The Anonymous Widower

Only In Essex!

Everywhere else uses guard dogs, but in Essex they do things in a more secure way and use guard cats.  Perhaps, that is the reason, why a lion is now on the loose in the county near St. Osyth. One must have escaped or snapped his chain!

But then the brave boys in blue from the Essex Constabulary can handle a lion.  After all, they get enough practice in some of the towns every Friday night.

August 26, 2012 Posted by | World | , | 2 Comments

Is This A Zopa Advantage?

Zopa doesn’t process contracts at the weekend.  Or it doesn’t appear to! This might be because they have to interface with the credit agencies and the banks and those don’t work 24/7.

So with the bank holiday tomorrow, it will be interesting to see how the money I have on offer disappears. Last week I loaded my account with £10,000, so there is plenty of money there.

On Saturday morning, I had £650 being processed in 13 contracts. These will probably start being sorted on Tuesday.

This morning it was £3350 in 67 contracts.

As I write now at 22:43 on Sunday, it’s £4,700 in 94 contracts.  The last of those contracts was setup about 22:15.  I’m watching to see if this is the last contract of the night.

Do Zopa have a cut-off time for loans or if say you applied at 04:00, would you be taken seriously? I wonder what Warclays would say if you applied for a loan at that hour?

If Zopa does accept loan applications at any hour, that must surely be a business advantage, as well as one for the customer, as we all have those times, when we prefer to fill in forms.

I’ll finish now for a bit. but I’ll update this in the morning.

I didn’t get any more contracts last night and when I went to bed at around midnight, there were still 94 contracts.

I got up just before seven on Monday and another had dropped off, so the number was now down to 93.

As I type this at 08:00, the number of contracts being processed is now 96. So people are still applying for loans. How many other places could you apply for a loan at this time on a bank holiday morning?

The clue is in the words bank holiday!

It’s now 12:00 and the number of contracts being processed has risen to 113.

And now it’s 18:22 with the contracts standing at 140.

21:22 and it’s 151.

It’s now Tuesday morning at 11:00. None of the flood of offers from the weekend have been fully processed yet, but that queue is now at 157.

I’ve also heard from Zopa and they say that they’re a 24/7 operation as regards to applying, but that obviously processing is usually done on a nine to five basis, Monday to Friday.  But they are starting to do this on some weekends.

It’s now 13:00 and the processing has climbed to 166. Of the ten grand I put in, I have just about two grand left to lend out.

It’s now 15:42 and we’re at 170.  Nothing seems to have accepted and signed off yet!

It’s now 18:10 and 20 contracts have been fully accepted and signed off. I’m not sure how many were not accepted, but it can’t have been more than a few!

August 26, 2012 Posted by | Finance | , | Leave a comment

Health And Safety Has Its Place

This piece of raised concrete has annoyed me ever since the Emirates Air-Line opened.

Health And Safety Has Its Place

So I’m glad to see they’ve marked it with yellow paint.  Not that I need any help any more, as my brain has now set its Sat-Nav to warn me to move right, as I approach the area.

My compliments must go to someone, who responded to the problem.

August 26, 2012 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | Leave a comment

Who Nicked The Seats?

I took this picture this morning at Shadwell station on the DLR.

Who Nicked The Seats?

I did ask and they’ve been removed to make more room during the Olympics.

August 26, 2012 Posted by | Transport/Travel | | Leave a comment

Look Closely And You Might See It!

If you look closely at this picture taken at Dalston Junction station, you can see that the sign now has the route to Clapham Junction station shown.

Clapham Junction Ready Sign at Dalston Junction

But of course it’s covered with something. As the extended East London line doesn’t open until December this year.

August 26, 2012 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , | Leave a comment

Those Exam Results

Rod Liddle in The Sunday Times says what all of us have been thinking about the GCSE results.  They can’t go on rising without any visible means of support for ever.

After all teachers like results to improve as it makes them look good and if they get worse, then teachers look bad. It is better that kids find out they’re not the new Jane Austen or Stephen Hawkins at school, where hopefully teachers can do something about it.

It probably why understanding of statistics is so bad in this country, the first set they come across are massaged in their and their teachers favour.

August 26, 2012 Posted by | News | , | 5 Comments

What Right Has This Man To Condemn Gay Marriage?

Cardinal O’Brien is getting all Catholic churches in Scotland to read out an anti-gay marriage letter. He must be going very near the anti-discrimination legislation, so he might find that he gets interviewed by the boys in blue. And I don’t mean Rangers supporters.

In a way, it’s all rather sad, as he is effectively saying that we don’t want certain types of people in the Catholic church. To some religion is important.  Not me I hasten to add.  But it has caused so much trouble in this world and still does.

In my view, churchmen and other religious leaders should stay out of areas like race and sexuality. And probably politics and football too, except as voters and supporters!  Except of course, when they are trying to calm a difficult situation. Here he’s pouring petrol on the fire!

I would also say, that can anybody who has never been married, make a sensible statement, about the joy that relationship can bring.

August 26, 2012 Posted by | News | , , , , | 4 Comments