HMRC really do appear to hate you 
Classic HMRC āgive us your money and then see how hard it is to get it back off usā troll playbook
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They still owe me Ā£5.5k for a VAT payment they double dipped on the direct debit. Iāve been trying to get that back for years now.
Because they can never make their minds up how much is owed either way, and every time you have the misfortune to try to clarify this they change the number and what theyāve used to calculate it, I instruct my accountant to pay the minimum and let them chase me for whatever made up balance they think it is this month.
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Decorating.
Personally, Iād rather be waterboarded.
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spooky, I was saying that to someone at work yesterday. The IVR was just like an episode of fonejacker
me - I have a self assesment question
fonejacker - youād like to change your tax code
me - no I have a self assesment question
fonejacker - you have a question about maternity pay
me - no I have a self assesment question
fonejacker - youād like to pay capital gains tax
me - oh fuck off
fonejacker - putting you through to an agent (in 40 mins)
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Trying to organise a private whisky tasting for friends and discovering that I donāt have enough friends to meet the minimum numbers required 
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Ha! Reminds me of the halcyon days of Covid.
You donāt realise how antisocial you are until youāre half-way through a global pandemic and you realise your life hasnāt changed that much.
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Lol
*Or. At. All.
*in my case 
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I thought it was a sign that things were going well.
Iām actually nostalgic for some of how things were in Spring 2020. Not the daily death tolls obvs but much else.
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Or the possibility of the food supply collapsing. Or the secondary effects on the NHS and on the education system.
The spring weather was lovely though. And the impact on air travel meant that in the deep countryside if you could hear anything then it might just be birdsong or flowing water. At times that felt eerie.
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Iām with Guy - lockdown was great from a consumer POV - admittedly my sense of smell/taste is only about 80% of what it was, and I still feel tired all the damned time - but apaaaaaaaart from thatā¦ Sam worked from home full-time, the sheer peace & quiet, and the remarkable speed with which wildlife started to reclaim human-dominated spaces was breathtaking: every time I walked the dogs, even in daylight, we were seeing badgers, foxes, otters, deer, hares, water voles, grass snakes and godnose what else - and not at a distance, I literally nearly tripped over the same unwary badger twice when it suddenly launched out of the undergrowth in a belated panic and arse-waggled off up the road! 
The lack of cars and lorries above all else was just beautifulā¦
If only we could do that, but without killing-off everyoneās nanā¦ 
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It did help that because I was taking Harry out for weekly walks, I could drive anywhere on empty roads without fear of being stopped. Not that anyone ever did stop us but we were fortunate not to feel or be constrained in the way some were. And yes, the nature really was thriving.
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hmm. price worth paying? (as Boris might have suggested).
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Vicariously enjoyed by many on here, I for one am glad that you have carried on ābloggingā your Harry and dog walks
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Month lockdown every two years once I become pm.
Not sure what month to pick though.
January is favourite,though the shit weather is a minus. Possibly July
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What annual event could you do without ? I might pick party conference month.
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I fucking loved lockdown. Perfect excuse to hermit without all the usual societal bollox!
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I loved all the peace and quiet, and then remembered I had a bit of a shitty episode ( eternal thanks to those who know 
).
Apart from the shit bit Iād happily go back to the birds and water
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While the peace and quiet was nice, the downside was I finished Pornhub and no new content was being made. And Charelle stopped taking visitors. It really was the best and worst of times.
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