tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post2012573779695346037..comments2024-03-17T03:42:21.277-05:00Comments on LEARNING CURVE ON THE ECLIPTIC: Arty Farty Friday ~ David A. Hardy - Space ArtistTwilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-35469388963098957942011-05-21T08:20:21.201-05:002011-05-21T08:20:21.201-05:00RJ Adams ~~~~ I didn't know about the takeover...RJ Adams ~~~~ I didn't know about the takeover, RJ. Sad indeed! But so typical of what's been going on in recent years.<br /><br />Thanks for the information. So I guess the chocolate no longer has that "special" Cadbury taste. I noticed the US version didn't have it with my first bite.<br /><br />I like these paintings too. I have the Portals to Infinity one stretched as my desktop wallpaper at present. <br />:-)Twilighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-74829831700190367352011-05-20T22:04:03.268-05:002011-05-20T22:04:03.268-05:00Even though I worked as a stock auditor at Cadbury...Even though I worked as a stock auditor at Cadbury's Moreton factory on the Wirral (and, in the process, consumed way more of their product than was good for me!) and later worked for the RSPCA in Birmingham close by the Bournville factory and its amazing 'workers' village', I still managed to miss out on this amazing artist. I love this type of art.<br /><br />Incidentally, sadly Cadbury's chocolate is no longer Cadbury's. It is now nothing more than a subsidiary of the US based Kraft foods. My father, now 95, worked at the Moreton plant as an electrician for many years while the firm was still owned by the Cadbury family (I think it was Peter and Dominic who used to visit the plant regularly while he was there).<br /><br />The horrific takeover by Kraft in 2009 was summarized by Peter Cadbury, thus: ""I find it disturbing that 160 years of history and building up a company and brands and a particular concern about employees could just go. It does seem to threaten to destroy everything they have worked for. I’m trying not to be emotional about it, but it seems like Kraft are playing a long game. Their own brands have gone ex-growth."<br /><br />British prime minister Gordon Brown and his political cohort, Peter Mandelson,vigorously promoted the takeover by Kraft Foods as being 'good for the economy and good for jobs'. The Royal Bank of Scotland, at the time owned by the British taxpayer, funded the takeover to the tune of seven billion pounds.<br /><br />One year later, Kraft closed the Cadbury's factory at Bristol with the loss of 400 jobs. Earlier this year it announced the closure of the Moreton plant with the loss of a similar number of jobs. Kraft decided to move production to Poland, where production costs (read; wages) were much cheaper.<br /><br />One can only wonder how much Brown and Mandelson pocketed between them for assisting in the success of this horrific takeover.<br /><br />No doubt, David Hardy's creations went the way of the company's workerforce.R J Adamshttp://sparrowchat.comnoreply@blogger.com