THIS IS A SCAM TO OBTAIN YOUR CREDIT CARD DETAIL, SO READ ON!

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY.

This is a scam that is believed to have been passed on by the Police regarding a call people have reported receiving form someone claiming to be a 'representative' of British Telecom, informing them that because of an unpaid bill they must make an immediate credit card payment of £31.00 to avoud a reconnection charge later of £118,00. The scam caller doesn't flinch when people have told him they are not with BT, and merely claims that other companies have to pay BT a percentage for line rental!

When one person asked the guy's name - he gave the very 'English' John Peacock with a very 'African' and a the a rogue phone number SIMILAR to the genuine BT Business freephone number.

Obviously the fellow realized his story wasn't being believe, so offered to demonstrate that he was from BT. He was asked how? The call recipient was told to hang up & try phoning someone - and he would disconnect their phone to prevent this. AND HE DID !!

The phone was dead - no engaged tone, nothing - until the caller phoned again. Very pleased with himself, he asked if that was enough proof that he was with BT. The unsuspecting person asked how the payment was to be made and he said credit card, there and then.

The person that was called said that he didn't know how he'd done it, but had absolutely no intention of paying him, because he didn't believe his name or that he worked for BT. Not surprisingly, the caller hung up. The person who had received the call dialled 1471 - number withheld, so then phoned his fictitious 0800 number - this was not recognized; so he next called the police to let them know. I wasn't the first! It's only just started apparently, but it is escalating.

The police advice was to let as many people as possible know of this scam. The fact that the phone does become disconnected may probably convince some people that the caller is genuine but it's not.

This is how it is done: This is good but not that clever. The caller gave the wrong number - the genuine number to get through to BT Busines is 0800 800 152 (but the scammer added another '0' before the second '800'). The process of 'cutting off' the line is very simple. The caller stays on the line but presses the mute button on his phone which prevents you from dialling out - but the scammer can still hear you trying (because the person who initiates a call is the one that needs to terminate it). When you stop trying he cuts off and immediately calls you back. You could almost be convinced!

The sad thing is that it is so simple that it will certainly fool the elderly and vulnerable and the BT claim is being used - not to get the cash from you - but to obtain your credit card details and security number so that it can be used to make larger purchases.

INSTANT RECALL

I was talking to somebody a few days ago about Hong Kong and wanted to relate three amazing occurrences that took place during one of my many visits to the former Crown Colony. Each concerns the incredible memory capabilities of some of the local Chinese that I encountered. Considering how we Gweilos (white devils) must all look similar I fail to understand how I managed to remain in their memories.

The first instance occurred in 1989 when I arrived in Hong Kong for the first time as part of our honeymoon. On that first visit we went to an area known as 'The Lanes' in the Central district on Hong Kong Island and bought a lovely Suzie Wong dress for my wife. She has never worn it - but that's another story. About six years later we managed to locate the dress stall with some difficulty; as we wanted to buy a similar dress for one of my wife's friends. To our amazement the stall owner immediately recited day and date when we had bought the first dress as well as the size and the colour. He also recalled that we had been on our honeymoon. To this day we cannot explain this.

10th ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11: TIME TO MOVE ON FROM HATE AND WARS TO BUILDING PEACE

Ten years ago this week, we witnessed the loss of thousands of lives during the horrific terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre.

As Muslims we look back with sadness at what happened on September 11, 2001, it was undoubtedly an evil and criminal act of monstrous proportion. Muslims the world over have nothing to do with such an act of hate and destruction that drove the 9/11 bombers. Our prayers today are for the three thousand innocent lives lost, and thousands of other innocent men, women and children who have since lost their lives elsewhere as a result of the senseless wars unleashed in its wake.

On this anniversary, we recall with regret that this attack has been used to falsely accuse our cherished religion of Islam – a religion of humanity, being a target of irrational anger and hate, setting a global course of retaliatory action with little respect for human life, national sovereignty and rule of law. Terrorism is a crime and the perpetrators are not representatives of any faith, colour or race.

A lot has changed in the last 10 years but one thing remains the same: ordinary Muslims have continued to live by the values that have always made them decent, hard-working and community-oriented citizens. These were the values shown at the recent riots, where Muslims joined with people of all faiths and none to restore normality in our communities.

It has been a sad decade but has ended with grounds for optimism. It began with wars, more terror and even more lives lost. But it ended with Muslims in the Arab world demanding peace, democracy and the freedom to live their lives without fear and intimidation. The Arab Uprising was the best repudiation to the terrorists of 11 September 2001.

As we express our sympathy and solidarity to the families of all those who have lost their lives and suffered in 9/11 and since, let us honour their memory by rejecting the divisive agendas and placing our faith on our cherished values of global justice, freedom, and equality. We must redouble our efforts to achieve enduring solidarity amongst our diverse communities.  

The Muslim Council of Britain is the UK's largest Muslim umbrella body with over 500 affiliated national, regional and local organisations, mosques, charities and schools.

For further information please contact the MCB:

The Muslim Council of Britain 

PO Box 57330

London,E1 2WJ

Tel:  0845 262 6786   

Fax: 0207 247 7079 

media@mcb.org.uk

THE 49ers - A MOST GRIPPING & CONCERNING REVELATION

This is a most concerning book that every airline passenger should consider - but will be afraid to read. The contents should make anyone think twice before taking a seat on a commercial airliner and it certainly will force many passengers to be more discerning over their choice of carrier particularly if the culture exposed in the book is taking place elsewhere.

John Warham's account of the pressures his employer, Cathay Pacific Airways, had imposed on their pilots shows how absolutely deplorably the CX management behaved. The book clearly defines just how the 'number crunchers' dictated that commercial considerations should override flight safety issues and the welfare of Cathay's loyal employees and customers.

I was once proud to be a Cathay Pacific regular flyer's club Gold Card member during the period covered by the book. In fairness the airline looked after me superbly well but most passengers could not have known about what was really going on behind the scenes. I had been aware of the action taken by the cabin crews and later heard about the pilot dispute that ultimately led to the dismissal of the 49ers in 2001, but I never knew any of the details. Perhaps this was because at no time was I ever inconvenienced and the airline did a wonderful job of deliberately keeping their customers in the dark over the causes of the dispute, at least in the UK. I was invited on to the flight deck on several occasions but there was never any talk or indication of any pilot unrest and as far as I was aware, despite accusations from their management to the contrary, the pilots only ever demonstrated that they had the company's interests at heart. I only learnt about the reasons behind the pilots concerns in John Warham's book. As far as passengers were concerned - it was business as usual and Cathay Pacific certainly did a great job to paint a reputable picture of their airline to customers, although it seems from the evidence contained in this book, they were stretching the truth.

PANIC ON THE STREETS OF LONDON

Tuesday, 9 August 2011

I’m huddled in the front room with some shell-shocked friends, watching my city burn. The BBC is interchanging footage of blazing cars and running street battles in Hackney, of police horses lining up in Lewisham, of roiling infernos that were once shops and houses in Croydon and in Peckham. Last night, Enfield, Walthamstow, Brixton and Wood Green were looted; there have been hundreds of arrests and dozens of serious injuries, and it will be a miracle if nobody dies tonight. This is the third consecutive night of rioting in London, and the disorder has now spread to Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol and Birmingham. Politicians and police officers who only hours ago were making stony-faced statements about criminality are now simply begging the young people of Britain’s inner cities to go home. Britain is a tinderbox, and on Friday, somebody lit a match. How the hell did this happen? And what are we going to do now?

Read the full story on Penny Red's Blog

RIOTING CANNOT BE EXCUSED - BUT POLITICIANS MUST TACKLE SOCIAL DEPRIVATION

The most poignant scene that came out of the dreadful violence of the last week has been the highly emotive and dignified speech made by Tariq Jahan, the father of Haroon, one of the three men senselessly mowed down in Winson Green, who called for sanity and to urge people not to seek revenge for the tragic events that resulted in his son's death. We must all learn something from this. 

The rioting that occurred across our nation has been dreadful and can never be condoned in any way.  We must make every effort to ensure that the scenes we witnessed in Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Tottenham and many other parts of the country, including some that never made the headlines, will never be repeated. In view of the scope and extend of the violence it is a miracle that so few have been killed or seriously injured but hundreds have become the innocent victims of indiscriminate vandalism and arson that cannot be tolerated.

The debates will continue long into the future and differences of opinion will prevail over the causes of the shocking devastation and the ways that we should be dealing with mindless acts of violence. But the rioting that took place has long been expected and there have been plenty of warnings that civil unrest of this magnitude had been festering just beneath the surface for some considerable time. Community leaders from areas that are particularly vulnerable have been telling the authorities of this but as usual nobody was prepared to take any notice. 

THE AMAZING FLOATING AIRPORTS

The idea of floating airports has been around for a very long time in one form or another and   some still believe the idea could provide a solution to a region’s air traffic problems. Here I look at the history of the Seadromes concept and how they continue to be a consideration.

Below: Diagram for the proposed floating airport near Schipol

In July 2007 various publications reported a two-year old proposal by a far-thinking Encinitas, California lawyer who was attempting to revive the idea of offshore floating airports. The company he formed, Ocean Works Development planned to build a 2000 acre platform, costing US$20 billion, 10 miles off the San Diego coast at a point where the Pacific is 350 to 1000 metres deep. The idea was the brainchild of Cambridge educated Adam Englund who intended to install a superstructure in the style of a massive oil rig, with a pair of unobstructed runways. Englund claims to have gathered a team of forty collaborators consisting of ‘pilots, naval architects, maritime engineers and finance types’ to support the project known as O-Plex 2020. The elaborate plans include the main landing platform above four dedicated decks to provide hotels, shops, restaurants, conference centre, research facilities – even a university. The structure has been devised to offer real estate space covering an area of 200 million feet².  The idea was fired by the San Diego Airport Authority’s failure to find a suitable site to build a new land based airport.  At the time Englund said: “the offshore option is the best and apparently the only viable one for San Diego.” A number of experts agreed that the plan was workable, among them an oceanographer who believed ‘a floating airport is every bit as achievable as putting a man on the moon.’ The project of course also has its critics who consider the idea to be more delusionary than visionary.

I BELIEVE EMPLOYERS GUILTY OF BY-PASSING EXPERIENCED OLDER WORKERS

It was announced yesterday that the number of unemployed has dropped yet those claiming Job Seekers' Allowance has increased. This sounds like a bit of a conundrum to me and suggests this is another attempt by the Government to cover up the truth. Do they really know how many people are now unemployed? I don't think so, and this is because thousands will either not be claiming Job Seekers' Allowance or, more to the point, they no longer qualify. This includes plenty of well qualified middle-aged men and women who are being ignored by employers yet are unable to claim Job Seekers' Allowance once they have been out-of-work for more than a year. 

I believe employers are largely to blame for the high number of professional people who cannot find work. Ageism, in spite of legislation devised to prevent it, is still rife and it easy to use any of many excuses to mask the real reason for dismissing a job application. The majority of unemployed senior people will concur with this view and will be familiar with 'too experienced', 'the standard of applicants was extremely high' or 'you do not quite match our requirements' as being tantamount to being 'too old'. But there is another issue. Experience usually comes with age and this means that thousands of extremely capable people are being by-passed by companies because of a fear factor. The chances are that when an experienced older person applies for a job his or her application will be scrutinised by somebody much younger. A more experienced applicant can present a challenge to  less experienced employers that could create a situation that undermine their authority. This may be intentional or psychological - but often those that short list job applicants feel it may be better to cast aside anyone that could pose such a threat. There is evidence of this all around. We only need look at just one aspect of business - that of customer service - to see how poor it has become in many organisations. It is my belief that this is because the leadership in many companies is appalling and that many of the people they employ lack the experience or training to do their jobs properly.

ALEX HAY SUCCUMBS TO CANCER

I was deeply saddened to hear of the death of Alex Hay, the former golf professional, BBC golf commentator for 26-years, author, artist, raconteur and former managing director of Woburn Golf & Country Club. 

Alex’s banter with Peter Alliss and his special brand of humour and extremely entertaining after-dinner speaking was legendary and his knowledge and skilful broadcast deliveries led to him being known as the ‘voice of golf’.Born in Edinburgh in 1933 Alex was educated at Musselburgh Grammar School and took a job as an apprentice golf club maker before becoming assistant professional at Potters Bar Golf Club. He went on to become the club professional at East Herts, Dunham Forest and Ashridge before moving to Woburn where he shone, eventually becoming managing director, a post he held until his retirement. 

I was privileged to know Alex, his wife Ann and son David very well and had huge respect for him in a personal as well as a professional capacity. He generously helped my business to progress enormously and his personal recommendation was instrumental in my long-term appointment as official photographer to the Dunhill British Masters Tournament. I admired his wit and even though I had heard most of his stories many times over they were nevertheless always delivered with great candour, laughter and timing. Many of his golfing tales are recalled in his excellent autobiographical book Ripening Hay (Partridge Press 1989). 

Alex was 78 and had been suffering from pancreatic cancer. My sincere thoughts are with Ann, David and his other son, Graham at this difficult time.

ENGLAND STARS SELFISH

Well done Paul Scholes for making public what the majority of football fans have believed for a very long while. In a Sunday Telegraph interview today the retired Manchester United star who last played for England in 2004 said "I got fed up" and went on to criticise some of the prima donnas of the squad by adding "When you are going to a team, and you want to be a part of a team and playing well, and there are individuals who are after personal glory ... when there is a simple pass of 10 yards, they will do things to try and get themselves noticed". He used Jamie Carragher as an example after he admitted it mattered more to him to lose for Liverpool than it did for England.

AN EASY WAY TO RID YOUR GARDEN OF SLUGS

While wandering around the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show (the worlds largest) last week I met Mr and Mrs Messina a charming couple who had invented a simple, yet highly effective, device known as the Slug Bell. This is a cheap, low cost and attractively colourful little gadget that is used to 'feed' slugs with deadly pellets to rid them from your garden. 

The Slug Bell was designed as a safe, environmentally friendly and efficient way of keeping toxic slug pellets out of reach of animals and children and was devised after Mike Messina had become ill after eating part of a slug pellet that had remained on a lettuce that had been thoroughly washed several times. 

With prices ranging from £8.49 to £9.99 the all-metal Slug Bell represents excellent value for money. The product consists of a simple spike that is placed into the ground that contains a small mesh feeder partway up the spike that is used to bait the slugs. Pellets are placed in the bowl and the hungry slugs, attracted by the odour given off from the pellets, have no trouble climbing the spike to devour the bait. A small bell-shaped hood, available in an array of patterns and colours to blend in with your garden, is then placed on top of the spike to hide the slug pellets from prying pets and children and to provide protection from the rain. 

Slug Bells are already in use in the gardens at Highgrove and Mike Messina proudly showed me a letter sent to him by a member of HRH Prince Charles's staff praising the value of the products. Mike has also been interviewed by researchers from the 'Dragon's Den' programme.

Slug Bells can be purchased on line from the manufacturers.

THE PROMISE OF FAR EASTERN WINES

A few years ago I was privileged to be invited by Red Bull to a wine tasting at my favourite Thai restaurant, the impressive Blue Elephant in Fulham Broadway. It was organised to promote Monsoon Valley Wines that are produced in Thailand by the Siam Winery owned by Red Bull. Until then the thought of drinking wine made in Thailand went somewhat against the grain. But then, why should it? The winemaker had a fine French pedigree, and coincidentally had worked for a friend of mine, the wonderful chef Peter Chandler, owner of Paris House restaurant in Woburn who sadly died two years ago. 

The extreme temperatures of the Thai climate means vines can be grown with a high concentration of fruit. These are produced in two areas; in the hills around the coastal town of Hua Hin and on floating vineyards near to Samut Sokorn, 30 miles from Bangkok, in the Chao Phraya Delta on the Gulf of Thailand. The local grape varieties are Malaga Blanc and Pokdum - the latter, when blended with Shiraz and Black Muscat produces an excellent red. The wines, produced by the Siam Winery, are not at all bad and are an admirable compliment to spicy Thai food.  The wines are available in many Thai restaurants and I suggest that you give them a try if you want to be suitably impressed.

This brings me conveniently to another story that I became aware of this week  with the announcement that Moët and Chandon has invested in 163 acres of farmland at Ningxia, a region of China located south of the Mongolian steppe and Gobi Desert.  This is one of the poorest areas of China but the renowned Champagne producers will be bring added benefits to the economy by planting Pino Noir and Chardonnay vines that will produce China's first traditional method sparkling wine. Wine experts have said that the terroir of Ningxia closely match that of Rheims, although the Yellow River flood plane is very different to the soft water of the Marne. The company has a purpose-built winery that is jointly owned with Ningxia Nongken a local state owned agriculture company. Planting is due to begin in April or May next year and the first wines will be ready in three years although they cannot be called Champagne as to lay claim to the name wines must be produced in this region of France. 

The Chinese drink about one million bottles of Champagne a year despite it being heavily taxed and the overall consumption of wine in the country more than doubled between 2005 and 2009 to over one billion bottles a year. Once available, the local brand will allow more Chinese to enjoy a quality sparkling wine and Moët believes that it will encourage new drinkers to progress through the range of sparkling wines to eventually invest in Champagne.