Bad Karma
My financial advisor has just left on his bicycle to go home to South West London. I did suggest as it was raining that he cycle to Canonbury station and get the North London line most of the way.
He didn’t as he said that was Bad Karma.
Debenhams Drops Stupid Coffee Names
According to this story in the Mirror, Debenhams are to use plain English to describe their coffee.
I suppose it’s their choice, but round here most people know their cappuccinos from their lattes. And I don’t just mean those that went to posh schools or were born outside of Hackney.
Baked Eggs With Tomatoes
I’ve done this recipe for years, but in the move the book with it in has got lost.
- Well butter four ramekin dishes.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C
- Take a large tin of chopped tomatoes and put in a saucepan with a a finely chopped medium-sized onion. Mix well and heat.
- When it is hot, simmer and add two tablespoons of flour mixed with enough butter to make a nice paste.
- Simmer for five minutes or so, adding a teaspoon of sugar and salt and pepper until you get the taste right.
- Spoon the mixture into the ramekin dishes, making a nest in the top of the mixture.
- Add an egg to the nest and cover with grated cheese.
- Bake in the oven until the cheese is cooked.
With practice they can be got to rise like mini-soufflés.
In some ways the great thing about this recipe, is that apart from the eggs nothing has a sell-by date. Usually I have everything required in my fridge and/or store cupboard.
Zopa Start Processing Early
I check my Zopa account every morning when I get up.
At 6:30 this morning, I had £121.91 on offer, with 27 offers totally £2630 being processed.
Now at 7:30, it’s £221.91 and 26 (£2530)
So someone has already said, that a proposed loan shouldn’t be approved.
I Missed This One
I was searching for innovative financial ideas and found this article by Anthony Hilton in the Standard. He says this about Castle Trust.
But the prize for creativity and innovation this week undoubtedly goes to Castle Trust, with a totally new approach to the housing market. On the one hand, it has created investment funds that will track the Halifax house price index. On the other, it will use these monies raised from investors to offer a new form of mortgage finance whereby it will fund 20% of the cost of a house in return for a share of the profits (or indeed or a portion of the losses) when the house is sold.
I’ve never heard of Castle Trust before, but it does show how people in the City are having ideas, that benefit both investors and borrowers.
Long may they think!
A Poppy Covered Bus
For Poppy Day, TfL have decorated two buses appropriately.
A Poppy Covered Bus
This picture shows one on route 55 at the Angel, Islington.
We Nearly Bought A House On A Film Set
Yesterday, I went to see It Always Rains On Sunday and thought the church featured was very familiar. A bit of research said it was in Hartland Road just north of Camden Town. So I went and had a look this morning.
Looking at old pictures, the spire was larger than in the film. But now it seems to have been completely demolished. It apparently was damaged in the Second World War.
In about 1970, we trried to buy a house in Hartland Road. It was possibly number 7 or 9 and would have cost the grand sum of £8,000. Today it must be worth at least £800,000. It could possibly have been the one used in the film.
In the end we moved to the Barbican.
The church was originally an Anglican one called Holy Trinity. Now it is a Roman Catholic one called Holy Trinity with St. Barnabas
Newmarket Sausage Gets European Protected Status
This has just been announced and about time too.
I actually prefer the Musks brand as does the Queen. It’s just a pity, I find it difficult to get their gluten-free ones in London. Hopefully, now they’ve got the protected status, we might see some promotion by the better food retailers.
I see on the Musks website, that they are offering a gluten-free hamper.
It Always Rains On Sunday
I went to see this film last night at the BFI. It was rather appropriate given last night’s weather.
It was definitely worth seeing and if you get a chance go. I recognised some of the locations and might try to find them this week. The end chase sequence takes place in Temple Mills. This used to be a large marshalling yard, which has gone now and is used to store and service Eurostar and other trains.
In fact, the end chase sequence, is one of the best I’ve seen in years and this is even more astounding considering it was shot on film with large cameras and no or few special effects. And it was all made over sixty-five years ago!
The Department Of Work And Pensions Doesn’t Believe In Speed
I was sixty-five on the sixteenth of August and still haven’t had a sniff of a pension, despite several phone calls and a few letters.
I’m not someone who is in desperate need of the money, but surely if I was, it would be causing me great difficulties.
After all, it’s not if my pension age sneaked up on them and they’ve had my details since I started getting winter fuel payments a couple of years ago.
It’s a complete disgrace!
The Anonymous Widower 