An email to Neil

I thought I'd put this here, to save me typing it twice. Neil is an excellent man. If ever you need any legal advice, money advice, general pointers with tax, work, the law etc, you should refer to a massive post I'm doing for this blog, which will be up in due course. 

If you can't use that for some reason, ring Neil. The man knows a lot of things, and will help wherever he can. He is there for you if you need him, always.



Dad x

Morning fella,
You well? We are all good here. Step-Pater tells me that you are in possession of several videos of me and Lucy playing with baby Jessica etc via an old camcorder you've dug up from the distant past. I would love to see them, as I am collecting old bits of footage for a family/legacy project for Leo so I'd like to add whatever you've got if I can? Let me know if you need any expertise digitising etc, as that is also very much in my wheelhouse.
I have also taken on a bit of freelance (and yes I am technically signed off). This is with a company who approached me out of the blue via LinkedIn. As they were in a bit of a pickle time-wise in the run up to xmas I was able to quote an astronomical fee with no hourly-rate attached, and then get the work done in much less than the maximum hours for permitted work under the PIP/DSA rules. Almost no time at all, actually.
Since I am not on means-tested PIP, I think I am ok to just do a tax-return by May 30th and all will be well... I think. There is a possibility of more work subsequently, but until challenged, I will just keep a note of what I'm doing and register for self-assessment as and when necessary.
Since none of the money's being spent and it's going into a tertiary savings account (not the one the DWP would be interested in) I see this as ok. What do you think? In a way it reminds me of the way several other people in my position or similar have operated, naming no names...
​Hope you had a good new year mate. Spent much of ours nursing Leo through a developmental leap which left him unable to settle at all, and his first go at bronchitis can't have helped either. Not a great deal of fun, really. ​He is back at full-speed now though. We have had a tired start to 2019.
Oh, and I am tentatively looking at the British GP next summer, as the doctors flippantly told me that Xmas 2019 looks ok for me. Monaco would be sunnier of course, but I have just looked up the prices. Ever wondered what a two-bed apartment overlooking Rascasse can be rented for over race weekend? The answer is £18,000. EIGHTEEN THOUSAND. Ha!
Al