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Now it is 1972. What a year to start with, the miners strike and Ted Heath deciding that a 3 day working week is what we have to put up with. Of couse eventually it had to come to a head. Unfortunately, the miners chose a militant leader after Joe Gormley. How can you have a union dictating what the general public have chosen. Eventually the inevitable happened and now we have no Coal Fields to talk of. I find it so disappointing especially as it was widely known that we have at least 300 years of coal ready to be utilised. No mines now though as most have been decomissioned, what a watse of eresources.
Another thing that disappointed me greatly is the use of Natural Gas. This was really an offshoot of Oil. The Government informed us that there was enough Natural Gas to keep the general public supplied with a cheap heating system for the next 50 years. That was when the extration rate was about 60%. More fields were found and the estimate was that there would be sufficient for the next 75 years. This was too good to be true for the Government. In their wisdom they decide to build gas cooled reactors to produce Electricity. Is it me or is this sheer folly? To waste a finite resource to produce electricity is lunacy especially as we had enough coal to last for 300 years.
Now we are importing gas and the oil has more or less run out. How disappointing is this?
This did not help me a lot during 1972/3. We had the gas converted and to be honest it was more efficient and the pressure did not drop. It certainly did when we were on the gas being produced locally.
Trade was not good in 72 but progress was being made regarding my Accountant and the cost of my living at the premises.
In early 1973 my Accountant came to see me and that Inland Revenue had finally agreed new terms for the cost of living for me.
Also the season was an improvement on the last year. I was starting to save some money. I would need it for Inland Revenue had not had a penny from me foe Income Tax since I started working for myself.
I was always getting mails from them, but I had so many, I just ignored them. Well one day I just reminded him that I had received another demand for a tax bill. He said to me I must pay this bill immediately. He then quoted what the local Tax Official informed him. He said, "Tell your client to pay this bloody bill immediately. What has been agreed between him and his former Accountant has nothing to do with you so tell him to pay up."
Well I did and almost immediately I found myself getting tax demand for the next few months. 5 in all. It left me broke again. Having sold my car I had nothing to sell so I just had to spend nothing.
Believe it or not. I then received a letter from the old Accountant. My Accountant told me to ignore it. I did to my dismay, the horrible Accountant then sent me a bill. "For ignoring Princilals time" I can not remember how much it was, but it would be for about £25.00 My accountant thought it very bad of him. About 3 years later he passed away. I did not show any remorse. To be honest all I thought was that he would not show such disregard to any other innocent businessman.
It was around this time when VAT was introduced. 8% for a start. The annual turnover was £5000. The only self employed that did not register were window cleaners and the like. My overheads were in the region of £4000 so it was not possible not to register. Really all we were doing was collecting taxes for the government. This went on for the next 14 years or so when the starting point was raised to about £20.000
So in 1974 it was a consolidation season. I saved every penny could, paid off what I owed and bought a Van. Bedfort 5cwt. I now had transport once again so I could go to Cash & Carry occasionally, never in the season as it was 7 days a week . It is good though to have a little freedom and a sense of independence. It was not a bad season but towards the end of the season, the landlord came to see me and told me that she wished me to leave the business at the end of the year.
Another fight with my back against the wall was looming. At least my Accountant had found me a good Solicitor. Let battle commence. More about this next time.