Bristolian publishes first crime thriller

If you’re not sure what to buy the book-lover in your life for Christmas, why not consider ‘Wicked Tongue’, written by Bristolian (and frequent Direct Local contributor) Darren Bane.

Although it is the eighth title he has published since 2014, it’s his first crime novel.

Within the first weeks of publication, almost every review has awarded it five stars. Darren drew on his experiences of spending 12 years working as a journalist and a further 12 years working in the press office at Avon & Somerset Police to give ‘Wicked Tongue’ a realistic tone. Darren describes it as a “character-driven crime thriller” set in an un-named seaside town which is, of course, very much based on Weston-super-Mare, where he has lived for almost 30 years. He explained the story. “A heartbroken man brands his mother a ‘black widow’ at the inquest into the death of his father, who took his own life.

“A few days later, his mother is found dead. The post mortem reveals that she died of fright, setting tongues wagging. “Was she killed in retaliation for her husband’s suicide, or is this the start of a serial killing spree?”

Darren has previously published one children’s book, a non-fiction book about the first six months in the life of his son who was born three months early, a compilation of imponderable questions, and three full-length comedy novels. So what prompted him to write something considerably darker?

“I actually wrote the first three chapters many years ago,” he said. “But I didn’t think I had it in me to complete a crime thriller. I thought it might be too obvious who the killer was, so I just let those chapters collect dust. “I offered to proof-read a crime novel, Kill List, by my friend Vicki FitzGerald. But I ended up not just checking the grammar and spelling, but making some suggestions about the plot here and there, and suggesting some dialogue. “She liked my ideas and said I should try writing a crime thriller, so I shared those three chapters I had written so long ago. Her response was that I simply had to write the rest, so I did.

“I’ve been absolutely delighted with the positive response, and quite a few readers have said I managed to keep them guessing about the identity of the killer, which is very satisfying. “Several people have now suggested I write another thriller, so I’m thinking about it, although I’ve got a couple more comedy novels to finish first.”

‘Wicked Tongue’ is available in paperback and digital formats from many on-line booksellers. Full details can be found on his website, www.darrenbane.co.uk

Warning to self-employed workers who claimed SEISS grant

HMRC has updated its warning to workers who claimed a grant through the SelfEmployment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) last year. SEISS was designed to support self-employed workers whose business was affected throughout the pandemic. The UK Government has paid out more than 25.2 billion to 2.9 million workers since the scheme launched in May last year.

The final window for applications closed on September 30 with figures estimating 9.1 million grants have been claimed by self-employed workers. However, HMRC has now issued new guidance to warn that some or all of the SEISS grant may need to be paid back - or you may face a penalty. The update on GOV.UK advises: “If you’ve received a letter from HMRC you may need to pay back some or all of the grant.”

SEISS repayments

The advice states you must tell HMRC if, when you made the claim, you were not eligible for the grant.

For example:

• For the first or second grant, your business was not adversely affected

• For the third, fourth or fifth grant, your business had not been impacted by reduced activity, capacity or demand or inability to trade in the relevant periods

• You did not intend to continue to trade You must also tell HMRC if you: Received more than HMRC said you were entitled to

• Amended any of your tax returns on or after March 3, 2021 in a way which means you’re no longer eligible or are entitled to a lower fourth or fifth grant than you received

• Made a mistake reporting your turnover in your claim for the fifth grant which means you are entitled to a lower grant than you received • Have received a letter from HMRC that says you need to pay back some or all of a grant

Deadline of when you must inform HMRC

In most cases, if you’re not eligible and have to pay the grant back, you must tell HMRC within 90 days of receiving the payment.

For the fourth and fifth grants the rules for when to tell HMRC are different if amending your return affects your eligibility or grant amount.

You must tell HMRC if there is an amendment to any of your tax returns on or after March 3, 2021 which either:

• Lowers the amount of fourth or fifth grant you were eligible for • Causes you to no longer be eligible for the fourth or fifth grant If your return has been amended before claiming your grant, you must tell HMRC. If your return has been amended after receiving your grant, you must tell HMRC within 90 days of making the amendment.

If you do not tell HMRC, they will get in touch with you to recover the grant and you may also have to pay a penalty - find more information on how they will recover your overpaid grant on GOV.UK here.

You do not have to tell HMRC if the grant amount:

• You are eligible for has lowered by £100 or less

• Was £100 or less

If you are not sure, you should still tell HMRC about the amendment using the online form here.

You need to tell HMRC if you:

• Made a mistake reporting your turnover in your claim which means you are entitled to a lower grant than you received

• Later realise you should have reported a different turnover figure in your claim which means you are entitled to a lower grant than you received You can also tell HMRC if you want to voluntarily pay back some or all of the grant you received - you can do this at any time.

To do this, you will need your:

• Government Gateway user ID and password that you used when you made your claim

• Grant claim reference - you’ll find this in the online service or on your copy of the grant claim • Self Assessment Unique Taxpayer

Reference (UTR) number - if you do not have this find out how to get your lost

UTR here

How you can pay back HMRC

The process is different depending on why you need to pay the grant back, however, there is a service available on the GOV.UK website which allows you to check whether you need to tell HMRC and pay back some or all of a grant. Find out more on the GOV.UK website..

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Ten ways to cut your food waste to help save the planet

We throw away 7 million tonnes of food and drink from our homes every year, much of which could have been eaten. It's costing us £12.5bn a year and is bad for the environment too. Here is 10 top tips for reducing food waste.

1. Check your fridge temperature

It should be between 0-5C. Food, especially milk, will go off much quicker if it’s warmer.

2. Use your fridge wisely

Some foods keep better outside the fridge. This includes bread (keep it in a cool dark place like a bread bin or cupboard), bananas, pineapples, potatoes and onions.

3. Love your list

Make a shopping list (the easiest way is to keep it in the kitchen and add to it as you think of things) and stick to it when you go shopping. Plan ahead and shop with specific meals in mind.

4. Water your veg

Keep the stems of vegetables such as broccoli, celery and asparagus in water to help them stay fresh and crisp.

5. Freeze your 5 a day

Got fresh fruit and veg that you can’t use in time? Why not freeze them? Some fruit and veg will lose their texture when frozen – you can deal with this by freezing them pureed or stewed. This applies to tomatoes (use the puree for pasta dishes or pizza), strawberries (use the puree in smoothies or as a sauce for other fresh fruit) and apples (use stewed apple on your porridge or muesli, or as the base for a fruit crumble).

6. …and freeze leftovers

Many leftovers and chilled convenience meals freeze well too. If you’ve made something like pasta or rice with a sauce, freezing the sauce separately will work better.

7. Measure your portions

Reduce waste by cooking only the amount you need. Measuring takes away the guesswork and makes it more likely you’ll get the right amount.

8. Sauces and dips

Lots of leftovers can be made into sauces or dips. If you’ve got leftover beans or pulses (either that you’ve cooked yourself or from a tin), mash or blend with some garlic, lemon juice and herbs for a hummus-style dip (don’t try this with baked beans, unless you rinse them thoroughly first). Slightly over-ripe avocados are great for guacamole, and tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers which need using can go into home-made salsa.

9. Freeze dairy products

Semi-skimmed and skimmed milk freeze better than whole. If it separates once defrosted, just give it a good shake. Hard cheese also freezes well – cut it into smaller portions, or grate some ready to use later.

10. Revive past-it bread

Bread rolls past their best? Put them in the oven for a few minutes to crisp up again. You can also make stale bread into breadcrumbs - either mix them with herbs and onions as a stuffing for chicken or to top baked fish, or freeze the breadcrumbs for later use. Loaves of bread freeze well too. If you’re freezing a loaf or rolls from an in-store bakery, transfer into a freezer bag for better results rather than just freezing it in the packaging it comes in.

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