Blimey! I thought, that’s a little mean considering the recent reports of tax avoidance using off-shore shenanigans to deny the good old HRMC from filling it’s coffers – Nah, I had mis-read the headline in the Sunday Sport I realised that  ‘Tax Dogging’ wasn’t the call to send shivers through the car park creepers of England’s green and pleasant land it was of course Tax Dodging by some of the biggest names in retail on the high street and online.

UK Tax Dodgers On-Line and On the High Street

In these jolly times of austerity and spending cuts you would think that there would be strong decisive  policies being made and brought into play to address the lack of UK taxes being paid by many of the biggest brands trading in the UK who merrily ring their tills to stash the cash of UK shoppers.  Imagine my suprise to discover that Boots the Chemist – a one time Great British family firm that began in Nottingham – has joined the likes of Tesco, Amazon, Google and Starbucks to use loopholes and clever legal yet none-the-less slippery tricks to avoid paying tax in the UK where they trade.

Boots

I wondered if Boots can be found online whilst searching for Tax Dodgers – so far it appears not but as the cuts deepen the great British public may fall out with Boots and these other massive tax avoiding dodgers.

Nothing is certain but death and taxes…….

In what happened to be pure coincidence the Muncher has beeen offered the following guest post from Sam Wright who is a freelance writer who is absolutely scrupelous in the payment of all his taxes.

Sam begins: I’m writing this in November while my still-not-quite-completed tax return is glaring at me accusingly. Nobody likes doing their taxes, it’s a load of work which ends with you having to give money away. No amount of hospitals, schools, roads, policemen and other essential infrastructure will make you feel any better about it either.

The thing is, while we hate paying tax, there’s one thing we hate more: Companies which make more money than you’re actually capable of imagining avoiding paying their tax. So if it turns out that someone hasn’t been paying their fair share, the PR situation afterwards can get ugly…

Starbucks Attempts to Clear it All Up

When it was revealed that Starbucks UK had been telling Inland Revenue that was running at a loss, while telling investors it was making a profit, people were rightly irked by the omnipresent coffee chain. The company brought in £398 million in sales in 2011, while paying only £8.6 million over a period of 14 years. The company, sensing that this wasn’t making them many fans, released a statement explaining how everything was cool.

They won customers round with brilliant arguments like “over the last three years we have paid over £160 million in various taxes including National Insurance contribution for our 8,500 UK employees, and business rates”, apparently in the belief that nobody would get pissed off with Starbucks for trying to count its employees’ tax contributions as their own (the original draft of the statement actually included employees’ PAYE as the company’s own tax contributions). They also argued that “We contribute to Britain by buying local products such as cakes, milk, sandwiches and using local suppliers to do things like store design and renovation.” Because apparently Starbucks can’t tell the difference between “contributing” and “trading money for goods and services”.

Then they made one slightly foolish mistake. They left the comments open. What happened next can be best described as a “fricking pile-on”.

The site now boasts comments like “Blah blah lie. Blah blah NATIONAL FRIKKIN INSURANCE??? (after you deleted PAYE). Blah blah excuses and lies. Your coffee tastes like mud. Everything you sell is overpriced. Your ‘brand’ is worthless and everyone wishes you’d just pay what you owe then disappear into nothing. Stop lying and trying to get out of it, pay your bloody taxes and eff off.”

Or “You are leeches. I will never use Starbucks again.”

They should probably start paying some tax…

Amazon’s Competitors Make Paying Tax A Selling-Point

Like Starbucks, Amazon has been accused of diverting its profits to tax havens to avoid paying any money in the UK. Amazon released another say-nothing statement, much like Starbucks but without the unbearable smugness.

Still, Amazon was in for its own kicking courtesy of the Bookseller’s Association. The BA put together a series of posters with slogans such as “CAN PAY, DO PAY! WE PAY OUR TAXES”

and “YOUR MONEY, YOUR BOOKSHOP, YOUR COMMUNITY. We pay our taxes!”

Amazon is reportedly responding by powering up the Death Star it bought with all those unpaid taxes.

Vodafone Makes People Smile

Amazon and Starbucks are both pretty new to getting caught out on all the tax they don’t pay. But Vodafone got caught out all the way back in 2010. The company was allegedly dodging £6 billion in owed tax.

Meanwhile, Vodafone decided to launch this delightful ad campaign. Warning, in this context “delightful” actually means “making you want to vomit”. To tie in with it they launched the wonderful little hashtag #mademesmile, hoping to raise some brand awareness by getting people to talk about cheering things while subconsciously associating them with Vodaphone.

This backfired.

First UK Uncut tweeted @UKuncut: Hey everyone @VodafoneUK are giving away prizes for the best tweets with hashtag #makesmesmile. Anyone have any good ones?”

@SheamusSweeney tweeted: “Haha #mademesmile Someone who was googling their local Vodafone shop and saw the anti-tax dodging tweets is now going to Carphone Warehouse.”

Basically one of the first bits of advice someone working in PR can give their clients, whether they’re a veteran or in their first PR graduate jobs, is “Just pay your tax, okay?”

Sam Wright is a freelance writer who is absolutely scrupelous in the payment of all his taxes.

The Great British Cheese Festival

The Great British Cheese Festival, is an annual autumn event held at Cardiff Castle that has been recently voted number two food festival in the British Isles putting the cheese festival in second place behind the Galway Oyster Festival and ahead of similar more established events such as the Abergavenny and Ludlow food festivals and the renowned Isle of Wight Garlic Festival.

In its description of the festival, the Independent says: “There are more than 400 cheeses on offer here: some are local champions, others national winners – all are the very best around.”

After moving around the British Isles after its inception in 2000 The Great British Cheese Festival has finally made its permanent home right in the middle of the Welsh capital within the magnificent setting of Cardiff Castle. Foodie fans gather together to try, taste and buy from the finest selection of Great British cheeses available in one place.

Debrett’s the modern authority on all matters of etiquette, social occasions, people of distinction and fine style, describe the event as a mix of a royal picnic and a ‘farmers’ market with attitude’.

Britain’s Biggest Cheese Market

The festival features Britain’s biggest cheese market (with nearly 200 stalls and over 450 British and Irish cheeses to sample and buy.

Here you’ll find members of the Specialist Cheesemakers Association along with their delicious, award-winning cheeses such as Godminster, Lincolnshire Poacher, Cashel and Barkham Blue. Visitors will get to discover many of the delicacies that are difficult to track down and the opportunity to meet and talk cheese with many of Britain’s finest cheesemakers.

Tickets are available in advance via the website, or if still available on the gate. It is anticipated that some 10,000 cheese lovers from around the world will descend into the Welsh capital for the event which runs from 22 to 23 September this year. For those visitors wishing to stay overnight it is recommended that they make hotel reservations as soon as they have secured tickets.

Helen Finnegan from Kilree, near Dublin, was crowned Supreme Champion cheese-maker at the British Cheese Awards held at Cardiff City Hall on the eve of the 2011 festival.

Her Knockdrinna Farmhouse Cheese, a homemade goat’s cheese, wowed the judges, and she says it was because “there is wetter grass in Ireland”.

“It gives the milk more flavour,” she said.

“For us, this event is huge. It just opens the door to the UK market and allows us to trade to all the big supermarkets.

“It’s amazing how many people love cheese. This is a real celebration for cheese-making.”

Tickets are available in advance via the website, or are available on the gate. Please note that the festival gets extremely busy, so get there early to avoid disappointment.

British Cheese Week

Cheesemakers, retailers and chefs around the country will host various tastings & events during British Cheese Week find out more here.

British Cheese Week coincides with the British Food Fortnigh and starts with the announcement of the winners at the Awards Dinner on Friday 21st September and the opening of the Great British Cheese Festival on Saturday 22nd September.

Munch on Britain!

English Gnome Sunbathing at Gnome Reserve North Devon

Garden ornaments have had something of a makeover in recent years. Stone and steel structures are popular, and ornaments in the shape of Buddha’s, angels, cherubs and small animals are widespread. But I don’t think anything can beat the uniqueness and kitsch-ness of a garden gnome.

It’s something about their cheeky little faces, their humanoid character and their colourful clothes that is both whimsical, yet so real. This is made never more evident as those stories you hear of in the news every so often of gnomes that have jetted off round the world – leaving their owners aghast!

Image by kmoney56

Gnome in sixty seconds

One example of this is Murphy, owned by Mr & Mrs Stuart-Kelso from Gloucester for over ten years. He guarded their sheds and looked over their pond for all that time, like a loyal 10 inch high leprechaun should.

One day, Mrs Stuart-Kelso came out into the garden to find Murphy gone. Of course, she jumped to the conclusion that some cruel robbers had got away with him, and he was never to be seen again.

Image by HarshLight

However, just 11 months after his disappearance, she found Murphy back in the exact same spot, along with a mysterious parcel. On closer inspection, she found a photo album full of photos of Murphy in wonderful places around the world, including the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Taj Mahal and Sydney Opera House. He had also been on quite a few active adventures, including shark diving in South Africa and glacier climbing in New Zealand.

He even had a small passport with immigration stamps in it, to prove this wasn’t an evil hoax. Don’t you just love gnomes – you wouldn’t have got that from a fake plastic heron.

Where do gnomes come from?

German model maker Philip Griebel is the first recorded master of gnomes, starting to produce them in the mid nineteenth century. The impish characters, wearing human clothing and usually with a beard and floppy hat, were believed by people at the time to ward off evil spirits.

But it was Briton Sir Charles Isham who spotted their potential on his travels and decided to bring them to Blighty. He brought some home to liven up his extensive lawns back in 1847. One of the original prototypes (made of terracotta) still stands at Lamport Hall, Northampton and is valued at over £2 million!

Choose your gnome!

Gnomes are cheerful and industrious little fellas. Some have wheel barrows, fishing rods, nails, painting equipment or spades. They can be sitting down, lying down or standing up.

They can also be actually useful. Some have been designed to hold a solar light so that you can have an amusing conversation starter at your garden BBQ. Gnomes can be made to carry bird feed, or a bird bath to add interest. They can also be found in made of wax, as a candle to be burnt.

But the best one I’ve found is one called the mini-world traveller, with sturdy boots and a rucksack on his back. He must be a mate of Murphy’s! Be sure to pick him up of you’re passing.

Never mind “tossing the salad”.  Across Europe there are many opportunities to hurl food at each other with well meaning food fights.

Many thanks to Neil for this guest post.  As well as contributing to the Pasty Muncher, Neil blogs about food, dining and fine wines covering everything from fruit and veg boxes to wine drinking rituals.  When he’s not online Neil enjoys travelling and visiting the many sights of Europe.

What is it about food fights?  Obviously the stiff upper lipped British wouldn’t dream of them, but across the chaotic continent and apparently the rest of the globe, food fights are national events.  Here’s just a sample of some of our continental cousin’s strange attitudes to excess produce.

Italy – That’s a Funny Serenade

Shakespeare’s tragic tale of star-crossed lovers “Romeo and Juliet” was set in Italy.  However, he certainly didn’t model his sweet, shy and retiring heroine on the girls from Piedmont.  Back in the twelfth century young girls got into the spirit of marriage at an early age by lobbing oranges at boys that caught their eye.  Hurled from balconies these oranges certainly got the boys attention and they – understandably – threw them back.  Strangely, the tradition has stuck and today, just as Lent is about to put an end to everyone’s fun, the whole town turns out and hurls these relatively heavy objects at each other.  A “Blood Orange” means something completely different in Piedmont.  So does love, I suspect.

Spain – Food Fight Puree-ists

The Spanish have a much healthier attitude to their public food fights; the star of the show has to be the festival “La Tomatina.”  Tomatoes may not be the original ‘paint gun’ ammo but they ought to be; squishy, messy and designed to be chucked at people, they make the ideal projectile for bombarding your friends, neighbours, family and passing tourists.  If you don’t want to join in the fun, steer well clear of the town of Bunol on the last Wednesday in August.  If you do want to join in you won’t be disappointed, this is one of the few occasions when everyone loves a tourist.

Vilanova I La Geltru – Sweet Traditions

For the sweet toothed don’t miss the small town of Vilanova I La Geltru, just before Lent begins.  Unlike their Italian cousins they throw meringues at each other; quite a lot of meringues.  During the annual madness, around 200, 000 pounds of the delicious confection flies through the air.  This festival is sponsored by local bakers who donate the meringues in an effort to rid themselves and the citizens of the town from sweet temptation during lent itself.  Blissfully, the fight isn’t restricted to meringue and sweets are also thrown.  Basically you just need to stand there in a pair of goggles and your mouth open.  The festival ends and Lent begins with the burial of a sardine – which is just about the best thing you can do with those things.

Kent – Sporting Regulations

The British have, of course, been historically far more sensible.  The games we’ve invented include Rugby, Cricket and Golf (courtesy of Scotland).  However, I did mention that we don’t do food fights, didn’t I?  OK, time to fess up; we’re just as bad as the rest of the continent.

Custard Pie Throwing Campionships

The annual, and extremely well attended, Custard Pie throwing contest in Coxheath in Kent shows that we’re not just old stick-in-the-muds.   The festival was initiated in 1967 in an attempt to raise funds to build a new village hall – presumably the lack-lustre bring and buy sale hadn’t worked.  In typical British style rules were introduced, with direct hits in the face gathering the most points while techniques used for throwing also can put you ahead in the game.

An unusual attitude to vegetable delivery seems to have spanned the whole of Europe for several hundred years.  If you intend to sample the delights of “la Tomatina” or the sweet traditions of “Vilanova I La Geltru,” please don’t mention that the EU has whole mountains of food.

Nicki Williams is a content editor and blogger for Gear-zone.co.uk and has spent many a day hiking on the Dartmoor trails. Here he explains more about this awesome annual event.

Each year, schools, colleges, scout groups and Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme participants head for Dartmoor to take on the 26 different routes and take part over three different distances to meet the Ten Tors challenge.

From the first expedition in 1960, the Ten Tors is now so popular that numbers each year are limited to 2,400 individuals, made up of 400 teams of four to six.

Image: Legendary Dartmoor

The British Army also uses the famous landscape as a training ground for large-scale logistics exercises, and since 1977 the Jubilee Challenge, named in honour of Queen Elizabeth’s 25 years on the throne, has provided a shorter course of up to 15 miles for those with learning difficulties or physical disability.

The Ten Tors is not a race – although teams invariably compete to see who can finish first – but more a test of stamina, navigation and survival skills.

The weather can play a huge part in proceedings – Dartmoor is renowned for varying conditions which can change in a heartbeat. In 1996, the event was struck by heavy snow storms; two years later, temperatures reached nearly 80°F.

Each team must carry their own food (pasties are not obligatory but highly recommended), clothing, tents and sleeping equipment, cooking stove and energy rations, collect their own drinking water from the moor and treat it with purification tablets, and have a designated team leader who is responsible for ensuring the official routecard is stamped at every checkpoint.

For 14 – 15 year olds, there are 12 bronze routes of 56 kilometres, for those aged 16 – 17 the ten silver routes involve 72 kilometres, and for those going for gold there are four routes of 89 kilometres aimed at 18 -19 year olds.

Those with a bronze medal in their sights must camp at one of the manned tors en route; silver and gold participants can camp anywhere on the moor.

see more http://lbicheeseday.tweetwally.com/ #LBiCheeseDay

Winner Godminster submitted by Nicola @FacetiousRemark

The diversity of cultures and their cooking to be found on the continent has resulted in a plethora of national dishes and cuisines to tickle a traveller’s fancy, many of which can be enjoyed as street food. Eating what the locals eat is a great way to immerse yourself in a history that is more than just architecture and museum.

Here are some must visit destinations and their local dishes to tempt those tastebuds! Wot no pasties

Currywurst; Germany

This fast food dish of German origin is a great winter warmer consisting of hot, fried, sliced pork sausage (Wurst) seasoned with curry sauce, popular with the young or old, rich or poor! Commonly sold on stands, in takeaway shops, diners and ‘greasy spoons’, it is often served with French fries or bread rolls and may come with or without the skin. It is a simple and tasty meaty street dish enjoyed all across Germany. In fact, the Germans love it so much there is even an interactive Currywurst Museum in Berlin!

Crepes; France

No trip to France would be complete without savouring one of their famous crepes, which take the form of a wafer thin pancake. With the choice of fillings often seeming limitless and varying from the sweet to the savoury, how can you resist! Whether you choose a filling of cheese, ham or egg or, for those with a sweet tooth, maple syrup or Nutella with banana, crepes are fantastic at any time of the day. The best vendors are those that
make them fresh in front of you, ladling the batter onto the sizzling stove and letting the aromas fill the air – truly tantalising – more so at this time of the year.

Lángos; Hungary

Considered by many as the most traditional street food of Hungary, this is a deep-fried flatbread, rubbed with garlic butter and commonly eaten topped with sour cream, grated cheese, ham or sausages. It is regarded as an absolute speciality of this east European nation. Have it for lunch, as a snack or after a night out – perfect any time of day to quell a rumbling stomach! Head to the Fény utca food market for some of the best.

‘Würstelstand; Austria

A traditional and popular Austrian fast food is without a doubt the sausage. There are “Würstlstands” selling hot dogs and hot sausages in all shapes and sizes wherever you go. These stands are great for a snack or a bite to eat when on the move! Try the Käsekrainer sausage which has melted cheese inside, a lip-smacking must if visiting Austria!

Simit; Turkey

Whilst kebabs are very famous as street food in Turkey, so too are simits! Ask a Turk away from home about the foods they miss the most, simit is very likely to be one of them. This circular bagel-type bread is topped with sesame seeds and is a great snack to be eaten whenever you fancy. Whether you have one by itself, with cheese, jam or even tomatoes, enjoy every minute of this snack – for a more authentic cultural experience,
have it with a Turkish coffee or tea. Simit carts are everywhere on the streets, so you have no excuse not to try one!

Trdelnik; Czech Republic

These cylindrical pastries are absolutely delicious and, understandably, a very popular Czech street food. Commonly sold hot and dusted with cinnamon, sugar and nuts, similar to the American pretzel (of which snacks like this are often considered a traditional forerunner), they are hard to resist and will more than satisfy that sweet tooth for a quick burst of energy whilst sightseeing! Enjoy watching the process of these little
pastries being made from scratch and being cooked over an open flame on metal sticks!

Many thanks to Henri at Europe & Beyond for these mouth-watering suggestions.

Gourmet salts contain almost 100 per cent sodium chloride, just like average table salt, meaning that they are likely to have exactly the same effect on your blood pressure and health.

Claims that rock and sea salts are “natural” and “contain minerals” are misleading and should be ignored, according to the report, which has been published by scientists leading a campaign to reduce the amount of salt consumed in the UK, backed by Which?, the consumers’ association.

A survey of Which? members suggested that almost 50 per cent of consumers thought that it was worth paying more for gourmet salt. About 25 per cent thought gourmet salts were healthier, while 39 per cent believed they were more natural.

Sue Davies, chief policy adviser at Which?, said: “Many of us are trying to reduce the amount of salt in our diet but our research shows people are needlessly spending more money on ‘premium’ salt because they often believe it is healthier than traditional table salt.”

Gourmet salts contain almost 100 per cent sodium chloride, just like average table salt, meaning that they are likely to have exactly the same effect on your blood pressure and health. One leading campaigner said that the large crystals favoured by gourmet salt manufacturers were possibly more damaging because they took longer to dissolve, and taste less salty as a result.

“It is disgraceful that chefs still encourage people to use so much sea and rock salt,” said a spkesman at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine.  He added  that measures had been taken to warn of the dangers of salt and health, with consumption in Britain falling by 10 per cent from 2005 to 2008. There has also been an increase in demand for LoSalt, which has 66 per cent less sodium.

Nutritionalists and healthcare professionals are  angry at claims made on packaging to encourage consumers to pay high prices. “They should not be allowed to get away with it!”

Among the offenders identified by the report was the Cornish Sea Salt Co. It claims to retain “over 60 naturally occurring trace elements and minerals essential for wellbeing”. It typically costs 75p per 100g, compared with just 8p for Saxa table salt. The most expensive salt in the study was fine Himalayan Crystal Salt, with a 1kg bag costing £13.46, or £1.35 per 100g. It claims to be “a salt that’s good for you . . . that even your doctor will like”.

Your GP is much more likely to be happier if you were to invest the money saved by not buying gourmet salt on a good quality blood pressure monitor which you can use regularly at home to keep a record on your blood pressure – one of the leading causes of heart disease and stroke.

A nutritionist specialising in studying the effects of salt and health said: “Most of the salt we eat, about 75 per cent, is hidden in food we buy.”

Cornish Sea Salt Co declined to issue a statement but pointed to articles that highlighted the health benefits of unrefined sea salt over table salt.

They were the sheep that passed in the night. A 1,500-strong flock has been spirited away in the dark from fields in Lincolnshire in what is believed to be the biggest case of rustling in Britain in modern times.

The theft at Stenigot near Louth, which fleeced the farmer of an estimated £100,000, is the latest in a spate of crimes driven by the rising price of lamb.

The level of organisation needed to carry out last weekend’s operation has surprised insurers and police.

“It would have involved sheepdogs, up to five articulated lorries and three men with each truck,” said a spokesman for NFU Mutual, the insurance company. “There would have been a lot of whistling and calling to the dogs. It is a remarkable achievement.”

He added that even in broad daylight experienced shepherds would find it hard to move so many animals in less than three hours.

The company estimates the cost of sheep rustling has risen more than fivefold in the past year. It says thefts of 100 to 200 animals have now become common and has received 142 claims for rustling in the first six months of this year, compared with 156 for the whole of 2010.

There is money to be made from lamb. The cost of 1kg (2.2lb) of British chops has gone up almost 40% in three years, from an average of 1,039p in July 2008 to 1,424p in July this year.

The price rises date originally from the foot-and-mouth crisis of 2001 when the number of sheep decreased sharply. More recently, falling farm profits and two harsh winters, leading to poor pastures, have reduced numbers further, while the weak pound has encouraged farmers to sell them abroad.

Recent thefts, reminiscent of those encountered by Wallace and Gromit in A Close Shave, include 300 sheep taken from a farm near Hungerford, Berkshire, 200 from a flock on Dartmoor in Devon and a similar number from Cockburnspath, Berwickshire — as well as 271 at Ramsbottom, Lancashire.

Previously, the biggest livestock theft in recent years was in 2009 when 500 piglets were taken from a farm in Staffordshire. Ducks and bees have also been singled out.

Sheep rustling has attracted skilled criminals in the past. The 18th-century highwayman Dick Turpin began his career stealing them for his butcher’s shop in Essex.

Modern thieves, as well as being well organised with fleets of transporters and a network of helpers to process the animals, are adept at pulling the wool over the eyes of police and other investigators.

Farmers are required to tag and document each animal, suggesting thieves may be falsifying records or be in league with slaughterhouses willing to kill the animals illicitly. Some may also end up in the fields of dishonest farmers who “launder” their identities.

Organised rural crime is a growing menace, although it is more common with machinery than livestock. “We’ve just recovered a Land Rover that was stolen from a farmer in Warwickshire as he went to unlock a gate,” said Chris Ruff, a detective with the vehicle crime intelligence service of the Association of Chief Police Officers. “It ended up in South Africa.” The service also recovered nine tractors from Poland.

There were 507,906 crimes in the countryside between January and June, compared with 195,907 over the previous six months, according to research commissioned by NFU Mutual.

It believes the spike in rural crime is in part driven by rising prices for sheep meat and materials such as scrap metals and diesel fuel — and peaks each April.