John Boughton

BOOM! The UK manufacturing sector returned to growth in May, as output expanded at the quickest pace in over two years on the back of improved intakes of new work. The outlook also brightened as manufacturers’ positive sentiment rose to its highest level since early 2022, with 63% of companies expecting output to expand over the coming year. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index™ (PMI®) rose to 51.2 in May, up from 49.1 in April. #UKmfg🇬🇧

I thought we didn’t make anything anymore 😂

@iISeeNoSignals I remember that evening well. Bright moon - the impact sounded closer to our Eagle Base than it was . Fairly courageous of the Argentine pilot

1. May/June 1982 - eagle base in Pollocks Passage. Early hours of the morning, pitch black, Nick McKie shook me for my sentry watch. Outside the tent the air was still and then we heard the noise of an aircraft overhead. We then heard the distinctive noise of a bomb falling.

@DPJHodges Dan clearly hasn’t read the detail or is an activist not a journalist

“We will fine you if you refuse to force your kids into the army. Vote Tory”.

@BeaverWestminst @sylviapfeifer @JP_Rathbone @Philgeorgiadis Providing that you have in life spares which always begs the question of where they get them from?

@sylviapfeifer @JP_Rathbone @Philgeorgiadis Actually, unlike a fixed wing aeroplane, a helicopter can be kept flying safely because there is no such thing as the fatigue of a wing spar etc. The UK has older helicopters in service. Iran buys commercial parts on the open market to keep its legacy fleet airworthy.

How sanctions played havoc with Iran’s ageing helicopters - nearly 60 per cent of the fleet is more than four decades old ft.com/content/f5a9be… via @JP_Rathbone @Philgeorgiadis and me

@RMCunliffe Worked for us for 42 years 😂😂

Entirely hypothetically, what are the chances of success for a marriage where one person *hates* clutter and untidiness and "stuff", and the other finds a CD they didn't even buy and have no way of playing and thinks "excellent, I'll keep that, might be useful one day"

@CeeMacBee Liquidating to write off Covid Government loans???

Company insolvencies have increased in the UK from around 15,000 in 2017 to 26,600 in 2023. In the first quarter of this year, another 6,044 UK companies became insolvent. Besides the number of companies going out of business, we should also worry about the type of businesses going under. Of the 25,156 companies in England and Wales that went into liquidation last year, 17.4pc were in the construction sector, 16pc were in the vehicle wholesale, retail and repair sector, and 14pc were in food and beverage services. All of these sectors are doubly susceptible to high interest rates not only from their own borrowing but also from the reduction in consumer spending caused by higher rates. In addition, the expectation of lower rates in the future will also lead to postponed house buying and car purchasing decisions. LSo we may see an increase in insolvencies in the vehicle and construction sectors if interest rate cuts are pushed out until the autumn. telegraph.co.uk/money/tax/jere…

@timdavies_uk @patrick41116180 Not true Tim, I was involved. The requirement was written by military staff and the procurement had total military involvement. I felt at the time that the requirement was poorly written and unlikely to succeed. We pulled out…..

@patrick41116180 It wasn't RAF personnel, it was the British Government, the RAF had nothing to do with it other than advise.

RAF Flying Training takes place in Texas... Um..? Remind us again about how privatising UK Military flying training was a good thing? raf.mod.uk/news/articles/…

The UK is now the fourth largest exporter of goods and services in the world, overtaking France, Netherlands and Japan. According to the latest statistics from the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which leads on global trade for the UN, the UK has overtaken France, Netherlands and Japan to take fourth position, behind only China, the US, and Germany. In a separate report, the recently published 'The True Impact of UK Manufacturing’ shows industry is worth £518bn and supports 7.3million UK jobs directly and across the supply chains/communities it operates in. This represents nearly a quarter of total GDP (23%) and far bigger than the direct contribution of 8.2% that is usually quoted by economists. Carried out by Oxford Economics and the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA), the in-depth report also shows that ‘making things’ accounts for 34.5% of all UK goods and services exports. Full report: bit.ly/MTA_UKMFG

NEW FACILITY: The UK will be the first European country to produce advanced nuclear fuel – a market currently dominated by Russia – after Urenco was awarded £196 million by the government to build Europe's first high-tech nuclear fuel production facility at its Capenhurst site in Cheshire. Russia is currently the only commercial producer of high-assay low enriched uranium (HALEU). Under the investment plan, the Cheshire site will produce HALEU by 2031 that would be ready to export or use domestically, and could power UK homes in the next decade - greatly enhancing British energy security. Urenco’s new facility, which will support more than 400 jobs, will have the capacity to produce up to 10 tonnes of HALEU per year by 2031. When fabricated into fuel, 10 tonnes of HALEU could contain as much energy as over one million tons of coal. #UKmfg

Finland……..get in..

Probably the best investment news in the world......Dutch brewing giant Heineken has announced plans to invest £39 million upgrading hundreds of pubs across the UK. The huge investment is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs. #Britishjobs🇬🇧

@CcibChris I thought some direct C5 deliveries to Ascension were made??

lesser known secret missions of the Falklands carried out by British Airways and Concorde.Fleet Air Arm and RAF needed more air to air missiles, specifically Sidewinder. To get these as fast as possible, they were loaded onto Concorde and flown to London, then onto Ascension.

A retired Sea Harrier jump jet and Lynx are on an 8,000-mile journey to become centrepieces of a new museum in the Falklands.

@FIMuseum Don’t forget to get the colour changed on the Seaking 😁😁

Apologies for the small writing but we have a lot to say! 😊 #LGEH #LookoutGalleryAndExhibitionHall #FalklandIslands

@rigsby_andy Pucara was our major concern as Helo pilots. Fast jets at low level too concerned about terrain avoidance and target fixation. 4 Skyhawks passed us at about 80ft ( we were at 50 with a load) and just blasted by..

Falklands Diary '82 - We spent a lot of time on aircraft recognition and generally studying the Argentine air assets. There was great emphasis on the danger of the FMA Purcara. I didn't agree. Surely the fast jets.....

@fightingsailor @ForcesNews Surely, if you use the RN as a working example, the sea/shore ratio is a major issue. So many second line roles gone to contract over numerous Governments. There was always a better balance in the past when retention was less of an issue.

In my last article for @ForcesNews I said that the military must improve the employment package on offer for service personnel. In this follow-up article I outline, using sailors as an example, how they should do it. forces.net/opinion/how-mi…

@Hantsprints Amazing lady..

The Royal Navy legend Jenny Ng 'Jenny side party' boards HMS Beaver shortly before the hand over of Hong Kong ⚓

Wishing Sarah Bowles and Nadia Knight, who have travelled from the Falkland Islands to take part in Sunday's @LondonMarathon, all the very best of luck! They are running to raise money for @Blisscharity. #LondonMarathon 🇫🇰🏃🏻‍♀️

@justin_westside Best of luck from all of us. Do you have Nadia’s bib number? We have friends running and will track them on the app

Couldn’t be prouder #falklands