P&O Cruisers - What are things like where YOU are?

[brian1]

16 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Cut out the middle man and use the farmers market. Posh sausages £5.99 a pound , 2 for 12 quid. Mediocre fillet. £38 a kilo. We have a pre Christmas French Market. Stuff about double the price of the same brand in the supermarket.

Those Romford boys do a blinding French accent.Mangetout good moaning Monsewer Zap.

[yorkshirephil]

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

 Nincompoop Zap thinks, why not combine the 2. Half the counters could be Lloyd's and the other half Halifax. Room for both brands machines....but what do I know.

This is already happening as the new multi bank hubs are opening, I remember Martin Lewis talking about one that had opened a few months ago.

[Grumpycruiser60plus]

[Snow Hill]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

Now that's great idea, but why not go the whole hog, and just have one, big, high street branch handling all the banks' business's. In this age of computers and high speed internet it should be easy to have one terminal feeding data to each bank's system, just as long as you dont use P&O's IT dept ro write the programme.

Already being rolled out in parts of the country 

 

https://www.postoffice.co.uk/bankinghubs

[Dermotsgirl]

2 hours ago, zap99 said:

They have very clever analysts. If you shut half the desks, at lunch time folk have no choice but to use the machines. See, didn't need them after all. We have a Lloyd's and a Halifax within 50 meters of each other. Both big buildings, both closing the number of counters, both with folk in posh suits directing you to the machines. Nincompoop Zap thinks, why not combine the 2. Half the counters could be Lloyd's and the other half Halifax. Room for both brands machines....but what do I know.

As Lloyds and Halifax are part of the same group, you have to wonder when they haven’t done it already 

[Dermotsgirl]

2 hours ago, zap99 said:

When it's time to pay the credit card bills DW goes to the machine to get the cash out and print a mini statement and I go to the counter to pay the bill with a cheque. At the counter was the chap who has been there for years and always welcomes me by name and a shiney,smiley new bloke....can I help you sir ?. can I pay this please....sorry sir, you can't pay somebody else's credit card bill. Regulation 713.01 of the financial servic......the regular chap leant across...just process Zaps transaction....by then I was joined at the counter...Good afternoon Mrs Zap. The personal touch is worth something.

 

 

The ‘personal touch’ in banking began to disappear in the late 80’s.  Up until then, everything was done in house at the customer’s branch. I could be dealing with the customer’s mortgage application or processing a property insurance claim during the week, then see them on the Saturday morning when I was working on the counter and could give them an update on how it was going.

 

After that, the admin got moved away to service centres, so it was never quite the same afterwards. I opted to work in a service centre, as the branches became about ‘selling’, and that was not something I enjoyed. 

[Snow Hill]

3 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

As Lloyds and Halifax are part of the same group, you have to wonder when they haven’t done it already 

They have separate banking licences, the Lloyds Banking Group consists of 3 Banks, Lloyds, Bank of Scotland and Halifax. Lloyds has a separate Bsnking Licence, whilst BoS & Halifax share a licence.

 

[Josy1953]

3 hours ago, Presto2 said:

A really sharp frost here today. Looks like the poor fuschia in the back garden will be hibernating for another year after this. 

Well us Presto2s are off wine tasting today at Whitebridge Wines. Will think of you all and raise a glass or two;-)

Enjoy the sunshine.....if you have some.

And to those of you crusing .. enjoy the day and may the sea be kind 😀

 

We didn't get tickets for the Whitebridge Wines tasting because we had planned to be away and when we cancelled the cruise we forgot all about wine tasting with everything that was happening.  Enjoy the evening and don't  buy up all of my favourites because we will have to go to top up our stock before Christmas. 🤣🍷

[Eddie99]

This one has just opened 

Very much needed, as the town had recently seen its last bank branch close

If you read the article, the various banks have various ‘duty days’, which might be the simplest or the only way to operate.  Wouldn’t be easy for staff to know all the working methods for every banking company - and how would you work out who the employer is, who pays pension & NI, who covers insurance etc

https://eastdevonnews.co.uk/2023/11/15/banks-in-axminster/#:~:text=The Axminster Banking Hub will,Wednesday%3A Lloyds

[twotravellersLondon]

3 hours ago, zap99 said:

My financial advisor is a Nigerian Prince. He's very good. Just gets on with it and doesn't pester you all the time. In fact I haven't heard from him for ages.

 

 

A few years back we had a "lovely" chap who kept ringing us with all manner of financial and investment offers but we were always far to busy to chat to him. 

 

With a little bit of technical jiggery-pokery we traced him to an affluent suburb of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, Central Africa. (Beware the boomers... after all it was us who invented the cyber world of digital technology, the internet and all things associated!)

 

The next time that he rang and even before he spoke we greeted him with "Morning Max. What's the weather like today in your part of Ouagadougou? We've lots of time to day to have a really long chat."

 

Well! He gasped, spluttered and hung up. He's never rung again. It was so rude... and we were only just getting to know him. 🤣🤣

[Presto2]

6 minutes ago, Josy1953 said:

We didn't get tickets for the Whitebridge Wines tasting because we had planned to be away and when we cancelled the cruise we forgot all about wine tasting with everything that was happening.  Enjoy the evening and don't  buy up all of my favourites because we will have to go to top up our stock before Christmas. 🤣🍷

It was very nice. We can meet up next time perhaps. Just sobering up now ..

[Eddie99]

I hope everyone is having the same gorgeous sunny day as we are enjoying.  I see it’s sunny in Manchester, from the football, so maybe the whole country is bathed in beautiful winter sun 

 

We’ve packed up the caravan for winter 😕.  We’ll need to go back to give it a good scrub up - floors & windows etc - and will no doubt use it as a base for seaside walks, but I don’t anticipate any overnights until the 2024 season starts.  But who knows?  
 

Town Christmas lights go on today - as the old saying goes 🎶 It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas 🎶 

 

Have a good afternoon all.  Keep warm

Edited November 25, 2023 by Eddie99

[Presto2]

Put this on the wrong thread so trying again. The winetasting as Whitebridge was great and am now sobering up slightly .... Next time perhaps we can all meet 

[Snow Hill]

Getting chillier outside, dropped to 3C,  so decided time to come back inside, however did manage to quite a bit done. 
 

Cut down the Dahlias that had been blackened by the overnight frost, tucked them up in their winter lancet of straw and a bell cloche to protect tubers from freezing. Those on the opposite side of garden seemed not have been touched by the frost and still have flowers, see if they are blackened by tonight’s forecasted frost.

 

Checked over the winter cabbage, raised the netting as seems pigeons have been pecking through.

 

Cleared some of the empty pots, trays etc from greenhouse to give me room to start putting up the insulation as some of my plants will be overwintered in there. 

 

Filled up bird feeders, the local Robin was quick to notice feeders now full and got first dibs. 
 

Time for a cuppa. 
 

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Snow Hill

[grapau27]

Good afternoon.

It was frosty and -1°C first thing and only 4°C now.

Talking about bank's I worked for TSB for 3 years in the 1970s and left just as they were introducing computers in branches.

I hope everyone is well and having a happy day.

[Eddie99]

Ooooh - here’s a spooky sort of thing

 

[yorkshirephil]

Another glorious sunny day here but very cold, it was forecast -4 oC overnight and the cars had frozen windscreens. A proper crisp winter morning, just right for a long walk across the frost hardened fields, if only. My walking is improving slowly but I will stick to the footpaths for a while yet.

 

We had a bit of a do for a dear friend who we lost 12 months ago, a rose was planted in the memorial garden in one of our parks, she was a member of the WI so an aptly named rose "Jam and Jerusalem" was planted then back to her daughters for scones and mince pies and a bit of reminiscing.

[Harry Peterson]

2 hours ago, Eddie99 said:

Ooooh - here’s a spooky sort of thing

 

That is seriously weird! 

[yorkshirephil]

4 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

That is seriously weird! 

Talking of weird it is time for Dr Who.

[Harry Peterson]

1 minute ago, yorkshirephil said:

Talking of weird it is time for Dr Who.

Watching it later……..60 years since I rushed back from St John Ambulance cadets in Truro to watch the very first episode (now colourised!). No PVRs or iPlayer then. No sonic screwdrivers either!

[Presto2]

Love Dr Who and good to see the old team back. Celebrating the Dr tonight and hoping it gets back on track. I was born just a few weeks before Dr Who started so we share our 60th together ❤️ 

[Josy1953]

1 hour ago, Presto2 said:

Love Dr Who and good to see the old team back. Celebrating the Dr tonight and hoping it gets back on track. I was born just a few weeks before Dr Who started so we share our 60th together ❤️ 

I have never watched Dr Who since the first episode when the daleks terrified me.  I used to go and read in another room every Saturday afternoon when it came on the TV, fortunately DH isn't  a fan either. 

I still get creeped out when I  go into Oscars in Newcastle because there is a dalek just inside the door there.  If I could persuade my friends to never eat there on any of our ladies nights out I would be really happy.

[yorkshirephil]

With a month to go we just had to do it

[grapau27]

Good morning.

It is 2°C and clear.

I hope everyone is well.

[Josy1953]

Good morning.

It is -1°c here and yet another heavy frost.  I am desperate for the mornings to start getting lighter again because I hate going outdoors when it is cold and dark.

We had more bad news last night, my sister rang to let us know that her husband should have been taken into the Dougie Mac hospice yesterday afternoon but was staying at the Royal Stoke because he is to ill to be moved so we have unrestricted 24 hour visiting times because the end is so close.