Hom furniture

1969 - The Jackson 5 are recording "Stand!" for Motown Records in Detroit, Michigan.
1972 - The Jackson 5 release a new album, Lookin Through the Windows, on Motown Records
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1977 - The Jacksons are in Glasgow, Scotland for a Royal command performance for Queen Elizabeth II, with proceeds of the show going to the Silver Jubilee Fund (now The Queen's Trust). The Fund was established 1977 to commemorate the Queen's Silver Jubilee. It's purpose was to enable a small number of senior students in Cumbria’s schools and colleges to undertake work experience projects of academic nature overseas, connected to industry, service to the community, the arts, sport etc.
The Jacksons perform “Forever Came Today”, “Show You The Way To Go” and a Motown medley medley at Kings’s Theater in Glasgow. The group meets Queen Elizabeth for the second time.
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1979 - On their Destiny Tour, The Jacksons play at the Columbus Municipal Auditorium (now closed -1996)in Columbus, Georgia.
1988 - Michael starred in five Pepsi Cola commercials aired in the Soviet Union to an audience of 150,000,000 people from May 17 to 23rd. The commercials were seen during a week-long series called "Posner In America" hosted by Vladimir Posner, Russian journalist/broadcaster.
This was the first time in history that an American commercial was shown behind the Iron Curtain. This made Michael the first non-Soviet to be featured while advertising a product on Russian television. According to pop music historian Dmitry Babich, "Video culture was not very developed in Russia, there were very few VCRs. Michael Jackson became a legend without people seeing him a lot.
"So when Russian television became liberalized, young kids of 17, 18, 19 years of age wanted to watch only him." A spokesman for Pepsi stated that the Soviet officials asked specifically for Michael Jackson's commercials.
1998 - Michael joined African leaders in Namibia in a call for debt relief and in urging for a new era for the world's poorest region, especially the children. Michael told the annual Southern African Economic Forum summit that he would donate funds to make the world a better place for its children. He said that he and his new business partner, Barden International, would be looking at global investments that would bring economic empowerment to the the people, and enrich the lives of children.Michael is invited to the State House, official residence of the Namibian President Sam Nujoma and he meets two presidents Theo-Ben Gurirab and Nangolo Mbumba..
We are going to put our money where our mouths are!", he said
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1999 - In NYC Michael attends a private screening of Star Wars Episode 1 in Manhattan with his son (Prince) and magician Uri Geller.
2003 - Michael relived the 70's era at a 70's style themed party held at Miami's Forge nightclub for owner Al Malnik’s 70th birthday with Aldo Cascio, Chris Tucker, Brett Ratner & Wiesner among others.
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2005 - Trial Day 54
Michael goes to court with Katherine & Randy.
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Irene Lavern Peters, a social worker for the Department of children and Family Services, testified Tuesday concerning an interview of Mr. Jackson’s teen-age accuser and his family. She and two other social workers interviewed the family on February 20, 2003.
The accuser’s mother requested that the interview be held at Neverland, however, she was informed that Peters wanted to see where they lived. As a result, the interview was held at the home of the mother’'s boyfriend.
A Jackson bodyguard and several other people were present at the apartment where the interviews took place, but Peters conceded that they all left before the interview began.
The interview, which took place one day after the taping of the rebuttal video, began with the accuser’s mother playing a video tape of Mr. Jackson interacting with her sons.
"She denied all allegations of general neglect," Peters said. "I asked her about the relationship with Michael Jackson. She went on to say he was like a father to her children and she felt he was responsible for helping (the boy) to survive his cancer, for his cancer to go into remission.”
"I asked her if the kids ever slept in Michael Jackson's room and she said 'no, that never happened'."
Despite allegations by the prosecution that the family was coerced, Peters testified that the children "all seemed to be in agreement with their mom,” adding that the family seemed happy and well-adjusted" and "they all seemed spontaneous in their comments"”.
The accuser and his siblings, who were interviewed separately, described Mr. Jackson as a “father figure”.
When asked if “he had been touched inappropriately by Michael, Gavin answered “no” & seemed to be quite upset by the question.
He then told her about how his schoolmates had been taunting him because he was seen holding hands with Mr. Jackson in the Bashir documentary, “Living with Michael Jackson”.
During the interview the accuser’s mother expressed that she was not pleased with Bashir filming her children without her consent. Peters testified that the mother told her that "Michael wanted to send them to Brazil and she didn't want to go."
Peters said the mother referred to Brazil as "that dump." A travel agent has testified that she arranged a March 1, 2003, flight but the trip was abruptly canceled.
Peters told the jury that the family never complained about being held against their will. Even after bumping into the family two months after the interview at a hamburger stand, they all seemed fine.
Simone Jackson, a 16 year old cousin of Mr. Jackson testified that as she sat in the corner of the large Neverland Ranch kitchen area playing a video game, the accuser and his brother entered and took a bottle of wine.
"They didn't see me, I was sitting off to the side," Simone Jackson said, speaking softly from the witness stand. "They grabbed it and Starr got a wine glass and Gavin just took the bottle."
When the boys then saw her, she said, "I told them they weren't supposed to do that, and they told me not to say anything."
Judge Rodney Melville refused to reverse a decision he made to limit the testimony of Angel Vivanco, a former chef's assistant at Neverland who, the defense claims, developed a relationship with the accuser's sister.
Court Transcript
2007 - It is reported that Michael has secured a temporary restraining order in an effort to prevent an upcoming auction of Jackson family related memorabilia at the Hard rock Cafe in Las Vegas,Nevada
2009 - Michael goes to an art festival in Beverly Hills with Prince, Paris & Blanket
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2013 - Jackson v AEG Trial Day 13
Katherine, Rebbie and Trent Jackson are in court.
Jackson attorney Brian Panish has decided not to call Dr. Emery Brown, a propofol expert. Panish told ABC7 he thought Dr. Brown's testimony wasn't going to add anything new to the jury.
There's no witness available now to testify in the morning session, so Panish plays video deposition of Marty Hom, defense expert witness
Marty Hom Video Depostion
Marty Hom has been in the music industry 25-30 years. Hom is a tour manager who's worked with the Eagles, Bette Midler, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson & other big-name acts.
The artist is usually who hires and pays him, Hom said. He gets a check from the artist. Hom doesn't know if MJ was paying Gongaware. Hom said his role changes from one tour to the next. He has to adapt quickly to the artist's needs, since they are just very different.
Live Nation and AEG Live are the biggest companies in the business, Hom said. He's been friends with Randy Phillips for probably 10 years. Hom said he worked with Phillips and AEG Live once on the Bette Midler Tour in Las Vegas. Hom has no social relationship with Phillips. Hom said he knows AEG executives Paul Gongaware and Randy Phillips, who he called a friend. Hom said he and Phillips weren't close -- they didn't visit each others homes or otherwise socialize.
The music business in general is very small, Hom said, and Randy Philips used to manage a former client of his, Lionel Richie. Hom said he's never worked with Paul Gongaware. He's known him for many years, ran into each other all the time. He considers Gongaware a friend
Jacksons attorney Kevin Boyle asked if Hom's friendship with Phillips and Gongaware, defendants in the case, would sway his testimony. Hom said he worked with Janet Jackson and met Mrs. Jackson as well. "I probably know everyone in the business, this is a very small business"
This is Hom's first case serving as an expert witness. Hom said defendant's attorney called him asking if he'd be interested in being an expert witness in this case. Hom thought about it, agreed. Hom told the atty he didn't know what an expert witness makes. He was told they make between $400 - $500 an hour. They settled on $500/hour.
Hom: "They just wanted me to testify in general scope on what I do for a living. I think they were looking for someone who knew the tour biz"
Hom said he's seen artists travel with physical therapists, masseuses, cooks, but he's not been on tour where artist takes doctor on the road. Hom said he hired doctors in individual cities when artist was ill, wanted B12 shots, crew was sick. Hom said the tour paid the doctor. Boyle asked Hom whether he'd ever hired a doctor to go on tour. Hom said "No". Hom said he knew the Rolling Stones had a physician on tour, Blink-182 also had doctors on tour, but he didn't know what their agreements are
"The doctor should look for the best interest of the artist," Hom opined, "I'd never put artist on stage if it wasn't for his best interest"
Boyle asked if Hom knew Kenny Ortega. Hom said yes. Boyle asked if Ortega would ever falsely sound alarm about artist health. Hom said "no"
Hom said it was not appropriate for the tour manager or promoter to inject themselves into the doctor-patient relationship. He said he never injected himself in doctor-patient relationship. He said he didn't believe it was appropriate for concert promoters to do it. Hom: "Is it appropriate? I don't know, but it's a question I have to ask for best interest of the show. I think it's a legitimate question"
Hom said he didn't see a problem asking the doctor questions. It's up to the physician to set the limits, he opined. Asked if it would be OK for someone to speak to the performer's doctor without the artist present, he answered, "I thought it was the doctor's responsibility to say no."
He said he knew of no instance where a promoter or producer had a private conversation with the artist's doctor. Hom said he needs to know if the artist can perform and/or for how long he needs to be on leave. That's why he'd ask doctor status of the artist. Hom said he would ask the doctor questions to determine what kind of condition the artist/dancer would be and his capability to do the tour
He testified that when performers were ill, "my natural instinct is to go to that doctor and ask him, 'Is that dancer going or musician going to be able to make that show in a week?'" Hom said it was proper for AEG lawyers to inquire of Murray whether Jackson would be able to perform all of the scheduled shows in London.
He' s also worked with AEG on a couple occasions, including the Alicia Keys tour. He was approached about working on the Rolling Stones tour. Timm Wooley contacted Hom earlier this year to ask if he would be willing to be the tour manager for the Rolling Stones show. Hom said he was pretty busy this year, but since it's the Rolling Stones, he would like to throw his resume in the pot. Hom said AEG ended up hiring someone else to be Rolling Stones' tour manager.
Hom said that Dr. Murray asking for $5 million raised a red flag. "It's outrageous."
Hom said he's never seen a draft agreement between promoteproducer and a doctor. He's been in the business for 30 years. Hom said he wasn't aware of the promoteproducer ever paying artist personal manager. Plaintiff says they have evidence AEG paid Michael's manager(Panish said outside court that he will later introduce evidence that AEG was paying Jackson's managers, which could be a conflict of interest)
Boyle: "Would you ever hire a doctor to give an opiate-dependent artist Demerol?" Hom: "No"
Boyle: "Would you hire a doctor to be feeding the chemical dependency of the artist?" Hom: "I would not"
Hom also said he would never tell a director he had checked out a doctor if he hadn't, a reference to claims by the Jackson family about an AEG executive
Hom said he had no opinion whether the defendants hired Dr. Murray. Hom never talked with Phillips, Gongaware or Wooley about MJ.
Boyle asked Hom several questions about whether he wanted to work with AEG Live in the future. Hom said "Yes". Hom said he'd like to work "with AEG Live in the future, not for them". He said the promoters don't have any saying on who hires him. Hom said he works for an artist, he's hired and paid by the artist, promoters have no say on his contract. Hom noted that AEG and Live Nation are the two biggest concert promoters. He wants to keep working with both of them, he said.
Julie Hollander Testimony
Katherine and Rebbie Jackson was not present for the afternoon session.
Jackson Direct
Brian Panish walked her through This Is It concert budgets, both those generated before and after Michael's death. The documents show that AEG budgeted to pay Murray for his work with Jackson as 'pre-production cost'; Murray was never paid. (AP)
Panish showed Hollander a document from April 30, 2009 - it shows management medical for $300,000. Hollander said her job was to facilitate payments and sometimes she approved payment as well.
Panish asked Hollander if people worked for AEG without fully executed contracts. She said "Yes, they may start work in general terms. Standard company policy is that no payments are made without a fully executed contract. The contract could get executed later"
"People commence work before their contract is executed, yes" Hollander said.
Panish said people did the work before Michael died, but got paid after he died. Hollander said she didn't recall specifics. Hollander said there were people who had contracts renegotiated after MJ's death. Hollander said AEG renegotiated contracts after Michael died to mitigate the burden on MJ's Estate
Panish shows email from 7/10/09 asking Hollander to sign a tour contract so vendor could get paid. Hollander signed it after MJ had died. Panish shows email from 8/4/09 showing another vendor who negotiated contract after MJ died and got paid for prior services.
Panish also displayed several emails about how other vendors were paid, including makeup/hairstylist Karen Faye. The emails show some vendors were complaining about that they weren't being paid after Jackson's death. Hollander said many were paid.
One of the emails was regarding $11,500 that Karen Faye charged AEG for wigs she purchased for Jackson. After he died, AEG stopped a payment. Faye was upset that they rescinded the payment and was threatening to go to AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips.
Email from 6/30/09 from Randy Phillips to Holland: "This is from Karen Faye who did Michael's hair and makeup. She bought three wigs for use in the tour and one of them is going to be used for his final rest. He was copied in on a message.Pay it immediately. Do not stiff any vendors"
The amount for the wigs was $11,500, which Hollander said it's a nominal amount, thus there's no need for contract.
From time to time, Mr. Gongaware asked Hollander to expedite payment, she testified. He's an impatient person, vendors are important to him
As to Tohme Tohme, Hollander knows who he is, but is aware that at some point he was released from duties as Michael's manager. Hollander says she knew Tohme was terminated before MJ died, therefore had no legal power to sign on his behalf
Panish said $36 million was spent in MJ's project. He asked if Hollander knew AEG filed claim against Lloyds of London to collect insurance. Hollander said she knew it through the press. She doesn't have recollection of specifically providing information for an insurance claim
Panish shows Pre-Tour Cost Projection from 5/20/09 where AEG was to pay Dr. Murray $300,000. "It was pursuant to the contract", Panish said. Budget prepared by Wooley, approved by Gongaware showed "Management Medical" and amounts to be paid to Dr. Murray are listed "Per Contract"
On 6/18/09, Hollander received email from Brigitte Segal, who worked on the tour for the estimated cost for some living arrangements in London. AEG pays for entertainment arcade & bowling alley because of precondition in terms of what Michael needed at the house and as part of the bargain. AEG pays for 3 of the local houses: Bush, Faye and Murray (wardrobe dresser, make-up/hair & personal physician). Pays for additional furniture, staffing, security, nanny, food.
Gongaware response on June 19, 2009: "I agree with Timm's allocation and the charges. Approved"
Hollander said AEG had to pay those costs pursuant to the terms of the contract for the tour, as advance payment.
Panish shows a pre-production budget vs what was paid. Dr. Murray still appears budgeted on 7/1/09 for $300,000. Hollander said she did not see a contract with Dr. Murray signed by AEG. Panish: "If the $300,000 was supposed to be advanced for Michael to be repaid, it would be under the category 'Artist's Advances'?', Hollander agreed. There was $300k listed for Murray under 'pre-production costs' in This Is It's budgets. It wasn't listed under terms Michael was supposed to pay
Panish: "Dr. Murray was supposed to be paid $150,000 per month, correct?" Hollander: "Yes, according to the un-executed contract"
Panish ended his direct examination of Hollander by playing testimony from her deposition about 20 tours she'd handled finances for. Hollander said that the This Is It tour was the first time she saw the situation where AEG Live hired a physician for the tour. It was also the first time she saw AEG Live pay for an artist's personal physician.
AEG Cross
AEG attorney Jessica Stebbins Bina started her questioning of Julie Hollander. Her early questions focused on money advanced to Jackson. Hollander told Stebbins Bina that it was her first time testifying and that's why she was so nervous answering questions
Hollander explained what advance meant, it was like cash advance and, depending on the contract, it would be paid back by the artist. Hollander testified that Michael was responsible for 100% of the production costs should the concert not go forward. But if the tour went forward, MJ was responsible for repayment of 95% of the costs and AEG would pay 5%.
Hollander said that if something is on the budget, it means it was planned to be paid. But things changed very often.
In the This Is It tour, Hollander said she had contracts with staging, lighting, choreographers, sound equipment, etc. She testified that only the contract that had been drafted for Dr. Murray required Michael Jackson's signature.
"My understanding was that Mr. Jackson had asked to include Dr. Murray in the tour personnel. Mr. Murray was requested by the artist, and that was my understanding," explained Hollander.
"I was instructed that no payments were to be made until Michael signed the contract," Hollander said, due to the personal nature of the services.
"Tour manager maintains the budget, negotiates some of the vendor's contract, may be involved in mitigating tax exposure. My role (in TII tour) was to make sure the items created were in line with the budget made," Hollander described.
Hollander said she never saw a version of Dr. Murray's contract signed by AEG or MJ. "AEG never paid Dr. Murray", Hollander said.
Before court adjourned, Hollander made the point that a budget is a guide for a concert tour. "A budget is just a tool. Sometimes an executed contract differs from the budget. In that case, the contracts terms dictate the payments", Hollander said.
Marty Hom Transcript
Hollander Transcript

One thing no one else seems to talk about is the GMV make up between BABA, JD and PDD. Over 50% of BABA GMV is clothing and beauty products (see chart below), versus PDD which is mostly agricultural and groceries. Clothing and beauty related products were hammered during COVID lockdown in 2022 (no social events duh). However, the newest data in Q1 2023 is showing 17% yoy growth for clothing. Vipshop another clothing heavy ecommerce competitor reported seeing as high as 40% yoy growth in their women clothing sales this year. People saw the BABA numbers going down and modeled out the future as if it is stagnant, but if you look deeper into what is driving the growth you see much better into the future. If we see Q1 BABA China commerce grows 10%+ yoy, what do you all think the market will do? (probably more red, JK)
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Let’s be honest, who doesn’t want a clean home? And, the floors are a big part of deep home cleaning. After all, the foundation of a healthy home is a clean floor. The task of floor cleaning is never-ending. Performing this task properly is one of the most important things you can do to ensure that your space is as clean as it can be. Having a clean home means having a healthy home, and the health of your family is dependent on your floors being clean. Using an effective floor cleaning solution kills bacteria and germs on the floor and enhances the atmosphere. Today, we will learn about the importance of a clean floor and home deep cleaning, as well as which is the best floor cleaner for your home.
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Disinfect Your Floors Our Powerful Cleaner - Safe and Effective
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How Important is it to Keep Your Home’s Floors Clean?
Our floors are designed to withstand a range of elements, including furniture movement, the movement of pets, heavy foot traffic, and kids’ activities. Additionally, we spend a significant amount of money on floors when we renovate our homes. We should therefore take good care of our floors and deep clean our homes regularly. For a healthy and clean home, floors need to be cleaned on a daily basis due to the constant buildup of grime, dirt, spills, and mud. It is vital that they are kept clean to maintain their aesthetic appeal as well as prevent the accumulation and spread of germs and debris.

What are the Benefits of Home Deep Cleaning and Cleaning Floors Regularly?

Deep cleaning of your home, especially cleaning your floors regularly is very essential. Learn more about the importance of home deep cleaning and its benefits.

Aesthetic Benefits

• A clean floor and regular home deep cleaning will help ensure that you’re always ready to welcome people into your home and entertain guests. No last-minute hustle!
• The home looks more appealing and inviting
• Regular home deep cleaning keeps the home smelling fresh
• Clean floors prolong the life of carpets and rugs.
• Hardwood floors are more likely to last if they are cleaned regularly.

Health Benefits

• Fewer germs mean less diseases. Deep cleaning of your home regularly will ensure a safe environment for you and your family.
• With regular home deep cleaning, you are able to maintain a healthy environment in the home. This is especially important if you have children because you won’t be worried about them running around barefoot.

Read More: How to clean your house like a pro!

What Are The Different Types Of Floor Cleaners?

Are you interested in knowing what types of floor cleaners that are available for deep cleaning your home? Learn about the types of floor cleaners available in the market as it will help you decide which one is right for your home and floor type and are good for home cleaning.

• Multipurpose cleaners: These cleaners are ideal for cleaning all kinds of water-resistant floor surfaces, including vinyl, marble, tiles, terrazzo, and epoxy-coated floors. However, they are not suitable for wooden floors.
• Neutral floor cleaners: Besides floor surfaces, they can also be used on windows, mirrors, tiles, and other glazed surfaces, except wood.
• Heavy-duty degreasers: These floor cleaners are perfect for removing heavy-scale deposits from industrial floors.

How to Choose the Best Mop for Cleaning the Floor

In order to clean your floors while deep cleaning your home, it is essential to use a mop.
There is no better way to clean hard floors than by mopping. Although there are a wide variety of mops available in the market, a high-quality mop is essential to effectively cleaning your floors and for deep cleaning your home. Here are some types of mops that can help with home deep cleaning.

• Flat mop: Flat mops are good for both hardwood and vinyl floors since they don’t require a lot of water. Home deep cleaning gets easier with flat mops.
• Sponge mop: This kind of mop is effective in cleaning spills with a sponge mop and if therefore often used for home deep cleaning. This product is perfect for spills of all kinds because of its excellent adsorbent properties.
• Dust mop: As the name suggests, the purpose of a dust mop is to remove dust. It is possible to remove dust and debris from the ground using a dust mop. Therefore, it is good to include it in your home deep cleaning kit.
• String mop: String mops are the most common type of mops and are often used for home deep cleaning. They come with a bucket for storing the washing liquid and for wringing out the mop
• Steam mop: In order to eliminate the gunk that has built up on your floors, steam mop emits steam, and is another excellent tool for home deep cleaning.
• Microfiber mop: A microfiber cloth has the same cleaning abilities as a sponge and is easier to clean than a sponge when doing home deep cleaning.
• Static mop: Many people use a microfiber cloth for home deep cleaning to collect dirt, dust, and debris. The mop is known as a static mop since microfiber can act like static electricity.
• Brush mop: This combination of a broom and a mop is ideal for home deep cleaning. With the added bristles, it easily scrubs stains out, just like a regular mop and ensures you have a clean home.

In the wake of the pandemic, home sanitization is more important than ever. Home sanitization reduces the growth of viruses, kills bacteria, and kills harmful fungi. To keep our families healthy and safe, we need to regularly clean our floors and deep clean our homes.
How to Teach Your Kids to Clean and Care for Their Home

What are the Different Types of Floors and How do you Clean Them?

After learning about the importance of home deep cleaning and why it is necessary to clean floors regularly, let’s find out what are the different types of floors and how to maintain them.

Concrete Floors

It is essential to dust the floor before washing or cleaning it with a regular cleaner while deep cleaning your home. Maintain the luster of concrete floors by regularly scrubbing and waxing them.

Ceramic Tile Floors

When deep cleaning your home and cleaning ceramic floors, you should use a wet mop and a neutral, mild floor cleaner to maintain the sheen. Make sure to brush the grout regularly in order to keep it clean.

Marble Floors

When deep cleaning marble floors, use hot water and a pH-neutral cleaner to prevent discoloration or sealer damage. Regularly dust and damp mop the floors to prevent damage.

Wooden Floors

When deep cleaning your home or cleaning wooden floors, avoid using too much water. The presence of water dulls the finish of your wood and can lead to irreversible damage. Use appropriate polishing materials and dust regularly with a soft mop.
Read more : Best Floor Cleaner for Your Home

Why I Bought a Pub
Just before lockdown, the Grand Tour presenter became the proud owner of the Royal Oak, his struggling village boozer. It’s the best money he’s ever spent.
By James May (Sunday Times, Dec. 18)
I don’t write the headlines for these articles, but I suspect the one here reads something like “Why I bought a pub”.
Well, why not? A surprising number of people secretly want to own a pub, and a few of them are even daft enough to believe they could run one. Former footballers buy pubs, so do retired stand-up comedians. There’s no reason why a fading TV presenter shouldn’t join the throng.
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Rescuing a threatened pub can also be seen as an act of charity. The rural boozer is a focal point of local life, fulfilling an important social and even commercial role in the village. Pepper this sentiment with “community”, “tradition” and “important part of our heritage”, and everyone can feel warm and reassured while tucking into a three-for-two beer deal from Tesco and a Deliveroo Chinese.
The reality is entirely selfish. The Royal Oak Swallowcliffe (just off the A30 between Salisbury and Shaftesbury, offering a hearty welcome, an extensive menu and a fine choice of wines, beers and spirits, with agreeable rooms and superb walking and cycling opportunities; 01747 870211) is the only pub within walking distance of our hobbity weekend cottage. If it closed, as was threatened, country living would cease to have any meaning and our time there would be consumed entirely in tending to the wood-burning stove, our television.
A bit of background. Sarah and I have been regulars at the Oak ever since we started our experiment in living for the weekends in medieval England, around seven years ago. When first we arrived, pale-faced and naive from London, assuming it would be all pheasant pie and morris dancing, the pub had just reopened following a lengthy and very, very expensive refurbishment.
In an earlier iteration of the scenario outlined above, the original Royal Oak, untended for decades and in a poor state, had closed and was under threat of conversion by developers into housing or even a shop. Uproar, obviously, from all the people who didn’t use the pub enough, which was why it had closed.
There may have been the usual move by an anarcho-communist village syndicate to acquire the pub as a chattel (this sort of thing rarely works out well) but eventually four blokes from nearby villages clubbed together, bought the whole enterprise and set about modernising it.
And, it must be said, they did an excellent job. They successfully inserted a modern pub into the largely unspoilt 18th-century shell, with cool contemporary furniture from a local maker, restrained decor, a superb modern kitchen, new plumbing and electrics, tastefully appointed rooms; everything I approve of. It was gloriously free of all the things I don’t approve of in pubs: horse brasses, Sky Sports, a fruit machine, steaks served on pieces of wood, chips served in miniature fire buckets, a wishing well, comedy bar signs about hiding from “the wife”, black-and-white photographs of the village “as it was”, that picture of the Queen Mother pulling a pint, a purple dinosaur-shaped children’s climbing frame in the beer garden, hilarious names for the lavatories, wooden spoons branded with your table number, unused pewter tankards hanging from hooks — there was none of that. There is a (very popular) monthly pub quiz, but I simply don’t go on that night and we agree never to talk about it.
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Thoughtfully, they preserved one of the most memorable features — a plaque next to the bar. It reads: “Marie Colvin, Sunday Times journalist, 1956-2012. Killed in Homs, Syria. She loved this pub” — a recommendation that speaks for itself.
In addition to that, the menu was surprisingly international, the chef was excellent and the beer was great. So a better headline for this piece would be “Why was this pub for sale in the first place?”
Because it simply never made a profit and the four original investors became tired of drip-feeding money into what had become an irksome hobby. So I was asked if I wanted it. But why would I want a pub that didn’t work (qv paragraph four)?
I am no businessman and have already been fired in absentia by Lord Sugar. I know nothing about running a pub beyond what I learnt doing bar and waiting shifts as a youth; viz, that it’s very hard work, potentially unhealthy and that the margins are always tight. But … a pub! (Ibid, para two.)
So I made friends with a man called Simon, who was one of the original investors and was interested in carrying on. He is a senior executive in the energy industry and would understand the financial side of it, staffing, overheads, all that stuff. I could write some crap jokes into the wine list. A scan of the books revealed where savings could be made, so the pub could “wipe its own face” (as I believe they say in business).
A price had been agreed for the pub and we would go halves on it. We also agreed that we shouldn’t in any way attempt to run it ourselves and were recommended an experienced Yorkshire publican called Chris. He was interested in becoming t’ manager and, as we all instinctively understand, the success of a pub ultimately hinges on its landlord, tha knows.
I felt I should go for it, so that I could say, “I own (half) a pub.”
Then Covid struck and the Royal Oak became essentially worthless. But, as a mate of mine would say, a deal is a deal, so we bought it anyway. And then closed it. It was a bit like being given a train set for Christmas but not being allowed to open the box. For a whole year we didn’t even go to Hobbit Cottage, since we’re London blow-ins and it’s technically a second home and that wasn’t allowed. So now I’d not only bought a pub I couldn’t visit, I was forking out for a five-course banquet for two that someone else was eating. I told you I wasn’t very good at this.
By the summer of 2021 things were looking up. June was as glorious as any an Elizabethan poet could conjure up, the beer garden overfloweth and merrie it was. Then the chef caught the ’rona and we had to shut for ten days, right in the middle of the busiest month of the year.
​
James May with Chris Bryett, the Royal Oak’s landlord
But let us put the misery of the “extraordinary times” behind us and move to the present day, where the Royal Oak has been ticking along quite nicely for a while and even generating enough profit to pay for the constant redecoration of its flaky 1700s uninsulated internal walls.
Until, that is, the cost of living crisis struck. Suddenly, the ovens cost three times as much to run, everyone wants a pay rise and the price of raw ingredients has gone through the thatched roof (insurance premium just trebled). We’ve had to remove the delightful half-pint of prawns from the snacks menu because the prawns are now so expensive that we’d have to charge £28 for it just to break even. Half-pint of Spam, anyone?
An editor on this newspaper asked me if I’d be barring anyone from the pub, recalling the time Keir Starmer was thrown out of one in Bath in a row about lockdown restrictions. I can think of a few I’d like to bar, but to be honest times are too tight to think of excluding anyone this side of a machinegun-toting maniac.
As a result of all this, I’ve sat down and had a very hard think about pubs. They are ultimately doomed, we are told, and we have been subjected to a steady stream of statistics to back this up. I addressed the issue on a TV show ten years ago and pubs were already doomed then. The latest figures say that 50 pubs a month are closing permanently in England and Wales.
And I wish to make it clear that neither I nor Simon has taken a single penny out of the Royal Oak. I go there most weekends and pay full price for my food and drink (because we have a strict “no freebies” rule), which is what I did before I owned it. I just had to pay a huge lump sum to continue to enjoy the privilege. I don’t mind this, since I’m fortunate and I enjoy owning a pub, but as a “business model” it’s obviously nonsense. So it follows that the pub as an institution must eventually dwindle to nothing.
But I don’t believe this. First, if I may be so bold, the country is oversubscribed with pubs, the legacy of a former era when they functioned as communal kitchens and parlours for people who had left home and were not yet versed in the domestic sciences, or who needed to slake an industrial thirst generated in the sort of workplaces that no longer exist, or who knew of no other means of meeting someone to bag off with.
Pubs, for obvious reasons, proliferated in the Victorian era, especially in towns and cities, where they were effectively the communal part of working people’s homes. We know that Ebenezer Scrooge, in A Christmas Carol, “took his melancholy dinner in his usual melancholy tavern”. But pubs don’t need to fulfil this role any more. They are entirely places where we go of our own volition, rather than out of necessity, and they need to acknowledge this. Note how it’s dreary pubs that subscribe to the old thinking, with their mediocre food, crappy karzis and limited drinks lists, that close down. Good pubs, the ones that have readjusted, are doing fine, and we don’t need as many of them as we once did.
I am regularly harangued on social media by people who say my pub is “too posh” or “not a proper boozer”, the definition of which includes sawdust on the floor and a spittoon in the corner. There may be a role for these, but it’s a very limited one. Country pubs, especially, need to be what the marketing people call “destinations”, not part of a tacit agreement not to try too hard.
Yes, there are obstacles to its continued success, as outlined above. There is also competition that didn’t exist when I last pulled a pint in the Raven, back in the 1980s: dirt-cheap supermarket booze, Deliveroo and Tinder, to name the obvious ones.
Expensive? I suppose it is, a bit. Our fish and chips with a chilled glass of vermentino will set you back £23.50, but for that you are also enjoying sitting in a nice pub with a delightful garden in the summer and a roaring log conflagration in winter, served by charming young people and with the added divertissement of the incomprehensible manager. And you don’t have to wash anything up.
Do I sound as if I’m trying to convince myself? I suppose I am. I’m also trying to convince you, because I want you to come to my pub. Pubs are important. Or at least mine is. It may be the best thing I’ve ever bought.
royaloakswallowcliffe.com
***
The Revival of a (Substantial) Classic
By James May (Sunday Times, Dec. 18)
Like many people, I have rather erased the memory of the pandemic years. I also can’t properly remember what all the rules were. But I do remember booking the pub for Christmas Day 2020, then not being allowed to go because the country was divided into tiers, and being from London meant I was in danger of infecting the hardy Wiltshire stock with a foul metropolitan ague.
Then we became embroiled in the great Scotch-egg-as-a-substantial-meal debate. You may recall that Michael Gove, then the Cabinet Office minister, declared that a Scotch egg was “a starter”, only 24 hours after George Eustice, the environment secretary, said it was “a substantial meal”. The distinction was important because to eat a meal you had to sit down with people from your bubble and you couldn’t eat it standing at the bar. Prior to this I’d have maintained that anyone who sat down with a knife and fork to eat a Scotch egg belonged in the village stocks.
Thus the Scotch egg became a symbol of how convoluted the rules had become. Thankfully, it has enjoyed something of a revival. Here is the Royal Oak’s homage to it, which can be enjoyed as a starter or a main, and eaten standing or sitting.
Royal Oak Scotch eggs
Makes 4
Ingredients:
For the eggs:

• 4 eggs
• 450g sausage meat (or 450g of sausages with skins removed. We use our own secret Walter Rose sausages)
• 1 tsp each of dried and fresh thyme
• Splash of truffle oil

For the coating:

• 1 beaten egg
• Plain flour
• Panko breadcrumbs

1. Put the eggs in a pan of boiling water. Lower the heat and simmer — 4 min if you want the yolks still runny, 8 min if you want them firm. Submerge them in a bowl of iced water until cold and then peel.
   
2. Mix the sausage meat with the herbs and truffle oil using your fingers. Season with salt and pepper. Divide the mixture into four equal lumps.
   
3. Flour your hands and flatten each lump of sausage meat into a disc. Roll each egg in flour, dusting off any excess. Place an egg in the middle of a sausage meat disc and mould it around the egg by cupping your hands and rotating it. Repeat with the remaining eggs. Try to make the coating uniform in thickness. Unfortunately, you won’t know if you’ve succeeded in this until you cut them in half later.
   
4. To make the coating, pour the beaten egg into a bowl, put the flour on a plate and the panko breadcrumbs on another plate. Roll each egg in the flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs.
   
5. Heat the oil in a deep-fryer — or a generously filled wok or chip pan — to 150C. The temperature is right when breadcrumbs dropped in turn golden in a few seconds.
   
6. Lower the eggs into the hot oil for 8 min, spinning them around occasionally to ensure even goldening on the outside.
   
7. Drain the eggs on kitchen paper and allow them to cool before serving. We serve them with burnt apple sauce.
   

Hallo meine werten Internetfreunde,
Ihr kennt mich vermutlich gar nicht, weil ich meistens nur lurke und nix relevantes zu sagen habe. Trotzdem dachte ich mir, dass ich euch anlässlich des DD-Novembers eine kasachische Bumsbude vorstellen will: KASPI.KZ
WKN: A2QD9Y
(ZL;NG am Ende)

Geschäftsmodell

Kaspi.Kz ist ein kasachisches Unternehmen, das 1991 (noch unter anderem Namen) als langweilige Handelsbank gegründet wurde und sich seitdem sehr stark weiterentwickelt hat. Das Geschäft mit Firmenkunden hat man mittlerweile nahezu komplett eingestellt und sich seither zu einem vollumfänglichen digitalen Ökosystem gewandelt: Nutzer können über Kaspi einkaufen (E-Commerce), sich ihre Einkäufe von Kaspi finanzieren lassen und die Bezahlung über Kaspi abwickeln und noch einiges mehr. Hier ein kleiner Einblick:
https://preview.redd.it/nru13gjvfry91.jpg?width=1222&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a811f1c260e5636d0fdb121e61176c06a3e17fad
Relativ neu dazugekommen sind noch Reisebuchungen (Flug und Hotels) und ein eigenständiger Versandservice für den Marktplatz.
Im Bereich Payments hat man (Stand April 2021) einen Marktanteil von 65% in Kasachstan, den E-Commerce beherrscht man mit 46% und im Bereich Digital Finance kontrolliert man 32% aller Konsumkredite und 18% des Einlagengeschäfts (für Privatkunden). Insgesamt nutzen jetzt schon circa 50% aller Kasachen Kaspi (von circa 19 Mio. Einwohner), eine Expansion nach Usbekistan und Aserbaidschan ist geplant und soll demnächst anlaufen.
Auch in Kasachstan selbst ist das Wachstum immer noch sehr hoch (Stand 3Q22, Vergleich zum Vorjahresquartal):

	Umsatz	Jahresüberschuss
Payments	+51%	+51%
Marketplace	+63%	+59%
Fintech	+28%	+5%
Gesamt	+39%	+30%

🚀🚀
Ebenso konnten die Gewinnerwartungen für das Fiskaljahr 2022 trotz aller politischen und wirtschaftlichen Umstände von 27-30% Wachstum auf über 30% Wachstum angehoben werden

Politisches Risiko

Bevor wir zur Aktie selber kommen, noch kurz zum politischen Risiko; Kasachstan ist recht autoritär geführt, weshalb wir (leider) darüber sprechen müssen. Grundsätzlich wird aber die Wirtschaft immer freier und offener für Innovationen und auch Investoren. Die Regierung selbst kooperiert auch immer wieder mit Kaspi, so wurden z.B. während Corona Hilfszahlungen an die Bevölkerung über Kaspi abgewickelt. Innerpolitisch sollte das Risiko also zumindest mit der aktuellen Regierung (bis 2026 im Amt soweit ich weiß) sehr gering sein; die Chancen auf hohes Wachstum sogar ziemlich hoch. Die außenpolitischen Risiken einzuschätzen fällt mir da schon schwerer. Russland ist immer noch Kasachstans wichtigster Partner, man versucht sich aber mittlerweile weiter von Russland zu entfernen. Ob das eher Chancen (Unabhängigkeit, etc.) oder Risiken (Bedrohung o.ä.) mit sich zieht, kann ich ehrlich nicht sagen, vielleicht weiß da ja jemand mehr.

Der Stock

Wie auch alle anderen Stöcker ist auch Kaspi Anfang des Jahres stark gefallen, was aus meiner Sicht zwei Gründe hat:

1. natürlich der Angriffskrieg Russlands und die damit einhergehenden politischen und wirtschaftlichen Risiken (direktes Nachbarland, starker Partner von dem man sich entfernen will, etc.)
2. Überbewertung; die Aktie stand zwischenzeitlich bei 145 USD. Klar, es gibt ein sehr starkes Wachstum, das Unternehmen ist sehr gut aufgestellt, aber dennoch war diese Bewertung einfach einen Ticken zu hoch

Ich will hier gar nicht viel mit 10-20 komischen Kennzahlen jonglieren, deshalb hier nur ganz kurz: Bei einem erwarteten Gewinn je Aktie von 6,07 USD liegt das KGV beim Kurs von 63 USD (zum Zeitpunkt, zu dem ich das hier schrieb) bei gerade mal 10,38… Für ein Unternehmen (nein, nicht nur eine Bank!) mit einem Wachstum von >30%!
Anbei hier noch kurz die Gewichtung der Sektoren, wobei der Bereich Fintech seit Jahren immer kleiner wird:
https://preview.redd.it/it9oht4wery91.png?width=822&format=png&auto=webp&s=f67c20fa7a93225fa3af9d26d32dc971792ed06d
Das Ganze erreicht Kaspi, TROTZ dessen, dass sie ihre ehrenwerten Anleger noch mit einer Dividende (von knapp über 3%) vergüten. Circa 35% des Gewinns werden ausgeschüttet, der Rest geht in die Expansion innerhalb und außerhalb Kasachstans.
Außerdem gab es dieses Jahr schon zwei Rückkaufprogramme über 51M bzw. 45M USD und ein weiterer Aktienrückkauf über 100M USD soll innerhalb der nächsten 4 Monate folgen. Klasse!
Damit aber nicht genug: Aktuell notiert die GDR lediglich an der London Stock Exchange, was dafür sorgt, dass die Liquidität leider nicht sehr hoch ist. Dies will man nun ändern und plant, die GDR im Jahr 2023 an einer der US-Börsen zu listen. Das sollte nochmal einen guten Schub für den Kurs bedeuten 🚀
ZL;NG: Herausragendes Wachstum, Führungsrolle in bestehenden Märkten, Expansion in neue Märkte, Aktienrückkäufe, US-Listing voraus, nette Dividende, Mond 🚀
Position: [email protected],88€
Obligatorische Enthaftung: Hört lieber nicht auf mich, ich habe u.a. Geld mit Puts auf die Lira, Longs auf Öl (ja, im Jahr 2022) und mit noch viel mehr dummem Zeug verloren. Keine Anlageempfehlung.