Having spent, and continuing to spend, shedloads of shareholders cash at Horse Hill and Broadford Bridge for not a lot of commercial return so far, UK Oil and Gas (UKOG) attempted today to extend the rampy reasons to raise yet more cash via the proposed Loxley drill. Consent has been refused by the Planning Authority, and for good reason I think this should be good news for shareholders, unless of course the company chooses to throw shareholders cash at an appeal to keep the rainbow in place.

Self-styled “a leading B2B media business”, Bonhill Group (BONH) has updated including “the business has continued to see good levels of activity in each of its major markets… has also been focusing in Q2 on improving its working capital position… at 25 June 2020, the company had a cash balance of approximately £3.8 million”. The shares have currently responded higher to 7.5p, but even so a still below £7.5 million market cap?...

It was Harrow that gave Sir Winston Churchill his great powers of oratory. It was Harrow that made Lord Byron such a wonderful poet. And it is the same establishment that has allowed the Sith Lord Zak Mir to polish up the complete turd that is today’s statement from Big Dish (DISH) into something almost respectable. Given that Zak is almost completely illiterate I applaud him.

A year ago I wrote about the 'specialist filtration and environmental technology group' Porvair (PRV) that 'in today's excitable world however I am not going to jump in aggressively on any stock where there is a thick slice of hope'. How goes it all since then?

Commercial flooring and specialist construction group Mountfield (MOGP) has updated including that it “is encouraged by the re-opening of many of its clients' sites and the determination of many of its clients to restore activity levels to their pre-COVID-19 levels”. The shares have currently responded to around 0.75p – approaching 30% lower!...

The China investment into Versarien  (VRS) farce began on 15 April 2019 and should have seen boas Neill Rickets sacked by now so what is meant to happen by midnight tomorrow and will we get an RNS?

A “Notice of Results” announcement from recruitment software and services group Dillistone (DSG) – and the shares below 20p in response, more than 17% lower!...

Hello, Share Swappers. One of my less successful tips redeemed by the epidemic - and there have been a few - is Gear4Music (G4M). Its online sales are booming. When I first bought shares in this company the share immediately saw a big fall. But the red number turned to blue, even before the virus struck...

I start with the economy and the idea of Michael Gove and Boris Johnson that somehow FDR shows us the way out of this mess they have created. Sure,conscript all the snowflakes, after they have finished their degrees in media and gender studies and send them to invade Albania. It sort of worked in 1939. Seriously, this is more madness. Then I look at the nature of fraud and our failure to tackle it ref Wirecast, Blur and auditor EY now being sued by 1,000 cockwomble investors who "thought they knew better."

I am told great things will happen at Concepta (CPT) soon. But I have been told that by previous managers and they never did. So I hold on to my shares. But I have niggling concerns as does a fellow long suffering shareholder Tony Prynne who has penned the note below flagging up matters the company should address. Tony writes:

As the old saying going about air travel, “every takeoff is optional...every landing is mandatory.”  For investors, the sector is certainly always just an option.  I cannot remember when I have ever thought of the space as a mandatory part of my portfolio.  I may be wrong, but I think I have only ever owned two airline stocks across my whole investment life. 

Here are six long reads that have nothing to do with shares. Put the kettle on, find a comfy chair. You have the time, don't you?  

Blur Group (BLUR) floated at 82p and half a decade and a name change later delisted from the AIM casino at 0.23p. In its five years of AIM casino infamy led by CEO Philipl Letts and his ghastly Mrs, Kara Cardinale, who was the Chief Delivery Officer, it was slammed by the FRC for dodgy accounting, had numerous lack of profits warnings and bailout placings and was a case study in value destruction. As a reminder here is the track record during Letts' tenure as CEO: 

This has nothing to do with shares or investing or anything. It's the end of the weekend and we've organised a quick pub quiz. Grab your own beer, there are no prizes, and for Pete's sake, no Googling! Only I get to do that. If you are so inclined, please enter your score in the comments. The highest score still won't get a prize.

On 5th June I flagged up that AIM-listed POS Inspirit Energy (INSP) had again failed to file its Confirmation Statement (the new Annual Return) to Companies House by the due date of 30 March 2020. I repeated the call on June 8^th and June 16. Well, here we are on June 28^th and there is still no filing! Hello……is there anybody there….?

The most read non-Tom article this week is Copper is showing strength and Asiamet finally look to have a project partner onboard - speculative buy by Gary Newman is at a stunning number one or number three including Bearcasts and Tom's new shareshow.

I have today been distracted by bulls which the Old Bill wants to milk and bad weather has stopped any progress in the garden. It's all rather frustrating. Talking of bulls I discuss San Leon (SLE) where i am a loyal shareholder.  Then with reference Intu (INTU) and Virgin Australia the myths that bailouts are needed to save large scale job losses.

We live in crazy times.  What is the difference in value between a company that says it is insolvent and one that has not formally admitted it but admits that its financial records are fiction and whose CEO has been arrested? The answer $170 million. And the fraud is apparently worth more!

Wind back to 2016. Redcentric (RCN) overstated its cash position and understated its debts as a result of a series of accounting high jinks including a great payroll con straight out of the Rob Terry playbook which we exposed HERE. This pumped the shares up allowing CEO Frazer Fisher to make a killing as I exposed HERE. Finally, the FCA has acted but it has surely got it all wrong and its actions expose the current board to charges of gross negligence

Learn from the lessons of 1665