2006 — Day 11 - You know you're getting older when...
... you find you can reach page 4 of the daily newspaper before realising it's exactly one week old and, yes, that's why the stories all seemed over-familiar. But you have an examination of Adam Adamant to look forward to this evening!
In fact, BBC4 proposes to look at Doomwatch, The Survivors, Blake's 7, The Tripods, and Starcops. Although I used to regard myself as an SF fan, I only ever watched one of these shows. But then, I never made the transition to sci-fi (pronounced "skiffy"), either.
Pre-prandial perambulations
On this morning's schedule is a visit to expert photographer Brynja, now working part-time in the Post Office section of one of our local Co-op stores. We need some of her Christmas cards, I suspect.
Well, what's left of my hair needed washing anyway, I suppose. (Brynja is off sick, as we discovered after tramping over there in the pouring rain.) Still, I have proven the efficiency of my son's ski-suit trousers (all part of my poor pensioner's keep-warm-this-winter plans, he added, darkly). And, sticking to the pensioner theme, we've just set in motion plans to get Mater's eyeballs scanned (remotely). That's if she'll let the peripatetic optician into her house, of course.
Financially speaking
First Direct, bless 'em, have finally realised that the only reason I'd opened a current account with them in the first place was to get the cash top-up bribe that was part of the Amazon UK offer to do so a couple (three?) years ago. So today they write to me (this is an online and phone bank, remember) to tell me that "in recent months you don't appear to have met the requirements to avoid paying the [new] banking fee". They want at least £1,500 per month paying in, and/or an average monthly balance of more than that. The only other way to avoid their [new] fee of £10 per month is to take out another "product" with them. So I give them the invited ring...
"Can you please confirm your security details, sir?"
Well, no, actually, I can't remember1 them; I just want you to close the account immediately.
"Happy to do that sir. Just confirm your security details first, please."
As I just said, I can't remember them; I just want you to close the account immediately.
"Let me put you on hold, sir. I need to speak to a colleague."
Pleasant music for a while, followed by a change of sex at the other end.
"Can you please confirm your security details, sir?"
As I just said, I can't remember them; I just want you to close the account immediately.
To truncate a tedious story, the magnificent balance of £6.23 is even now winging its way toward my "real" account. We bloody-minded pensioners have the edge over the poor working stiffs who have to remain patient and polite. Now if this were November 2007 those nice people who run BACS have just promised to halve the time these transfers take.
Still, I reckon I've just done my bit for the environment. First Direct now has no reason to continue sending me endless invitations to expand my use of their "products". At least they didn't keep phoning me up...