Catalytic Convertor Theft Alert
We have seen an increase in theft of catalytic converters (part of car exhaust) across Chiltern & South Bucks police area over the last 3 months in comparison with the same period last year.
The most targeted vehicle (depending on model year) are Toyota Prius, Toyota Auris, Honda Jazz, Lexus RX400. Manufacturers are working to reduce the risk by relocating them in engine bays rather than under the vehicle however some older models remain vulnerable to this type of theft (please check with your manufacturer / garage).
Thieves target these types of car due to the higher content and therefore value of precious metal within the converter itself.
Aftermarket products such as ‘CatClamp’ or ‘CatStrap’ are available (we cannot endorse any individual product so please carry out your own research).
When leaving your vehicle for periods of time, please try to park where there is CCTV coverage and secure car parks if possible.
If you are a victim of this type of theft, report it and take photos of the location within the car park or street
Message Sent By
Ian Stacey (Police, Neighbourhood Policing Administrator, Chiltern & South Bucks)

When introduced some yrs ago it was a good account to have 3% interest paid Monthly so compounded, Cash back on Utility bills, ok paid £3 a month fee now £5, 2017 cut to 1.5%
From Ist May 2020 dropping to !% so time to ditch move to Ford Money or Marcus paying 1.45%

How can this despicable activity continue and why can't it be banned? Our Wildlife is diminishing rapidly and I cannot see what pleasure those that participate get out of it! Seeing their grinning faces over their latest 'kill' makes me sick to my stomach!

Cheap security cameras could be leaving your home exposed to hackers and snoopers.

We found critical security flaws on six wireless cameras, despite all of them having thousands of apparently positive reviews and earning a coveted “Amazon’s Choice” recommendation.

One security flaw included strangers being able to remotely take control of the camera to spy into homes. When reading through the comments on Amazon reviews, one father said he had chills down his spine after hearing a mysterious voice coming from a camera next to his child’s crib after it was apparently hacked.

There appears to be little to no quality control with these substandard products. Amazon and other online marketplaces must improve the way they scrutinise products. Find out more about other security flaws and what you can do to protect your home.

Wikipedia Day Wikipedians know January 15 as Wikipedia Day. On this day in 2001 Wikipedia was launched by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger.

Wikipedia's name was coined by Larry Sanger. He combined words wiki (from the Hawaiian “quick”) and pedia (from encyclopedia). The project initially was to be only English, but it became multilingual very quickly through the launch of different versions. All versions of Wikipedia are similar, though important differences exist, which concern editing practices and content. However English Wikipedia remains as the largest one.

Today Wikipedia is one the biggest non-profit projects in the Internet. It is the sixth most popular website. It had got about 500 million unique visitors each month and boasted 18 billion pages as of February 2014.

For several years Wikipedia Day was celebrated both online and offline. 2011 was the year of a big worldwide celebration. This tradition continued and Wikipedia Day is observed with diverse local meetings and wiki-events.

Did you know, that January 15 is the date when WikiHow was founded? This day was chosen to honour Wikipedia Day.

I've just received a message via LInkedIn from someone I don't know in California.
It was written in slightly broken English and says that she's seen my profile and wants to talk to me about a job opportunity. She included a link which is supposed to lead to a job spec.
BUT
It raises a lot of red flags in my mind. I don't click on unsolicited links and if it is genuine wouldn't want to discuss job opportunities with someone with such poor IT security skills.
I suspect it's a phishing message.
Beware if you use LinkedIn - This is the first time I've heard of possible phishing on the site but I'm sure it won't be the last.

Now we know who the 5 candidates are who out of the 5 do you think will become the leader.Keir Starmer,
Rebecca Long Bailey, Lisa Nandy
Jess Phillips
Emily Thornberry

Is it only me that has noticed that there have been at least 3 events in the last few weeks that could have precipitated us into World War Three, but all people are interested in moaning and commenting on is what Harry and Megan are doing !!!!

Review on an item-----Excellent 77% -----
Great 13%----
Average4%-----
Poor2%----
Bad5%----

KAMAREE JEFFREY
Missing From: Croydon
Date: 10/01/2020 09:00
Circumstances of Disappearance:
Missing Reference – 3801109/20 He was last on WELLESLEY ROAD, CROYDON having ran away instead of going to school. He is considered vulnerable due to learning needs. He is from the NEWHAM area with links to HACKNEY and DAGENHAM
Child

KAMAREE JEFFREY
Age 15 Years
Height 5'3
Ethnic Appearance
Gender Male
5'3, slim build, with short black afro style hair, and brown eyes. He is wearing a black coat with fur around the hood, black trousers, a white shirt and black school uniform jumpe

St. Knut’s Day Date in the current year: January 13, 2020
St. Knut’s Day In different cultures, the end of the Christmas and holiday season in marked with different holidays. While in some countries celebrations cease after New Year’s Day, others continue with the festivities until Epiphany or some other holiday. In Sweden and Finland, for example, the festive season ends on St. Knut’s Day, celebrated on January 13.

Canute Lavard (Knud Lavard in Danish and Knut Levard in Swedish) was a chivalrous and popular Danish prince and the first Duke of Schleswig. He was assassinated by his cousin Magnus (who would later be crowned King Magnus I of Sweden) who wanted to usurp the Danish throne. Canute’s death provoked a civil war which was won by Canute’s posthumous son Valdemar, who was crowned King Valdemar I of Denmark.

Canute’s fate and his son’s triumph lead to his canonization in 1170. The day of his death, January 7, became St. Knut’s Day. As St. Knut’s feast day roughly coincided with Epiphany celebrated on January 6, the two holidays became conflated to some degree. To prevent further conflation, St. Knut’s Day was moved to January 13 in 1680.

Although Canute Lavard was a Danish prince, St. Knut’s Day is mostly celebrated in Sweden and Finland. In Sweden, the holiday is referred to as “Twentieth Day Yule” (Tjugondag jul) and marks the end of the holiday season. It is celebrated by taking down Christmas tree and organizing the so-called Knut’s parties.

A Knut’s party or Knut’s dance is a Swedish tradition when the Christmas tree is stripped of decorations and taken out so that children can dance around the tree and eat the cookies and candies that decorated it. It has been observed since the end of the 19th century. In Swedish, the tradition is called Julgransplundring (“Christmas tree plundering”) or Julgransskakning (“Christmas tree shaking”).

Knut’s parties are held mainly for children, both in private homes and in schools, kindergartens, churches, and other places. Activities include singing and dancing around the Christmas tree, stripping it of decorations, opening Christmas crackers, eating the gingerbread house, partaking in treasure hunts and various games. In many towns, outdoor Knut’s parties are held for the community near the public Christmas tree.

During the 20th century, many people literally threw Christmas trees out of the window and onto the street once they had been stripped of ornaments. In recent years, local authorities have designated areas for dumping the trees, but illegal dumping still remains a problem.

In Finland, St. Knut’s Day is known as Nuutinpäivä. Its most popular tradition, Nuuttipukki, is a type of mummers’ play. It originally involved young men dressed in inverted fur jackets and horned masks who went from house to house and demanded food and leftover alcoholic beverages from the household. Unlike Santa Claus, Nuutipukki was a scary character somewhat similar to Krampus. Today, the Nuuttipukki tradition is still preserved in some parts of Finland but it mostly involves children, reminding of Halloween trick-or-treating.

Kiss a Ginger Day is an informal holiday celebrated on January 12. It was created by Derek Forgie in opposition to “Kick a Ginger Day”. The main idea behind the observance is that it is much better to spread the love than to spread the hate.

The South Park episode “Ginger Kids”, where Cartman delivers a hate speech against people with red hair, supposedly inspired “Kick a Ginger Day”. In 2008, a 14-year old student from Canada started a Facebook group dedicated to the idea of promoting November 20 as “National Kick a Ginger Day”. Some people took the idea literally, which resulted in redheaded students being assaulted based on their hair color. After Kick a Ginger Day was picked up on social media, similar incidents have happened in other parts of the world.

The Kiss a Ginger Day campaign was launched in 2009 to combat bullying and to promote a much more peace-loving activity aimed towards gingers. Celebrating this amazing holiday is really easy! All you need to do is find one of this rare individuals (red hair occurs naturally in 1–2% of the human population) and offer them a kiss as an appreciation for their unique hair color. Of course, you must make sure first that you have their permission because consent is important. Or you can just tell them how amazing and stunning they are.

International Thank You Day Every year people all over the world celebrate International Thank You Day that falls on January 11. This celebration is the ideal opportunity to show your gratitude to people who make your days what they are.

The origin of International Thank You Day is unclear. No one knows who established it and when. There is an opinion that greeting cards companies promoted this holiday to increase their sales. But this doesn't make the concept of International Thank You Day less appealing.

Celebrate this day by showing your appreciation to people who make your life better and more beautiful. One single word can make people who surround you happier, isn't it great?

Unfortunately we often forget to show gratitude to others. We think only about ourselves and don't notice all the things that relatives and friends do for us. Be polite, think of others and then simple “thank you” will make their day better.

This day is considered as one of the most polite days. But don't forget thank all people who deserve it during the rest of the year.

Another new thing just noticed

Just noticed this and not seen it before - who decides ?

Day in the Falkland Islands Date in the current year: January 10, 2020
Margaret Thatcher Day in the Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean. Although it is a British overseas territory, Argentine has maintained a claim to the islands since the early 19th century. The two countries even fought a war over the Falklands in 1982. In the Falkland Islands, there are two holidays commemorating the war: Liberation Day (June 14) and Margaret Thatcher Day (January 10).

The British, the French and the Spanish all claim the right to be considered the discoverers of the Falkland Islands. The first settlements on the Falklands were founded by the British and by the French, but France quickly surrendered its claim on the islands to Spain. Britain and Spain maintained their respective claims throughout the 18th century, but both withdrew from the archipelago in the late 18th and early 19th century.

Following the independence of Argentina in 1816, the country claimed the Falklands. However, this didn’t prevent Britain from establishing sovereignty over the archipelago in 1833. Instead of developing the Falklands as a colony, the British turned the islands into a military outpost. This was the beginning of the sovereignty dispute between the UK and Argentina.

After the end of World War II and the creation of the United Nations, Argentina saw an opportunity to reclaim its right to the Falkland Islands, but negotiations between the UK and Argentina led to nothing. Meanwhile the islanders, most of whom were of British descent, didn’t want to join Argentina and were determined to remain British.In 1981, General Leopoldo Galtieri became President of Argentina as a result of a military coup. Since his popularity was low, he decided to invade the Falklands, hoping that it would make him a more popular leader. Argentine forces landed on the Falkland Islands on April 2, 1982. Following a short engagement, a small garrison of the Royal Marines stationed at the archipelago surrendered.

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher held a crisis meeting, where it was decided to send a task force to the Falklands. To oversee the campaign, the British government set up a war cabinet. The retaking of the islands was a difficult task, but the British succeeded. On June 14, 1982, Argentine troops surrendered, and the Falklands War ended with a British victory.

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher paid her first visit to the Falkland Islands on January 10, 1983, half a year after Argentina’s defeat in the war. To commemorate this visit and recognize Thatcher’s contribution to the victory in the Falklands War, January 10 has been celebrated in the Falklands Islands as Margaret Thatcher Day since 1992.

After reading reviews on heaters. Comments can not set temperature, difficult to assemble, stopped working after a short time and many more I am getting more confused.Could you recommend a heater please? and where to buy.


No open fire or loud fan as we can not hear the television.
Intended for a bit of extra heat as feel cold more.
Liked the style of Mill heaters. Thank you

Buffet: ‘Get up and get it yourself’
Chef: Any cook who swears in French.
Best Restaurant Sign: Courteous and Efficient Self-Service
Please add some fun to a grey January day!

Click to enlarge

HI
Happy new year - Let's hope it's peaceful and prosperous for all of us.
Can any of you recommend an effective way to prevent foxes digging in my flowerbeds, tipping over my food recycling caddy to scatter the contents all over the garden and using my garden as a toilet?
They're becoming a real nuisance in my neighbourhood.

Old folks are worth a "Fortune"---They have silver in their hair,-------gold in their teeth,-------stones in their kidneys,------lead in their feet------and --- gas in their stomach.

Product details: Hotpoint and Indesit Washing Machines

For full details, including affected model numbers and manufacturer’s advice, click here.

Reason for recall:

Risk of fire due to a defective door locking mechanism
What should you do next?

Electrical Safety First recommends that anyone who discovers they have an electrical item that has been recalled should stop using it immediately
Check the product recall notification for details of what to do next
If no details are shown, you should contact either the seller or Citizens Advice on 03444 111 444 or visit them at www.citizensadvice.org.uk
More information on returning recalled products can be found here.

Checking your other electrical products

Our product checker contains the details of electrical products that have been recalled since 2007. If you have searched for a product that you own and it is not listed, this means that it has not been recalled and should be safe to use. However, if you do have concerns about its safety, contact the retailer or manufacturer to alert them to a potential problem.

This email was sent by Electrical Safety First
www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk

I phoned up what I thought was Amazon and nearly got scammed. Luckily I didn't lose any money. I couldn't find phone no for Amazon so checked on google as I needed to phone them to get a bar code for a refund. They asked me for my credit card registerd with amazon to verify me which seemed fine at that time. They said I would receive a msg which didn't arrive. So they asked for another card at which point the alarm bells started to ring. When I said that this wasn't required last time they said that the website was down for maintenance so this was only way to do it at which point I hung up. I received a msg shortly after saying a large amount of money had been requested and refused by Barclaycard and then I received a phone call from them to cancel the card. The phone no I rang was 0800 072 8661. Amazon and Barclaycard both said to use phone no on website but this isn't easy to locate.

Apparently many animals and insects will become extinct after the tragic loss of so many.

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have contributed $50,000, (and no doubt other Aussie millionaires) Steve Irwins Zoo, although far from these fires, are taking in damaged animals. America and New Zealand have sent in many firefighters, maybe some other countries too.... but what about the UK? I can’t see anything stating that we are doing our bit. Surely as part of the Commonwealth we should be out there doing something, instead of the Queen sending out a statement saying “sorry for your losses, blah blah” and even she could send a few quid over!!

And what makes me madder is we give overseas aid to the likes of China, India, N.Korea ..not forgetting all the corrupt leaders whose peoples never get to see the aid, but this is where our aid is really needed.

https://amp.dailytelegraph.com.au/technology/jeremy-clarkson-says-god-didnt-want-people-to-live-in-australia/news-story/5b3baee3c5b5825c788c7c00070ccdcc

Am confused by this - didn't see the previous series so maybe that's why.
is she a 'baddie' - what's her involvement with the drugs family ?

I'm not sure if this has already been posted.

Happy New Year to all members of ScoopLoop !!!!........ Lets make 2020 a great year !

Do you celebrate the new year thinking it will bring lots of happiness to you or would you rather it just pass by quietly as if this year was anything to go by you would rather pass on next year if you could.

What do you forecast will happen in the next 10 years?

I was having a play with my new phone and got to the video area. Looking through I discovered the slow motion capabilities and thought I'd have a play.It all seemed to work well with dripping water and watching the bounce, so I thought I'd venture out into the garden. On a plastic box sat a fly so I set the camera to record when it sensed motion. It wasn't long before the fly took off - rapidly.
What I found interesting was that it took off and flew away at about 90° angle from where it was, twisting sideways roughly 90° to a feet down position then flew off heading towards the sun. This left a superb silhouette of it flying which, to me, looks similar to bird wings.
I just found it fascinating and I wouldn't have seen it if I'd had a rolled up newspaper in my hand instead of my phone!

International Cello Day is an informal holiday celebrated by cellists and music enthusiasts around the world on December 29. It is dedicated to Pablo Casals, a renowned Catalan cellist, composer and conductor, who is considered to be one of the greatest cellists of all time.

The cello is a bowed, and sometimes plucked, string musical instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is used as a solo instrument, as well as in ensembles, orchestras, and sometimes even rock bands. Some of the most renowned cellists include Mstislav Rostropovich, Yo-Yo Ma, Paul Tortelier, and Pabli Casals.

Pablo Casals was born on December 29, 1876 in El Vendrell, Catalonia. His father taught him music from an early age, and at age 4 Casals could play the flute, piano and violin. He began to study the cello after enrolling in the municipal school of music in Barcelona.

Casals became an internationally acclaimed musician in the early 20th century, when he began to tour Europe. He appeared as soloist and performed with chamber music ensembles and orchestras. Casals is probably best known for his recordings of the Bach Cello Suites he made in the late 1930s.

Cellists from all over the world regard Casals as the person who first popularized the cello as a solo instruments. No wonder that International Cello Day is celebrated on his birthday. There are different ways to celebrate the holiday. If you’re a cellist, you can organize a meet-up with fellow musicians, learn a new cello piece, make a YouTube video, etc. If you just like to listen to the cello, you can buy a new recording or attend a concert.

Had a catalogue delivered "Healthy living direct". A few items took my fancy. The catalogue is on the same line as Betterware and Kleeneze was and sometimes I found a few unusual and useful items.Checked under
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5779487

Copied:
Healthy Living Direct Limited Warning 20th Jan 18 at 6:31 PM




Healthy Living Direct Limited
Gardenability Limited
Timeless Beauty Limited
Sparkling Touches Limited
Home Independence Limited
Affordable Choices Limited
Fashion Friendly Limited
Housewares Direct Limited

Are all companies with the same address of Wadsworth Road, Driffield, East Yorkshire YO25 9DJ

THEY ARE SCAMMERS WHO DEBIT YOUR ACCOUNT BUT DO NOT SEND YOU THE ITEMS YOU ORDERED.

THEY TARGET VULNERABLE PEOPLE BY HARASSING THEM WITH POST, WITH THE PROMISE OF A PRIZE, WHICH INCREASES EACH WEEK AND GET MORE AND MORE DEMANDING AND AGGRESSIVE.

Who is worth an honour?
Who should be struck off?
Should "THE HONOURS" be abolished or reformed?

Very hesitant about posting this but looked at several places - a surprise to me this morning that May Bank holiday has been moved from Monday, 4th to Friday, 8th to celebrate 75th Anniversary of VE Day. Apparently many calendars/diaries were printed prior to this so could be wrong. And it can't be April Fools Day today, can it?

Christmas is over - New year not here yet - so why are these going off tonight ?

Biggest thumbs down for Argos. Finally got the list of presents I should get for the youngest members of the extended family, with the message "you can get them all delivered from Argos". Pictures of the relevant webpages attached. So I started adding the items to my basket. Only 2 out of 5 were available for delivery. The others were click and collect only from 3 different stores. Why can't they do delivery on everything, I asked. My sister said, think they only deliver items that would be awkward to carry. Well I have all accept one present now and it was the two smallest items that were delivered.

Dodgy reviews on TripAdvisor could be artificially boosting hotel rankings, potentially misleading millions of travellers worldwide.

Our investigation found that TripAdvisor had failed to stop a flood of suspicious five-star reviews, including for a hotel in Cairo, once rated top in the city, and for a London Travelodge hotel.

TripAdvisor’s failure to take strong action against hotels that abuse the system risks misleading millions of travellers and potentially ruining their holidays.

More must be done to ensure information on its website is reliable so holidaymakers are no longer at risk of being duped.

Find out more about our investigation and what to look out for.

https://www.which.co.uk/news/2019/09/fake-tripadvisor-reviews-push-worlds-best-hotels-up-the-rankings/?utm_source=whichcouk&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=supportersFReviews11091

Dodgy hotel reviews



Best wishes,

Which? Campaigns team

To all!

https://www.noradsanta.org/

https://youtu.be/jyZwtFIbbG0

Has anybody phoned abroad using --"call to call"-- or similar companies?
Call your friends and family in Canada for only 0.5p per minute.
It is so cheap ---- what is the catch?


Copied from their website:
Dial the access number shown above. When connected to our service you will hear a welcome message
2

Dial the international number you wish to call, remembering to include the full international dial code; 00 1
3

Get connected to Canada paying only the cost of dialling the cheap rate number plus your phone company's access charge
4

It's so simple so why not start calling your friends and family now

Calls are charged from time of connection to the service at the indicated rate plus your phone company's access charge. Please contact your phone company for details of these charges. Please obtain bill payer's permission before making the call. Service provider: IV Response Ltd

The Night of the Radishes (Noche de Los Rábanos) is an annual festival that takes place on December 23, several days before Christmas, in the Mexican city of Oaxaca. It is a competition that focuses on the carving of oversized radishes to create various scenes.

The roots of this unusual tradition can be traced back to the Spanish colonization of Mexico. The radish is native to Southeast Asia, and it was Spanish, particularly the friars, who introduced it to Mexico. Eventually it became a popular side dish and snack.

According to legend, the tradition of carving radishes into decorations was born in the mid-18th century. One year the radish crop was so abundant that part of it remained unharvested well into December. Shortly before Christmas, two monks pulled up some of these forgotten radishes and discovered that they were oversized and strangely shaped. The monks brought the radishes to the local Christmas marked held on December 23, where the misshapen vegetables attracted much attention.

Since wood carving was a popular occupation and pastime on Oaxaca, local farmers began to carve radishes into various figures in order to attract more customers at the annual Christmas market. Eventually radish figures became an indispensable attribute of the Christmas market and popular centerpieces for Christmas dinners. In 1897, the mayor of Oaxaca created the formal competition that has been held every year to this day.Today, the city has a portion of land specifically dedicated to the cultivation of radishes for the event. These radishes are heavily fertilized, treated with chemicals and left in the ground until mid-December to allow them to reach huge sizes (up to 50 cm long and 10 cm wide) and acquire unusual shapes. Of course, these radishes are virtually inedible and can only be used for carving.

The radishes are harvested on December 18 and distributed between registered contestants by the local authorities overseeing the competition. After that, the contestants have five days to figure out what they’re going to carve based on the shape of the radishes they’ve got. The actual carving and assembly of the scenes occurs in the morning and early afternoon of December 23, since radishes wilt and lose their shape really quickly and contestants can’t make their sculptures in advance. The competition lasts from late afternoon to early evening.

Every year, over 100 participants compete for prizes in various categories, attracting thousands of spectators. A lot of scenes created for the contest are related to religion (nativity scenes, veneration of saints) or local history, folklore, traditions and festivals, but this is not a requirement, and many contestants chose other themes.

The police say someone had their bank accounts emptied after they paid a taxi driver with a debit card. They had wanted to pay with their credit card, but taxi asked for another method because he didn’t want to pay the 4% visa fee.

Police advise that whenever you are asked to use a debit card instead of credit card for whatever reason, enter the wrong PIN. If it is a counterfeit machine it will pretend to process the payment and produce a receipt. Whereas an authentic machine will reject the PIN and request a “try again” message.

Help spread the word, as the police state this type of fraud is becoming increasingly prevalent.

Thank you!!!!

Great player true footballing legend not may left from our greatest England team RIP

Someone has wasted 8 years researching this apparently.
She has concluded that if you call a clever person a geek or nerd or boffin, that should now be classed as a hate crime.
She says it make them feel different from the rest of their peers.

Hi all .......just thought I'd put this post up to so as to remind people in case they forget something they need for Christmas ! Please add what you have forgotten in the past.....It might remind someone and save the day !!!!!
Merry Christmas !!!!

.

https://www.which.co.uk/news/2019/10/whos-really-calling-you-an-investigation-into-the-worrying-rise-of-number-spoofing/?utm_source=whichcouk&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=supporternumberspoof301019

My sister emailed to say she had ordered something from Waitrose that was coming here but all they had said was delivery in 3-6 days. Today she forwarded their delivery email with the tracking details.
They use Yodel for their deliveries. Clicked on the tracking link and it said he was delivering number 56 out of 143 and my delivery would come between 6.30 and 8.30.
Refreshed the tracking page at 5pm to see what number they were up to and got the message, "Oh no, out van has broken down".Hopefully it will come tomorrow.