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<channel>
	<title>David McAughtry</title>
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	<link>https://www.mcaughtry.com</link>
	<description>photo, travel, comment</description>
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		<title>What&#8217;s happening</title>
		<link>https://www.mcaughtry.com/2021/09/whats-happening/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[DMcA]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 18 Sep 2021 11:20:19 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.mcaughtry.com/?p=4779</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This site has not been updated for a long while, other than Virage Corner, a section that is simultaneously the most obscure and the most used of the entire site.&#160; But I have doubled the number of repair and maintenance tips there, and should you happen to have one of the 363 Virage V8 coupes...]]></description>
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<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-full is-resized"><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/service-update-6-5-20.jpg"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/service-update-6-5-20.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-4857" width="311" height="233" srcset="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/service-update-6-5-20.jpg 1024w, https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/service-update-6-5-20-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/service-update-6-5-20-768x576.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 311px) 100vw, 311px" /></a></figure></div>



<p>This site has not been updated for a long while, other than <a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/virage/"><em>Virage Corner</em></a>, a section that is simultaneously the most obscure and the most used of the entire site.&nbsp; But I have doubled the number of repair and maintenance tips there, and should you happen to have one of the 363 Virage V8 coupes ever manufactured, you will find a wealth of new discoveries.</p>



<p>There are several of reasons for the lack of new content here.  The first is just time.  I have a lot going on, and also two new and wonderful grandchildren to entertain, and articles here took a lot of time and research, which I don&#8217;t have such a plentiful supply of these days.  The second is content.  It&#8217;s hard and ultimately futile to express my outrage at the slow train wreck caused by Brexit and the casually contemptuous Conservative government we now have.  It&#8217;s not good for my blood pressure either, so that line of content is over.  So what else to write about?</p>



<p>I thought long and hard about focussing this site on my photography content, but my photographs are difficult to find here, the site structure is not optimised for for them, and at least historically, they are mixed up with other stuff.  To solve that problem I created a brand new site for my portfolio-quality photographs, which you can find here at <strong>mcaughtry.photo. </strong> This is on state of the art hosting, using the latest tools and platforms and is completely optimised for displaying photos and photo information.  There are also many super technical articles on camera and lens technology and performance, which would glaze the eyes of even the long suffering readers of this site.</p>



<p>So for a bit longer, this site is going to remain rather quiet.  What I have in mind is to refocus it on the things I have learned in the past few years of obsessive study and acquisition during the Covid lockdown.  These include advanced coffee techniques and equipment, audiophile digital hifi systems, the current state of play of on-line computing, particularly looking at Chromebooks and Google&#8217;s sophisticated document creation and storage systems, and why I still think very little of Apple products.  </p>



<p>To get ready for that, I have given a new modern look, and updated the underlying technology, as the old structure was pushing it&#8217;s sell-by date.  Navigation has been improved and hopefully it looks cleaner and simpler.  It should also display on mobile devices much better. The content will take a bit longer however.  So while I can&#8217;t reasonably ask you to watch this space,  drop by in a while, and things might have moved on.  In the meantime look at the some pretty pictures on <a href="http://mcaughtry.photo">mcaughtry.photo</a>.</p>



<p></p>



<p></p>
<p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcaughtry.com%2F2021%2F09%2Fwhats-happening%2F&#038;title=What%E2%80%99s%20happening" data-a2a-url="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2021/09/whats-happening/" data-a2a-title="What’s happening"><img src="https://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_120_16.png" alt="Share"></a></p>]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
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		<title>I am just going outside and may be some time&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.</title>
		<link>https://www.mcaughtry.com/2018/08/i-am-just-going-outside-and-may-be-some-time/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[DMcA]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Aug 2018 17:49:30 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mcaughtry.com/?p=4563</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Is what I should have said, but didn&#8217;t on September 27, 2016, the date of my last post. This post is to explain why I left the blog, and why, unlike the unlucky Captain, i came back. The immortal line above was from a very brave and doomed Englishman, the legendary Captain Lawrence Oates, who...]]></description>
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<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft"><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2018/08/i-am-just-going-outside-and-may-be-some-time/captain-oates/" rel="attachment wp-att-4564"><img decoding="async" width="300" height="225" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/captain-Oates-300x225.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-4564" srcset="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/captain-Oates-300x225.jpg 300w, https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/captain-Oates-400x300.jpg 400w, https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/captain-Oates.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a></figure></div>



<p>Is what I should have said, but didn&#8217;t on <time class="entry-date" datetime="2016-09-27T16:31:53+00:00">September 27, 2016</time><span class="by-author"><span class="author vcard">, the date of my last post. This post is to explain why I left the blog, and why, unlike the unlucky Captain, i came back.<br></span></span></p>



<p><span class="by-author"><span class="author vcard">The immortal line above was from a very brave and doomed Englishman, the legendary Captain Lawrence Oates, who stepped outside to his death because he felt he might be a burden to his companions.&nbsp; It was not uncommon for men of that era to sacrifice themselves for what they felt was a greater good.&nbsp; Millions did so in the two world wars.</span></span></p>



<p>Making the ultimate sacrifice is not at all a good model for young men, and thank goodness it has largely passed (except in ISIS and the Taliban).&nbsp; But the grand tradition of old men and women sacrificing others has never gone away.&nbsp; The depressing results of the Brexit poll have dominated English life over the last two years, and in case you weren&#8217;t sure, the voting by age was:</p>



<p>Voted Remain: 75% percent of Brits 24 and younger, 56% of Brits 25-49.<br>Voted Leave: 56% of those Brits aged 50-64, and 61% of those aged over 65</p>



<p>The other disaster of 2016 was Trump.  Here are those voting figures. </p>



<p>Voted Clinton: 55% of Americans aged 18-29, 51%  aged 30-44<br>Voted Trump: 52% of all Americans 45 and over.</p>



<p>Both Trump and Brexit really bothered me in 2016 and they really bother me now.&nbsp; I wrote<a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/09/brexit-trade-models/"> this piece about trade options for Brexit</a> on 2 September 2016, and the situation is exactly that ugly now.&nbsp; No progress has been made. Many people, including those who voted Leave, are effectively putting their hands over their ears and ignoring the disaster that is inching towards us.&nbsp; The Brits are shell shocked and everyone is disillusioned about the progress we have made since the referendum. It&#8217;s a complete slow motion train wreck.</p>



<p>One hot evening in June of 2016 I spent 6 hours haranguing my baffled, but very polite naturalised American brother about what would happen, if as I expected Trump was elected.&nbsp; It all happened as I described, but it&#8217;s been much worse than my worst fears.&nbsp; But in terms of In terms of <em>current</em> approval, 40% of Americans still favourTrump. And&nbsp; 48% of Americans who regularly attend religious services, and 48% of Americans over 65 also approve.&nbsp; Of Trumps <em>current</em> performance. Of his manic, lying, cheating, unhinged, dangerous performance <em>today.</em></p>



<p>The depressing thing is that it is my generation that has put us in this mess, and much of my generation is quite OK with it.&nbsp; And as you might imagine, it is my generation that make up the bulk of my friends and acquaintances.&nbsp; Somehow you have to bump along with people who have done something you regard as profoundly damaging.&nbsp; In the year leading up to Brexit and Trump, I put a lot&nbsp; of passionately argued content onto Facebook, to communicate with more people on the subject, and to learn their views.&nbsp; In the face of the Russian onslaught it meant nothing of course.&nbsp; Worse, my brief foray into the world of Facebook told me a great deal of really depressing stuff about people I otherwise very much liked and respected. Then came the appalling revelations about what a cynical and deeply compromised organisation Facebook is, and we all heard the repeated lies of Zuckerberg and his cronies that it would all be fixed when they had no intention of doing anything of the kind.</p>



<p>So I withdrew completely from Facebook.&nbsp; It&#8217;s been a year now, and today I am a bit conflicted. On the one hand I am absolutely certain Facebook is a dangerous and possibly malignant operation, at least in what its effects have been on democracies all over the world.&nbsp; But on the other hand, I miss the hundred or so genuine friends, made over 50 or so years, most of whom I have no other way of communicating with &#8211;&nbsp; at least not on the &#8216;postcard&#8217; basis that FB allows. That&#8217;s why I disappeared from this blog, and why I am now back again, and figuring out what to do and where to go with this site.&nbsp; It&#8217;s also why I have put out a few tentative posts on FB again, although I am really not sure what to do there.&nbsp; Whatever happens with FB, this web site will be my home for long form comment and large scale photographs. In future posts you will see more of both.</p>
<p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcaughtry.com%2F2018%2F08%2Fi-am-just-going-outside-and-may-be-some-time%2F&#038;title=I%20am%20just%20going%20outside%20and%20may%20be%20some%20time%E2%80%A6%E2%80%A6%E2%80%A6%E2%80%A6%E2%80%A6." data-a2a-url="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2018/08/i-am-just-going-outside-and-may-be-some-time/" data-a2a-title="I am just going outside and may be some time……………."><img src="https://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_120_16.png" alt="Share"></a></p>]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
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		<title>If you have a Yahoo or Flickr account, read this!</title>
		<link>https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/09/yahoo-flickr-account-read/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[DMcA]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Sep 2016 15:31:53 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mcaughtry.com/?p=4444</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Like many people, I have a Yahoo account (for news updates and Flickr). Now it appears that 500 million Yahoo accounts, including probably mine, have been accessed, by a &#8216;foreign state actor&#8217;. And 200 million of them are now for sale on the dark web. I regarded Yahoo and other non-financial and non-critical sites as...]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://thehackernews.com/2016/08/hack-yahoo-account.html" rel="attachment wp-att-4446"><img decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4446 size-medium" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Yahoo-breach-300x156.png" alt="yahoo-breach" width="300" height="156" srcset="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Yahoo-breach-300x156.png 300w, https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Yahoo-breach.png 311w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>Like many people, I have a Yahoo account (for news updates and Flickr). Now it appears that 500 million Yahoo accounts, including probably mine, have been accessed, by a &#8216;foreign state actor&#8217;. And 200 million of them are now for sale on the dark web. I regarded Yahoo and other non-financial and non-critical sites as a low risk, and used the same password on many of them. I just did an analysis of how many places I had used the same password. It turns out to have been 60!<span class="text_exposed_show"> Quite a lot. Some of those have information like phone numbers and my address. So I have just been through them all, giving them strong individual passwords. I suggest you do the same. But just how risky is this breach?</span></p>
<div class="text_exposed_show">
<p>The stolen Yahoo passwords are supposed to have been encrypted. The most widely used &#8216;strong&#8217; password encryption standard is &#8216;salted MD5 hashing&#8217;. Technology has moved so fast now that anyone with a $400 Nvidia PC graphics card (GPU) can use &#8216;brute force&#8217; to decode these passwords. The table below shows the real impact on the time it takes to crack a password of the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">number of characters</span> (first column of the table) and the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">complexity of the password</span> (first row of the table,  ranging from  numbers only on the left, to numbers plus lower and upper case letters on the right). So how long does it take to decode a strong (salted MD5 hash) password in seconds? Not long it turns out. A 6 character password using a mix of lower case letters and numbers which you might have thought to be quite secure, takes <span style="text-decoration: underline;">just 4 seconds</span> to crack.  That cracked password is worth real cash to a hacker, so for 4 seconds on some cheap PC hardware, they are going to invest some time and money.  If you had a Yahoo or Flickr account you are highly vulnerable.</p>
<p>The moral is, use AT LEAST a minimum of 8 characters with a mix of lower case, and upper case characters, symbols, and numbers (that combination would take 5 days to crack with today&#8217;s GPU cards). Yahoo say that &#8216;the majority&#8217; of their passwords were encrypted with the stronger &#8216;bcrypt&#8217; method. But it&#8217;s only a matter of time before the speed of the GPUs and the smarts of the hackers (this table is produced by a hacker) will catch up with that also. And in the recent breaches of Dropbox, Linkedin and Adobe, the passwords all had very poor (SH1) or NO encryption. So be careful. Make sure all your passwords are long,  strong, and unique!</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/09/yahoo-flickr-account-read/brute-force-timings-on-md5/" rel="attachment wp-att-4445"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4445" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Brute-force-timings-on-MD5.jpg" alt="brute-force-timings-on-md5" width="652" height="440" srcset="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Brute-force-timings-on-MD5.jpg 652w, https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Brute-force-timings-on-MD5-300x202.jpg 300w, https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Brute-force-timings-on-MD5-445x300.jpg 445w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 652px) 100vw, 652px" /></a></p>
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		<title>Brexit &#8211; the ugly options for Trade</title>
		<link>https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/09/brexit-trade-models/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[DMcA]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 03 Sep 2016 10:53:36 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mcaughtry.com/?p=4380</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This is (as far as I can make it) a factual analysis of the trade options (highlighted in bold) following Brexit. It shows there is no option that meets the &#8220;Leavers&#8221; goals, and every variant other than the one we are just about to leave, is pretty bad for the UK. Note that all the...]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36639261" rel="attachment wp-att-4381"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-4381 size-full" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Brexit-trade-models.jpg" alt="Brexit trade models" width="486" height="346" srcset="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Brexit-trade-models.jpg 486w, https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Brexit-trade-models-300x214.jpg 300w, https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Brexit-trade-models-421x300.jpg 421w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 486px) 100vw, 486px" /></a></p>
<p>This is (as far as I can make it) a factual analysis of the trade options (highlighted in <strong>bold</strong>) following Brexit. It shows there is no option that meets the &#8220;Leavers&#8221; goals, and every variant other than the one we are just about to leave, is pretty bad for the UK. Note that all the picture links lead to the original, more detailed data source.</p>
<p>These are our choices (the above BBC article explains more): The <strong>Norway</strong> model and the <strong>Swiss</strong> model have free trade, but also everything Brexiters hate (free movement, and the same contribution to the EU as now) with no say at all in the decisions the EU makes. They both will sacrifice the City of London&#8217;s EU trade. The Norwegian Prime minister&#8217;s opinion of their model in the BBC video clip above (click on the picture above to get to the BBC article) indicates that in her informed opinion, it is not a good option for the UK, even as it stands.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-24/swiss-pain-in-eu-immigration-talks-compounded-by-brexit-victory" rel="attachment wp-att-4382"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4382" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Bloomberg-on-Switzerland.jpg" alt="Bloomberg on Switzerland" width="308" height="240" /></a>Some Brexiters say that the Swiss, who recently had a referendum to limit free movement, will renegotiate with the EU to get the kind of &#8220;free trade &#8211; no free movement&#8221; that they want.  In fact the UK  just made it almost impossible as the Bloomberg article on the left shows. As Bloomberg notes: &#8220;Switzerland was always going to struggle to reach an agreement with the European Union to limit immigration. Britain’s decision to split from the bloc just made it near impossible&#8221;.</p>
<p>The <strong>Turkish</strong> model sounds attractive, but <a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/07/4374/">as my prior post outlines</a>, it severely restricts negotiating power with other countries, still disadvantages the Commonwealth,  there will be no easy access of our peo<span class="text_exposed_show">ple into the EU,  and it excludes services. </span></p>
<p><a href="http://openeurope.org.uk/today/blog/what-could-the-eu-canada-free-trade-deal-tell-us-about-brexit/" rel="attachment wp-att-4383"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4383" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Canada-deal.jpg" alt="Canada deal" width="324" height="221" /></a>Then there is the <strong>Canadian</strong> model (CETA).  It is good for manufacturing (no tariffs) OK for agriculture (some tariffs) and dreadful for the City (services are excluded).  Canada is still negotiating their deal with Brussels &#8211; they have no favoured status at the moment, and are on WTO tariffs. CETA requires ratification by every EU country, and is being held up by those countries who do not have visa-free access to Canada.  The same will certainly happen to the UK in this or any other negotiations. The Canadian process started in 2009, was agreed in draft in 2014, and is still not in place.  So assume it will take us a good long time to get a deal, at least 7 years.</p>
<p><span class="text_exposed_show">Everything else is the <strong>WTO tariff</strong>s, and these will be the default after the 2-year Article 50 period expires (in the absence of or pending a negotiated and more favorable trade deal). The tariffs  range for the EU from 40% for baked goods to 10% for cars.  It will massively disadvantage manufacturing exports, and eliminate the benefit of devaluation for exporters.  </span></p>
<p>Those who think that Germany has to allow tariff free access to their markets so they can sell BMWs here should ask what else are the rich English going to buy.  Audi, Mercedes, BMW, Volvo, Alfa-Romeo are all EU imports.  Jaguar does not have the capacity, or the range to backfill this volume.  They would be unlikely to invest in the UK market opportunity until they were certain that the UK was keeping punitive tariffs on EU luxury cars permanently.  Without a massive Jaguar expansion,  the British will continue to buy European luxury cars, because that&#8217;s the place that makes 90% of them.  European manufacturers will just put prices up 7% and take a 3% hit on profit, and they are done. No special bargain should be necessary for them to continue to profit from the UK market. And I think you will see the rich Brexit voters of rural England continue to swan around in their German cars, just like before.</p>
<div class="text_exposed_show">
<p>Business for Britain, which campaigned for exit, estimated that at worst (ie. at WTO levels),  tariffs would cost British exporters £7.4 billion a year and said the UK would save enough on EU membership fees to be able to compensate exporters for that. The bill to minimise the impact on exporters would therefore be £7.4Bn per year for at least 7 years, and presumably a reduced, but significant amount after that.</p>
<p>But the UK also has to compensate farmers, Wales, Cornwall and the other recipients of EU grants for their loss of support. This will likely wipe out our saving on EU contributions and more. And the huge amount of additional certification required for non-EU importers and the  work to renegotiate the EU treaties, and trade deals with 50 other countries will be a massive consumer of resource. The country is going to expend vast amounts of effort just to get us back to a position similar to where we are today. Far from entering the sunlit upper pastures, we may well waste 9 years of work for no economic advantage at all.  On that basis, and on the outlook of most market analysts, a recession is certain.</p>
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<p><span class="text_exposed_show"><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36678222" rel="attachment wp-att-4384"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4384" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/EU-trade-comissioner.jpg" alt="EU trade comissioner" width="295" height="226" /></a>The EU has made it very clear there are no fantasy Johnson/Gove/Leadsom/Hannan timescales or trade deals. </span>Cecilia Malmstrom, the EU trade commissioner who will lead all EU trade talks has <span class="text_exposed_show">made it clear that all elements of the UK withdrawal from the EU have to be completed (in 2 years) before any trade talks have started.  </span>One of the candidates to be next UK prime minister, Liam Fox (certain to be in the new Conservative front bench) called Ms Malmstrom&#8217;s stance &#8220;bizarre and stupid&#8221;, saying the Brexit talks would include trade (the BBC&#8217;s Chris Morris in Brussels says Ms Malmstrom&#8217;s view of <span class="text_exposed_show">two consecutive sets of negotiations appears technically correct).  I would suggest that starting</span> negotiations by calling your lead counterpart &#8220;stupid&#8221; almost guarantees a bad result.</p>
<p>No EU official has indicated that the UK can get tariff free access to the EU without their four principles (including free movement of people) being adopted.  While various organizations and individuals in Europe have said a deal could be struck that might meet UK needs, they are not going to be doing the negotiations.  Those who will be, have been very clear.</p>
<p>I can find no senior politician on either side in the UK who seems to have a coherent understanding of this dilemma  or has a pragmatic plan to get an effective negotiated result for the UK.  All the Conservative front bench seem to be expecting a fantasy of access to the free market without free movement of people, which  the EU has made clear is not an option.  Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader,has said he wants the EU exit Article 50 to be implemented immediately, precipitating an immediate start of the 2-year exit clock with no trade deal in place at all.  Nigel Farage wants the same, and today they have been joined in the &#8220;immediate Article 50&#8221; camp by <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/03/tory-leadership-andrea-leadsom-says-she-can-be-the-new-margaret/">Andrea Leadsom, the hedge-fund backed Conservative leadership contender.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://press.labour.org.uk/post/146755949764/john-mcdonnell-sets-out-labours-economic" rel="attachment wp-att-4387"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4387 " src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/McDonnell-on-brexit.jpg" alt="McDonnell on brexit" width="341" height="117" /></a>John McDonnell, the Shadow Chancellor has predictably said something quite different.  At the Royal Festival Hall in London, he announced five principles upon which Labour will judge any negotiated deal and which <span style="text-decoration: underline;">would have to be met for Labour to give backing for a vote to trigger Article 50.</span>  They include,  freedom of trade for UK businesses in the EU, the rights of UK financial services companies to win business across the EU, existing protections at work provided by the EU to be maintained, and no UK citizen currently living or working in the EU to have their rights affected.  From what the EU have said so far, I would suggest that none of those are likely to be delivered.  In that case, McDonnell says that Labour would not vote to support Article 50 being exercised, entirely at variance with Corbyn&#8217;s position.</p>
<p>It seems pretty clear to me that almost all senior UK politicians are in a fantasy world, and are wholly at variance with the EU, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">who hold all the negotiating cards</span>.  When professionals take over, the process will settle down somewhat, but I don&#8217;t expect a rosy outcome.  I would expect some kind of Canadian style free trade deal ultimately, with the City&#8217;s role as an EU financial hub being sliced up and given to the Irish, French, Dutch and Germans.  Inward investment to the UK for car manufacturing will probably slow down and move to the cheaper EU countries like the Czech republic and Bulgaria etc. UK citizens in France and other EU countries will lose reciprocal/free medical treatment, and many will have to return because of that and the dire effect of currency devaluation on their income and expenses. But of course it could all be much worse than that, if we have to fall back on all that, plus WTO tariffs for 7 plus years.</p>
<p>What about Scotland? <span data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;K&quot;}"><span class="UFICommentBody">The current market view (as of today) is that oil would have to be at $130 per barrel before Scotland&#8217;s deficit would meet EU membership rules. The rest of the UK is currently funding the Scottish deficit. If Scotland left the UK and joined the EU, they would have to accept the Euro, accept WTO tariffs for exporting into the UK (80% of the Scottish export market), accept a customs border with the UK, and accept German austerity rules for managing their deficit (which would be greater than Greece&#8217;s). While the rest of the UK would probably be better off on a purely economic basis, it would be a massive diminution of the UK&#8217;s world standing, particularly if Scotland is followed by Northern Ireland.<br />
</span></span></p>
<p><span data-ft="{&quot;tn&quot;:&quot;K&quot;}"><span class="UFICommentBody"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxu9WB7tOJQ&amp;feature=youtu.be" rel="attachment wp-att-4401"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4401" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Scottish-independence.jpg" alt="Scottish independence" width="320" height="109" /></a>However economically unattractive, EU membership may well be an achievable option for Scotland to pursue if they want to.  Dr Kirsty Hughes, in the only practical expert analysis on Scottish membership of the EU I have come across so far (see the link to the left), concludes that the Scots may have a fair chance of EU membership, but <span style="text-decoration: underline;">only once they are an independent nation</span>.  Given their good relations with the EU, the Scots are also much more likely to get concessions on accession, than the UK will on exit.  She also has said, quite reasonably, that the Scots  will not want to go through the whole pain of the UK leaving and renegotiating a trade deal, before starting their own accession talks.  Instead, they should be negotiating their own trade deal <span style="text-decoration: underline;">at the same time as the UK is doing theirs (or even before).</span>   If that is their goal, they need to get their referendum done in the first half of next year, and be fully independent of the UK by the end of 2019. The EU might well be flexible then on continuing trade terms for Scotland (and tough on exit terms for the UK) while they negotiate accession.<br />
</span></span></p>
<p>There are many other radioactive elements of the EU decision, but trade is the critical one that will affect everyone&#8217;s lives.  This summary of the options and likely outcomes is a marker post for me and I&#8217;ll come back to it over the next few years to see how it all panned out.  You might want to as well. But like many in the UK right now, I don&#8217;t think this particular story is going to end well.</p>
<p><span class="text_exposed_show"> </span></p>
<p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcaughtry.com%2F2016%2F09%2Fbrexit-trade-models%2F&#038;title=Brexit%20%E2%80%93%20the%20ugly%20options%20for%20Trade" data-a2a-url="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/09/brexit-trade-models/" data-a2a-title="Brexit – the ugly options for Trade"><img src="https://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_120_16.png" alt="Share"></a></p>]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
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		<title>Brexit &#8211; the Turkey option</title>
		<link>https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/09/4374/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[DMcA]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Sep 2016 15:32:14 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mcaughtry.com/?p=4374</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[A customs Union with the EU is an attractive option for many Brexit proponents. The only major one concluded is with Turkey. Here&#8217;s what it involves&#8230;..the following is a description of the deal from it&#8217;s Wikepedia page. How do you like this particular bargain, Leavers? Turkey, by accepting the customs union protocol, was giving the...]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union%E2%80%93Turkey_Customs_Union" rel="attachment wp-att-4375"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-4375 size-full alignnone" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Turkey-article.jpg" alt="Turkey article" width="460" height="157" srcset="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Turkey-article.jpg 460w, https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Turkey-article-300x102.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 460px) 100vw, 460px" /></a></p>
<p>A customs Union with the EU is an attractive option for many Brexit proponents. The only major one concluded is with Turkey. Here&#8217;s what it involves&#8230;..the following is a description of the deal from it&#8217;s Wikepedia page. How do you like this particular bargain, Leavers?</p>
<ul>
<li>Turkey, by accepting the customs union protocol, was giving the EU the power to manipulate the foreign relations of Turkey. Turkey was accepting all the treaties between EU and any non EU country (i.e. all the other countries in the world) by precondition. (16th and 55th articles[4] )</li>
<li>Turkey, by entering to the customs union, was accepting not to do any treaties with any non-EU country without the knowledge of EU. Otherwise, EU had the right to intervene and annul that treaty. (56th article[4])</li>
<li>Turkey, by entering to the customs union, was unconditionally accepting to make laws which are parallel to the newer laws made for the customs union by EU. (8th article[4])</li>
<li>Turkey, by entering to the customs union, was accepting to obey the all laws and decisions of European Court of Justice, where there is no single Turkish judge. (64th article[4])</li>
<li>Turkey, by entering to the customs union, was opening its own market to European goods. The domestic goods of Turkey were in a great difficulty to compete against these due to a difference in quality. The European goods would flow into Turkey without any customs fee.</li>
</ul>
<p>It may of course be that there is some deal that is not Norwegian one, and not the Turkish one, and not the Swiss one.  It&#8217;s completely unclear to me how then the EU would explain the crap deal these other states got.  In fact, the EU has made clear the terms of the UK deal again and again.  It&#8217;s Free Trade and EU rules, like free movement, and payment into the EU, or it&#8217;s the right to control our borders and WTO (World Trade Organisation) trade rules. All the evidence shows there is no magic place for the UK.  There certainly isn&#8217;t one for the US&#8230;&#8230;</p>
<p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcaughtry.com%2F2016%2F09%2F4374%2F&#038;title=Brexit%20%E2%80%93%20the%20Turkey%20option" data-a2a-url="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/09/4374/" data-a2a-title="Brexit – the Turkey option"><img src="https://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_120_16.png" alt="Share"></a></p>]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
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		<title>Malasana portraits</title>
		<link>https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/08/malsanya-portraits/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[DMcA]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 27 Aug 2016 23:02:41 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Photographs]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mcaughtry.com/?p=4313</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I am slowly grinding through my backlog of photographs for processing. I have now reached May 2015, and it is becoming clear to me that I need to return to the photo essay format.. Here is the first of these, this time from a series of street shots in the Malasana region of Madrid taken...]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I am slowly grinding through my backlog of photographs for processing. I have now reached May 2015, and it is becoming clear to me that I need to return to the photo essay format.. Here is the first of these, this time from a series of street shots in the Malasana region of Madrid taken in the early summer of 2015. I love Madrid, mostly because it is an authentic town. The people on the street are generally Madrilenos, unlike London or Paris, where they are either tourists or office workers. Madrid isn&#8217;t my town sadly, but neither these days is London.<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/135669570@N02/sets/72157666337320791/show"> Click this link</a> for the full-screen Flickr slideshow.<br />
<code><code class="plain"><div id="flickr_malasana_5181"><div class="slickr-flickr-slideshow landscape m800 "><div class="active"><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/1535/26047119756_57b1e4200a_c.jpg" title="Malasana portraits - the madonna" alt=""  /><p>Malasana portraits - the madonna</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/1626/26047114396_cb33f7147e_c.jpg" title="Malasana portraits - husband and wife" alt=""  /><p>Malasana portraits - husband and wife</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/1660/26073044415_7102c98b16_c.jpg" title="Malasana portraits - true romance" alt=""  /><p>Malasana portraits - true romance</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/1670/25468286984_6eed27ed5e_c.jpg" title="Malasana portraits - old friends" alt=""  /><p>Malasana portraits - old friends</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/1478/26047121806_6ef9cbd14e_c.jpg" title="Malasana portraits - the teacher" alt=""  /><p>Malasana portraits - the teacher</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/1534/26073054845_848b9c5633_c.jpg" title="Malasana portraits  - I sit in the square" alt=""  /><p>Malasana portraits  - I sit in the square</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/1601/25468295244_c05f6e95a1_c.jpg" title="Malasana portraits - Nooo - really?" alt=""  /><p>Malasana portraits - Nooo - really?</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/1557/25470461833_f58c321323_c.jpg" title="Malasana portraits - The lady of a certain stripe" alt=""  /><p>Malasana portraits - The lady of a certain stripe</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/1514/25470470263_f4ccf190a0_c.jpg" title="Malasana portraits - Juan the lad" alt=""  /><p>Malasana portraits - Juan the lad</p></div></div><script type="text/javascript">jQuery("#flickr_malasana_5181").data("options",{"delay":8000,"autoplay":true,"transition":500,"link":"next","target":"_self","width":"","height":""});</script><div style="clear:both"></div></div></code></code></p>
<p>Technical notes: The photos were all taken with my Olympus EM5ii with the Oly 42.5mm lens &#8211;  85mm in full frame equivalent.  It&#8217;s a useful combination &#8211; superfast focus, plus enough depth of field to isolate the subject.  Post was done in LIghtroom and OnOne Photo10.</p>
<p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcaughtry.com%2F2016%2F08%2Fmalsanya-portraits%2F&#038;title=Malasana%20portraits" data-a2a-url="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/08/malsanya-portraits/" data-a2a-title="Malasana portraits"><img src="https://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_120_16.png" alt="Share"></a></p>]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
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		<title>Hoods with style &#8211; the gorgeous automobiles of Dick&#8217;s classic garage</title>
		<link>https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/08/hoods-style-gorgeous-cars-dicks-classic-garage/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[DMcA]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 27 Aug 2016 17:27:04 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Photographs]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mcaughtry.com/?p=4332</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Another photo essay, from a recent visit to the USA.  I&#8217;ve just got back from a 2,000 mile road trip from Austin to New Orleans and back, with my old friend *ndy and his delightful DLW, D*.  We were hitting multiple music festivals on our route (of which more photo series to come), and as...]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Another photo essay, from a recent visit to the USA.  I&#8217;ve just got back from a 2,000 mile road trip from Austin to New Orleans and back, with my old friend *ndy and his delightful DLW, D*.  We were hitting multiple music festivals on our route (of which more photo series to come), and as the first of these was in Dripping Springs, Texas, we took the opportunity to drop into Dick&#8217;s Classic Garage, in San Marcos.  Dick Burdick, the owner has assembled there some of the most gorgeous cars ever made in the USA, mostly from the &#8217;30s to the &#8217;60s.  This was an era when US auto engineering and styling led the world, and cars like the Deusenburg, Cord and Auburn set standards of beauty that have not since been equaled (IMHO).</p>
<p>In this series I have focused mostly on the wonderful hood mascots that stood on the radiators, and routinely I imagine, impaled hapless pedestrians. Reasonably I suppose none of these would be allowed today, and there are few cars in any event that could act as a foil to the superb jet plane mascots of the &#8217;41 and &#8217;48 Packards. There is a tech note below the photos on the camera used and so on and so forth.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/135669570@N02/26191140603/in/album-72157667915266395/lightbox/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click this link </a>to get to the Flickr album, and then click the arrow at the right to page through them. Once the slide show below reaches the end by the way, it will move into the next album.  Just refresh the page to start again.<br />
<code><code class="plain"><div id="flickr_recent_5495"><div class="slickr-flickr-slideshow landscape m800 "><div class="active"><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49482451146_0696f0c7ed_c.jpg" title="Red Kite" alt=""  /><p>Red Kite</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49482668362_51939abef3_c.jpg" title="Red Kite" alt=""  /><p>Red Kite</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49482449781_1f60fccb1b_c.jpg" title="Red Kite" alt=""  /><p>Red Kite</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49482449221_ca66c5368a_c.jpg" title="Red Kite" alt=""  /><p>Red Kite</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49482448631_087fcfbcd0_c.jpg" title="Red Kite" alt=""  /><p>Red Kite</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49482448106_2f6c34347a_c.jpg" title="Red Kite" alt=""  /><p>Red Kite</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49482447371_75fcb932c8_c.jpg" title="Red Kite" alt=""  /><p>Red Kite</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49482665292_ab84f083d9_c.jpg" title="Red Kites at Gigrin Farm - E-M1ii" alt=""  /><p>Red Kites at Gigrin Farm - E-M1ii</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49482664462_c4b87f791b_c.jpg" title="Red Kite" alt=""  /><p>Red Kite</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49482446506_843c4f538d_c.jpg" title="Red Kites at Gigrin Farm - E-M1ii" alt=""  /><p>Red Kites at Gigrin Farm - E-M1ii</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49482445921_4edaed2d40_c.jpg" title="Red Kite" alt=""  /><p>Red Kite</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49482445811_9e2be56066_c.jpg" title="Red Kites at Gigrin Farm - E-M1ii" alt=""  /><p>Red Kites at Gigrin Farm - E-M1ii</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49482445366_c5d70fcfcd_c.jpg" title="Red Kite" alt=""  /><p>Red Kite</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49482663242_f72b9a9979_c.jpg" title="Red Kites at Gigrin Farm - E-M1ii" alt=""  /><p>Red Kites at Gigrin Farm - E-M1ii</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49482662882_3e7ff7333a_c.jpg" title="Red Kite" alt=""  /><p>Red Kite</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49482444621_85a9b6543e_c.jpg" title="Red Kites at Gigrin Farm - E-M1ii" alt=""  /><p>Red Kites at Gigrin Farm - E-M1ii</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49482662297_f0877bf1e1_c.jpg" title="Red Kite" alt=""  /><p>Red Kite</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49482661922_f7fc54ff6d_c.jpg" title="Red Kites at Gigrin Farm - E-M1ii" alt=""  /><p>Red Kites at Gigrin Farm - E-M1ii</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49481960763_d477a8d9be_c.jpg" title="Red Kite" alt=""  /><p>Red Kite</p></div><div><img decoding="async" src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49482661067_97277f23f0_c.jpg" title="Red Kites at Gigrin Farm - E-M1ii" alt=""  /><p>Red Kites at Gigrin Farm - E-M1ii</p></div></div><script type="text/javascript">jQuery("#flickr_recent_5495").data("options",{"delay":8000,"autoplay":true,"transition":500,"link":"next","target":"_self","width":"","height":""});</script><div style="clear:both"></div></div></code></code><br />
To take these shots I used a Nikon 1 V3, with a 32mm f1.2 (85mm equivalent) lens using it&#8217;s very narrow depth of focus to emphasise the bonnet mascots and the flowing coachwork lines of these marvelous vehicles.  I bought the lens for this trip, and I have to say I was impressed. I also really liked the Nikon V3, which I was about to sell, but took with me to the USA because I wanted a lightweight system for walking around at the festivals.  This is a tiny camera with a 2.7 crop factor (i.e the sensor has about 1/3rd the linear dimensions of full-frame).  Most of the shots at Dick&#8217;s were taken between ISO 800 and 1600, and they came up with rich colours and very manageable noise.</p>
<p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcaughtry.com%2F2016%2F08%2Fhoods-style-gorgeous-cars-dicks-classic-garage%2F&#038;title=Hoods%20with%20style%20%E2%80%93%20the%20gorgeous%20automobiles%20of%20Dick%E2%80%99s%20classic%20garage" data-a2a-url="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/08/hoods-style-gorgeous-cars-dicks-classic-garage/" data-a2a-title="Hoods with style – the gorgeous automobiles of Dick’s classic garage"><img src="https://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_120_16.png" alt="Share"></a></p>]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
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		<title>Brexit &#8211; Is Andrea Leadsom the UK&#8217;s Carly Fiorina?</title>
		<link>https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/07/brexit-andrea-leadsom-uks-carly-fiorina/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[DMcA]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Jul 2016 09:48:28 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Commentary]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mcaughtry.com/?p=4408</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[The more I see Brexit&#8217;s Andrea Leadsom, the more I am reminded of Carly Fiorina (the US business leader who forced the HP acquisition of Compaq, and more recently attacked Hilary Clinton and Planned Parenthood in a particularly unpleasant way). She has the same unshakeable belief in herself, the same glossy self projection, layered over...]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/07/brexit-andrea-leadsom-uks-carly-fiorina/leadsom/" rel="attachment wp-att-4410"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4410" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Leadsom.jpg" alt="Leadsom" width="290" height="181" /></a>The more I see Brexit&#8217;s Andrea Leadsom, the more I am reminded of Carly Fiorina (the US business leader who forced the HP acquisition of Compaq, and more recently attacked Hilary Clinton and Planned Parenthood in a particularly unpleasant way). She has the same unshakeable belief in herself, the same glossy self projection, layered over a potentially disastrous master plan. And it appears, the ability to dissemble on an industrial scale. Carly however only did for Hewlett Packard. Andrea can destroy a much bigger target. There are it has to be said, many many dumber and more treacherous men in the Tory ship of fools at the moment, but I have seen that manic glint in Andrea&#8217;s eye before and it&#8217;s a look that spells danger.  Let&#8217;s look a little more closely at her.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-leadership-election-conservative-andrea-leadsom-brexit-u-turn-latest-news-next-prime-minister-a7116806.html" rel="attachment wp-att-4412"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4412 " src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Leadsom-u-turn.jpg" alt="Leadsom u-turn" width="307" height="242" /></a>Firstly she has only been for Brexit for 3 years.  In 2013 she said: “I don’t think the UK should leave the EU. I think it would be a disaster for our economy and it would lead to a decade of economic and political uncertainty at a time when the tectonic plates of global success are moving.</p>
<p>“Like the rise and fall of the Roman and Greek Empires we are seeing the rise of the Asian and South American economie<span class="text_exposed_show">s at a time when our own future is less certain. And to be honest economic success is the vital underpinning of every happen nation. The well being we all crave goes hand in hand with economic success.”</span></p>
<div class="text_exposed_show">
<p>Her justification for the Brexit U-turn is that she concluded over the intervening 3 years that the EU could not be reformed. But EU reform has nothing to do with the damage to the UK of exiting the EU. None of the UK exit options have changed in the last 3 years. All that has changed is her rise up the Conservative hierarchy.  Which as we will see below may have been fueled by a rather sinister source.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.desmog.uk/2015/05/25/mysterious-tory-donor-linked-energy-minister-andrea-leadsom-s-rise-power" rel="attachment wp-att-4413"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4413 " src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Leadsom-and-De-Putron.jpg" alt="Leadsom and De Putron" width="288" height="230" /></a>As has been widely reported (see link to the left), &#8220;An offshore financier who is the brother-in-law of financial services minister Andrea Leadsom has donated £816,000 to the Conservative party since she first successfully ran for parliament at the last election.&#8221;</p>
<p>The offshore financier is Peter De Putron, a very shadowy individual who is based in Guernsey.  Andrea Leadsom was Managing Director of <a class="new" title="De Putron Fund Management (page does not exist)" href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=De_Putron_Fund_Management&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1">De Putron Fund Management</a> between 1997 and 1999.  De Putron&#8217;s wife, and Andrea Leadsom&#8217;s sister, Carolynne Hayley de Putron,  is currently head of investor relations at De Putron Fund Management.  Mr de Putron wrote out cheques to the Conservative party totalling £200,000 in 2010, £66,600 in 2011, £129,800 in 2012, and £204,760 in 2013.  The  donations from  De Putron were channeled to the Conservative party via <span id="ext-gen147">a company called Gloucester Research.</span>  This company was run by Andrea Leadsom&#8217;s husband,  <a class="new" title="Ben Leadsom (page does not exist)" href="http://powerbase.info/index.php?title=Ben_Leadsom&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1">Ben Leadsom</a>.</p>
<p id="ext-gen149" class="mol-para-with-font"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">In 2014 Andrea Leadsom, 4 years after a deluge of cash was given to the Conservative party by her brother-in-law and husband, was appointed to a junior cabinet position</span>.  The donations were exposed later that year by the &#8220;Jersey files&#8221; which were leaked from <a title="Kleinwort Benson" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleinwort_Benson">Kleinwort Benson</a> to the <a title="International Consortium of Investigative Journalists" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Consortium_of_Investigative_Journalists">International Consortium of Investigative Journalists</a>.  Had this leak not occurred, no-one would have been aware of the massive potential conflict of interest.</p>
<p class="mol-para-with-font">Andrea Leadsom made no mention of this in any House of Commons declaration.  Moreover, she has said that she &#8220;was not aware of the size of donations made by UK companies controlled by Peter de Putron to the  Conservative party, and has never been involved in any way&#8221;&#8230;.and &#8220;has not benefited personally from these donations and does not believe they have affected her career.’</p>
<p class="mol-para-with-font">Like many of the large-scale falsehoods from the Brexit camp, Leadsom&#8217;s denial beggars belief for many observers.  A company run by her sister and brother-in-law channels nearly a million pounds to her party via her husband over 4 years, and she is totally unaware of it.  The financial manipulations of Leadsom&#8217;s brother-in-law are entirely offshore, and largely secret, but they involve a major hedge fund, and investments in oil and other energy assets. His interests are totally at odds with those of the poorly paid in the UK, who Leadsom publicly claims to be driven by.  It is no coincidence that Ms Leadsom currently serves in David Cameron&#8217;s government as a junior energy minister (where she supports fracking).  This is precisely the greatest area of interest of her rich sponsor, de Putron.</p>
<p><a href="http://energydesk.greenpeace.org/2015/05/21/donor-watch-what-does-the-cabinet-re-shuffle-mean-for-energy-and-climate/" rel="attachment wp-att-4415"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4415 " src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Leadsom-3.jpg" alt="Leadsom 3" width="257" height="194" /></a>As reported in Private Eye and the Independent, &#8220;Leadsom has also received around £80,500 in donations to her campaign and her constituency from her brother-in-law Peter du Putron, according to an <em>Energydesk</em> analysis of Electoral Commission data. The vast majority of these donations from de Putron (bar one, £4,999 in 2010, which was in his name) came through Gloucester Research.run by Andrea’s husband, who also gave £10,000 to his wife’s campaign and her South Northamptonshire constituency in his own name.</p>
<p>A spokesman for Leadsom said: “No member of her family has ever sought to promote her political career”.  This would appear to be a statement so at odds with the published facts that it once again defies belief, even for a Tory minister.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/07/brexit-andrea-leadsom-uks-carly-fiorina/leadsom-2-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-4414"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4414" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Leadsom-2.jpg" alt="Leadsom 2" width="331" height="259" /></a>Leadsom&#8217;s concern for the little man also is <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/revealed-how-city-minister-andrea-leadsom-used-controversial-trusts-to-reduce-her-potential-9268469.html">at odds with her personal financial dealing</a>s. Separately, Ben Leadsom, her husband, is recorded as receiving offshore loans to grow their business. Three loans from the Channel Islands were used by the Leadsoms through their property company to acquire buy-to-let houses in 2004, plus, in 2006, the couple&#8217;s own £1.3m mansion in her rural Northamptonshire constituency.</p>
<p>Her spokesman said Leadsom had not been misleading when she had denied to the Banbury Guardian, her local paper, in April of this year that there was any &#8220;offshore element&#8221; to their buy-to-let business. The spokesman told the Guardian: &#8220;The word &#8216;offshore&#8217; … is taken to mean tax avoidance. There is not, and never has been, any offshore tax avoidance.&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/07/brexit-andrea-leadsom-uks-carly-fiorina/leadsonm-4/" rel="attachment wp-att-4425"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4425" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/leadsonm-4.jpg" alt="leadsonm 4" width="361" height="273" /></a>But some say this murky support doesn&#8217;t matter &#8211; she has years of experience, and is a super efficient top achiever. Perfect for leading the UK into Brexit.  Not so apparently, according to the FT and the Independent: &#8220;officials in the Treasury, where she worked as a junior minister from April 2014 to May 2015, have issued an extraordinary criticism of her track record in government. “She was the worst minister we’ve ever had,&#8221; one unnamed City official told the <em><a href="https://next.ft.com/content/5ec81170-4101-11e6-b22f-79eb4891c97d" target="_blank">Financial Times. </a></em>“She found it difficult to understand issues or take decisions,” another said. “She was monomaniacal, seeing the EU as the source of every problem&#8221;.</p>
<p>So, Andrea Leadsom &#8211; a low level, low (ministerial) quality ideologue, possibly influenced by a very rich and shadowy offshore investor, is at the point of leading this country into disaster.  The parallels with Carly Fiorina are quite striking (including the incompetence).  But there is one major difference.  Despite the application of truly huge amounts of money ($22.6m just for her failed California Senate bid) Fiorina has so far failed to obtain any elected office.  It was much, much cheaper to get Leadsom into a position of power &#8211; only one million pounds or so seems to have been required.</p>
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<p><strong>It seems pretty clear that t</strong><span class="text_exposed_show"><strong>he sinister sounding Peter de Putron may have acquired himself (through marriage and other means) not just a minister, but possibly a Prime Minister, and one who could promote his interests while championing herself as a supporter of the low paid.  An investment that would make any offshore hedge-fund operator proud.</strong> </span></p>
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<p><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcaughtry.com%2F2016%2F07%2Fbrexit-andrea-leadsom-uks-carly-fiorina%2F&#038;title=Brexit%20%E2%80%93%20Is%20Andrea%20Leadsom%20the%20UK%E2%80%99s%20Carly%20Fiorina%3F" data-a2a-url="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/07/brexit-andrea-leadsom-uks-carly-fiorina/" data-a2a-title="Brexit – Is Andrea Leadsom the UK’s Carly Fiorina?"><img src="https://static.addtoany.com/buttons/share_save_120_16.png" alt="Share"></a></p>]]></content:encoded>
					
		
		
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		<title>Harry McAughtry &#8211; his life and times</title>
		<link>https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/03/harry-mcaughtry-life-times/</link>
					<comments>https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/03/harry-mcaughtry-life-times/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[DMcA]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Mar 2016 17:21:17 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Harry and Joyce]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mcaughtry.com/?p=4279</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[My dear father, Harry McAughtry passed away on 8th February this year, and his funeral was held at the quiet Kentish church in Halstead on 19th February.   As always when he was involved, the occasion brought together family and friends, but this time to share in our loss, and remember his life and his influence...]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span style="color: #000000;"><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/03/harry-mcaughtry-life-times/20030927-dad-diamond-wa-001-edit/" rel="attachment wp-att-4285"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4285 size-thumbnail" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/20030927-Dad-Diamond-WA-001-Edit-150x150.jpg" alt="20030927 Dad Diamond WA 001-Edit" width="150" height="150" /></a>My dear father, Harry McAughtry passed away on 8th February this year, and his funeral was held at the quiet Kentish church in Halstead on 19th February.   As always when he was involved, the occasion brought together family and friends, but this time to share in our loss, and remember his life and his influence on ours. It was an emotional day, and one for reflection also.    </span><span style="color: #000000;">Harry had a really interesting life, through turbulent times, and he achieved a lot.  So a</span><span style="color: #000000;">long with family personal memories at the funeral, I wanted to give a picture of what the sweep of his 94 years had been like.  The text below is the eulogy I gave, augmented here and there with a bit more detail, and with photographs from the order of service, and other sources.</span></p>
<p><strong>Harry McAughtry 19/10/1921-8/2/2016</strong></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;">In the summer of 1937, my mother and father met at St Abbs Haven, in Northumberland and that encounter was the beginning of an 80 year love story. This afternoon, I wanted to tell you a little about what happened next, to give you a glimpse of the adventures he and Joyce had over those 80 years. </span></p>
<p><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/03/harry-mcaughtry-life-times/st-abb/" rel="attachment wp-att-4296"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-4296 alignright" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/St-Abb.jpg" alt="St Abb" width="227" height="146" /></a><span style="color: #000000;">Harry met Joyce when he was 16. Actually, last year he told us a bit more about that meeting. It seems that every year there was a skit put on by the boys staying at the haven. That year, it was to be a mock wedding. Owing, he said, to his unparalleled beauty, Dad was going to be the bride. So he walked up to Joyce, who he&#8217;d had his eye on, and said do you have a white dress. She said yes. And he said, would you mind if I borrow it as I need to wear one tomorrow. One of the more original chat-up lines and the start of a wonderful relationship. </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;"><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/03/harry-mcaughtry-life-times/20160212-dad-in-reme-001-edit-edit/" rel="attachment wp-att-4283"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-4283 size-thumbnail alignleft" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/20160212-Dad-in-REME-001-Edit-Edit-150x150.jpg" alt="20160212 Dad in REME 001-Edit-Edit" width="150" height="150" /></a>The next year, with war looming, he entered Glasgow University and he graduated in 1941 with a degree in Civil Engineering. He was immediately called up into the Royal Engineers as a Sapper or private. But within a year he was moved to the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and was commissioned in October 1942 as a full Lieutenant. The Photo on the left  is him in uniform in 1943. It turned out he was in REME for for a special mission. </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;"><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/03/harry-mcaughtry-life-times/ventnor_old2/" rel="attachment wp-att-4297"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-4297 alignright" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ventnor_old2-300x193.jpg" alt="ventnor_old2" width="246" height="163" /></a>In 1943, the year he got married, Harry was sent to a discreet house in Petersham, in Richmond, to attend the first training course on a new top secret radar system. Britain had invented radar, and by 1937 had built radar towers all along the south and east coast. The original radar stations were huge towers, over 300 feet high &#8211; quite unlike today&#8217;s radar systems. They enabled us to win the Battle of Britian, but there were problems with the first designs. They couldn&#8217;t detect low flying planes, or their height, and only looked out to sea. Something better was urgently needed, with more efficiency and more power. In 1940, at Birmingham University, something called the cavity magnetron had been invented, which enabled microwave radiation to be produced at incredible efficiency. You all own one by the way – it&#8217;s what powers your microwave ovens.  It turned out to have huge potential for radar, and a massive effort was undertaken over the next few years to turn that into reality.<br />
</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;"><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/03/harry-mcaughtry-life-times/radarm/" rel="attachment wp-att-4289"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4289" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/radarm.jpg" alt="radarm" width="223" height="164" /></a>In March 1943 the first truly modern radar intercept system with this new radiation source was built, and that&#8217;s what Harry had been selected to work on. It was called the AMES type 13 radar – and from from then to the end of the war, Harry worked installing and running these and other systems into radar stations around the south and east coasts. From then on the efficiency of German aircraft detection was greatly improved, and these systems were later used to shoot down the V1 bombs also.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;"><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/03/harry-mcaughtry-life-times/shorts/" rel="attachment wp-att-4298"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-4298 alignright" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/shorts.jpg" alt="shorts" width="200" height="231" /></a>Dad was decommissioned in 1946, and went back to Glasgow with Joyce, where John was born in August. That year they had a chance conversation with a friend about Malaya, and Harry applied for a post in the railways there. So in 1947, at the age of 26, after having spent their entire working and married life in a world war, Harry and Joyce arrived in the impossibly exotic and warm far east, where they spent 10 very happy years. He was a careful man as most of you know, and he had heard from someone that Malayans washed clothes by pounding them with rocks. So he bought 90 pairs of Army surplus shorts to cover the wear and tear – which turned out to be about 85 pairs too many. He was still wearing them twenty years later.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;"><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/03/harry-mcaughtry-life-times/bukit-mertajam-railway-station/" rel="attachment wp-att-4299"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4299" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/bukit-mertajam-railway-station-300x200.jpg" alt="bukit-mertajam-railway-station" width="300" height="200" /></a>Dad&#8217;s main job in Malaya was as District Engineer. That job involved responsibility for all bridges, track, stations and building, and for the many hundreds of staff and gangs that worked there. The first big posting was in Bukit Mertajam, near Penang on the west coast, where I was born. There he looked after 250 miles of track that crossed the jungle and multiple rivers and went right up to the Thai border. Bernard North took over from my father in that job, when he was only 22. The other day he told me very movingly how un-colonial, and unstuffy Harry was. How he treated everyone fairly and as an equal. Harry established long term friendships with his staff, and was in correspondence with them for years, until very recently. He had many great stories about those times. One of them was of John or me (I think it must have been John), refusing to go to bed when Dad had received a visit from the new Railways General manager. When asked why we wouldn&#8217;t go to bed, the answer was, oh you said &#8220;the general manager drinks like a fish&#8221;, and we haven&#8217;t seen him do that yet! </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;"><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/03/harry-mcaughtry-life-times/wimpey/" rel="attachment wp-att-4300"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-4300 size-medium alignright" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/wimpey-300x149.jpg" alt="wimpey" width="300" height="149" srcset="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/wimpey-300x149.jpg 300w, https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/wimpey.jpg 480w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>On Malayan independence, in 1957, we returned to Britain, and in 1958, Harry joined George Wimpey and the family moved to Kent. Harry worked at Wimpey for over 25 years, and had many adventures during that time. His job was estimating the bid price for very large international contracts. This involved going to the job location to see where to find the raw materials, how the transport would be managed, where the hundreds of workers would be housed, and so on. He traveled all over the world &#8211; to the Emirates for the huge Das island oil rigs, to Lebanon and Turkey for the Euphrates dam tender, to Romania for a giant irrigation project, Brazil, and many more remote and exotic locations. And of course to Peru, which made a huge impression on him when he saw Machu Pichu Inca city, and which he took his grandchildren back to many years later. In going through some papers at home I found a letter from Dad to mum, written from Oran in Algeria. In a note scribbled at the top, he wrote “ PS. I’ve been listening to tapes of F Sinatra esq. Which get me feeling very sentimental and missing you achingly. I do love you so much darling”. Once <span style="color: #000000;">Dad</span> got back from his travels, it was then a race to get the tender priced and submitted. He worked every Christmas day that I could remember, and always seemed to be working to a deadline. I never saw anyone work harder than Dad, and he did it almost all his working life.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;"><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/03/harry-mcaughtry-life-times/mech-calculator/" rel="attachment wp-att-4301"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4301" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Mech-calculator-150x150.jpg" alt="Mech calculator" width="119" height="119" /></a>Most of Dad&#8217;s career, all the calculating of prices was done manually by dozens of &#8216;comps girls with mechanical calculators like the one on the left. In the late 70&#8217;s he explored using computers to do that and developed of the first pieces of software for estimating. During the process he learned to program, and so in his 60s amazingly, in his third major career, he became a skilled and meticulous computer programmer and consultant</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;"><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/03/harry-mcaughtry-life-times/intertec_superbrain_system_3/" rel="attachment wp-att-4302"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-4302 alignright" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Intertec_SuperBrain_System_3-150x150.jpg" alt="Intertec_SuperBrain_System_3" width="136" height="136" /></a>After his retirement from Wimpey, at the age of 63 he went to work full time as a software programming consultant. One of the first things he did was the database design for a large London Cab company. When he left that job, I mentioned the vacancy to one of my oldest friends M*chael Br*phy, and Mick applied for the job. I don&#8217;t think Harry knew Mick before this, but the day of the interview, in a greasy spoon cafe round the corner, Harry gave him a detailed briefing on the job, which enabled Mick to amaze the company with his detailed knowledge. And Mick got the job, which launched him on his successful IT career. That generous gesture was very typical of Harry and was an example of how he helped and mentored dozens of people during his career.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;"><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/03/harry-mcaughtry-life-times/ends/" rel="attachment wp-att-4303"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4303" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ends.png" alt="ends" width="147" height="108" /></a>Round about that time, Gina&#8217;s Environmental publishing business was growing fast, and desperately needed an automated finance system to run the business. We talked about this in passing to Harry, and he offered to help. In his spare time, Harry wrote a complete and very sophisticated suite of software to manage the subscriptions business, and meticulously documented and maintained it. That code sat at the heart of Gina&#8217;s business for 25 years, and continued to run the subscriptions as the business grew. It was still there and being used when she sold the company to Michael Heseltine and the Haymarket press in 2004. It was one of the few examples I know of a computer program being created out of love, and it was a classic piece of code, much loved in return.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;"><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/03/harry-mcaughtry-life-times/20150323-mum-and-dad-laughing-001-edit/" rel="attachment wp-att-4305"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-4305 alignright" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/20150323-Mum-and-dad-laughing-001-Edit-267x300.jpg" alt="20150323 Mum and dad laughing 001-Edit" width="180" height="200" /></a>By now Harry and Joyce were in their 70s. Harry had always wanted to travel and take Joyce to India and South America, but her health was starting to fail, and they kept their traveling mostly to to Europe . But they loved touring about in France and Spain and the UK, and had done it ever since John and I were married and away. They traveled mostly without making any plans – just arriving in a town with the Michelin guide and hoping for the best. For the first time in his life Harry was not working, and was able to relax and take things easy.</span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;">Towards the end of that tim<a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/03/harry-mcaughtry-life-times/20080715-lr-memories-001/" rel="attachment wp-att-4304"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-4304" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/20080715-LR-memories-001-300x200.jpg" alt="20080715 LR memories 001" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/20080715-LR-memories-001-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/20080715-LR-memories-001-768x513.jpg 768w, https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/20080715-LR-memories-001-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/20080715-LR-memories-001-449x300.jpg 449w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a>e,  Gina and I bought a small French farmhouse near Poitiers called La Rocheliere, and for the next 10 years, Joyce and Harry spent 6 weeks every spring there, and loved it dearly. It became their house more than ours, and it still reminds us of them whenever we go. His notes, instructions, piles of 2B pencils, and his meticulously organised desk are all still there and will be as long as we live.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;">But in 2006 Joyce became extremely ill, and the traveling had to stop. For the first 3-4 years after then, Harry became Joyce&#8217;s full-time carer. He worked his heart out 18 hours a day, cooking, cleaning, shopping, and managing support, taking over every item of running the house. Then fortunately our lovely carers took over and Harry could relax a bit again. </span></p>
<p><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/03/harry-mcaughtry-life-times/olympus-digital-camera-3/" rel="attachment wp-att-4286"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-4286" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/20141019-Mum-Dad-93rd-and-Ben-Abigail-day-030-Edit-284x300.jpg" alt="" width="154" height="162" srcset="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/20141019-Mum-Dad-93rd-and-Ben-Abigail-day-030-Edit-284x300.jpg 284w, https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/20141019-Mum-Dad-93rd-and-Ben-Abigail-day-030-Edit-768x813.jpg 768w, https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/20141019-Mum-Dad-93rd-and-Ben-Abigail-day-030-Edit-968x1024.jpg 968w, https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/20141019-Mum-Dad-93rd-and-Ben-Abigail-day-030-Edit.jpg 1498w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 154px) 100vw, 154px" /></a><span style="color: #000000;">So Harry had a wonderful life. He was with the love of his life for 80 years. They had great adventures together, and although they faced danger, they ended up safe. With John and me and our wives and our children and grandchildren, they had a family they dearly loved and who loved them back. </span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;">And he had wonderful qualities which he passed down to all of us. He was the politest and most considerate man I have ever known. He was funny, really intelligent, loving, incredibly hard working, and very very generous. I have never known a finer man, and I know that I never will. I&#8217;ll miss him dreadfully, and I can hear his voice and see his smile every day.</span></p>
<p><span style="color: #000000;">Now both our parents are gone. But they won&#8217;t be alone. We&#8221;ll be placing their ashes together under the walnut tree in la Rocheliere in France and in the windswept cemetery in Yorkshire that you see in the photographs below. They will be together again and till the end of time. Two of the finest kindest people that ever lived.</span></p>
<p><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2015/03/farewell-my-beautiful-kind-and-funny-mother/20140122-lr-memories-002/" rel="attachment wp-att-4075"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4075" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20140122-LR-memories-002-300x201.jpg" alt="20140122 LR memories 002" width="475" height="326" /></a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2015/04/a-coda/haworth-cemetery/" rel="attachment wp-att-4083"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4083" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Haworth-cemetery-300x190.jpg" alt="Haworth cemetery" width="482" height="314" /></a><a href="https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/03/harry-mcaughtry-life-times/img-20160223-wa0005/" rel="attachment wp-att-4293"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft wp-image-4293" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/IMG-20160223-WA0005-1024x576.jpg" alt="IMG-20160223-WA0005" width="477" height="275" /></a></p>
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		<title>Harry McAughtry &#8211; goodbye to my dear father</title>
		<link>https://www.mcaughtry.com/2016/02/harry-mcaughtry-goodbye-to-my-dear-father/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[DMcA]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Feb 2016 08:55:12 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Harry and Joyce]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.mcaughtry.com/?p=4273</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[We are all so sad. On the morning of 8th February, my kind, funny, and wise father Harry McAughtry passed away. A quiet hero for me all my life, he was a beacon of honour, humility, and selflessness. Along with my lovely mother he taught us all how to live, and he taught me how...]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="western">We are all so sad. On the morning of 8th February, my kind, funny, and wise father Harry McAughtry passed away. A quiet hero for me all my life, he was a beacon of honour, humility, and selflessness. Along with my lovely mother he taught us all how to live, and he taught me how to live a logical life, and how to laugh at it. He passed quietly, without pain, and his final wishes are being honoured. I&#8217;ll write more about him soon, but I miss him more than I can say.</p>
<p class="western">His funeral will be held at St Margaret&#8217;s church, Halstead, Kent on the 19<sup>th</sup> February at 1:45 for 2:00 pm, and all who knew and loved him are welcome to come to the service and to join us afterwards. Full details are shown below the photo &#8211; which is of Harry and Joyce at their 70th wedding anniversary, in 2013.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-large wp-image-4274" src="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/20130921-Mum-and-Dad-70th-Wedding-party-005-680x1024.jpg" alt="20130921 Mum and Dad 70th Wedding party 005" width="680" height="1024" srcset="https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/20130921-Mum-and-Dad-70th-Wedding-party-005-680x1024.jpg 680w, https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/20130921-Mum-and-Dad-70th-Wedding-party-005-199x300.jpg 199w, https://www.mcaughtry.com/WP/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/20130921-Mum-and-Dad-70th-Wedding-party-005-768x1156.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px" /><strong>Funeral Arrangements</strong></p>
<p>The funeral will be held at St Margaret&#8217;s Church, Halstead, Kent, at 1:45 for 2:00pm on Friday 19th February 2016.  There will be a reception following this for family, and friends at Halstead village hall, which is a short drive from the church.</p>
<p>Details and Google map links for both locations are given below.</p>
<p><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">Location Details</span></strong><br />
<i>St Margaret&#8217;s Church</i><br />
Church Rd<br />
Halstead<br />
Sevenoaks, Kent TN14 7HQ<br />
<a href="https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/St+Margaret%27s+Church/@51.335037,0.12855,15z/data=%214m2%213m1%211s0x0:0xe2d3c01b8e8d4505" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google Map location</a><br />
<i>Halstead Village Hall<br />
</i>Knockholt Rd<br />
Sevenoaks<br />
Kent<br />
TN14 7EX<br />
<a href="https://www.google.co.uk/maps/search/Halstead+Village+Hall/@51.328422,0.132817,17z/data=%213m1%214b1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google map location</a><br />
<strong>Flowers:<br />
</strong>If you would like to send flowers with the hearse, please contact <a href="http://www.fmnflowers.co.uk/refresh-all.htm?fmn-gifts-page.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forget-me-not</a> on <b><a href="tel:01689%20853261" target="_blank" rel="noopener">01689 853261</a></b>, and mention the Harry McAughtry funeral.  If you are in the area, they are located next to the Funeral Directors in Crofton Road. Alternatively please make a donation to Oxfam or a charity of your choice.</p>
<p><strong>Visiting:</strong><br />
If you would like to visit Harry one last time in the Chapel of rest, this will be possible on the morning of Friday 19th February, between 10:00 am and 12:00 am, by appointment with the Funeral Directors <a href="http://www.dignityfunerals.co.uk/index.asp?pageid=18&amp;fd=299" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Francis Chappell  and sons</a> on <a href="tel:01689%20853277" target="_blank" rel="noopener">01689 853277</a>.  The Chapel of Rest is at their Farnborough premises, at:</p>
<p>332 Crofton Road<br />
Locks Bottom<br />
Orpington, Kent<br />
BR6 8NW</p>
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