The Invisible Immigrants
There is a lot of debate about immigration, but an incident last night got me thinking.
I was waiting to go in to see a performance of the Grand Hotel Budapest last night in the Barbican, when I got chatting to a lady sitting next to me.
She was speaking immaculate English, but I got the impression that she wasn’t from London. So I asked where she was from and was rather surprised she came from Austria.
A few weeks ago, I got talking to a well-dressed black guy on a train, who again spoke perfect English, but was surprised to find that he had been born and brought up in Dusseldorf in Germany. He was a temporary visitor and was going home for the weekend, but you wouldn’t have said immigrant immediately, although you might have thought he was a child of immigrants.
I could quote lots of examples over the years, but these days spotting immigrants is not always easy, as many do not follow the supposed stereotype.
Many immigrants like my American fitness trainer or my Australian physio, would not be picked out as immigrants say on the bus or train.
I do wonder how this all effects our views on immigration.
I also wonder, if Britons don’t go and work in say Germany or Sweden, as much as their natives might come here, because our language skills are so atrocious.
My Letter In The Times Yesterday
I had a letter in The Times yesterday about BBC Radio, under the headline of Let’s Hear It
Amid the debates about the BBC’s licence fee some are questioning the value of the BBC’s radio stations …
Sir, Four years ago I was in hospital in Hong Kong after a serious stroke. Luckily, I had a laptop with me and I was able to listen to BBC radio
online.
BBC radio aided my recovery and certainly allowed me to keep my sanity. Those who would like to see the abolition of BBC radio should try six weeks in a hospital where the television and most of the staff are all in a foreign tongue.
I might add, that I now think that most patients in hospital should be allowed a computer or smart phone to fix their mind. Subject of course to it not conflicting with their treatment.
Changing From A Large To A Small Energy Supplier
I recently changed from a large energy supplier; NPower, to a small one; OVO.
So how has the experience been and would I change now, knowing what I now know?
1. Costs
If I compare my actual costs for 2013, when I was with NPower to the estimated costs for 2014 on OVO, they are about the same at £143-145 a month for both gas and electricity. I suspect that for a modern three-bedroomed house, where I cook by electricity, do one load of washing a week and have a deep bath every day, that these figures could be a bit low.
But it is surprising how close the two suppliers are in terms of costs. Partly, this is because OVO set the level of the standing order based on what I was paying NPower
2. Account Management
I am just getting to grips with managing my account to my benefit.
In the previous section, I said that OVO set my initial payments based on my NPower usage.
I have now adjusted my standing order to my usage , as OVO allow you to do. I estimate that when I get this adjusted correctly, my bill could reduce to about £120 a month.
One thing that happens with OVO, is that if you are in credit, they give you a small interest payment. It may only be pence, but it’s more than a big supplier would give. You can also request that the balance be withdrawn to your bank account.
3. The OVO Web Site
Like all new web sites, the OVO web site has a few problems and could be better. In their case, things like remembering your login ID and the general handling of passwords are areas I would improve.
As to the login, they could do a lot worse than look at how Zopa has created a secure login. Zopa’s is certainly one of the best!
I would also recommend that you login once a month and give it a good look around.
4. Customer Support
I don’t think I have any complaint in this area.
You phone them on an 0800 number.
5. Would I Change Again?
Not at the moment, but if I did want to change, I’ve got a single A4 piece of paper with all of my details and relevant numbers on it, so change would be easy.
So for that reason alone, I would advise anybody to change at least once to an energy supplier with good paperwork and web site.
Jack Kinzler
Read his obituary in the Washington Post. This is the introductory paragraph.
As chief of the all-purpose machine and tool shop at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Mr. Kinzler specialized in down-to-earth solutions for beyond-the-stratosphere problems.
They don’t make them like him any more!
Beware Of Angry Neighbours In Edinburgh!
This story from the Daily Mail is a cracker, that describes how angry neighbours cut Fred the Shred’d hedge down to a reasonable size.
It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy’s hedge!
Are we sure it was a chain saw, or was it a lot of ginger-haired Scotsmen with claymores?
It’s All Our Fault!
BBC Breakfast had an interview this morning, with a guy from the insurance industry.
He blamed the poor quality of annuity products on the fact that we’re living longer, low interest rates and customers being more intelligent.
Just as we’ve had peer-to-peer lending for banking, we need a clever person to think up a killer application, that looks like an annuity, but gives a better return with no fees to insurance fat cats.
The cream should stay with the insured.
Why All The Fuss About David Moyes?
The phone-in on BBC Radio 5 this morning, is about David Moyes and his tenure at Manchester United!
I have been following and watching football for sixty years and I can name probably ten or even twelve very good or great managers, whose successors had problems. Those at the top level, who were followed by one who was equally good are extremely rare and the only one I can name is Bill Shankly at Liverpool.
But it’s not just in football, that the succession is a problem. Look at Kings and Queens, politics, Presidents and prime ministers and business leaders!
The only rule that seems to apply is that the more charismatic the leader, the bigger the problems.
So all those angry Manchester United supporters, should just remember than David Moyes’s problems are par for the course. Especially, when they have the example of Matt Busby.
An Unusual Advert In The Times
There is an advert for the Cult Cafe in Ipswich in The Times today.
What is unusual about the advert is that it appears to have been paid for by Barclays.
So has your bank paid for you to have an advert in a national newspaper.
I have written to the cafe to see if they are making any difference to the gluten-free desert that is Ipswich.
The EU Gives The UK Another £300million A Year
I’m just reading the BBC’s prediction for tomorrow’s Budget. Under the section on VAT, there is this information.
The Budget should enact important changes to the payment of VAT on internet purchases and downloads.
Buyers, for instance of e-books, will now have to pay the VAT rate of their home country, not that of a retailer such as Amazon.
It charges just 3% VAT, the rate in its home territory – Luxembourg.
From 1 January 2015 it will have to charge UK purchasers the 20% British VAT rate – and then hand that money over to the UK government.
It will mean higher charges for some UK internet shoppers who use a foreign service, and it will raise about £300m more each year for the Treasury.
This is an EU-wide change affecting all 28 member countries and will remove the price advantage of some internet retailers based outside the UK.
So due to some EU legislation, you’ll pay more for e-books from Amazon, but then the VAT rules will be fairer and the government will get more tax revenue and hopefully allow UK companies to compete easier.
Is this the start of getting the big multi-nationals to pay their full moral level of taxes, like we plebs do?
I certainly hope so!
We’ve Now Got Some Information On The Sewer!
I went to the View Tube on Monday and saw this sign outside.
We’ve Now got Some Information On The Sewer!
It’s only one sign, but I suppose it’s a start.
But we need more boards like this on all big buildings, projects, stations and bridges to inspire the next generation.
The Anonymous Widower 