Monday, July 26, 2010

Book sale! (Part 1)

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Part one of many :)

I have faaaar too many books in my room (over 300) and simply no space for them all. And also I am broke. So, BOOK SALE!

Most are brand new, never read (I have a habit of buying books and then NEVER READING THEM yet buying MOAR) - condition will be specified to best of my ability! If I notice it's not as described when packaging it up I will let you know.

£3 each for paperbacks, £5 each for hardbacks, £2.50 for classics - prices include postage/fees. Paypal, bank transfer or cheques accepted. Discounts for multiple purchases!

Paperbacks: £3 each



1. Scarlett Thomas - The End of Mr Y (large/airport sized paperback, black edged pages, read once).
2. Zoe Heller - Notes on a Scandal (has mark on cover from sticker) - £2
3. Sue Townsend - The Queen and I (second hand condition) - £2
4. Malorie Blackman - Checkmate
5. Robert Jordan - The Eye of the World



6. Stephen Hunt - The Rise of the Iron Moon
7. Patrick Rothfuss - The Name of the Wind
8. Aravind Adiga - The White Tiger
9. Alexander McCall Smith - Tea Time for the Traditionally Built
10. Vicki Myron - Dewey the Library Cat



11. Rory Clements - Martyr
12. Maureen Lindley - The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel
13. Anchee Min - Empress Orchid (second hand condition) - £2
14. J. L. Carrell - The Shakespeare Secret
15. Katherine Howe - The Lost Book of Salem



16. Bernard Knight - The Sanctuary Seeker
17. Bernard Knight - The Elixir of Death
18. Bernard Knight - The Awful Secret
19. Bernard Knight - The Poisoned Chalice
20. Bernard Knight - Alis Hawkins - Testament



21. Dan Abnett - Triumff
22. Wilbur Smith - River God
23. Wilbur Smith - The Seventh Scroll
24. Wilbur Smith - Warlock
25. Karen Maitland - The Owl Killers



26. Ken Follet - World Without End
27. Ken Follet - Pillars of the Earth
28. Graham Joyce - The Tooth Fairy
29. Angela Carter - The Magic Toyshop
30. Katherine Roberts - I am the Great Horse



31. C. J. Sansom - Dark Fire
32. C. J. Sansom - Sovereign
33. C. J. Sansom - Dissolution (second hand condition) - £2
34. Alexander McCall Smith - The Comfort of Saturdays
35. Alexander McCall Smith - The Careful Use of Compliments

Classics: £2.50 each


36. Daniel Defoe - Robinson Crusoe
37. Jules Verne - 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Hardbacks: £5 each



38. Elizabeth Kostova - The Swan Thieves
39. Jeanette Winterson - Battle of the Sun
40. Geraldine McCaughrean - The Death Defying Pepper Roux
41. A.S. Byatt - The Children's Book
42. Anne Rice - Angel Time



43. David Mitchell - Black Swan Green
44. Anthony Riches - Empire

I also have some items listed on Amazon, which you can view here!

Non-fiction (mostly history related!) coming next :)

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Monday, October 19, 2009

Books: srs biznizz

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Every year I set myself a challenge to read 50 books in one year, and I've never done it before. AND THIS YEAR FINALLY I HAVE YESSS.

1. Audrey Niffenegger - The Time Traveler's Wife
2. Markus Zusak - The Book Thief
3 & 4. Rob Grant and Doug Naylor - Red Dwarf and Better than Life
5. Lisa Dalby - Geisha
6. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
7. Amanda Foreman - Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire
8. Mary Shelley - Frankenstein
9. Alexander McCall Smith - Morality for Beautiful Girls
10. Alexander McCall Smith - The Kalahari Typing School for Men
11. Virginia Woolf - To The Lighthouse
12. Virginia Woolf - A Room of One's Own
13. Thomas Hardy - Tess of the D'Urbervilles
14. Ian McEwan - On Chesil Beach
15. Bernhard Schlink - The Reader
16. Patricia Highsmith - The Talented Mr Ripley
17. Geraldine Brooks - Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague
18. Anne McCaffrey - The Ship Who Sang
19. Bruce Campbell - Make Love The Bruce Campbell Way
20. Kenneth Grahame - The Wind in the Willows
21. Philippa Gregory - The Wise Woman
22. Philippa Gregory - The Other Queen
23. Oscar Wilde - The Importance of Being Ernest
24. Oscar Wilde - A Woman of No Importance
25. Oscar Wilde - The Picture of Dorian Gray
26. Oscar Wilde - Lady Windermere's Fan
27. Graham Greene - The End of the Affair
28. Christie Dickason - The Firemaster's Mistress
29. Paullina Simons - The Road to Paradise
30. JK Rowling - the Tales of Beedle the Bard
31. William Horwood - The Willows in Winter
32. Karen Holmes - Advertising, Marketing and PR (Insider Career Guide)
33. Neil Gaiman - Fragile Things
34. Jane Austen - Mansfield Park
35. Agatha Christie - Elephants Can Remember
36. Adela Stanley - Careers in Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations
37. Carolly Erickson - The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette: A Novel
38. Robert Harris - The Ghost
39. Frances Osborne - The Bolter
40. Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
41. JK Rowling - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
42. Laura Thompson - Agatha Christie
43. Karoline Leach - In the Shadow of the Dreamchild: The Myth and Reality of Lewis Carroll
44. Cornelia Funke - Inkheart
45. Cornelia Funke - Inkspell
46. Cornelia Funke - Inkdeath
47. Christopher Paolini - Eragon
48. Neil Gaiman - Neverwhere
49. Chris d'Lacey - The Fire Within
50! Cornelia Funke - the Dragon Rider


50 / 50 books. 100% done!

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Friday, September 04, 2009

Holiday: Day 6, 27/08 (Ironbridge Gorge museums)

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Didn't get mileages today!

The receptionist at the hotel was lovely, she got us info on the Ironbridge Gorge museums, so we knew that they wouldn't be open until 10am, and was able to have a lie in.

Blists Hill - while I have been here before on a trip as part of my degree, it has changed a lot since and they have added extra things since then. Really enjoyed it though, weather held out thankfully. It was only round the corner from the hotel, too!
+ the blacksmithing
+ candlemaking and the fly that got owned
+ the bank, and being able to buy and use old style money
(among lots of other things!)
My Dad bought my sister an iron mouse too, hand-made in the foundry there.

China museum - we thought that the other museums would only be round the corner from the village, so we thought that we'd walk down - turned out that it was a very long (and not very well sign-posted!) walk - after a short while my Dad decided to go back to the car and meet us there. We had a quick drink and then walked down to the museum over the road. The museum exhibiton itself was actually quite boring (for me), but I made comments about some mini tea cups that were thimble and doll sized (that they'd only be bought by the really stingy hosts - you'd know if they gave you one of those, that they didn't like you much!), and apparently the people infront of us looked disgusted! There were more interesting parts outside, watching people making and painting china pieces. There is also a section for kids, a little workshop where they can make and paint their own pottery, which looks fun! I also enjoyed walking inside a kiln - they are huge!

The Ironbridge - we then drove over to Ironbridge. We got lots of photos, and I think lots of mine came out really well. When we'd walked over the bridge we saw another Figaro! Also grey. Dad got some photos of Stanley by the bridge and of him with the other Figaro. We then drove back to a pub opposite a very modern style bridge for dinner, though unfortunately they were not serving food (short-staffed), so we drove down past the Ironbridge again to an orange coloured pub (the Moathouse, maybe?). They had a great menu, lots of lovely food! My Dad especially found it really hard to choose. Later when I walked back to the car, we saw another Figaro parked opposite mine in the car park - again took photos, plus one of it and Stanley together.

We move on again tomorrow, going to Hereford and Hye on Wye.

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Holiday: Day 5, 26/08 (Driving)

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At Scotts Corner services (again) - 147,609.3
At Tibshelf services - 147,777.7
At the hotel (Madeley Court, Telford) - 147,910.1

Today the weather was rainy and horrible so we mostly spent the day driving to the new hotel, the Madeley Court Hotel in Telford. On the way back we decided instead to travel down back roads and A roads, instead of the M6 due to the severe weather warnings.

The hotel is lovely - a beautiful Tudor mansion. My room is on the ground floor with a new view over the lake. Lots of ducks, moorhens and coots. :)

For dinner we went to the hotel restaurant as we were very tired from driving - table was booked for 8.15pm, but we didn't get to eat until almost 9pm. Sat in the bar while we waited; they were very apologetic, though, and gave us a free bottle of wine with our meal. The dining hall was lovely, with quite a funny painting/tapestry on the wall above the huge fireplace. Hopefully the weather will improve tomorrow, we're going to the Ironbridge museums.

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Holiday: Day 4, 25/08 (Kielder, Holy Island)

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At hotel: 147,193.3
At Kielder Bird of Prey Centre - 147,239.5
At Holy Island - 147,378
At Hexham - 147,499.3

Did lots of driving today - we went to Kielder Bird of Prey Centre then drove to Holy Island, then finally Hexham for dinner.

Kielder - we had difficulty finding the bird of prey centre once we got there as it was not sign posted, but we really enjoyed it. Unfortunately we could only spend an hour there, and there was a lot to do around the site as well, which we hadn't expected either. The staff were all really friendly - one guy let us stroke two little owls, they were so cute and soft! While the site seemed quite small (especially when compared to Eagle Heights in Kent), they had a lot more birds and different breeds, as well as two reindeers. The flights were at 1pm though, so unfortunately we were unable to see it! (We had to leave at 12.) Wish we had been able to spend a day there! We definitely plan to go back, though, as it was a lovely place.

The drive to Holy Island was very long (longer than anticipated), and my Mum and I got separated from my Dad, so we worried that we were lost a lot (the directions my Dad had given us were not always clear) and phone signal was poor, so we couldn't call and ask him. Finally, though, we made it, and arrived there at about 3pm.

Holy Island - again, I would have liked to have had more time here, as we didn't get to see the castle (just the priory ruins and the church) as the tide went up at 5pm. Holy Island was a lot different to what I had expected, I didn't realise that there would be a village there and a whole community. I enjoyed it, though! The priory was also a lot bigger than I had expected, too. There wasn't a lot of it left, but I think I got some good photos. We then looked round the current church next door, which was lovely inside (beautiful windows) and had a lovely memorial from the Norway church, with a really touching letter and a gift, as a peace offering for the Viking raids. We were also watching a guy and his sheep dogs, who were told to sit and wait while he walked round the site - the older dog was happy to sleep while the younger one was obviously itching to be with his master, you could see him almost hopping on the spot, and at one point he ran over, just to be chased back (looking very sorry for himself). It was really funny and cute to watch them! Aww.

For dinner we went into Hexham. There wasn't much open (the Italian that my parents went to last time had had a fire since, and was closed for repairs/refurbishments), so it was either an Indian or an Indian - not much of a choice for me! But it was actually very nice.

We're off again tomorrow to a new hotel in Telford, which I'm looking forward to!

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Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Holiday diary: Day 3, 24/08 (Hadrian's Wall)

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No miles today - we drove in my Dad's car (Harrius! Not Bashed Nose, apparently).

Parents woke up late today - I think this might be the first time ever that I've woken up before them! So that set us back a bit and we left later than planned.

Today we did Hadrian's Wall, going to three sites/forts along the wall. And I wore my new Hadrian's wall t-shirt that Dad had bought us the day before (our Gladiator uniforms!).

Birdoswald: When we arrived, there was a nice guy in the car park who gave us his parking ticket (and we then gave it to someone else when we left). It's not a very big site! It didn't take us very long to go round. The ruins are fairly small, it's just the fort itself really, no other outbuildings or town, and there is a wall round them which you can walk round. There is also a lovely medieval style youth hostel on the site too. Dad bought Mum and I t-shirts as well.

Vindolanda: Highlight of the day really, I loved it! It's a huge site, far bigger than I thought it'd be. It was oddly laid out though - usually at heritage sites you go through the shop and café to enter and leave, but at Vindolanda, the café, gift shop, and an exhibition/museum were at the very back of the site, down a steep slope! Bizarre. Anyway, we first walked down to have a (very nice!) lunch, then looked around the museum, which had lots of artefacts found at the site as well as an interesting video about the tablets and how they find them/the process they use afterwards. They have ongoing excavations there (probably why it's such a big site) and you could watch them digging and ask questions. It was interesting to see an on-going dig, must be exciting! Unfortunately, we missed the head archaeologist's talk, which would have been interesting (we just lost track of time). Managed to leave just as it started raining, though - always a bonus! I spent far too much money on books there, too! (just over £30)

Cowfields: this is the largest existing fort. We had to climb up a very steep hill to get there, but it was worth it - the view from the top was amazing, in every direction! It was pretty big too (not as big as Vindolanda though) and despite the screaming children it was great, I enjoyed it. I was quite tired by that point from all the walking though so I probably didn't enjoy it as much as I would have otherwise. But it was very peaceful. Afterwards, at the bottom of the hill, we had hot chocolates/teas and I got lots of photos of some cute little birds that were hopping around eating crumbs. I bought myself a Roman emporer mouse mat. (It has all the emporers on it.)

We had hoped to go to Chesters, opposite the hotel, but we just didn't get time in the end, and we were all a bit too tired to go anywhere else anyway.

Tonight we had dinner in a pub nearby as Dad had an argument with the hotel (their fault), they've changed their system of putting drinks on the room bill without warning and were not very apologetic or nice about it either. They really embarrassed my Mum with their attitude, they were quite condescending to her. So we went somewhere else. Parents had been to that pub before and enjoyed it, and it was good food.

Tomorrow is Holy Island, which I am really looking forward to!

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Holiday diary: Day 2, 23/08 (Beamish, Angel of the North)

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At Durham Marriott hotel: 147,099.2
At Beamish: 147,120.2
At hotel (the George Hotel, Chollerford) - 147,193.3

We were woken up at 6.30am by the fire alarm - a false alarm, but by the time we found out it was too late to get back to sleep. Apparently the roof was leaking and water had gotten into one of the fire alarms, triggering the alarm throughout the hotel. (They were not very apologetic about it, either. I know it wasn't their fault, but it wasn't ours either!)

We packed and left the hotel early (about 9am) and as it was sunny but cloudy we drove up to Beamish, the Victorian village. I thought it was great, far bigger than it looked on the map and in the guide book. I now have a year long pass, too (when you buy entry, you can convert it to a year's pass for free!).
+ Loved the authentic trams and buses to take you around
+ Giant pig! And she posed for photos
+ Lots of ponies!
+ Staff were all very friendly and helpful, can't fault them at all - helped that it wasn't too busy (probably due to the predicted rain) so we had time to talk to them, especially the man in the bank, the young lady in the Freemasons lodge, and the lady with the pigs
+ Going down the reconstructed mine (though it was pretty small)
+ Looking at steam trains, a man overhearing said about his experiences on working on a freight steam train from Chester to Carlisle, eg going with his Dad on the footplate, warned that there were kids playing on the tracks, so they heated up a poker from the fire and nearly branded the kids with it as they went past - kids pooed themselves and ran off, probably didn't play on the tracks again! (lolol.)
+ Mini steam train ride on one of the first steam trains invented (used for moving coal).
+ the Freemasons Lodge, just because it's so interesting!

Only downside - Dad went ahead while Mum and I stroked a lovely horse that had ran over from the opposite side of the field to see us (probably wanted feeding), we then went to catch him up.

It turns out that some of the cottages on the edge of the museum they don't own - they are privately owned and lived in by locals. (We didn't know this at the time.) There were signs to a mill, so my parents and I walked down. My Dad went on ahead and my Mum and I followed behind. While we were walking towards the cottages (again - we assumed this was part of the mill exhibition as there were lots of other cottages you could look round), we were walking up the footpath towards it, which had bushes along both sides of it and fields beyond those on both sides. While we were walking along, a sheepdog suddenly appeared, barking and snarling at my mother and I. I started screaming and got quite hysterical (which I admit didn't help, but I was terrified and couldn't help it) as the dog jumped up at us and tried to bite, my Mum tried to keep me calm and said to just back away, which we did. A group of kids were in the field (it was on a slope so we could see them), we could hear them calling a name so it appeared to be their dog - they had heard me screaming and were laughing. They began to stroll round the hill, still laughing at us who were still being attacked and threatened by their dog, me still hysterical. Eventually we'd backed enough away and the dog stopped following us, but continued to bark and growl viciously. I was absolutely terrified - I am usually not scared of dogs, but this one was really aggressive. (Even thinking about it now is making me shake.)

I shouted at the kids over the bushes (who were not at all bothered, made no effort to come and get their dog, did not apologise, didn't even come over, just laughed and ignored us, carried on messing around in the field) to keep their dog under control, it just tried to attack us (as they well knew! They could hear it). Their response was basically "well it's just a puppy, you probably scared it, it's your fault, you shouldn't be here anyway, it lives here, it can do what it likes", and we could hear them still laughing. (If it was a puppy, it was certainly almost full-grown! It was huge!) The kids were about 10-12 years old, so still kids, but old enough to know that their dog shouldn't behave like that (and if they don't, they shouldn't be left in charge of it!).

I was really upset and their reponse to it had made me worse, I was shaking and crying and still quite hysterical. My mum rang my Dad who came back quickly after hearing what had happened, he'd been speaking to a woman who lived in one of the cottages who explained about the houses being privately owned, but that the land around them and the footpath was all museum owned. The dog was equally aggressive to him (he hadn't gone past it originally, he'd gone a different way), and tried to bite him - he managed to stare it down and eventually it backed off, though this took a while and he said he was surprised at how aggressive it was. It turned out that the mill was all boarded up anyway, apparently the museum are going to reconstruct and repair it but they haven't yet, so it was a wasted trip anyway (this isn't mentioned in the guide book or on the map signs!).

Later, we saw the kids and the dog again, as they went into the museum town nearby to buy some sweets. They then got on one of the trams (the same one we were on) to go back to the cottages. The staff obviously know these boys as they were chatting to them. The boys had recognised us, and kept staring at us and whispering to each other and laughing. When we got off the tram, they had stood by the tram exit and as I walked past them they were smirking and laughing at me, and deliberately put the dog on the side closest to me (which nearly made me freak out there and then, actually! - I was still very much shaken up). They obviously were not at all sorry for what had happened to us!

(I may complain to the museum - even though it wasn't their fault, the land we were on was owned by them, and they should put signs. I may also complain to the local council and Police as they should have restrained the dog, under the Dangerous Dogs Act.)

On the way to the hotel, we stopped at the Angel of the North (near a town called Harlow Green, how funny!), got a few photos before it started to rain. (At least that was at the Angel of the North, and not Beamish!)

The hotel is nice, I have a four poster bed and a large flat screen TV!

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Holiday diary: Day 1, 22/08 (Durham)

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Starting mileage - 146,673.5
At Grantham services - 146,850.6
At Scotch Corner services - 147,050
At Durham - 147,099.2

We set off at 9am, after stopping at Staple Tye and Asda for my prescription, and made good time despite arriving late at Scotch Corner services due to road works (mini digger working alone is going to take a long time to build a new road!). Enjoyed talking to mum in the car, and listening to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Arrived at Durham's Marriott hotel for 3pm (as scheduled). Left things in my car/Dad's car, and went to check my room out - is very nice! Parents were given a free upgrade as they haven't stayed there before (and he was paying). Their room is slightly bigger and has a separate sitting room area (as opposed to mine, which is all in one room).

We then walked into Durham, which I've never visited before - it seemed quite small/quiet but very pretty! We then walked around the cathedral. A couple outside were having wedding photos taken outside it, and their wedding reception was in Durham castle so it was closed unfortunately! We enjoyed walking around the cathedral, though the decoration was plainer than later cathedrals (it is Norman), it had beautiful windows. They unfortunately don't allow photos in the actual cathedral, which my Dad was really disappointed about. In the cloisters there were lots of sleepy and confused "teenage bats" flying around (Pipistrelles, so very small!) or hanging on the walls asleep, which was really cute! Taking photos of them almost (but not quite) made it up to my Dad, who had been really looking forward to taking roof/window photos. There was even (as we were leaving) a little bat laying on the floor! It was amazing to see one close up, it was so cute!

We then wandered back to the hotel, put bags into the hotel, then went to the bar and had a few drinks before dinner - had thought about going into town but Dad and I were too tired from 5hrs of driving that we didn't feel like going anywhere. Had a great chat with parents, talked about Thursday (cruise/London Eye/Avenue Q), showed them photos, then ate. Unfortunately my meal was very spicey so I didn't eat much, but parents enjoyed theirs.

It's supposed to rain all day tomorrow. We may go to Hadrian's Wall (as it's mostly driving). New hotel tomorrow night, too. Now, bed time (it's 11.30pm).

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Friday, July 17, 2009

o2 NIN setlist:

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Now I'm Nothing
Terrible Lie
1,000,000
Heresy
March of the Pigs
Reptile
The Becoming
I'm Afraid Of Americans (David Bowie cover)
Burn
Gave Up
La Mer
The Fragile
Non-Entity
The Big Come Down
The Downward Spiral
Wish
Survivalism
Down In It
Metal (Gary Numan cover, with Gary Numan)
Cars (Gary Numan cover, with Gary Numan)
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like A Hole

Encore:
Hurt

:D

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

London Marketing Services (another job scam)

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It seems I've had an interview invite for another scam. I applied for them via totaljobs.com on the 2nd July. I don't think these are related to the original one I posted about before, but it is very similar.

London Marketing Services
Lower Ground Floor
Shand House
14 - 20 Shand Street
London SE1 2ES
Tel: 020 7234 3560
Fax: 020 7234 3569
http://www.londonmarketingservices.com

Edit: Their Nottingham 'branch': (Thanks Nicholas!)
Suite 17, Third Floor
Minerva House
Spaniel Row
Nottingham, NG1 6EP

Cardiff office: (Thanks Nels!)
Sophia House
28 Cathedral Road
Cardiff, CF11 9LJ

They operate in a very similar way - you go in for a first interview, they act too busy to really talk to you about the role, then quickly invite you for a second interview - which is essentially being asked to go out and work for them unofficially for the day. The role will typically involve lots of door to door or street sales with no basic pay (commission only - not itself a scam), no official contract of employment (they ask you to sign a contract that states you are self-employed), and will struggle to get any of the commission owed. They don't make any of this clear to you when you are interviewed (and I'm not sure they even make the self-employment clear either).

In addition, from this link, it seems that they are not registered at this address (there is only Cameron Taylor Brady, Clarke Bond Group, and Komex Clarke Bond - who may or may not also be running a similar scam, as it's common for these companies to use many different names to avoid detection). "London Marketing Services" are also not registered with Companies House, which is the national registry of all registered companies in the UK.

They lure you in with promises of fast track management schemes and benefits, but the reality is that you are unlikely to get anywhere with this company. The only one who benefits is the owner of London Marketing Services.

(Found me through Google? Check out my previous two blogs on this subject - Job scam doing the rounds and More on the job scam.)

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