The one on the left was brewed and bought in Belgium. The one on the right was brewed and bought in the UK.
Do they taste the same? NO, not at all! The Belgium Stella has a soft, barley taste whereas the UK Stella has quite a bitter, sharp taste. Which is best? The Belgium Stella of course.
]]>Unclaimed Children’s Tax Allowance for 2002/3
The year before Tax Credits were introduced there was a
different non-means tested allowance available which was never
advertised by the Inland Revenue.
It is called the Children’s Tax Allowance for the Year 2002/3.
You can still claim this tax allowance before the 31 January
2009 deadline.
You need to phone HMRC on 0845 302 1437 (or preferably phone your local tax office) and ask them to check whether you have already
received this allowance and, if not, enquire as to what action
you need to take.
You are eligible to claim £520.00 allowance if;
*You have a child born between 6 April 1986 and 5 April 2003
*The child lived with you for all or part of 2002/2003
*You worked and paid tax for all or part of 2002/2003
*You or your partner earned £6,000 plus in the year 2002/2003
tax year
You are eligible for the £1,040 allowance if;
*If you can answer yes to the four questions above, and
*One of your children was born between 6 April 2002 and 5
April 2003
Notes:-
Making a claim does not affect your current or future
entitlement to Working or Child Tax credits.
Your Marital status is irrelevant
You cannot claim the allowance twice and if your final tax
code on your April 2003 P60 ended in a H or a T, you have
already had the allowance.
This is an easy claim for you to make so do not get duped into
paying someone to do it for you because they are likely to
charge a large percentage for their services.
Spread the word as this could be something which gives you a
little extra in these difficult times!!
Good luck!
]]>As a family, our extension was finished in time for last Christmas. We now have a garage big enough for both cars with an en-suite ‘playroom’ above, which is great for us to play pool, darts, PS2, but especially to get rid of the kids with their friends on sleepovers!
We went to Oman in March which was a truly unforgettable experience. It was part of the ‘Mission 193’ programme (go to www.mission193.com to see my blog entry) but also an incredible visit down memory lane for me, since I had visited Oman in 1977 to see my Dad, who was working over there at the time. We had a fabulous holiday in an amazing country and also were blessed when we visited the Church in Muscat.
In June we were host to Mio, a student from South Korea. Along with others, she was working at our high school as part of a United Nations Organisation venture. We now have a new friend in the East!
In August we stayed with my folks in Wakefield and went to Blackpool and the Lake District.
We are still part of All Nations Church Cardiff, but have also been encouraged by, and hopefully been an encouragement, during a number of visits to King’s Church Wakefield and Nation Changers Church Merthyr.
Adrian is now 39 and still working for the same construction firm as a managing quantity surveyor. However, the company has been badly affected by the recession, so things have become quite difficult. Adrian is really fit! Yes, I’m biased, but he walked the 3 peaks as part of a team last June, raising thousands of pounds for Tenovus Cancer Research and he now swims 5-6 times per week. He has also just finished decorating and laying a new oak floor in our dining room ready for our new table and chairs in time for Christmas.
Annie is 12 now. Although she won’t admit it, she loves school and is excelling. She has won 3 ‘1000 Club’ awards and a ‘Glan Lloyd’ award for services to the school. Her favourite subject is science. She is also on the school council, takes part in numerous after school activities and was recently in the school’s production of Wizard of Oz at the local theatre. She gained highly commended in her gold freestyle disco test in January but unfortunately was forced to give up dancing afterwards due to no longer having a dance partner.
Joseph is 11 and in his final year in primary school. He admits to loving school and his favourite subject is maths. He has represented his school in swimming (third place), rugby and cross country. He continues to play the electric guitar and passed his grade 3 in July, just 2 marks off a distinction.
Myself, Sharon, I turn 41 this month and have had to have reading glasses since January! I am still a learning support assistant at our local high school, working with children aged 11-16 on the autistic spectrum. Last year I turned down the opportunity to become a qualified teacher, but it was the right decision as I am happy in my position. I was also elected parent governor at the school (since it is also Annie’s school) in September.
Floppy, our bunny, is nearly 7. He’s getting old, fat and lazy, but we still love him.
See the photos at http://www.kodakgallery.co.uk/I.jsp?c=2law45z31.39dh0v76h&x=0&h=1&y=-4gcg35&localeid=en_GB click “View Slideshow”.
Moses stuttered
David’s armor didn’t fit
John Mark was rejected by Paul
Hosea’s wife was a prostitute
Amos’ only training was in the school of fig-tree pruning
Jacob was a liar
David had an affair
Solomon was too rich
Abraham was too old
David was too young
Timothy had ulcers
Peter was afraid of death
Lazarus was dead!
John was self-righteous
Jesus was too poor
Naomi was a widow
Paul was a murderer. So was Moses.
Jonah ran from God
Miriam was a gossip
Gideon and Thomas both doubted
Jeremiah was depressed and suicidal
Elijah was burned out
John the Baptist was a loudmouth
Martha was a worrywart
Mary was lazy
Samson had long hair
Noah got drunk
Did I mention that Moses had a short fuse?
So did Peter, Paul – well, lots of folks did.
But God doesn’t require a job interview. He doesn’t hire and fire like most bosses, because He’s more our Dad than our Boss. He doesn’t look at financial gain or loss. He’s not prejudiced or partial, not judging, grudging, sassy or brassy, not deaf to our cry, not blind to our need.
As much as we try, God’s gifts are free. We could do wonderful things for wonderful people and still not be …… wonderful.
Satan says, “You’re not worthy.”
Jesus says, “So what, I AM”
Satan looks back and sees our mistakes.
God looks back and see the cross.
He doesn’t calculate what you did in ’78. It’s not even on the record. Sure, there are lots of reasons why God shouldn’t want us. But if we are hopelessly in love with Him, if we hunger for Him more than our next breath, He’ll use us in spite of who we are, where we’ve been, or what we look like.
Step out of your limitations into the illimitable nature of who God is.
]]>They're written by Andy Rooney , a man who has the gift of saying so much with so few words. Enjoy.......
I've learned.... That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.
I've learned.... That when you're in love, it shows.
I've learned.... That just one person saying to me, 'You've made my day!' makes my day.
I've learned.... That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.
I've learned.... That being kind is more important than being right.
I've learned.... That you should never say no to a gift from a child.
I've learned.... That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.
I've learned.... That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.
I've learned.... That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.
I've learned.... That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.
I've learned.... That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.
I've learned.... That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.
I've learned.... That money doesn't buy class.
I've learned.... That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.
I've learned... That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.
I've learned.... That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.
I 've learned.... That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.
I've learned.... That love, not time, heals all wounds.
I've learned.... That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.
I've learned... That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.
I've learned.... That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.
I've learned... That life is tough, but I'm tougher.
I've learned.... That opportunities are never lost, someone will take the ones you miss.
I've learned.... That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.
I've learned.... That I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her one more time before she passed away.
I've learned.... That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.
I've learned.... That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
I've learned.... That when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.
I've learned.... That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.
I've learned.... That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.
To all of you.... Make sure you read all the way down to the last sentence.
It's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND, even if it means sending it back to the person who sent it to you. If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends. HAPPY FRIENDSHIP WEEK TO YOU!!!!!! YOU ARE MY FRIEND AND I AM HONORED! Now send this to every friend you have!! And to your family. This was sent to me by a friend.
]]>During a visit to the mental asylum, a visitor
asked the Director what the criterion was which
defined whether or not a patient should be
institutionalized.
"Well," said the Director, "we fill up a bathtub,
then we offer a teaspoon, a teacup and a bucket to
the patient and ask him or her to empty the
bathtub."
"Oh, I understand," said the visitor. "A normal
person would use the bucket because it's bigger than
the spoon or the teacup."
"No." said the Director, "A normal person would pull
the plug. Do you want a bed near the window?"
DID YOU PASS, OR DO YOU WANT THE BED NEXT TO MINE?
]]>This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out the process
of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He?explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver."
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he
had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time.?
The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"
He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire ,
remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.
I firmly believe that our earliest, and often most critical and lasting, notions about God, our heavenly Father, are formed by our earliest notions about our earthly fathers. The way we regard our earthly fathers dictates the respect, the obedience, the honor, and the love with which we regard their presence and directives — and so it is with our heavenly Father. Those notions begin very early and take shape slowly, expanding and being redefined with specific incidents, maturity, and perspective. I think of my father much differently now than I did when he died in 1963.
Mothers are most appreciated when you’re small and when you’re growing up. Often, father’s don’t get appreciated until much later. Sometimes you have to be fifty or sixty before you really understand what they did for you. Fathering never stops — and some of the most important fathering my dad ever did was
when I was grown.
The challenge to today’s fathers is to be worthy of the name. Our culture has eroded and demeaned both traditional and biblical concepts, leaving only frustration and confusion. Fathers who are half apologetic for bringing their children into the world; who are so concerned with their family’s self image that they teach them nothing; so afraid of being a tyrant — or even worse, out of touch — that they fail to discipline them; who want to be a buddy more than they want to be a father; who bow to their children’s every whim, rather than risk offending them; who leave parenting to their wives — these kinds of fathers are very misleading examples of divine fatherhood.
What is a father? Fathers have jobs — they bring home money. Fathers work — even when they are sick, when they hate their jobs, and when they see no hope.
Fathers are fixers. They can fix anything — plumbing, bicycles, lawnmowers, and toy trucks. And when they can’t fix it — they say they don’t have the right tools or that we needed a new one anyway or that they don’t make them like they used to. They even fix cuts, bruises, and disappointments —
or make them unimportant.
Fathers are not afraid of the dark, the neighbor’s dog, or the boogie man.
Fathers should be storytellers. Almost everything that happens should remind them of another time, and when they tell those stories, they must stop being businessmen, plumbers, electricians, computer programmers, and salesmen — and become the boys they once were — and never will be again —
but they should never stop longing or trying.
Fathers need to be decision makers. They need to know where they’re going, and they need to accept responsibility when they go wrong. Fathers need to defy a culture that seeks to emasculate and feminize them and turn them into junior partners on the family board of directors.
Fathers need to provide spiritual leadership for their families. They should not be ashamed to be seen praying or reading their Bibles. They must be careful to act and talk in harmony with scriptural injunctions and precedents — and when they go wrong — they admit their error, ask forgiveness, pray about it, and leave it behind them.
The Bible portrays four major characteristics of God that every father should emulate. First, God is dependable and consistent. God keeps his word —either yes or no or not now. Second, God is understanding. When we tell God, “It wasn’t my fault,” he may say, “Yes, it was,” or “I know it wasn’t” or “It really doesn’t matter, now does it?” Third, God is forgiving, which means that sometimes I don’t get what I deserve and sometimes I do. Fourth, God is loving, and that means that he always acts in my best interests.
What kind of a father are you? What notions about God do your children have?
]]>
1) Pray for the Bowen family, that God will bless them for their faithfulness to the Word
2) Add your comments onto the websites, in support
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml?xml=/global/2008/04/09/noindex/nfoster109.xml
]]>
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.
He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.
He then asked the students again if the jar was full... They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table.
And poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the Empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
"The golf balls are the important things - God, family, children, health, friends, and Favorite passions -- things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
"The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.
"The sand is everything else -- the small stuff.
"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls."
The same goes for life.
"If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you."
"So...
Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Play With your children.
Take your partner out to dinner.
Play another 18 holes.
"There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal."
"Take care of the golf balls first -- the things that really matter.
Set your priorities. "The rest is just sand."
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled.
"I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."
]]>Two Aerials meet on a roof - fall in love - get married
The ceremony was rubbish but the Reception was Brilliant.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Man goes to the docs, with a strawberry growing out of his head.
Doc says, "I'll give you some cream to put on it."
--------------------------------------------------------------------
"Doc, I can't stop singing the green green grass of home."
"That sounds like Tom Jones syndrome."
"Is it common?"
"It's not unusual."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
A man takes his Rottweiler to the vet.
"My dog's cross-eyed, is there anything you can do for him?"
"Well," says the vet, "let's have a look at him"
So he picks the dog up and examines his eyes, then checks his teeth.
Finally, he says, "I'm going to have to put him down."
"What? Because he's cross-eyed? "
"No, because he's really heavy"
--------------------------------------------------------------------
"Doctor, I can't pronounce my F's, T's and H's."
"Well you can't say fairer than that then"
------------------------------------------------------------------
Two elephants walk off a cliff...... boom boom!
---------------------------------------------------------------------
So I went to the dentist.
He said "Say Aaah."
I said "Why?"
He said "My dog's died."
---------------------------------------------------------------------
So I got home, and the phone was ringing. I picked it up, and said
'Who's speaking please?'
And a voice said "You are."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
So I rang up my local swimming baths.
I said 'Is that the local swimming baths?'
He said 'It depends where you're calling from.'
---------------------------------------------------------------------
So I rang up a local building firm,
I said 'I want a skip outside my house.'
He said 'I'm not stopping you.'
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Apparently, 1 in 5 people in the world are Chinese. And there are 5
people in my family, so it must be one of them.
It's either my mum or my dad.
Or my older brother Colin.
Or my younger brother Ho-Cha-Chu.
But I think it's Colin.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
So I was in my car, and I was driving along, and my boss rang up, and he
said 'You've been promoted.'
And I swerved.
And then he rang up a second time and said 'You've been promoted again.'
And I swerved again.
He rang up a third time and said 'You're managing director.'
And I went into a tree.
And a policeman came up and said
'What happened to you?'
And I said 'I careered off the road.'
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, most dentists' chairs go up and down, don't they?
The one I was in went back and forwards.
I thought 'This is unusual'.
And the dentist said to me
'Mr. Cooper, get out of the filing cabinet.'
--------------------------------------------------------------------
So I was getting into my car, and this bloke says to me "Can you give
me a lift?"
I said "Sure, you look great, the world's your oyster, go for it."
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Two cannibals eating a clown. One says to the other
"Does this taste funny to you?"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Police arrested two kids yesterday, one was drinking battery acid, and
the other was eating fireworks.
They charged one and let the other one off.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
You know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today.
They left a little note on the windscreen; it said 'Parking Fine.'
So that was nice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
A man walked into the doctors,
The doctor said "I haven't seen you in a long time"
The man replied, "I know I've been ill"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
A man walked into the doctors,
he said "I've hurt my arm in several places"
The doctor said, "well don't go to those places"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
I had a ploughman's lunch the other day.
He wasn't very happy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but I
couldn't find any.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
I bought some HP sauce the other day.
It's costing me 6p a month for the next 2 years.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Two blondes walk into a building..........you'd think at least one
of them would have seen it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Phone answering machine message -
"...If you want to buy marijuana.............press the hash key..."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
I went to the butchers the other day and I bet him 50 quid that he
couldn't reach the meat off the top shelf.
He said, "No, the steaks are too high."
---------------------------------------------------------------------
My friend drowned in a bowl of muesli.
A strong currant pulled him in.
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A man came round in hospital after a serious accident.
He shouted, "Doctor, doctor, I can't feel my legs!"
The doctor replied, "I know you can't, I've cut your arms off".
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I went to a seafood disco last week...and pulled a mussel.
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Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly.
They lit a fire in the craft, it sank, proving once and for all
that you can't have your kayak and heat it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Our ice cream man was found lying on the floor of his van covered
with hundreds and thousands.
Police say that he topped himself.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Two fat blokes in a pub, one says to the other "Your round."
The other one says "So are you, you fat slob!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Ireland's worst air disaster occurred early this morning when a small
two-seater Cessna plane crashed into a cemetery.
Irish search and rescue workers have recovered 1826 bodies so far and
expect that number to climb as digging continues into the night
]]>