Contractor UK Bulletin Board - Forums https://forums.contractoruk.com/ vBulletin Forums en Wed, 29 Jul 2026 11:44:42 GMT vBulletin 60 images/misc/rss.png Contractor UK Bulletin Board - Forums https://forums.contractoruk.com/ And the decline continues https://forums.contractoruk.com/general/151333-and-the-decline-continues.html Mon, 27 Jul 2026 12:07:37 GMT Maybe the UK has better capabilities at other sites, and this is all hyperbole. On the face of it, it looks to me like further evidence that the UK is eroding its place as a centre of excellence for science. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y6r9rdxygo
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y6r9rdxygo

The Jodrell Bank Observatory, which has housed the UK's largest telescope for nearly 70 years, has lost its funding and could now close, the BBC understands.

The observatory and its network of telescopes have been pivotal to the country's study of distant galaxies and training future astronomers. Scientists have described the decision as "heartbreaking" and "scientifically misguided".

All scientific observations at Jodrell are expected to cease on the 1 April 2028 unless alternative funding can be found.

The funding body, the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) agency, said it had to focus investment on projects that deliver "the greatest long-term impact".
...
]]> General ladymuck https://forums.contractoruk.com/general/151333-and-the-decline-continues.html Monday Links from the Deckchair vol. DCCCLXV https://forums.contractoruk.com/general/151332-monday-links-from-the-deckchair-vol-dccclxv.html Mon, 27 Jul 2026 10:46:30 GMT I’m off work this week, so you can expect the somewhat gloomier weather to continue for a bit longer :rolleyes: Strays (https://strays.epicmagazine.com) - ”A homeless man, a lost cat, and a 3600 mile journey.” Michael King rescued a lost cat, which travelled around the USA with him for nearly a...
  • Strays - ”A homeless man, a lost cat, and a 3600 mile journey.” Michael King rescued a lost cat, which travelled around the USA with him for nearly a year before he found out where it lived and took it home
  • This is the world’s most advanced robotic servicing satellite—that we know about - ”A spacecraft fitted with two flexible robotic arms is on the way to geosynchronous orbit… The Mission Robotic Vehicle, owned and built by Northrop Grumman, rocketed into orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Tuesday. Three small propulsion pods, each functioning as standalone spacecraft, accompanied the MRV aboard the Falcon 9 rocket.” Like the RAC in space
  • A cosmic first: separated sibling stars reunited by supernovae - ”We've never witnessed a system of binary stars both go supernova before. A once-hidden source of gamma rays just revealed the first one.” More details in the full paper: Shared cloud interactions unveil a candidate binary-system supernova pair with no known analogue
  • Ingested asbestos in filtered beer, in addition to occupational exposure, as a causative factor in oesophageal adenocarcinoma - HT to DoctorStrangelove for this paper, which posits that an increase in oesophageal cancer could be due to the (former, I hope) use of asbestos to filter beer: ”The patient acknowledged that he was exposed to asbestos in his occupation as a publican (landlord/manager of a British public house (‘pub’) or bar). He explained that it was common practice to take the ‘slops’ (the beer that had splashed into a bucket below the hand pump used for serving draught beer in a typical British pub) at the end of the day, add a slurry of asbestos and then run them through a filter – he made a circular swishing gesture with his hand to show how this was done.”
  • Inside Ukraine’s Kill Zone - ”It’s a new kind of war. In the ‘kill zone’ of Ukraine, surveillance and attack drones swarm the skies, hunting anything that moves.” A graphical exploration of the deadly conditions faced by both sides around the front lines in Ukraine
  • The Scandal of the Stanford White Murder That Shook New York - Rich people behaving badly: ”Love, jealousy, and revenge collided at the turn of the century with the murder of Stanford White.”
  • Tube Sound Quiz - Guess the London Underground Line - ”Each London Underground line has its own distinctive sound. Can you tell them apart?” I didn’t do very well, but I don’t live in London
  • Department M - Cool interactive James Bond map thing: ”Department M catalogs real-world James Bond filming locations from Dr. No (1962) through No Time to Die (2021) — plus speculative reconnaissance on where Bond 26 might shoot next.”
  • Fullerphone - HT to DoctorStrangelove again for this detailed look at a comms device that started in the trenches of WWI and continued in development through WWII: ”For many years I have been intrigued by the Fullerphone. Over the last 30 years I have gathered information of its history, operation and practical use. On this and next web pages I compiled some basic historical and technical information about this nowadays relatively unknown, but very remarkable DC Morse telegraph.”
  • Greetings from the past: A look back at postcards serving as snapshots of history - ”How much can holiday missives from decades past tell us about the world? Volumes, says this postcard collector and author.” Tom Jackson, curator of the popular Postcard from the Past social media accounts, on the joy of postcards. This one was sent from Mallorca to Wakefield in 1968, with the message ”It’s four o’clock and you’ll all be working. Just think of me lying in bed groaning with a hangover and being serenaded by 3 concrete mixers and a crane. Luv Jill”

Happy invoicing! ]]> General NickFitz https://forums.contractoruk.com/general/151332-monday-links-from-the-deckchair-vol-dccclxv.html DB2 Migration Specialist? https://forums.contractoruk.com/business-contracts/151331-db2-migration-specialist.html Thu, 23 Jul 2026 18:10:20 GMT
DM me for details.]]> Business / Contracts m0n1k3r https://forums.contractoruk.com/business-contracts/151331-db2-migration-specialist.html CUK Request regarding W28 https://forums.contractoruk.com/hmrc-scheme-enquiries/151329-cuk-request-regarding-w28.html Thu, 23 Jul 2026 12:51:42 GMT
Here is their note:

**********

Hi all,

With the moderator's permission, I'm carrying out some independent research into the corporate history behind the entities involved in the contractor loan portfolio, with a view to producing a factual piece based on primary source documents.

Over the past few weeks I've been analysing Companies House filings, OpenCorporates records and other publicly available material relating to companies including West 28th Street, West 28th Capital, West 13th (formerly Bleecker Street Communications), Limelight Solutions and the various Felicitas entities.

The area I'm now trying to understand is the documentary chain of title—in other words, how the alleged loan portfolios moved between entities over time.

If anyone is willing to help, I'm particularly interested in copies of (redacted where necessary):
  • Notices of Assignment.
  • Letters from Felicitas.
  • Letters from West 28th.
  • Letters from Gladstones, Darwin Gray or Trethowans relating to ownership or assignment of the loans.
  • Any documents referring to a Deed of Assignment.
  • Statements or schedules supplied with the alleged loan balances.
  • Earlier correspondence explaining who owned the loans before West 28th became involved.
I'm also interested in correspondence that refers to:
  • Felicitas Solutions (UK, Malta or Isle of Man),
  • Felicitas Group,
  • West 28th Street,
  • West 28th Capital,
  • West 13th Street
  • or any explanation of how ownership of the loans changed over time.
  • If anyone still has the large document packs (some members have mentioned receiving packs of 200+ pages), I'd be particularly interested in seeing those, even if heavily redacted, as they may help establish the chronology of ownership and assignment
Anything shared can be anonymised before it's used. If you're happy to assist, please feel free to contact me privately via the moderator.
Many thanks in advance.

************

Mod Note: Discretion is very important to me. I have recently passed Firgas' request onto some posters. Firgas does not know to whom I have sent the request, nor do I know who has responded. So this current information will only be known to me and Firgas.]]> HMRC Scheme Enquiries cojak https://forums.contractoruk.com/hmrc-scheme-enquiries/151329-cuk-request-regarding-w28.html AI goes rogue https://forums.contractoruk.com/general/151327-ai-goes-rogue.html Wed, 22 Jul 2026 15:35:49 GMT https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3ek3gvdnj3o


OpenAI says its AI went rogue and launched 'unprecedented' cyber-attack
]]> General mudskipper https://forums.contractoruk.com/general/151327-ai-goes-rogue.html Nationwide Building Society Q2 House Price Index https://forums.contractoruk.com/general/151326-nationwide-building-society-q2-house-price-index.html Wed, 22 Jul 2026 10:41:39 GMT Key points: Annual UK house price growth rose to 2.2% in June. Market activity softened amid economic and geopolitical uncertainty. Energy-efficient homes command only a modest price premium. Buyer interest in greener homes continues to grow. Northern Ireland remained the UK’s...
  • Annual UK house price growth rose to 2.2% in June.
  • Market activity softened amid economic and geopolitical uncertainty.
  • Energy-efficient homes command only a modest price premium.
  • Buyer interest in greener homes continues to grow.
  • Northern Ireland remained the UK’s strongest-performing housing market in Q2.
  • The North West led English regional growth, while the Outer South East lagged behind.

    • Full report here:

    https://www.nationwide.co.uk/media/h...ad/jun-q2-2026]]>     General Martin@AS Financial https://forums.contractoruk.com/general/151326-nationwide-building-society-q2-house-price-index.html     Monday Links from the Gap Between Teams Meetings vol. DCCCLXIV https://forums.contractoruk.com/general/151325-monday-links-from-the-gap-between-teams-meetings-vol-dccclxiv.html Mon, 20 Jul 2026 11:44:49 GMT Dawn of a new era is it? That’s nice but meanwhile, the Internet won’t read itself! :nerd The Service (https://dirt.fyi/article/2026/07/the-service) - ”We called it, simply, The Service. The first time I entered its stash house—a $14,000-a-month penthouse near the Williamsburg waterfront—I was...
    • The Service - ”We called it, simply, The Service. The first time I entered its stash house—a $14,000-a-month penthouse near the Williamsburg waterfront—I was met by a wall of rankness. Not the burn of weed, but the fecundity of its flower en masse.” Ariel Delgado Dixon relives the glory (?) days of hustling weed in NYC
    • Alien World Chemistry Found Inside Meteorite That Struck New Jersey home - What would you do if a meteorite smashed through the roof into your bedroom? Because you should do this: ”The owner of the house described the scene as follows: ‘I was at home at the time, heard a loud crash and found a hole in the ceiling of the master bedroom. I smelled a strong sulfur-like odor and saw many black fragments along with debris and black dust that covered my bed, carpet and surrounding areas.’ He then immediately preserved and documented the entire scene using disposable gloves and aluminum foil to place the meteorite fragments in glass jars.”
    • Topological Defect Propagation to Classify Knitted Fabrics - One for the knitters among you: ”Fabricating a textile involves entangling yarns into a specific pattern, effectively forming a large knot. We develop a method to determine if a fabric can be knitted based on the topology of its pattern.”
    • Farming technique could curb devastating tropical disease - Nature’s way: ”New research shows how introducing native fish into rice fields may help boost crop yields while suppressing a disease affecting more than 220 million people worldwide.”
    • The Doomsday Argument - HT to xoggoth for tipping me off to the Doomsday Argument promulgated by Brandon Carter in the 1980s, which led me to this blog post by Peter Coles which explains the underlying maths and raises some counterarguments: ”The Doomsday argument uses the language of probability theory, but it is such a strange argument that I think the best way to explain it is to begin with a more straightforward problem of the same type.”
    • Too Much Happiness Sent A Woman To The Emergency Room In an Incredibly Rare Case - And if you find the thought of Doomsday depressing, maybe that’s all to the good: ”A new case study… tells the unusual story of a 65-year-old woman who was so desperately happy after attending her daughter's wedding, doctors thought she was having a heart attack.” The full paper, replete with cardiograms and angiograms, is An unexpected sequel to happiness: happy heart syndrome
    • A War of Concrete - HT to DoctorStrangelove for this look at the Mulberry Harbours that were crucial to the D Day landings: ”Hitler was convinced an Allied invasion would have to strike at a significant port. Otherwise, how could the Allies expand any breach into a major thrust into Europe? They'd need a port's facilities to supply their invasion force. This assumption would prove to be a fatal miscalculation.” More about them: The Mulberry Harbours, Normandy France.
    • The Incredible Shrinking Goalie ⚽️🧤 - Apparently the football’s finished now, but you can devote your copious free time to this game instead: ”Keep the ball in the air. Click somewhere to jump.”
    • The First Chatbot’s Multiple Personalities - A look through the original source code for Joseph Weizenbaum’s ELIZA: ”ELIZA is remembered as the world’s first AI star, a kindly therapist in chatbot form that gently probed users’ worries. Even its creator, Joseph Weizenbaum, was surprised by the warm reception given to his experiment in human-machine interaction… In fact, it could assume several different personas.”
    • The Art of Roland-Garros - Another one to help stave off the sports fans’ withdrawal symptoms: ”Roland-Garros, the French Open, has a long and storied relationship with art. Each year, the tournament commissions an artist to create a poster that captures its spirit… Because there still wasn't one place to enjoy the posters in high quality, I built this gallery. It brings the full artistic legacy of Roland-Garros together, letting tennis fans and art lovers browse decades of creative history in one spot.” I like this 2024 one by Paul Rousteau

    Happy invoicing! ]]>     General NickFitz https://forums.contractoruk.com/general/151325-monday-links-from-the-gap-between-teams-meetings-vol-dccclxiv.html     Right of Substitution https://forums.contractoruk.com/business-contracts/151324-right-of-substitution.html Sun, 19 Jul 2026 17:17:15 GMT How does this clause actually work in reality? For example you take 2 weeks off for example 9 months into a 12 month contract - you use your right of substitution to sub in someone else. How can the substitute possibly work in the same way as you can as you have had 9 months of context etc ...
    For example you take 2 weeks off for example 9 months into a 12 month contract - you use your right of substitution to sub in someone else.

    How can the substitute possibly work in the same way as you can as you have had 9 months of context etc

    Are clients usually accepting of this practice in reality... even tho there will inevitably be a slow down in this period?]]>     Business / Contracts jf2010 https://forums.contractoruk.com/business-contracts/151324-right-of-substitution.html     Offered a new contract, refused..then offered to work both together https://forums.contractoruk.com/business-contracts/151323-offered-a-new-contract-refused-then-offered-to-work-both-together.html Sun, 19 Jul 2026 16:53:37 GMT I know this comes up here often or at least used to. Was offered a new role after a few IV rounds and got the role, weighted it up against my current role with was about to extend, and decided to stay in current. Refused formally and then got a call to ask if I would consider working both in...
    Was offered a new role after a few IV rounds and got the role, weighted it up against my current role with was about to extend, and decided to stay in current.

    Refused formally and then got a call to ask if I would consider working both in parallel.

    Is the fact the recruiter brought this up any consolation if it was noticed by either party

    both are 5xdays per week]]>     Business / Contracts jf2010 https://forums.contractoruk.com/business-contracts/151323-offered-a-new-contract-refused-then-offered-to-work-both-together.html     old computers https://forums.contractoruk.com/general/151322-old-computers.html Sat, 18 Jul 2026 14:06:34 GMT anyone know how to dispose of old machines responsibly? like recycling/repurposing/donating to education, that sort of thing. 1xdesktop 3xlaptops. not win11 compatible but all will run Linux, obviously.. like recycling/repurposing/donating to education, that sort of thing.
    1xdesktop 3xlaptops.
    not win11 compatible but all will run Linux, obviously..]]>     General sadkingbilly https://forums.contractoruk.com/general/151322-old-computers.html     <![CDATA[Now we're going back to the 1970s]]> https://forums.contractoruk.com/general/151321-now-we-re-going-back-to-the-1970s.html Sat, 18 Jul 2026 10:25:59 GMT
    Askin' for a friend who remembers 35p/£ income tax. .

    And "Crisis? Wot Crisis?".

    Ah, it'll be so refreshing to go back to that. .

    I'm waiting for "The White Heat of the Technological Revolution" and "The Pound in your pocket".

    Them were the days. .]]>     General DoctorStrangelove https://forums.contractoruk.com/general/151321-now-we-re-going-back-to-the-1970s.html     Saferec Problems? https://forums.contractoruk.com/umbrella-companies/151320-saferec-problems.html Fri, 17 Jul 2026 13:54:16 GMT
    Not been on for a while as stepped over to the dark side of permanent work!

    A friend of mine uses an umbrella company (I won't name them) and he was told this week they are no longer accredited by Saferec because of an issue with lost data.

    His agency are telling him he has to use one of the 67 umbrella companies on the Saferec list, but he's a bit concerned about this now.

    Has anybody else heard anything?]]>     Umbrella Companies WalterWhite https://forums.contractoruk.com/umbrella-companies/151320-saferec-problems.html     ioassociates in Bristol - any dealings? https://forums.contractoruk.com/business-contracts/151317-ioassociates-in-bristol-any-dealings.html Tue, 14 Jul 2026 13:14:11 GMT
    Today I rang and at least the internal ringtone came on to suggest a phone was ringing somewhere and they were all rushing to pick it up. Then it went to the '...nobody here...' knock-back message. I wondering whether anybody has had any dealings with them? Are they a biggish office that is always busy or is it one person and their dog in a broom cupboard somewhere?

    Another alternative is that I have been out of dealing with agents the past 5 years and this silence is the new norm...


    ]]>     Business / Contracts Grah https://forums.contractoruk.com/business-contracts/151317-ioassociates-in-bristol-any-dealings.html     Hiring a subcontractor abroad using EOR, AOR, or B2B? https://forums.contractoruk.com/business-contracts/151316-hiring-a-subcontractor-abroad-using-eor-aor-or-b2b.html Mon, 13 Jul 2026 12:53:48 GMT
    My first thought was to bring them in as an independent subcontractor, with their own agreement, insurance, and responsibility for US tax. My client contract has restrictions around subcontracting and access to their data, so I'd need to understand whether that approval would still be required if I used an AOR or EOR instead.

    I've also been looking at AORs and EORs. I came across a useful comparison of the two arrangements that helped me understand the basics, but I'm still not sure whether using an EOR would be too much for a consultancy of my size or whether it would actually make life easier in the long run.

    I want to grow the consultancy, but I don't want to create payroll or compliance issues in another country just because the first few invoices seem straightforward.

    Has anyone here hired someone overseas through their Ltd?]]>     Business / Contracts budgetastronaut https://forums.contractoruk.com/business-contracts/151316-hiring-a-subcontractor-abroad-using-eor-aor-or-b2b.html     Monday Links from the Gap Between Teams Meetings vol. DCCCLXIII https://forums.contractoruk.com/general/151315-monday-links-from-the-gap-between-teams-meetings-vol-dccclxiii.html Mon, 13 Jul 2026 11:37:51 GMT
    • How Tall Is Mount Rainier? New Measurements Show It's Shrinking. - ”Eric Gilbertson has a very particular set of skills. He climbs mountains all over the world, attempting to measure them more accurately than anyone ever has. But when he discovered that Mount Rainier was shorter than advertised, no one wanted to hear it.” Size matters
    • Is Life Just Different? - Scientists ponder whether it matters that living things are trying to do stuff rather than just doing stuff: ”The idea of ‘biological agency’ — that life devises its own goals and behaves accordingly — complicates our understanding of what it means to be alive. But does it serve a scientific purpose?”
    • A Jupiter-size planet that escaped its star’s death - ”WD 1856 b is the only confirmed case of a planet that survived the death of a Sun-like star.” There's hope for us yet!
    • Mystery of Hannibal’s infamous Alps crossing gets a major clue - How did Hannibal manage to get elephants across the Alps? ”The new analysis shows which of Hannibal’s potential routes would have been less taxing on his 40,000 men, 7,000 horses and 37 war elephants. His best option likely would’ve been the Col de la Traversette, a pass with an altitude of 9,669 feet on the border between Italy and France.” Full paper: Energy costs of Hannibal’s alpine crossing.
    • How Flock Cameras Wrongly Tracked Me for Days Over ‘Stolen’ Plates and Sent Police After Me - When ANPR goes haywire: ”On an otherwise normal Sunday afternoon in late June, I’d decided to take the $155,000 Range Rover I was testing that week out to run some errands with my wife. Little did I know that choice would complete a technological chain linking surveillance cameras, AI, and law enforcement that led to me and my wife being surrounded by police, hands on their guns, in a Kohl’s parking lot in suburban Minnesota.”
    • The Forgotten Bombing of LaGuardia Airport - ”It’s been called ‘one of the greatest cold cases of the 20th century.’ It remains unsolved. But what happened next is almost a worse crime.” Strangely, the investigation just seemed to fizzle out eventually.
    • The brutal, powerful legacy of Threads - A look back at the 1980s nuclear war drama: ”Among devotees of this particular subgenre, however, there is one movie that is venerated above all others: Mick Jackson’s 1984 UK film Threads… The reason aficionados venerate it is simple but harsh: Of all the films in the genre, Threads has, by far, the grimmest ending. Threads is the very epitome of an apocalyptic narrative in which the living would envy the dead.”
    • Apotropaios - ”Apotropaios - Greek, turning away (evil). Researcher of strange things found in walls and under floors since 1999…” Brian Hoggard’s site dedicated to concealed objects in houses: witch bottles, horse skulls, shoes and the like.
    • This Low-Cost Stopgap Tech Can Fix the Grid - Solving the problem of power transmission around the UK: ”With congestion relief needed now, the U.K.’s grid operators are getting creative, rapidly tapping new cable designs and innovations in power electronics to squeeze more power through existing transmission corridors. These grid-enhancing technologies, or GETs, present a low-cost way to bridge the gap until new lines can be built.”
    • Sein Kampf: 41 Scathing Anti-Nazi Cartoons by Stanisław Dobrzyński, 1944 - ”Sein Kampf was published in Jerusalem by W Drodze (On the Way), a publishing house and magazine founded in Dobrzyński’s native Poland… The book features a two-page introduction in Polish and 41 full-page cartoons with captions in Polish (with the occasional word in German or English). The cartoons lampoon Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and other leading fascists, detailing life under Nazi rule.”

    Happy invoicing! ]]>     General NickFitz https://forums.contractoruk.com/general/151315-monday-links-from-the-gap-between-teams-meetings-vol-dccclxiii.html