Why Does It Always Rain On Mondays?
As it’s Monday, the cafe opposite; Eggs Milk Butter, was closed today.
Why Does It Always Rain On Mondays?
So there was no popping across to get a coffee. I just had to take a walk in the rain.
I Thought Network SouthEast Had Died
This sign lives on at Essex Road station.
I Thought Network SouthEast Had Died
Network SouthEast officially ceased to exist when the running of trains were privatised in the early 1980s.
Although the dirt on this rail, was probably of an earlier vintage.
The Dirtiest Hand-Rail In London
It certainly needed a good wash.
Why Can’t I Shop In One Store?
Sainsburys and Waitrose are side-by-side at the Angel, but as the picture shows, I have to shop in both.
Why Can’t I Shop In One Store?
This Waitrose doesn’t sell any decent gluten-free bread, whereas their store a mile or so at Highbury Corner does. So before going to Waitrose, I had to get the bread from Sainsburys.
I Have A Real Wet Room
The picture shows the floor of my en-suite shower.
I Have A Real Wet Room
It is Jerry at his best and it shows how the water flows from the shower area to the rest of the room. It also shows why I must put shoes on to go to the toilet.
Zopa Hits A Quarter Of A Billion
Zopa are reporting on their web site, that they have now lent out over a quarter of a billion pounds. That may seem a lot of money, but consider that ING have pulled four times that amount out of lending in the UK in this year alone. But every little helps.
You can make an estimate of Zopa’s income, by starting with one per cent charged on all loans. So that looks like £2,500,000. And to that you can add about a £100 for each successful loan.
But this is probably a lot less than Barclays or another big bank, would make by lending a quarter of a billion.
So possibly Zopa is really only an irritant in the hide of the big banks.
On the other hand, Zopa is a company that lives without the cost structure that any bank feels it must have.
So if they ignore Zopa, the banks will live to regret it. But they won’t live very long in their current bloated and top-heavy forms.
The reason is simple. Zopa’s financial model appeals to both lenders and borrowers and is very simple. So all the discontent, that many feel about the banks, has found a home.
My only worry about Zopa is that politicians legislate against social lending to protect their shareholdings in LloydsTSB and RBS.
George Osborne Hands His Successor A Poison Pill
I think that the appointment of Mark Carney to the Governorship of the Bank of England is a good one. I think he’s got the right experience and of course Canada has a much better-sorted banking industry than the United States, the United Kingdom and most of Europe.
So a good helping of Canadian experience can’t but help.
But say in 2016 or whenever the election is held, Labour should win, he would be a difficult thorn in the side of any Labour Chancellor.
The North East Passage Is Open
This story about a gas tanker going from Norway to Japan on first glance looks to be a good news story. At least for Norway, who were probably paid a lot for all that gas!
But am I right in thinking, that the trip is only possible because the world is warming and the ice has melted?
Has anybody asked the polar bears for their opinion?
BBC Sports Personality Of The Year
I like sport, but I don’t care who is the BBC Sports Personality Of The Year.
After all, the program is just one big selection of repeats to fill an evening of television.
Government To Set A Minimum Price For Alcohol
The Times is saying that the Government will be consulting on this. What I noticed was that the article was accompanied by a picture of a plastic bottle of own brand supermarket cider, which it said could treble in price.
If it increased in price by ten times, it wouldn’t bother me, as that is the sort of drink, that would make me ill, as I’m allergy to gluten, which those drinks often contain.
My preferred long drink is actually Aspall’s cyder, which is generally about a couple of pounds for a half litre. The muck shown in the article is quoted as costing about £1.20 and that’s for four times as much.
I prefer to enjoy my drinking, rather than drink to oblivion.
So I’m very much in favour of a minimum price for a unit of alcohol. It might cost me a couple of quid a week at most.
Carluccio’s Or Starbucks?
This is a decision, I have to make every Monday morning at the Angel.
Normally, if I want a coffee early in the morning, as I’m off to the shops, I go to the cafe opposite.
But on Monday they are shut and I also generally go to the Angel to get my provisions for the first few days of the week.
So do I go to Carluccio’s or Starbucks for my pre-shopping coffee, whilst I work out what to buy.
For some time, I’ve gone to Starbucks, as it’s close to Waitrose, but recently, I’ve started to use the Carluccio’s a little further away.
Could this be because of all the publicity about Starbucks tax position in the UK?
After all, their coffee is only ten pence more, you get a comfortable seat and friendly staff, the queues are minimal and if you need to use the medical comforts, they are clean and excellent.
It will be interesting to see, how many people change their coffee habits!
The Anonymous Widower 