsible manner.Massy Group CFO James McLetchie. – Photo courtesy Massy GroupThe first goal in Massy’s plans for expansion is to pay dividends to shareholders, particularly the 600,000 shareholders who are pensioners.“We are simply the stewards of their money,” McLetchie said. “They invested their shares and a lot of them are institutional investors. That is an important role to play to make sure that those dividends are paid.”From Hi-Lo bags to Massy bagsIn 2014 Massy re-branded from the Neal and Massy Group to Massy, as part of a comprehensive re-branding exercise, with the aim of unifying all subsidiary companies and to create a strong corporate identity. The re-brand included a change in the group’s aesthetics, including the introduction of the now well-known Massy logo, which replaced iconic insignia such as the Hi-Lo logos on its grocery bags.“The Massy re-branding was to make it a little clearer the size and scope of the company, so the people buying shares would understand that Massy is not just Massy Motors or Massy Stores,” Affonso said. “Massy is into a lot of businesses and we have a significant footprint across the Caribbean. I think that, by and large, it worked, because people got a sense that Massy is pretty large.”Massy – which trades as Massy Holdings Ltd – employs more than 13,000 people, operates in eight countries, including the US, Colombia and several countries in the Caribbean and is the holding company for over 75 businesses. In its latest consolidated financial statements for the six months of the year ending June 30, the company boasted of a revenue of over $11 billion revenue, with a profit after tax of $465 million. Affonso said 70 per cent of the company’s business now comes from outside TT.Long ago, the company was considered a conglomerate, with several companies such as Nealco, Neal and Massy and Hi-Lo stores, which were not necessarily connected but operated under one umbrella.Massy Stores head office on Wrightson Road, Port of Spain. – File Photo by Roger Jacob“Each small company on its own doesn’t have strength, but when you say all of them are owned by Massy, then you will be borrowing on Massy’s strength,” Affonso said. “When you are negotiating with a service provider, if you are buying paper for the office, you are buying for 75 companies, so it gave some advantages.“What it doesn’t allow for is when you want to go further afield (internationally, etc) you don’t have the scale or size.”In 2019, Massy concluded that in order to achieve the growth that it wanted, it would have to expand wider regionally and even outside of the region.It also needed to design a business portfolio that would support the company’s plans.Massy divided its business into three portfolios – integrated retail, motors and machines and gas products.Its integrated retail portfolio, which includes Massy Stores and Massy Distribution, accounts for about 60 per cent of its business.“A lot of people see it as

just stores, but the distribution side is the same size, and maybe bigger than the stores side of the business. That is where we represent lines like Colgate, Palmolive, etc. We sell not only to Massy stores, but the competition as well,” Affonso explained.The motors and machines portfolio includes the Caterpillar dealership known as Trac Mac and all Massy Motors, including its motor dealerships in Colombia and Guyana.The gas products includes its gas distribution company IGL (St Lucia) IBC Ltd, which was acquired in 2022 for US$140.3 million.Massy Group CEO David Affonso. – Photo courtesy Massy Group –That same year Massy announced the acquisition of Rowe’s IGA Supermarkets – a chain in Florida – for US$47 million. It also announced the purchase of Air Liquide TT Ltd for US$58 million.With its new goals in mind, it is now refining its portfolios by evolving into an investment holdings company.“When we did the portfolio model, each of those pillars run like its own group – it has its own team, it makes its own decisions and it would feed back into the parent, so the parent would become the sum of its parts.“What we are doing now is refining the structures that support it. We will look for capital for the entire group and decide where they are deploying it to get the best returns,” Affonso said.McLetchie said the company will now look more into investing in the performance of the companies under its portfolios.“We are going to move to get to $25 billion by 2030. That is going to come from core growth, because the business is growing. It is going to come from expansion into markets like Guyana – we are going to put US capital in there and grow there, but in some cases we will find there are specific things we may buy. We know what we want to acquire and what we don’t want to acquire.”He added that the 2030 strategy also surrounds reducing its currency exposure.“That means a lot of our growth will generate hard currency so we can move around the markets.”Affonso said its decision to partner with SuperPharm, handing over its pharmaceutical section to the pharmaceutical distribution company. was also a move to help Massy focus on its core business portfolios while enhancing service and convenience for its customers.“Simply put, we put customers first,” he said. “We want the customer to have the best customer experience when they shop with us.”He compared the relationship to groceries and supermarkets in the US, noting that companies such as Target partners with CVS Pharmacy to provide the best service.“We want to focus on the supermarket business. We put the pharmacies there first of all to give customers convenience – but we are not pharmacy operators.“We always try to bring innovations such as the self-checkout and all these things. We always try to be first to market with first-world innovations and bring that to our customers here to elevate the shopping experience. The alliance with Superpharm gives us the opportunity to have our customers have the convenience of a pharmacy, but one that is run by a pharmacy operator, as opposed to a side business for us.”Massy Group CEO David Affonso and CFO James Mc Letchie, speak to Business Day on August 16. – Photo by Angelo MarcelleHe added that the change from Neal and Massy to Massy did not change its influence, as its branding can still be seen wherever there is a Caribbean person.“The Massy bag is almost as iconic as the Hi-Lo bag. I have seen that bag all over the world,” he said. “If you meet a Trini or someone from the Caribbean, they will have one in the back of their car. You can see it on the beach in some countries – you can’t miss it.”Facing changes and challengesMassy didn’t make it this far without facing a number of challenges and changes. One of its most recent was triggered at its annual general meeting in December 2023, when its then general counsel, Angelique Parisot-Potter, raised an issue over money being spent on a leadership programme. She claimed it trained people to communicate with the dead and heal with “white light.

” She said the programme took up valuable foreign exchange and required frequent travel to Fort Myers, Florida.After an internal investigation, the company’s executive decided that the programme did not pose any danger to Massy’s operations.Investigators concluded that Massy executives were free to select training programmes of their choosing.However, as the matter unfolded, CEO Gervase Warner decided in February to retire a year early, opening the door for Affonso to take up the role in April.Affonso said the situation caused a bit of noise in the public space.Warner chose to put the company first in taking early retirement, he said.“We are a publicly traded company and we were cognisant of that, because shares sometimes move on confidence as much as performance,” he said. “Gervase had one year left, and as he is, he took a hard look and asked himself what would be in the best interest of the company – would it be better to stay and run his time, or step aside and allow the company to move forward and not be at the centre of controversy. What he did, I think, is quite honourable, in that his thinking was that the company was more important than the individual.”Warner’s early retirement seemed to cause a domino effect, as in the following months several other executives decided to step down.Parisot-Potter took administrative leave during the investigation, leading to Wendy Kerry’s being appointed acting general counsel in January, and later on taking on the role permanently, as Parisot-Potter left the company.Vice president of global expansion David O’Brien announced his resignation from the group, effective June 8, in March.Alberto Rojo also retired as senior vice president of strategy and business development in the gas products portfolio effective June 30. His retirement was posted on May 13.On May 23, group executive vice president of people and culture Julie Avey also announced her retirement, effective May 31.Affonso said while the executive has seen several changes, it does not affect the company’s business operations. He said the fact that the company had replacements for all the people who retired was testament to the depth of the company’s executive roster.“I have always been the emergency successor for Gervase,” he said. “If he is out of the country I would normally hold his delegation.”He said when he was appointed CEO, he and Warner, who worked with each other for 14 years, went through a transition period, completing a checklist of tasks that needed to be done to complete the transition.He said while the transition was handled responsibly, changes at the top led to some executives making their own decisions on whether to stay or move on.“As with any change at the top, direction sometimes changes a bit. There may be some course correction, or the person at the top may probably have a different view of how things should happen,” he said. “Other executives will also have decisions to make, as with any inflection point, at any point of change.“Those changes take place and it is pretty normal, there is nothing sinister about it.”Massy, like other businesses, was also affected by crime, with the death of Che Mendez, an employee with Massy Distribution who was shot dead in St Ann’s in April. In June 2023, Allanlane Ramkissoon, employed with Massy Energy Engineered Solutions Ltd also died after suffering burns in an incident at the NiQuan Energy gas-to-liquids plant at the former Petrotrin compound at Pointe-a-PierreThe company’s challenges were not limited to crime and accidents:Massy Stores was also the victim of a cyber attack in 2022 affecting services in TT and Jamaica.Affonso said part of the systems and structures discussed in the development of its new directions included mitigating risks to infrastructure, systems and, most importantly, people.“We have a chief risk officer, and one of the things in his portfolio is to identify the likely risks,” Affonso said. “I like to put it that he handles what keeps you up at night, and what you worry about.

”“One of the risks you have is crime, with our stores. You can put security in place – physical security, that is one piece of mitigation there. You could have cameras, that is another piece of mitigation. You could have your car parks better lit; that is another piece of mitigation.“Even with cybersecurity there is a risk you put as much as you can in place in terms of firewalls and all the rest of it and then you insure against those risks. That is pretty much true across the entire business.”He said immediately after Mendez’ death the group stopped for a couple days to look again at the company’s security policies. He said the company spares no expense in protecting its people.Affonso added that the company also ensures staff have access to employee assistance programmes to help them deal with mental health and the struggle to maintain a proper work/life balance.The power to do more McLetchie said when Massy meets its goal in 2030, it will be able to do more for its employees, its shareholders and the communities in which it operates, and ultimately reach its goal of becoming a force for good.McLatchie and Affonso said Massy already contributes to people through the Massy Foundation which takes one per cent of the company’s profits to support communities and engage in giving back to the people.Affonso added that each Massy store is connected to one or more charities in its community.“Sometimes what gets lost in the performance numbers is the other things – the people, and the things we are able to do for employees and communities. We don’t like to boast about it,” McLetchie said. “I would argue that the more powerful we are financially, the more we get to do these things that we don’t talk about.”“We are not doing it for branding,” Affonso added. “It’s not about that, it’s a part of our culture. It is like when you bring up children you teach them certain values about doing things properly. I think it gives our team the opportunity to help others and give back.”Affonso, in speaking on becoming a $25 billion company said it would only take a ten per cent increase, year-on-year to meet the goal. He said, a major part of meeting the goal is managing the company’s cash flow.For the six months ending June 30, 2023, the company garnered $188.9 million in hard cash, according to its consolidated financial statements. For the same period this year, Massy garnered $640 million in cash.Affonso said the management of the cash flow through simple discipline – ensuring that the company doesn’t buy more than it needs, and that it gets paid on time – freed up over $400 million.Affonso added that the adjustment in cash flow directly affects its goals of ensuring shareholders are paid the dividends they deserve.“You can’t pay dividends with losses,” he said. “You have to pay them with profits.”Source of this programme “I be mad for add-ons, because they are awesome.”“The Massy Group, distribution, retail, gas products and automobile and machine holdings company, celebrated its 101st year in February. The company, established on February 1, 1923, has grown over the…”Source: Read MoreSource Link: https://newsday.co.tt/2024/08/22/massy-group-100-years-and-beyond/#DigitalProducts – BLOGGER – DigitalProducts http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/gaa6662b26da596cb5bad8f090faba63efaa67ea91991f6471ce418de0b1b9edf701cab3042ce8cb777440f9a7fc5419388a.jpeg Massy Group, 100 years and beyond - Notice Global Web - #GLOBAL BLOGGER - #GLOBAL