superal

Complaining ? No I am retired , spend 6 months in Thailand and same in the UK . The info that I gave said that the majority of Brits who were emigrating were going to Australia or Canada . That would exclude most retirees . Not sure about Canada but Australia are very particular in who they admit . Applicants must show they have certain skills that the country needs along with a job offer . Hence the UK are losing valuable skills especially from the medical profession . Hardly complaining , just giving the facts . The UK economy is suffering because of the lack of skilled workers and should be vetting potential UK immigrants in the same context as Australia . What is the point of admitting those who cannot bring a skill and make no contribution to the country ? True asylum seekers are a different case but as things stand the majority of those in rubber dinghies are economic , illegal gate crashers with Albanian mafia connections . Suella Braverman sees to be the first home secretary who is making a real effort to stop illegal entrants to the UK .

What is the price of this paper per 100 sheets please ? Is it thicker than the normal paper used on inkjet printers and easily folded ?

Your stats are correct but I want to add another fact concerning immigration which is having a significant effect on the 1 . 9 million unemployed figures Muslims now are approximately 6% + of the UK population and forecasts state they will be over 17% by 2050 . Fact , only 1 in 5 of employable Muslims is in full time employment . That must have some effect on the benefit system and economy . Figures from the ONS . The UK needs skilled immigrants but is becoming a safe haven for easy riders . At the same time there is a brain drain in the UK with over 300,000 leaving / emigrating and over 500,000 coming into the UK year on year . No wonder that the UK is going down the pan .

I did have a Brother multi task printer a couple of years ago that often gave me problems with the ink drying in the jets resulting in me taking it for repair which was OK for a few weeks but then dried up again despite me running a test print every day or two . I am now considering buying another colour printer and was thinking that this forum may suggest a printer that is more reliable . For use as a home device that is compatible with my Acer Chromebook laptop . Any recommendations / advice would be appreciated .

I do not agree , why ? A Polish national can easily undercut the wage of a Brit and still be earning 4 times what he could earn in Poland . However I did agree with your post of 2 posts ago . There is no doubt that Brexit is the main cause of the UK economic downturn but let us not forget why the British public voted for Brexit . 1/ to be free from the reigns of Belgium 2/ Immigration issues . 3/ The free movement of workers within the E.C. meant that the UK was invaded by lower paid foreign workers who were putting British workers out of work . This ploy was used by many UK industries who would employ personnel by way of employment agencies . ( My niece was a manager of such an agency who were not interested in Brits . They set up an office in Warsaw which was their main source of recruitment ) . Resulting in unqualified HGV drivers and electricians etc . Now all those employers are crying because of the lack of takers for their low paid jobs or official minimum wage jobs that means reduced profits . There is no doubt that foreign workers are needed in the UK right now , especially skilled workers , medics and arable farm workers but there has to be selected needs and qualified government approved resourcing .

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/employers-named-and-shamed-for-paying-less-than-minimum-wage https://www.ft.com/content/28192d0c-f710-4203-a558-50b5517d57eb from a Financial Times article .. Hope you are happy that my 5 minute search found the above links . Please explain where you say the basis of calculating has changed etc .

Your opinion is flawed because many of the jobs , that employed foreign workers including the "Next " outlets , were being paid far below the minimum wage . This also applied to agricultural workers . Thus there were no British takers for those jobs . I will admit there is a need for selective foreign workers as required by way of official entry and not the back door . Nurses and agricultural workers for sure . However , this month there are to date 1.9 million unemployed who should be vetted more thoroughly for alternative employment . BTW the unemployment rate is 3.5% which is the lowest since 1974 .

You said "i wore my mask in the airport and on the plane home. still caught something " as if a mask will give protection against an airborne virus , sorry but it does not . The mask will stop your projectiles from coughs and sneezes from hitting others but that is about it

Years ago in Spain , before massive tourism , wine was literally as cheap as a bottle of water from the local corner shop . Poured straight from a vat into your provided bottle .

Laughing Bird is a fruit wine but is drinkable and is the most popular wine drank by many ex-pats in my wife's restaurant . Certainly makes them all jolly .

With over 40,00 asylum seekers crossing the channel this year , to seek refuge in the UK ,it is costing £7 million a day to accommodate them and previous numbers . The new Home Secretary , Suella Braverman , has come under criticism for a recent statement in the House of Commons when she said there was an " invasion " of asylum seekers and many of whom were single men that included criminals . I am surprised that the oppositions leader has chosen to dwell and nit pick on this . Indeed SB is taking a strong stance on immigration which is applauded by many . New figures show that 1 in 6 of the known UK population were not born in the UK . The country does invite immigrant applications with the onus on professionals ( e.g. doctors & nurses along with skilled workers ) . I , for one , am backing her . Do you agree ?

Foreigners are now omitted from the government scheme .

I once witnessed a neighbouring farmer move a long staked fence about 1 meter into an adjacent piece of land , in order that he could make a track for access . I was telling a friend about it and he said that any boundary dispute or land purchasing is normally overseen by the Land Registry office who take stored coordinates and use GPS . Then no arguments . Concrete markers indicating boundaries are a guide only .

Could end up with a long free holiday in a Bangkok Hilton if he is not careful

I guess that the Thai banks cannot raise their interest rates because there is so much personal debt in Thailand . A Google search showed that the Baht will strengthen later at the end of this year when it is hoped there will be many tourists for the high season That is only a 6 week window with a full year to come . Some are forecasting 40 Baht to the Dollar soon and maybe more . High domestic debt by way of unvetted loans could be a major Thai problem next year .

This deal is purposely designed to omit the average person because it does not make any financial sense . However , TIT and it just could be a way of opening the back door to wealthy Asian / Russian folk and I am sure there will be ways of massaging the figures for a fee .

If the Thai economy is recovering , why is the Baht losing its value on the money markets ?

Agree because most Thai snacks are either full of sugar or salt

I agree and Lazada , it seems , do not vet/ appraise their sellers and Lasada hide behind the fact that they are purely a platform for sellers but for me they guilty by way of association with the sellers . However this is Thailand that often offers little protection to buyers . I have used Lazada many times and mostly they give a decent service . However they should inspect their vendors to ensure that the customer receives a genuine product at the correct price .

At 4 am I would have too much booze and there would be no ugly women until I wake up in the morning in my bed and say to her " who the xxxx are you ? "

NATO is aiding Ukraine , albeit indirectly , by providing arms and intelligence . In a court of law NATO would be found guilty as an accessory to the conflict by way of association . As long as Russia can launch missiles from within their country and Ukraine cannot return fire , this war will be won by Russia . However , it may be that sanctions will stop Russia along with the massive exodus of Russian folks .

Resolving the conflict in Ukraine ? There will be no negotiations or arbitration because the indiscriminate damage inflicted on Ukraine by narcissist Putin has gone too far and hatred will be rife between the two countries for many years to come ( assuming that no nuclear weapons are used ) . Apologies for digressing slightly but there is now a situation that I have not seen discussed in the media and that is the following . NATO arms support to Ukraine on the proviso that weapons are used in Ukraine as a defence of their country against Russia . However what is happening now is that Russia is launching major missile and drone attacks on Ukraine from within Russia . So what is the scenario if Russia continues to bombard Ukraine from inside Russia and there is no retaliation ? The whole war is a farce and likened to a boxing match where one man has his hands tied behind his back . Russia is using mercenaries contracted from a company called Wagner Group that also employ some foreign soldiers . The Wagner Group has within Neo Nazis within its hierarchy . NATO has to get involved and assist Ukraine with NATO military and hit Russia hard .

Thanks for the links but there were so many irrelevant comments that went off topic . I think we are all aware that the Chinese bought the MG badge to try to connect with western buyers who will be familiar with that maker . That is the reason for my post which is asking if there are current owners of the MG Extender and if so , their opinions . Not seeking opinions from those of yesterdays MGB/C etc nor those who may have a dislike of anything made in China cos they can start their own topics .

I have been viewing the above at on line adverts . The MG offers all the similar spec that the more expensive Toyota / Isuzu equivalents . Any of our members own the MG Extender and if so what are your opinions of the pick up ? Secondhand they are very much cheaper than others of the similar spec . Also come with a 4 year warranty or 120,000 km . Interested to hear owners views .

Putin in jail ? I think a firing squad if he can be caught . Ukraine not firing back because it is both not allowed to attack Russia , does not have the missiles (yet) and can only defend Ukraine as any attack on Russia using NATO supplied weapons will be seen by Russia as the start of WW3 because NATO supplied the arms to Ukraine . Yes its true and I get your point that Russia can sit within Russia and send missiles at will . So if the arms supplied to Ukraine were not free issue but were bought by Ukraine , could they then attack Russia ?