The Friends of Beacon Fell are organising a Bat Walk
Bowland Visitor Centre 10th September
7pm start. Adult £1, Child 50p, Family ticket £2.50
Best to book: call Alex on 01995 61693 or email here
All funds raised go towards improving The Fell
You can find out more about bats and how you can help look after them at the Bat Conservation Trust
Consumers are warned to beware of thieves making phone calls pretending to be the taxman.
The fraudsters inform taxpayers they are due a tax rebate, and ask for their bank card details over the phone in an attempt to take money from the account using the details provided. Calls and emails will state they have reviewed your tax return and last years accounts, and a tax refund of £X is due.
The warning comes amid an increase in the number of tax scam “phishing” emails reported to HMRC.
Be aware that HMRC only ever contact customers who are due a tax refund in writing by post. They never use telephone calls, emails or external companies in these circumstances.
Advice: Check the advice published at www.hmrc.gov.uk/security/index.htm to see if the email you have received is listed.
Forward suspicious emails to HMRC at phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk and then delete them from your computer/mail account.
Report monetary losses to the police.
Refer any complaints to Lancashire Trading Standards Service, 55 Guildhall Street, Preston, Lancs PR1 3NU via Consumer Direct tel 08454 040506.
Sunday afternoon. The machines are resting, and you can begin to imagine sitting in the shade of the trees watching a game in progress on the new pitch.
You may have received a flyer through the post, or seen an advertisement from a company called ‘Life Line Screening’. Their offer is that for around £150 they will perform ’screening’ to detect a number of potentially serious medical conditions.
The company has been much critcised, and many people hold the view that their ’screening’ is a complete waste of time & money. For further information click here, or here.
I suggest that the sensible thing might be to consult a GP before parting with £150
Nick
2 August 2010
JOB-HUNTERS are being warned that some adverts for mystery shoppers, offering earnings of £300 per week, which have recently appeared in newspapers, are likely to be a sophisticated way to acquire bank details. When responding to an advertisement consumers are then asked for personal details and up-front payment.
This is yet another home-working scheme designed to part job-hunters from their money while offering very little in return. We are strongly advising people not to get involved with anything involving the words “Mystery Shopper”. When applying for any home-working job, the moment there is any mention of asking for up-front payment people should walk away.
Trading standards officers are also warning residents to beware scams involving tickets for the 2012 Olympic Games. Be aware that tickets will not be available until 2011 and will only be sold through the official website and authorised ticket resellers. Residents may pre-register for tickets free of charge from the official 2012 Olympic website although pre-registering does not guarantee tickets. You will not be asked to pay money or sign a contract till 2011. If any website offers bargain tickets before 2011 it will not be fraudulent.
Please refer any complaints and further information to Lancashire Trading Standards Service, 56-58 Guildhall Street, Preston, Lancs via Consumer Direct tel 08454 040506.
This morning on the green at Inglewhite. Watch this space for the rest of the story ………………
Click here for more about the NW Air Ambulance.
“What did you do when you realised greed was killing The Earth ?”
The theatre group ‘Plain Quakers’ will be perfoming their play ‘On Human Folly’ on Saturday 21st August
ON HUMAN FOLLY was originally written for the 2008 Easter Settlement of Quakers in Yorkshire. Performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2008, the play then toured the country until Spring 2009, from Penrith to Exmouth and Bristol to Cambridge. In July and August 2009 the play was performed in Dublin and France. This is a revised version and there are plans to take it to the Netherlands and the USA in 2010.
The play lasts about 55 minutes. The performance is usually followed by an open discussion on any issues arising from the play the audience wish to talk about.
Saturday August 21st at 7 pm
Quaker Meeting House
Calder House Lane
Free admission
For more information: Tel: 01995 602974
We now have a government that is intent on tearing up as many regulatory and advisory bodies as possible.
We can argue about the reasons for this. It may be a genuine attempt at reducing the apparent ‘deficit’ in public funds? It may be a dogma driven attempt to provide greater opportunities for private enterprise to create profits regardless of social good ? Whatever the reason, it falls to us to take more responsibility for our wellbeing, and to help each other avoid products and activities that are useless or even damaging.
One common way to misrepresent goods and services is to invent ‘pseudo science’: claims that have the ring of truth, but that are based on fanciful notions or downright lies. People who are not scientists can find it hard to tell the difference between real science and snake-oil, but it is quite easy to recognise the aura of quackery once you know how it works.
Robert Carroll is a retired writer and academic who has been a long term advocate of critical thinking and scientific scepticism. His internet blog “Sceptic’s Dictionary” is always worth a read, and of particular reference to this topic is his article on “Creating your own psedoscience“. It is very funny, very much to the point, and if you read this you will never be bamboozled by snake-oil salesmen again.
Nick
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