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Had a nervous meeting today with the HMRC Special Investigations team, who swooped on us.

I thought it was a VAT inspection, but assumed we'd get more notice, but when I was asked if we had been trading in scrap metal, I knew something was up! 

After a few tense questions, it quickly became apparent we weren't the Bulgarian Mafia 

So it turns out our VAT number has been hi-jacked, originally in January, where a fake website was set up using our business address and VAT number, and apparently we were exporting tractors into Europe. Then more recently it looks like we have got into the scrap metal game, and this week we've started importing stuff to Canada!

HMRC suspect the reason we've been targeted is because we display our VAT number on our website along with our business address and Company registration number. I incorrectly thought you had to as part of the requirements a couple of years ago, where you have to now display your trading address and Ltd company number.

Apparently the likes of High Street stores and convenience stores are also regular targets as they tend to display VAT info on their receipts.

So a lesson learned, and visible VAT numbers have now been taken down, but if anyone else is displaying them, then I'd recommend you also take them down. The only people who need to see your VAT number are paying customers.

If you do find yourself falling prey to this scam, don't panic, just simply log a call with ActionFraud. It's a quick and easy process, and once they have it logged, you don't need to do anything else.

Right time to change my underpants

Judging by some of the comments on our Facebook page, not that many people 

Disgusting comment was to the original meat image, which I identified as beef, and in fact turned out be a perfectly cooked lamb rump 

The next dish is pretty impressive, and is more MasterChef. 

Although not a fan of MasterChef, it can be quite amusing when some of the contestants get it completely wrong, uncooked chicken, puddings that look like mush. I suppose it's like watching Formula 1 for the crashes... 

I want one!

Unless you have been living under a rock, you will have heard about the website security flaw called Heartbleed.

It seems the message still hasn't got out to a lot of websites, and numerous sites big and large are still exposed, weeks after the issue was first flagged, putting them at serious risk.

Norton Antivirus has released a simple and straightforward checker, which you can test either your own website, or anyone else's if you are concerned about security.

http://safeweb.norton.com/heartbleed

"The figures, from an investigation by Sky News, show 329 pupils were charged with a criminal offence after having weapons confiscated. 

A stun gun, an axe and a cut-throat razor were among the weapons they were carrying"

It's terrifying. Who takes an axe or stun gun to school???

I remember my Grandad giving me a lock knife when I was about 9. My mum went nuts, but after being re-assured that I wouldn't stab myself with it (or anyone else!) and an obligatory lesson in how to use a knife, it was at the time like a right of passage for a young lad.

I wouldn't have dreamed taking it to school, but remember arriving at secondary school in 1980, and some kids did carry knives, although few and far between, and it was more of a macho boast than anything sinister. I'm not aware of anyone getting caught, and certainly never anyone getting threatened with a knife.

Now unfortunately, you see a group of youths walking towards you, hoodies up, and media stereotypes pop into your head and you do feel threatened. Are they carrying weapons, and too immature to understand the consequences?

But to balance it, until recently, we've been repeatedly sending our youngsters to very hostile war zones, who have shown that the slovenly hoodie wearing youth can be an unfair label, and have done a lot to make us proud of the younger generation.

After the post war period, maybe the world is now a more violent place than it was 20, 30 years ago, and in an age of instant news, communication and travel, society is simply reflecting it

Do we have any other FSB members?

So how's the brickie course going? 

Be prepared for a Co-op food marketing campaign that wants to tempt us into their stores, forget the recent bad publicity, and take on the big supermarkets in a price war.

According to marketing week they are launching a £100m "Fair and Square" campaign today, which will see over 1000 lines reduced, as they aim to increase their current 6.1% market-share of the grocery store market.

Are you a co-op shopper, or are you tempted to different stores by these marketing campaigns? Or do you tend to stick with the same supermarket for your weekly shop?

Apparently commercial internet spam turned 20 this month, according to marketingland.com.

Some great stats getting banded around, 70% of all email is rubbish, and I think all of us suffer from spam in some shape or form, and hopefully don't contribute too much to it 

But my favourite bit is the link to the Sophos Website who do a Spampionship League table 

Quarterly Spampionship charts.

Interesting, you'd expect a few stereotypes to kick in, and never would have thought Spain would be the number 2. Good to see the UK isn't there, but that's probably more of a reflection of our slow creaking infrastructure 

So they are using the ipads to occupy the kids, or as an aid to measure the feet?