2990 days ago
Pornography, naked women, sheep shagging Taffs. Actually there is nothing of the sort in this bearcast but I mention it just to annoy Kay Larsen,a prudish and stupid PR spinner for Sepura (SEPU). Kay is a really silly cow and we have crossed swords before so I rub her nose in it with her client whose statement today is a scandal. The rozzers really need to have a butchers. Then I cover Modern Water (MWG), Falcon Oil & Gas (FOG) and a trio of uber dogs with uber fleas: Blur (BLUR), Inspirit (INSP) and related party Octagonal (OCT). Then I look at Phil Edmonds creation Sable (SBLM) which is now a month away from AIM casino death. Its sister company is the fraud African Potash (AFPO) and I cover this matter in detail. It looks as if the Mrs will give birth tomorrow so if I take a break and you miss me either listen to the archive HERE or google "tourettes audio" and find something similar. Warning: this podcast contains some very bad language especially for the prude Kay Larsen.
4138 days ago
Shares in semiconductor wafer manufacturer and supplier IQE plc (IQE) have offered a volatile ride since I tipped them on my Nifty Fifty website at a 28.5p offer price in December – hitting 36.5p in January and February before falling back, particularly following some (what look misguided) competition concerns to commence the current month at just 18p. However, they have since recovered strongly and have nudged further higher today to 26.75p-27.25p on the back of a bullish update. They are still cheap.
I say that notwitstanding the fact that the PR bird for IQE is uber prudish Kay Larsen of College Group who thinks that I am a pornographer obsessed by sheep shagging. Kay confuses goat milking with sheep shagging. She needs to get out more...
Anyhow, back to IQE who are based in Wales where no-one has ever molested a sheep.
4191 days ago
It was a year ago today that the first article appeared on this blog. Most blogs fold after a period of months but I am still here. And to celebrate a glass of bubbly for breakfast! The toast “to you dear readers for continuing to read this site”
A year ago my life looked unimaginably bleak. At a personal and health level it was a mess and I was days away from leaving Rivington Street and t1ps the company I founded. To the victors the spoils and so it was repeatedly asserted that all t1ps’ problems were of my making and that new management was turning it around. Yes I have read the interim results released at 6PM on Friday. Hmmmm. You might say that but I could not possibly comment.
That however was a former life for me. My line in the sand was drawn in September. By then I knew who my friends were. To folks such as Richard Poulden, Abbe Aronson, Darren Atwater, Steve Moore, Clem Chambers, Monisha Varadan, Chris Potts, Amanda Van Dyke, Lucian Miers, Chris Booker and Zak Mir I am forever in your debt. To you I say “cheers” – another toast.
I chatted yesterday to most of the above and life has changed pretty dramatically. At the Real Man restaurant we were losing £5,000 a month when I took it on officially in September. There is now just one of the staff at that time still working here and I have hired and fired aggressively and made a stack of other changes. Having just enjoyed our busiest Saturday in memory we are now happily making a profit, our customers like us and we serve far better food. That was achievement one. I guess that “new management line” is true sometimes. Miaow.
Achievement two was getting the UK Investor Show organised in just a few months and it went well. Now with my friends at ADVFN we are well on track to deliver an even better show on April 5 next year. And I now rather suspect we will be the only show featuring master investors happening next spring. Miaow.
But perhaps the biggest win has been in writing. It is what I do best (although I can knock out a fantastic Risotto con salsicce e funghi these days as well). The launch of the www.shareprophets.com site has exceeded expectations. After 50 days it has half as many registered users as we managed to attract in one year at UK-Analyst. More join every day. And gratifyingly more and more writers seem to want to join the team and write for us. Another two will debut this week. Meanwhile other websites…no that is enough miaows.
But www.Tomwinnifrith.com is my real love. It started as therapy but being able to write exactly what I thought without some corporate hissy fit ensuing soon became an addictive drug. The fact that I use the odd naughty word or talk about birds does not appeal to everyone – notably Google and PR prude Kay Larsen of College Group – as you may remember here and here.
But it is me. I do use naughty words. I do find myself drifting into the vernacular of my favourite TV show (The Sweeney) now and again. And I do have strong views on Israel, welfare scroungers, the EU, global warming and civil liberties. Why hold back? I had been gagged for so long that the release was joyful and still is.
But there was also a release in that I ceased to by a City insider and became an outsider. As such there was no need to kiss arse – anyone and everyone was fair game. The past year has shown me that not only is it fun to constantly expose and poke fun and to say what you want but that I can earn a reasonable living doing that and looking after Real Man Pizza. There is no need to hold back. While I might have been tentaitive at first I am now in 5th gear and will not be slowing down or getting softer in my approach.
And so looking back I reflect on those who have brought inspiration and pleasure to me:
1. The visit to Butrint (photo article)
2. Damian Conboy of Alecto hooking up with the Playboy PR girl
3. Kay Larsen PR prude at College Hill
4. Sefton Resources & Jim Ellerton – thanks Jim you have made my year ( see you in court Bitchez)
5. Taking a contrary view on the Olympics
6. Vroula – the fascist Greek athlete and defending her right to free speech
7. The visit to the Berlin Jewish Museum
8. Standing by St Paul’s for Lady Thatcher’s funeral
9. The start of the AIM Cesspit campaign
10.Going on stage with Nigel Wray and Nick Leslau at UKInvestor show – feeling I was with friends.
11. Being complimented by the Goddess
12. The Guardian and deluded lefties everywhere
13. The Baker of Zitsa
14. Albania - National Leave your Gun at home day
15. Financial PR firms & the AIM Cesspit - another fight picked
I am sure that I have missed out a few highlights.
At a personal level, many of you met my partner at UK Investor Show. She may be an utterly deluded lefty. No okay she is an utterly deluded lefty but she has been a rock at all times. She even now knows who Joe Cole is and that Mark Noble’s veins are claret and blue. What more could a man ask for?
Thank you all for reading this website over the past year. Year two starts on Monday. What will it bring?
Best wishes
Tom Winnifrith
4197 days ago
The official first birthday of this website is June 2nd. That was the day that the first article appeared. As it happens this is article number 3,248. There is a bit of a cheat in there as links to our required reading count as an article but none the less the output has been pretty heavy on a consistent basis. However it was exactly a year ago today that the domain TomWinnifrith.com was registered.
It took a few days to cobble together the first version of this site. Hence the slow build up to the official birthday party. But none the less what was then a therapeutic distraction for me begun 365 days ago.
I shall try to think of a fitting way to mark the anniversary. Perhaps I should reveal which CEO of a listed company has hookers in Hong Kong down as a business expense? Maybe not. a) his wife might be reading and b) I am not sure I can stand it up although I know it to be true. Anyhow I shall try to plan something enjoyable. For me and you, dear readers, anyway.
So in the build up to the first birthday party, once again thank you for continuing to read in ever greater numbers.
Best wishes
Tom
PS Just for PR Prude Kay Larsen of College Group who is one of those who have made the past year such fun I attach to this article a picture of Britain's most talented chanteuse Ms Cheryl Cole. For you Kay...
4207 days ago
Oh dear, I fear that I won’t be getting very many Christmas cards from the financial PR industry this year. My book on how many I will receive is currently running at 1-2 but on balance I’d be a seller. I seem to have offended yet another operative because I am not in the business of writing universally nice articles. Such is the self-importance of these folks that they think I actually give a damn. In for a penny…. Let’s examine the role of financial PR in the AIM Cesspit.
You may remember that I had a bit of a falling out with uber-prude PR bird Kay Larsen of College Group who seems to think that I have a thing against sheep shaggers, oops sorry meant to say Welsh people - not that any of them are in fact animal molesters - and also publish pornography. College Hill is now not returning calls made by staff at www.Shareprophets.com . Does this stop the 19 writers on that site covering companies daft enough to pay College Group £10,000 a month to manage its media relations? Not in the slightest. Does it affect our coverage? Er…not in the slightest. Companies who think that writing a cheque to some daft parasites each month means that they can manage how and where they are covered are just kidding themselves.
And so to my next fallout which is with YellowJersey PR, which makes me think somehow of custard and cowardice. Its gripe is that it represents Arian Silver (AGQ) where, on www.shareprophets.com I have flagged up its various funding issues like a failure to get a placing away.
In case you missed that scoop it appeared here
That is apparently not the sort of coverage YellowCustard’s clients want. I am sorry to hear that. And so
4248 days ago
The prize in this week's Caption Contest is a bottle of English "champagne" signed by myself - the catch is that I shall hand it over at the UK Investor Show next Saturday 13th April. If you are not there to collect I shall drink it myself.
The caption required is for this picture - something I received in the post on Thursday.
For what it is worth my entry is:
"The board of Sefton Resources/ College Group PR confuse the birthdays of the two Tom Winnifrith's"
If you can do better please post your entries in the comments section below by the morning of Friday 12th April.
Last week I asked you for captions to this contest in the Kay Larsen, College Group PR, pornography and sheep shagging edition. There was no prize to be awarded anyway it was just a chance to get a few more google search terms in there for Kay.
And so the winner, according to the independent judge is the Evil son of deluded lefties with:
Sheep One: I just want to talk about pornography
The ram in the middle: I just want to shag some sheep
Sheep Two: I only read articles about Advanced Computer Software which Kay Larsen says that I should
Good luck & I look forward to presenting a prize on April 13th
4253 days ago
Kay Larsen is the PR bird at College Group PR who believes that she has a right to say how and where her client – AIM listed Advanced Computer Software Group (LSE:ASW) is covered. Furthermore she has accused me of hosting pornography on www.TomWinnifrith.com and claims ( falsely) that I accused a Welsh company of being sheep shaggers. Kay is a keen google user and does not like it that her clients (or presumably) her name now comes up next to images she finds innapropriate and now in the same google searches as pornography, sheep shagging etc. Kay does not want me writing about AIM listed Advanced Computer Software (LSE:ASW) at all as she would rather that only serious journalists who she approves of write about her clients in a way that she approves of. I describe the curious post lunch rantings of Kay and her vision of how she gets to dictate who writes about her clients and in what manner here.
But since Kay enjoys seeing on google what words come up when I mention College group PR, herself and Advanced Computer Software, I should make it clear that today I have not watched any live streaming teenage lesbian videos but that there is a lot of computer software that allows you to do that including many streaming feeds with college group scenes in them.
Happy Kay? I have tried to help google by getting all the key tag words from this piece in.
Now back to serious matters at hand. Advanced Computer Software is quite simply the best run tech stock on AIM.
4254 days ago
There is so much I could have covered in this week’s caption contest but somehow the spark of interest is missing. I cannot think of anything at all funny to say and so I was tempted not to run a contest at all but with no prize on offer I offer up the following picture taken, I gather in Wales. In honour of PR prude Kay Larsen of College Group PR who thinks that she has the right to dictate exactly where her clients are covered and how, I offer up this picture.
For what it is worth my entry is:
Sheep One: I just want to talk about pornography
The ram in the middle: I just want to shag some sheep
Sheep Two:
4258 days ago
I do not actually have anything new to say about Avanti Communications (AVN) other than CEO David Williams must be very pleased about the rugby. However this is another client of bizarre PR bird Kay Larsen and so I just wanted to ensure that when she does a Google search on it and her the words pornography & sheep shagging (something that never happens in Williams’ homeland) and a picture of an attractive young lady come up.
Kay, this will now be the way for all your clients following your after lunch outburst yesterday on what you deemed pornography and sheep shagging and how YOU get to determine where your clients are covered and how
Today’s model is from the Sun. A publication College Group deals with every day.
4258 days ago
I do not actually have anything new to say about Imagination Technologies (IMG). I just wanted to ensure that when Kay Larsen does a google search on another of her clients, her after lunch outburst from today on what she deemed pornography and sheep shagging comes back to haunt her as this prudish PR bird sees another of her clients next to the sort of picture a serious journalist would never run. This time it is Miss Albania.
If you really would like to see some serious analysis on Imagination do not bother reading arse-licking journalists on the “serious financial press” as they know that it is Kay who decides how articles are written with what language and where they appear and with what image. The 4th Estate would not want to annoy the PR firms as one day they too might a well-paid job on the dark side. And you would not want to miss out on those spoon fed scoops would you?
On the other hand you can read my thoughts from a couple of months ago here.
4258 days ago
Some folks think that I am the lackey of bear raider Evil Knievil, writing to order to suit his needs. Au contraire. He does not work for me and vice versa and given how insufferable the old boy can be when he gets it right, I – like many – take a perverse pleasure when one of his short positions sees his financial toes roasted close to the fire. And online retail giant ASOS (LSE:ASC) has roasted Evil badly over the years. He has been short for much of its meteoric rise and he is still short with the shares at 3,334p – he will carry on getting burned.
I write this totally objective comment on ASOS even though it uses as its PR form College Group which I appear to be having a bit of a battle with as of this afternoon. To read about Kay Larsen PR prude at College Group PR, Pornography, Cheryl Cole, sheep shagging and Advanced Computer Software click HERE
Moving on from the prude to the bear. Cawkwell (that is to say Evil Knievil) has always been of the view that ASOS shares trade on too high a PE because at some stage the earnings growth rate will slip. So far it has not happened and I guess it will have cost him several hundreds of thousands of pounds. It will cost him more.
4258 days ago
For 24 hours I have been endeavouring to get hold of a broker note on a stock I first tipped at 14p and which is almost a quid now and which I have written about for four years. I wanted to post an update. I shall do so later today. The PR bird who looks after this account is a Ms. Kay Larsen at College Group PR. I have just had the most bizarre conversation with Kay who I tried to contact earlier but she was at lunch. Now it is 3.30 and she is back at her desk and this is bizarre. Evil thinks that Kay must be thick. I reckon that she is just on another planet. Anyhow…
Who will you be writing this for I was asked? Dunno. Probably ADVFN. Ok. I thought that was easy. But Kay drawled…
I have just done a Google search on you. Ok.
It seems that you wrote an article on my client on February 18th with a pornographic picture attached. Er… what…I checked it out and it was a picture of Ms Cheryl Cole (see above) revealing far less than is revealed on page 3 of the Sun every day. Does College Group boycott the Sun too I wonder? Er that is not pornography I stammered, it is Cheryl Cole, Britain’s most talented chanteuse. Kay disagrees. It is pornography she insisted.
Kay was not deterred. Her Google search led her to assert “And I see that you described a Welsh company as sheep shaggers.” Er not exactly, I tried to explain that IQE is based in a land where folks make jokes about sheep molestation but that I had written a full apology to the entire Welsh nation for making that link and I accept now that no-one in Wales has ever got familiar with a sheep.
Kay was not impressed. “It is not where we want to position our client” she insisted. The client, BTW, is Advanced Computer Software (ASW). Kay wants to position her client so that it is commented on by “serious financial journals” and regards my blog differently. Her “perception is otherwise”. It is all to do with the “way you position your blog.”
Okay so let’s get this straight: Kay will not co-operate with me unless I “reposition my blog” so that it follows her vision of what is “serious” with regard to the images I use and the language I use. Hmmmmm
