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Never catch me drinking that....

I like a steaming cup of black coffee in the morning, but I'd draw the line at these coffee beans, which hails from Indonesia.
World's most expensive coffee at £50 a cup

Kopi Luwak is touted as the most expensive coffee in the world, selling for between $120 and $600 per pound, and is sold mainly in Japan and the United States. However in April 2008, the brasserie of Peter Jones department store in London's Sloane Square started selling a blend of Kopi Luwak peanut and Blue Mountain called Caffe Raro for £50 ($70.00) a cup. It has also recently become available at Selfridges, London, as part of their "Edible" range of exotic foods.
(Source: Wikipedia).

What makes Kopi Luwak coffee so unique is that the beans are extracted from the droppings of the Asian Palm Civet, a cat-sized mammal. The civets eat the soft coffee cherries, digest the fruit pulp and excrete the beans on the forest floor, because they cannot digest the beans. Plantation workers then collect the beans, which are sold as Luwak coffee.

Gives a new meaning to having one lump or two....

It never rains, but it pours...

Lloyds Banking Group says its subsidiary HBOS made a pre-tax loss of £10.8bn in 2008, while profits at Lloyds fell 80%.

Shares in Lloyds, which is 43% government-owned, fell sharply after a trading update revealed larger-than-expected losses at its subsidiary HBOS.

Lloyds are also in talks with the Treasury in order to reaching an agreement on placing about £250bn of its "toxic assets" in the government's new asset protection insurance scheme.

On Thursday Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) announced the largest annual loss in UK corporate history
Lloyds sees HBOS loss of £10.8bn

The collapse of our banks is shaping up to be one of the biggest shambles in corporate history.
To the British public, many of these so-called banking executives are no better than bank robbers, with the best scam in town - fuelling growth on massive lending and allowing people to borrow beyond their means in the good times. Then, when everything goes horribly Pete Tong, get our government to bail them out...

Unfortunately our banks are vital to the economy. We simply cannot allow them to fail. We can only hope that lessons are learnt from this debacle, and that it's never, EVER allowed to happen again (but somehow I doubt it)...

Staring into the abyss (continued)...

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced the largest annual loss in UK corporate history.

RBS, which had to be bailed out by the government last year, said that its 2008 loss totalled £24.1bn ($34.2bn).

The bank is also under fire over the estimated £693,000-a-year ($992,000) pension of former boss Sir Fred Goodwin. Mr Goodwin has rejected calls from the Chancellor Alistair Darling to hand back some of the money, which he is already receiving at the age of 50 (under an early retirement deal agreed with the RBS board when Mr Goodwin was forced out late last year).
Prime Minister Gordon Brown "demanded action" on the issue, saying pension payments on such a scale could not be justified when the company was losing so much money and cutting thousands of jobs.

RBS will also put £325 billion of toxic assets into a taxpayer-backed protection scheme, while the Government extends its 70% stake in the institution by a further £13 billion.

And there will be further gloom for the sector, as Lloyds Banking Group is expected to announce significant losses incurred by HBOS.
RBS reports record corporate loss

Sir Fred Goodwin has written a letter to Treasury minister Lord Myners, claiming that the government had been aware of his pension for months, so all the wailing and lamentation from our Prime Minister & Chancellor is a bit like bolting the stable door long after the horse has scarpered.

But when one considers that just over a year ago, RBS was involved in the £49 billion deal to capture Dutch rival ABN Amro, its fall from grace has been dramatic.
The British taxpayer (including me) now effectively own RBS. My concern is not so much Goodwin looking after number one, but the fact that we're now saddled with the financial equivalent of Monty Python's "Norwegian Blue" parrot!

Meanwhile....more grim news:

The United States will rack up a $1.75 trillion budget deficit this year, the biggest since World War Two. The White House budget announcement came as data showed the number of U.S. workers filing for jobless benefits jumped to a record high of 5.1 million.

Europe and Asia were also struggling, with economic sentiment in the euro zone slumping and Japan's finance minister declaring a "very bleak" outlook for first quarter GDP.

According to the World Bank, the global financial and economic crisis will trap 53 million more people in developing countries on less than $2 (£1.4o) a day this year. That's on top of the 130-155 million pushed into poverty in 2008 by soaring food and fuel prices.

Initial estimates for 2009 to 2015 indicate an average 200,000 to 400,000 more children may die each year if the crisis persists.
Also the effects of the crisis can been seen in various protests across Europe.
FACTBOX - Financial crisis sparks unrest in Europe

No light at the end of this particular tunnel, then...

Is the fat lady ready to sing at Old Trafford?

Liverpool's title hopes are dealt a severe blow as they are held to a 1-1 draw by Man City at Anfield.
Liverpool 1-1 Man City

Today was a bad result for Liverpool. They really needed to win, but could only draw at home instead.
Well, unless something completely unforeseen happens, it's starting to look like one of the easiest Premiership title achievements for Fergie & Manchester United. Say what you like about this United team, they have been consistent, and though it's hard to admit, they deserve to be labelled champions....again.

For the rest of the Premiership so-called "Big Four" - this season has been all rather disappointing, really:

• Chelski's players revolted and "Big Phil" Scolari promptly got the boot.
  
• Liverpool have stalled since Rafa's rant and have serious boardroom issues to resolve.


• As for Arsenal? Unpredictable - one week losing to Stoke, but then beating Man Utd the week after. Wenger needs to give the team an overhaul, because some of these Gunners don't deserve to wear the red 'n white.

Meanwhile Aston Villa are looking a strong bet to end Arsenal's membership as one of the Premiership elite, and I'm not going to underestimate Everton either.

Still there's always next season, eh?

Sweetie Sorrow...

The "last" bag of Woolworths pic'n'mix has sold for more than £14,500 at an Internet auction.

The souvenir from the collapsed retail chain received 115 bids before finally being sold to the highest bidder on eBay at midday on Saturday.
The 800gram bag contains fizzy cola bottles, rhubarb and custards, straw-berry bonbons, Turkish delight, pineapple cubes, white mice, and many other children’s favourites once sold at Woolworths, before the store chain became a recent victim of the worldwide economic slowdown with the loss of 27,000 jobs at some 800 branches across Britain.

Ed Adams, a Woolworths store manager, filled the pic'n'mix just before his shop in Petts Wood, Bromley, south London, closed for the final time. The bag has been officially certified by Woolworths' administrators, Deloitte, as the last one.

The auction proceeds will go to the Retail Trust, a charity for retail industry workers.
'Last' pic'n'mix fetches £14,500

I wonder what the winning bidder intends to do with these sweets?

Musical interlude...

I was going to make a comment about the perilous state of the economy - but I think we're all aware how bad things are...

So instead here's a musical trip back to the polyester days of DISCO!




Wayyy back in 1978, Penthouse Magazine (no less) released a Disco album for a group known as The Love Symphony Orchestra.
This song, "Let Me Be Your Fantasy" was the most popular track and became an underground classic.
The album cover is also rather unique: a tri-fold containing a nude centerfold and several other photos of Penthouse's finest...

For more information on this gem, I recommend the Disco Delivery blog (respect due to Disco Delivery for the album covers, by the way)....

Yippee! Eduardo's back...

Almost a year ago, after Eduardo broke his leg while playing against Birmingham, I wrote in this blog:

"I really hope that he can still play football after this setback, but I'm not feeling optimistic."

Happily, it looks as if I was way too pessimistic (sorry).
Eduardo announced his return to football in some style on Monday night, by netting a brace against Cardiff City at the Emirates.
Nicklas Bendtner and Robin Van Persie also scored for Arsenal, and if it wasn't for the heroics of goalkeeper Tom Heaton, Cardiff would have suffered more than the 4-0 trouncing from the Gunners.
But the night was made for Eduardo Alves da Silva - indeed, for the first time in months, Arsenal looked like...well, Arsenal. Obviously well pleased with the result, doubly pleased for Eduardo (and judging by his hugs with the Arsenal medical staff, hats off to them as well).

One just couldn't have scripted a better comeback for the lad than Monday night...
Arsenal 4-0 Cardiff

Staring into the abyss (continued)...

Lloyds Banking Group has defended plans to reward staff with bonuses even through its subsidiary HBOS is expected to record a loss of nearly £11bn. The banking group says its employees deserve "financial recognition" for hitting targets.

In most cases staff bonuses would amount to £1,000 or less for employees earning about £17,000 per year.

There has been speculation that the government, which has already poured £17bn into the group, may be forced to take a majority stake in Lloyds, or even nationalise it. Lloyds is currently 43% taxpayer-owned.
Lloyds defends staff bonus plan

I must admit to being annoyed about the recent clamour to punish all "fat cat" bankers - first of all: not everyone who works in the City of London or Canary Wharf is a "fat cat".

Yes, our economy is in serious trouble thanks to the irresponsibility of our financial institutions. However LloydsTSB was doing fine, prior to its shotgun marriage with HBOS (arranged by Prime Minister Gordon Brown & Chancellor Alistair Darling). Overall the Lloyds side of the business is expected to make a profit of £1.3bn for 2008. Therefore I have no objections if Lloyds are paying bonuses to staff based on their own performance as Lloyds employees before the merger.
One the other hand, those executives and high level management responsible for the HBOS horror show that is their expected £10 billion loss shouldn't receive, or accept, any bonus. Simple as that.

And if we're talking about not rewarding failure, why should those executives and high level management of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), who failed to recognise the increased risks in the banking system get their bonus? The FSA are supposed to be supervising our banks, yet thus far, five out of the big 10 banks have crashed.

Some people in the FSA, as well as the Bank of England and the Treasury - our so-called Tripartite - should be hanging their collective heads in shame over this shambles.
As for Gordon Brown & Alistair Darling? The nation will deliver its verdict at the next election...

If I could have just one wish...

If I could have just one wish,

I would wish to wake up everyday to the sound of your breath on my neck,

the warmth of your lips on my cheek,

the touch of your fingers on my skin,

and the feel of your heart beating with mine...

Knowing that I could never find that feeling

with anyone other than you.

- Courtney Kuchta -

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone...

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Happy birthday, Nilli Wills...

Respect due to ron2k7 for the first pic.

A "Happy Birthday" to former tabloid Page Three girl and retired adult actress Nilli Willis, who will be 37 years old today (she was born on 14th February 1972).

Nilli was born and raised in Israel before moving to England in the early 1980's. She posed in numerous photo shoots for UK & US magazines, followed by a brief foray into the world of adult films, where she starred in a handful of features in the early 1990's.

Nilli retired from the adult industry in the late 1990's, supposedly to pursue religion, and hasn't been heard from since.