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Messages - Tony Baloney

#1
General discussion / Re: Weather
March 28, 2024, 01:11:06 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on March 28, 2024, 12:32:02 PM
Quote from: Armagh18 on March 28, 2024, 10:45:28 AMGlobal warming my hole, cold wet and miserable March.

The spuds will be poor this year again.

We've just stumped out quite a load of £££ to redrain our pitch and the lad doing it struggled to get on it due to the rain, he's most of the main drains in, just needs to come back and finish the sand slitting over the top dressing once it's knitted a bit better.

Never been so persistently wet this winter that I can remember...







Send him round to do my garden when he's finished.

Snow here now!
#2
General discussion / Re: extortion
March 28, 2024, 10:17:13 AM
I used Uber in Belfast last weekend and had no bother as it was a Sunday so no idea what their service is like on a Saturday night when the city is packed. I think the taxi service lost loads of drivers over Covid and many didn't return.
#3
General discussion / Re: extortion
March 27, 2024, 05:04:12 PM
Quote from: tonto1888 on March 27, 2024, 04:23:54 PMwho, or what, is Beannchor
Bill Wolsey and family.

Merchant, Bullitt, Dirty Onion, The National, Little Wing pizzerias...
#4
General discussion / Re: Movie recommendations
March 27, 2024, 05:00:46 PM
Quote from: RedHand88 on March 27, 2024, 03:32:51 PMDune part two is an absolute masterpiece in film making. Loved it so much I saw it twice.
Watched it on Monday. Absolutely class.
#5
General discussion / Re: extortion
March 27, 2024, 01:53:24 PM
Quote from: general_lee on March 27, 2024, 12:11:01 PMSo why is a pint in Belfast £6+?
Is it solely because of some imaginary cabal price gouging (see Beannchor) or is there actually more to it?

Belfast city centre pubs pay 20% VAT, in Dublin it's 13.5% (was 9%). UKGov refuses to reduce VAT for hospitality & tourism.

There is no rates relief in Belfast city centre (or NI) for hospitality businesses that is available elsewhere in the UK. So when the council raise their non-domestic rates, pubs and restaurants here get slaughtered.

Despite handsome profits last year, Diageo have announced their latest price increase - this is the one that makes the news but other breweries and suppliers have also put their prices up in the past 12 months.

Many Belfast city centre pubs employ people on minimum wage. When that goes up next month, they will be paying their bar staff more. They then have to pay supervisors, managers etc more as well. If they hire external contractors such as a cleaning company, that bill will also increase.

Wetherspoons, despite being a messy, under-staffed, McDonald's that serves alcohol and cheap, nasty food, has still increased prices twice in the last 6 months. The industry is fucked.
I was in Belfast over the weekend and plenty of hoardings up around construction sites for new "coming soon" bars, restaurants etc. You'd think Belfast is a saturated market but business owners must think there is profit to be made from the tourist sector in particular.
#6
General discussion / Re: Weather
March 27, 2024, 10:32:12 AM
Quote from: clarshack on March 27, 2024, 10:29:53 AM
Quote from: Aaron Boone on June 15, 2023, 10:43:32 PMNeed some rain for the grass. Need some growth.

You got plenty of Rain since then!. It's been another sh*te month of weather and won't be surprised if it turns out to be the wettest March ever. Its been pretty much like this since the middle of last July and it's no wonder a lot of people in this country are depressed.
Brutal this morning. The travel agents will be lapping it up.
#7
General discussion / Re: extortion
March 27, 2024, 10:31:23 AM
Quote from: toby47 on March 27, 2024, 09:06:54 AM
Quote from: Duine Inteacht Eile on March 26, 2024, 07:33:32 PMWhat are pubs paying Diageo per pint nowadays? Couldn't be much over £2?

Yeah nearly £2 on the button.
So a 7 quid pint has a fiver going to the publican - 440 for a keg. Obviously that doesn't take into account the many overheads a business owner has, but it's mad that small places operating at low volumes can charge much less and still keep going.
#8
General discussion / Re: extortion
March 26, 2024, 09:56:39 PM
Quote from: angermanagement on March 26, 2024, 09:47:02 PMReceived my car insurance renewal yesterday. Was £670 last year, no accidents or claims, 6 years no claim bonus and the feckers are looking £3760.
;D  they are wankers. Must be a Nigerian Prince running the insurance companies.
#9
General discussion / Re: Price of a Pint
March 26, 2024, 04:55:53 PM
Quote from: Ed Ricketts on March 26, 2024, 04:26:05 PMHospitality sector in Belfast city centre is almost entirely priced for the tourist market now. International tourism is strong, and domestic tourism is through the roof since the pandemic.

The city centre is quite small, and, due to obvious historical reasons, few non-locals venture far from the middle of town. So this funnels all those visitors towards a relatively small number of businesses, who in turn can charge almost whatever they want.

They'll say it's the cost of fuel, food, wages, tax, etc. But it's really just a scarcity problem.
Got an Uber in the city the other night and the driver was saying the big cruise ship season is due to start soon so demand will be higher than ever. There is still plenty of good quality places at reasonable prices in the city. It's the shitty places charging big money that's the problem.
#10
General discussion / Re: Price of a Pint
March 26, 2024, 04:01:49 PM
Quote from: Franko on March 26, 2024, 03:35:00 PM
Quote from: Milltown Row2 on March 26, 2024, 02:51:59 PMOut for a meal on Sat afternoon.. bill was £80 a head! Is what it is, had a great time and decent food..Ya only live once!

Anyone else baffled as to the point of this post?
You know the point.
#11
General discussion / Re: Petrolhead culture
March 25, 2024, 09:54:01 PM
Quote from: Armagh18 on March 25, 2024, 09:45:55 PMEejits lol but not doing any harm. (Obviously like everything there'll be arseholes doing things they shouldn't)
I agree - there are a lot of boys of a similar age doing much worse. The fellas I know that are into this (including cousins) work hard all week and spend their evenings and weekends doing up cars and then showing them at weekends at the Port or other meets. However it is a lot of these same fellas that are driving like eejits and putting others at risk.
#12
General discussion / Re: Petrolhead culture
March 25, 2024, 09:38:47 PM
Quote from: gallsman on March 25, 2024, 09:32:46 PMThey just drive slowly and loudly up and down a street?! Had no idea this was a thing
Round and round and round in a lap from Portrush to Portstewart. They'll do donuts and burnouts if the police don't catch them. There was a video last year of some boy revving the shite out of his car whilst some goon had his face up against the exhaust pipe.
#13
General discussion / Re: Petrolhead culture
March 25, 2024, 06:42:51 PM
Port Sunday this weekend so you'll see local car culture in all its "glory". Port Sunday, Court Monday.
#14
General discussion / Re: Petrolhead culture
March 25, 2024, 10:27:00 AM
Country roads are in poor enough shape after the winter so if you're bombing around a corner and you hit a pothole the margin for error is pretty small.

I wonder was it a 3 door car, which prevented people in the back getting out. The eldest fella has a 3 door car and I f**king hate it for that reason. I'm seriously considering swapping it.
#15
General discussion / Re: Petrolhead culture
March 25, 2024, 10:11:26 AM
A very very dark time for that area of Armagh after 3 road deaths back in November. That's a very bad bend the accident happened at but these were locals and would have known all about it so I suspect speed will be the cause. The word locally is that one fella was able to get out of the car before it went on fire but have heard nothing on the news so it could be a load of balls.