A piece written for the Financial Times in 2011 but never published. I have added a few modern details e.g. Elon Musk the S African Illegal Immigrant wanted by ICE.
Thanks for this Mike. Got my week off to a cheerful start. If we had a properly financed NHS we could get “Mikes” (or would it be “Hardings”?) on prescription.
That says it all Mike. Can you hear my applause from afar? I truly believe that the art of conning has a greater half life than a pure grade radon decay product.....alas!!
Happy festive season brother. May you be set free of all cons and continue to write about it.
Mike Harding Original comment on Joel J Miller Sunday 21st December 2025
Irony ?? Being as I was searching for Extra Economic Beuks in my Cleadon ( Reference ) Library the Dole Office rang to tell me even though I have been on ZERO PAY for The Empress SINCE 9th October 2023 & Signed Off on Ill Health I'm NOT ENTITLED TO A PENNY PIECE !!!
Few Beuks from MY Cleadon ( Reference ) Library :-
( Just Made My Day - Was looking for Posts to Showcase my New Purchase yesterday - Rather Fat Beuk but FULL of FACTS !!! )
Roman Coins - The World of Numismatics
CHV Sutherland ( Keeper , Heberden Coin Room , Ashmolean Museum , Oxford ) Publisher GP Putnam's Sons - New York
Book Stamp - Charles M Johnson XXXX Vista Street , Long Beach , Calif
( Abebooks Four Listed £70 - £167 )
Thirty Shillings !!!
-
Roman base metal coins - A price guide
Richard Plant
-
Man in Flight - 16 coins Shell
Shell
-
The Express Universal Decimal Coinage Reckoner ( 1969 )
R M G Inglis
-
Playgames - Eight Singing Games for Children with poems by Rose Fyleman and Music by Ruth Dyson ( Old - Price 7'6 Seven Shillings & Sixpence - Pre Decimal British Coinage - 37 1/2 New Pence )
Poems by Rose Fyleman and music by Ruth Dyson
-
National Decimal Reckoner
Ronald Mangredien computed by Glasgow University - Collins
-
Collins New Handy Decimal Reckoner
Colins - Ronald Mongredien & University of Glasgow
-
Guide to numismatics
CC Chamberlain
-
English Paper Money - 300 years of Treasury - Bank of England Notes 1694-1994
Vincent Dugglery
-
Promises to Pay - The first three hundred years of Bank of England Notes - Bank of England 1694-1994
Derrick Byatt
-
An introduction to Positive economics
Richard G Lipsey
( Recommended Textbook on C.I.M.A. Foundation Course Newcastle Poly - Now Northumbria Uni )
-
United States The Economist guide
The Economist
-
Studies in Economic History - The Old Poor Law 1795-1834
J D Marshall Bsc (Economics) PhD
-
Guide to British Economy
Peter Donaldson
-
The Economics Book
DK Books
-
The Family Save-All a System of Secondary Cooking supplying Excellent dishes for breakfast , luncheon dinner , and supper from cold and other fragments. With invaluable hints for economy in the use of every article of household consumption ( 1861 Second Edition )
By the Editor of " Enquire Within " etc Second edition In /great Britain Half-A-Million volumes : an equal number in America
-
The Wealth of nations vol 1 & vol 2
Adam Smith
-
Smith's Wealth of Nations by McCulloch ( 1868 )
Adam Smith LLD
( First Editions " Worth " Half a Million Pounds GBP !!! Late 1700s )
-
The Wealth of Nations Vol Two ( 1950 )
Adam Smith
-
Cost and management accounting made simple
Joseph Baggot
( Don't Even Need to Read This Beuk - Graph on Front Cover Says It All )
-
My Blog developed into Informing my Public so they can Search Online or Libraries once they know the Author & Title. All the Bar Maids ( Bar Tenders !!! Says Dragon Lady ) & Accountant Ladies Love my Beuks Sooooo Much they decide to Keep Them for EVER !!!
Songs are a " Bonus "
-
Ivar Gabot
-
Philosopher Pauper and a Poet
-
" The Empress that doth Opprezz " Ninety Song Songbook available on Request ( For Artists & Poets ) on Excel - Index Jump to Song - Jump back to Index - Set to Print by Song
I have an ‘A’ Level in Economics, Grade ‘A’ even, and that means I wasted hours of my life every term-time week for two years when I could have read this in twenty minutes.
Thanks for this Mike. Got my week off to a cheerful start. If we had a properly financed NHS we could get “Mikes” (or would it be “Hardings”?) on prescription.
That says it all Mike. Can you hear my applause from afar? I truly believe that the art of conning has a greater half life than a pure grade radon decay product.....alas!!
Happy festive season brother. May you be set free of all cons and continue to write about it.
Gave me a laugh - and I'm an amateur economist!
So are they all Dyll - no matter what they tell us - it’s all a game and the most powerful players almost always win.
Brilliant. Happy Christmas Mike.
Mike Harding Original comment on Joel J Miller Sunday 21st December 2025
Irony ?? Being as I was searching for Extra Economic Beuks in my Cleadon ( Reference ) Library the Dole Office rang to tell me even though I have been on ZERO PAY for The Empress SINCE 9th October 2023 & Signed Off on Ill Health I'm NOT ENTITLED TO A PENNY PIECE !!!
Few Beuks from MY Cleadon ( Reference ) Library :-
( Just Made My Day - Was looking for Posts to Showcase my New Purchase yesterday - Rather Fat Beuk but FULL of FACTS !!! )
Roman Coins - The World of Numismatics
CHV Sutherland ( Keeper , Heberden Coin Room , Ashmolean Museum , Oxford ) Publisher GP Putnam's Sons - New York
Book Stamp - Charles M Johnson XXXX Vista Street , Long Beach , Calif
( Abebooks Four Listed £70 - £167 )
Thirty Shillings !!!
-
Roman base metal coins - A price guide
Richard Plant
-
Man in Flight - 16 coins Shell
Shell
-
The Express Universal Decimal Coinage Reckoner ( 1969 )
R M G Inglis
-
Playgames - Eight Singing Games for Children with poems by Rose Fyleman and Music by Ruth Dyson ( Old - Price 7'6 Seven Shillings & Sixpence - Pre Decimal British Coinage - 37 1/2 New Pence )
Poems by Rose Fyleman and music by Ruth Dyson
-
National Decimal Reckoner
Ronald Mangredien computed by Glasgow University - Collins
-
Collins New Handy Decimal Reckoner
Colins - Ronald Mongredien & University of Glasgow
-
Guide to numismatics
CC Chamberlain
-
English Paper Money - 300 years of Treasury - Bank of England Notes 1694-1994
Vincent Dugglery
-
Promises to Pay - The first three hundred years of Bank of England Notes - Bank of England 1694-1994
Derrick Byatt
-
An introduction to Positive economics
Richard G Lipsey
( Recommended Textbook on C.I.M.A. Foundation Course Newcastle Poly - Now Northumbria Uni )
-
United States The Economist guide
The Economist
-
Studies in Economic History - The Old Poor Law 1795-1834
J D Marshall Bsc (Economics) PhD
-
Guide to British Economy
Peter Donaldson
-
The Economics Book
DK Books
-
The Family Save-All a System of Secondary Cooking supplying Excellent dishes for breakfast , luncheon dinner , and supper from cold and other fragments. With invaluable hints for economy in the use of every article of household consumption ( 1861 Second Edition )
By the Editor of " Enquire Within " etc Second edition In /great Britain Half-A-Million volumes : an equal number in America
-
The Wealth of nations vol 1 & vol 2
Adam Smith
-
Smith's Wealth of Nations by McCulloch ( 1868 )
Adam Smith LLD
( First Editions " Worth " Half a Million Pounds GBP !!! Late 1700s )
-
The Wealth of Nations Vol Two ( 1950 )
Adam Smith
-
Cost and management accounting made simple
Joseph Baggot
( Don't Even Need to Read This Beuk - Graph on Front Cover Says It All )
-
My Blog developed into Informing my Public so they can Search Online or Libraries once they know the Author & Title. All the Bar Maids ( Bar Tenders !!! Says Dragon Lady ) & Accountant Ladies Love my Beuks Sooooo Much they decide to Keep Them for EVER !!!
Songs are a " Bonus "
-
Ivar Gabot
-
Philosopher Pauper and a Poet
-
" The Empress that doth Opprezz " Ninety Song Songbook available on Request ( For Artists & Poets ) on Excel - Index Jump to Song - Jump back to Index - Set to Print by Song
-
Bard of Cleadon
-
Barred of SLInked-In
-
ALL Autobiographical & TRUE !!!
-
Other ( Fellow ) Poet's Thoughts :-
-
The Empress that doth Opprezz
Song No. IV
-
Annual Beanz Meanz Heinz - Bean Counting Competition 2020
Modern Slavery
-
Submissions
-
Prudence O'Sprey FCA 1,000,464.5
(+/- 1m)
-
Constance Basher Wilhelm ACA 500
( 250 x 2 Got hungry half way through and ate the rest)
-
Red Nelly 57
(Too lazy to count so guessed at the first number she thought of)
-
Shep Ronaldsay 1
(Gave the job to Raicheal Puffin who misunderstood the question)
-
Correct answer £
-
3 days x 12 hours per day x 12 cars per hour at £5 per car £2,160
-
less expenses :-
-
3 days toast at £0.04 per day £0.12
-
Total £2,159.88
-
Lyrics by © Cog Weale
-
Other ( Fellow ) Poet's Thoughts :-
-
The Empress that doth Opprezz
Song No. XXVIII
-
Beancounter / Un-Professional
-
Beancounter called Jamie
Thought it was a Girlie
Sent them a Satirical Song
They thought that was Wrong
-
Thinks that Satire
Really Means Attire
They Will Acquire
Suit to fit a Squire
-
I did Enquire
My Application I Desire
Discover the Reason
Rejected - Damn Treason !!
-
They then did Send
For Nasty Malicious End
Evil Act Can't Amend
Allegations I Can't Now Defend
-
Lyrics by © Cog Weale
-
Other ( Fellow ) Poet's Thoughts :-
-
The Empress that doth Opprezz
Song No. LXXXI
-
SLINKED-IN / Free Speech - Impeach
-
SLINKED-IN - Rattlesnake Jake
SLINKED-IN - Honour Forsake
SLINKED-IN - Free Speech
SLINKED-IN - Honour Impeach
-
SLINKED-IN - Bastard Childer
SLINKED-IN - Harpy & ( Himmler ) Hitler
SLINKED-IN - Suppress Dissent
SLINKED-IN - Sad Lament
-
Lyrics by © Cog Weale
-
Other ( Fellow ) Poet's Thoughts :-
-
Le Poete / Irish T'inker
-
Rodin's Thinker
Irish T'inker
Represent Intellect
Le Poete - Respect !
-
Lyrics by © HughofDurham@Gmail.com
© BardofCleadon@Gmail.com
-
Ivar Gabot
Chartered Management Accountant
Lowest Paid Qualified Accountant for The Empress for over Twenty Years
( & THE BEST )
Philosopher Pauper and a Poet
Chilled Skilled Wordsmith
One Hundred and Sixty-Five Songs since Lockdown
One Hundred and Ninety-One in Total
Cleadon Library - Not a Business but a Mission to Educate the World One Book at a Time
Wonderful way to start the week, thanks Mike.
Genius.
I have an ‘A’ Level in Economics, Grade ‘A’ even, and that means I wasted hours of my life every term-time week for two years when I could have read this in twenty minutes.