Santa in the Sand

What to do with the £££ left over

  • donate the excess to Help for Heroes

    Votes: 16 59.3%
  • use the money to buy some filters

    Votes: 9 33.3%
  • none of the above - you tell me

    Votes: 2 7.4%

  • Total voters
    27
  • Poll closed .
Can we please decide where the donation is going to. I've already donated a large sum to help for heros this year and would ideally like to help Rob out here.
But if we decide that donations are now going elswhere, then I will sort something out for Rob myself. Even if its sending him a filter or something.

Kev.
 
I thought we had decided. As far as I know everything donated so far has been specifically for Rob's Christmas pressie. And that's how it should stay until we reach the target at any rate.
 
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Can we please decide where the donation is going to. I've already donated a large sum to help for heros this year and would ideally like to help Rob out here.
But if we decide that donations are now going elswhere, then I will sort something out for Rob myself. Even if its sending him a filter or something.

Kev.

I thought we had decided. As far as I know everything donated so far has been specifically for Rob's Christmas pressie. And that's how it should stay until we reach the target at any rate.

Well I'm working on the premise that it's for Arkady's Christmas stocking until we reach the target.
I'll announce when that happens
Anything left over will go to Help for Heroes

If there's a revolt in the meantime, anything gathered up til then will go to HfH
But I must say all the contributors seem to support the principle cause

Hope that makes sense
(just re-read it - not sure I understand any more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
 
financial update

there have been a couple more "silent givers" (by far the best sort!)

so thanks to you each and every one - you know who you are - and so do I!

we have now reached £105 :clap:

another £50 and change and we have a result.......
 
Target reached.

Maybe best if a passing mod geezer now closed this thread.
 
crikey
that was a mad five minutes

seems we now have £205 in the kitty, which covers the JCBs to shovel the debris out of Arkady's kit!

now we have choices - so if I can (straaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaains)
I'll set up a poll for what to do with the excess

options will probably include

a) Help for Heroes (if someone has a link on how to donate that would be useful)
b) Filters as mentioned in various places
c) er - none of the above - make me an offer :nuts:

incidentally, with the other hand (noooooooooo not that hand)
I'm trying to get a better price on the Dust Busting kit, no news yet though

:puke: poll added
I've set it to time out after 5 days

if anyone wants to contribute in the meantime, the (virtual) bank is still open :nuts:
 
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A thought....rather than any overspill going to HfH - in order to keep it a bit more personal is it perhaps an idea for Rob to talk to his unit about something, or things, that would benefit ALL of them over the christmas period? It might be something "foody" - not sure what stuff can be sent over so that would need checking, maybe vouchers of some sort for books or something that could be used for books everyone would read, or something else altogether, but it does mean that those of us who would still like to contribute, can (some of us haven't been paid yet you know! :p) and then ALL those who have contributed would have put towards both Rob's present, AND something to benefit his whole unit? Sort of "Help for Heroes - TP Style"?!
 
A thought....rather than any overspill going to HfH - in order to keep it a bit more personal is it perhaps an idea for Rob to talk to his unit about something, or things, that would benefit ALL of them over the christmas period? It might be something "foody" - not sure what stuff can be sent over so that would need checking, maybe vouchers of some sort for books or something that could be used for books everyone would read, or something else altogether, but it does mean that those of us who would still like to contribute, can (some of us haven't been paid yet you know! :p) and then ALL those who have contributed would have put towards both Rob's present, AND something to benefit his whole unit? Sort of "Help for Heroes - TP Style"?!

good plan
I'll drop him a PM and see what he says
and add it to the poll choices (if I could work out how to do that!!!)

ps
the banks will stay open past pay day (whenever that is :nuts:)
 
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witch that is a great idea help the rest of his unit out keeps it more personal for the tp members how about asking arkady how many they are and give them maybe one present each ( what they want though ) to cheer them up and chrismas day

must be hard being away from family and friends that time of the year

POSSIBLE IDEA sort some sort of banner out with TP on it and a big group photo in afganistan would be a good something nice so we can all see the efforts or something similar

although the help for hero's is a good one too and i will some time soon donate to them too
 
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I've just PM'ed Rob for some input on what we might do with excess funds
I'll let you know when I get something back
 
ok you blinking lot i turn my back for an hour and then see this..i knew what a fantastic bunch of people we had on here, but you have just out done yoursleves..i am crying at what you lot have done here not just for Rob but everyone else.. i don't even think you have a clue to how much you have done..well done allof you pats on the back all round..
 
The Company I work for runs an annual Charity day and we are proud to have supported some very worthy charity's over the years.

Some of these include HFH here:
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/current_corporate_sponsors.html

And Building Homes for Heroes here:
http://www.buildinghomesforheroes.com/special-thanks/icap.htm

So recommend we dish the excess over to HFH.

I'm proud to work for a Company that supports those that make sacrifices for us so we and our kids can be safe and sound.
And Im proud of our Troops who are making those sacrifices.
For personal reasons I also donate and that makes me feel good.

So to Rob, I say, it makes me feel good mate, and Im proud and appreciative of what you and you colleagues do for us.

Anybody want to live under the Taliban, summary executions, music and TV banned, your daughters not allowed to go to school.....and definately no cameras.:)

Dissenters, please wind you necks back in.

There you have it, that my four-pence (again).
 
So to Rob, I say, it makes me feel good mate, and Im proud and appreciative of what you and you colleagues do for us.

Very nicely said (y)

Anybody want to live under the Taliban, summary executions, music and TV banned, your daughters not allowed to go to school.....and definately no cameras.:)

A bit narrow minded, biggoted and quite frankly ridiculous! care to quote your source of mis-information!

Dissenters, please wind you necks back in.

There you have it, that my four-pence (again).

Have you even bothered to read the thread :shrug:

Considering that I seem to be the only one questioning this whole thing! may I make a simple point here ..... One of my nephews was killed in Iraq 7 years ago and his brother is currently serving in Afghanistan .... My brother (the father) is a wreck, the death destroyed the marriage and that effected many other people in the family!

200 troops have been killed in Afghanistan thats a lot of people directly affected i.e. thousands.
I do not have a problem whatsoever with general fund raising, parcels, gifts etc but when i see threads like this raising money for camera cleaning gear for a tog employed to do a job I do get just a little bit disturbed by it! I should also add this not in anyway a pop at Arkady although I would seriously question some of his posts (Rob please feel to reply, although you do not really need to do so!)

Regarding the troops having a laugh and a bit of fun (different thread)... again I wish them well and understand that this really how it should be and would support it 100% but IMHO that is something to be kept to themselves and not broadcast on a public forum, call it being proffesional if it helps to understand!

Anyway I've said my bit and my neck is definitely wound in and won't be discussing further!

Sorry DarrenB my post is not simply pointing at you, but you managed to push me that bit further into a response with your comments!

No more from me on this and good luck with the fund raising and I hope the proceeds go to the best cause :cool:

Steve
 
I'm going work this very carefully as i think this topic has gone way off and its getting sensitive now.

Steve, Im truly sorry for your loss.

A bit narrow minded, biggoted and quite frankly ridiculous! care to quote your source of mis-information!
It is widely documented how, prior to 2001, the Taliban implemented Sharia-law in Afghanistan.
Their interpretation and implementation of Sharia, included the ban of TV, music, cameras and of the education women and girls.
Executions were conducted by the Taliban on a daily basis, the most notorious exection venues being the old Soccer Stadium in Kabul and the old Soviet-built Olympic Swimming Pool (which was drained and used).

Ahmed Rashid has written some very good books on the Taliban, partuicularly on their origins and how they took Kabul in 96, their cosolidation of power and how they ran Afghanistan afterwards.
He may be a bit close to Karzai for some peoples comfort but his books are very good for anyone wanting the facts on the Taliban, past and present.

I made a comment about neck winding in jest.
I have a colleague at work who loves to use that phrase, and I took the opportunity to use it here.

Steve, again don't apologise, Im the one who should be apologising if my comments have in any way offended you.

All the best.
 
update from this morning, including donations from the night shift
we're now up to £230 :clap:

I've had some feedback from Rob - busy digesting it

Meanwhile the poll has drifted towards Help for Heroes for the excess
Anyone who hasn't voted - now's a good time...

Even though this was Christmas motivated
a) Rob needs the kit sooner rather than later
b) have you seen the shops already - you'd think Christmas was in October

I propose to leave the piggy bank door ajar for a week or so
 
what company do you work for, and how much does it donate to HfH?

I work for ICAP - a firm of Money Brokers.

Last December we donated £11million to Charity.

This December we expect to exceed that.

Essentially we donate a days 'takings' - what we call brokerage, our comission for money market trades.
 
Trying to stay out of this thread for obvious reasons...but...
Sorry but I think Darren's comment about living under the Taleban is spot-on...only three months ago a School Headmaster was beaten then hanged in front of his pupils for daring to allow girls to be taught there.
His replacement seemed undaunted by the prospect of a sudden and nasty 'retirement' - he told the PRT when they were visiting there last month that if he died doing what he believed was right then he would go to his death happy in that knowledge...

The Taleban are not going to fade away quietly...if we walk out now than they will exert their influence here where Central Government's hold is the weakest and easily corrupted...we have to show the local authorities that we are in this for the long-haul, otherwise the local people will have no faith in us - remember they see the Kabul government as 'foreigners' as well...
People are literally dying because thay have 'sided' with us and the Local Afghan Authorities - we owe it to them to see this through, no matter how long it takes or how unpopular it may be to those at home.
Those of us at the sharp-end know it's a worthwhile job, in a way that our presence in Iraq never was...
 
I work for ICAP - a firm of Money Brokers.

Last December we donated £11million to Charity.

This December we expect to exceed that.

Essentially we donate a days 'takings' - what we call brokerage, our comission for money market trades.

Just realised that last reply may look a little cagey and I know how interested members on the TP forum are regarding the welfare of our Troops....

Our association with HFH began with in 2007.

We treat with discression the sums we donate - suffice to say, from the totals we are looking at, they are considerable and they make a significant difference to the charity involved.

In addition to anything else, as Corporate sponsors of HFH, we sponsor various fundraising events they organise and other things. These may include events such as fundrasing Dinners, and the like. Essentially it means that all the money raised at the event goes to HFH and they have no 'overheads' to cover.

I had the good furtune to meet Bryn and Emma Parry, the founders, when they visited my Office in back in 2007, totally dedicated.
In all the years we have been organising Charity Day (ICAP have been doing this since 1993 and raised some £42million), we have never seen a Charity grow so quicky in such an incredibly short period of time.
I think this is testament to the dedication of the founders, and all their supporters large and small - and it speaks volumes about the way the general populus feels with regards to our Troops welfare.
 
I think filters first then the excess to the charity as Robs present filters will take some good beatings out there and the odd bit of sand blasting and then we can all help by putting another thread into the charity section to help the heros.

Als I would like to say bloody well done Mike this is a fantastic way to show Rob we are thinking about him and the rest of the lads,,,Rob 2 more boxes on the way haha
 
almost sleepy time Friday night
£235 in the kitty now :clap:(y)

poll (and piggy bank) will close on Monday
I'm away for the weekend, so there won't be many post from me until Monday

but I can cope with lots of contributions in the meantime :nuts:
Once the poll has closed we'll know where the excess is going

enjoy your weekend all (y)

happy snapping
 
afternoon all
popped off for a day or so, back now :)

latest count now £250 :clap:

I plan to forward the names and messages (but not individual amounts) once the piggy bank closes
A couple of people didn't leave messages with their donation, so if you'd like to PM me I'll add them to the list

I've also tried to match forum usernames with real names (as that's what appears on the donations)

I've got most, but one of the lady contributors who put their hand in their handbag on Saturday - please PM me with your forum name (and real name!!) so I can complete the list

Nothing back at all from the "how about a discount?" begging letters - not even a (im)polite "get stuffed" - peeps eh!

Oh - and make sure you've voted in the poll as well please
er - and if you've voted - please make sure you've contributed (still with me!?!) :thinking:

:hug: 2 all
 
My message to Rob is quite simple. I'll double my donation if he slots the first person he sees wearing a jimmy. Gawd, how I hated them :( From WO1 Bloooo.
 
My message to Rob is quite simple. I'll double my donation if he slots the first person he sees wearing a jimmy. Gawd, how I hated them :( From WO1 Bloooo.

?? a jimmy ??
I guess that'll mean something to Rob, then :shrug:
 
hmmm

by my calculation
19 people have made donations
25 people have voted

er - MODS can we tell who voted?
I think only contibutors should decide what happens to ther £dosh
don't you:shrug:
 
My message to Rob is quite simple. I'll double my donation if he slots the first person he sees wearing a jimmy. Gawd, how I hated them :( From WO1 Bloooo.

If you mean the Scaley-Backs then yes - my last lot at 7 Armd Bde were a good bunch, but this lot...some of the Techs, Operators and Lineys ore OK, but the QM's...bloody hell they're p'ing me off!

Trying to get an additional morphine syrette, FFD and tourniquet yesterday was a right drama...
 
hmmm

by my calculation
19 people have made donations
25 people have voted

er - MODS can we tell who voted?
I think only contibutors should decide what happens to ther £dosh
don't you:shrug:

One of the "others" was me and I can't donate yet, but have already given to HFH this year anyway and it looks like that's where the overspill is going, so you can discount that one if that helps.
 
One of the "others" was me and I can't donate yet, but have already given to HFH this year anyway and it looks like that's where the overspill is going, so you can discount that one if that helps.

thanks Witch
not a problem - just trying to understand!
 
poll closed now
looks like overwhelming vote for the excess to go to Help for Heroes

I'll get the kit ordered tomorrow then pass the rest on

can't say thank-you enough to everyone who contributed
what a great forum this is (y)
 
I voted and didn't pay, it looked like filters was winning I'd chip some cash in but help for heroes is something I can help with time which is a lot easier for me atm
 
I voted and didn't pay, it looked like filters was winning I'd chip some cash in but help for heroes is something I can help with time which is a lot easier for me atm

no worries David
anything that helps the lads in the sand is a good thing! (y)
 
today's update

ordered the stuff
can't get it VAT free as I am not in Afghanistan (and BFPO counts as UK apparently :shrug:)
should be with me tomorrow
I'll bundle it up with some goodies and stick it in the post

1 off Visible Dust Arctic Butterfly Brite Vue Travel Kit (SL724) for 1.0x sensors £122.99
1 off Energizer Ultimate Lithium AAA 2 Pack £3.91
1 off Visible Dust HDF Sensor Brush £34.99
1 off Delivery: £4.99

Total: £166.88

that leaves £83.12 to beam over to Help for Heroes
I'll get that organised now

I added a message "Merry Christmas from Arkady's mates at talkPhotography"
seemed daft to mess with pence so rounded it up to £100
they can claim gift aid so that's another £28.21 in the pot as well :nuts:

the Bmycharity Reference is
Bmycharity Reference: 318f2a4e-6804-4878-8b62-d9c82a0f34ac


massive thanks to everyone who contributed
 
well done you did a good job..

As for the BfPO thing because you had it posted to the uk you wouldn't be able to claim the VAT i think that is what they are trying to say..it has to be sent direct to a BFPO number and then some companies only give it back to certain BFPO's such as amazon..i am shocked that this was not explained to you.

and again a very good job well done
 
well done you did a good job..

As for the BfPO thing because you had it posted to the uk you wouldn't be able to claim the VAT i think that is what they are trying to say..it has to be sent direct to a BFPO number and then some companies only give it back to certain BFPO's such as amazon..i am shocked that this was not explained to you.

and again a very good job well done

if it was sent direct - then we could get the VAT back
but then it has to be ordered from Afghanistan
can't order it here (and pay for it here) to be sent there -VAT

I spent several minutes discussing this
apart from Arkady phoning up to order it there was no way forward
They wanted £7.95 for BFPO posting as well even though the BFPO bit is free

all done now though - smile - I am! (or is that gritted teeth?!?):bonk:
 
Sending to BFPO is only free for individuals, NOT companies.

on another note, anyone wishing to send anything during the 'postal difficulties' can rest assured that the Royal Mail and BFPO have a plan in place.

The Lt Col in charge of BFPO was on BFBS (our forces radio) today explaining.

As long as you go into a Post Office, hand your letter/ parcel/ packet to the person behind the counter and reinforce the fact that it is going to a BFPO address then it will be accepted and put in a special service to BFPO at Northolt.

OUR mail will get through! (cynical me thinks RM dont want to face the public when squaddies get no Xmas pressies in Afghan!)
 
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