Car Insurance To Be Investigated
Does it bother me? Of course not! It wouldn’t have bothered me, if I had a car, as I didn’t ever make due to my own driving. It’s all here on the BBC.
But then the real problem about car insurance, is all the small time racketeers like accident claims solicitors, car repairers and other crooks, who ambulance chase any accident or incident.
It should be made a criminal offence to pay commission to any of these leeches.
Wasting The European Court’s Time
The European Court is going to rule today on whether Christians were discriminated in the work-place. It’s here on the BBC. They’ve also wasted an hour on this morning’s phone-in on the subject.
Let’s face it, it’s easier to do this than actually work for a living.
I suspect though that if she exists, God takes a very dim view of all this legal work.
Storm Over A Sperm Donation
This article in the Daily Mail reminds me of one of C’s cases.
She was doing the divorce of a rather nice man, whose ex-wife was an absolute meadow-lady. A meadow-lady was a term from my mother-in-law, which should be self-explanatory.
The ex-wife was ranting and raving about what happened to her ex-husband’s redundancy. So she asked her client and he said that he’d spent it on a reverse-vasectomy. He’d originally had the operation on his wife’s orders, as she didn’t want any kids.
His new wife, who like her husband was rather sensible was now pregnant and in court, you’d have needed a chain saw to cut the atmosphere.
It was certainly a story that C repeated many times.
Are Booze Cruises On The Way Back?
With Scotland likely to make it more difficult for Scottish residents to buy booze, this article indicates that booze cruises might be on their way back.
All it proves is that Newton was right.
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
He may have been talking about mechanics and his laws of motion, but it also applies to the rules imposed by governments.
Regular Charity Donation
There are some charities I support and others I don’t. For instance as someone who has lost his wife and son to cancer, anything with cancer or loss in it, gets my consideration. On the other hand charities who use chuggers don’t. You will see from the links on the blog, a couple of the charities that I currently support.
So I had this idea to set up a suitable payment for all of these and other charities every year on my birthday, which just happens to be in a few days time. The advantage as I see it, is that because of the payment date they will be easy to find, modify and if necessary remove.
I have chosen to do it on my birthday, as that is a good psychological day for me. I suspect it is for others too! There is also this feeling that you’ve made another year, so perhaps these payments are your present to say thanks for still being here.
I will of course know that on my birthday, I better have a certain amount in my bank account. But then a reminder on my computer for say the first of August every year, would cure that.
I also feel that say £50 each year for ten years is probably better than £500 one year and then a whole lot of aggro as the charity tries to get more.
When in the future I pop my clogs, it will also be easy for my executors to sort out my charity payments. Especially if you put a little note in your will, explaining the payments. I think a good solicitor could write a nice clause for a will saying that some of the estate would be distributed to various charities in proportion to the birthday standing orders.
Since I wrote this piece originally, I’ve set up two of these charity payments.
One was for a small charity and all I needed was their bank account number and bank sort code.
For a national charity, I actually chose them from a list on Nationwide’s on-line computer system.
My only worry is that the charities get the Gift Aid right!
But let’s face it, bankers have had a lot of bad publicity lately and perhaps putting a Gift Aid check box, when you choose a charity from their list can’t be the world’s most difficult programming task.
I would welcome the views of anybody involved in charity fund raising.
What Do You Do If Your Bank Is Taken Over?
Now that the Co-operative Bank is going to take over 632 branches from Lloyds TSB as is reported here, the question is what do you do?
If I apply my late friend David’s rules, there isn’t too many problems.
The Co-Operative Bank is owned by its members and domiciled in the UK.
The Co-Operative Bank is now probably of a size not to worry David, about the bank ending up being controlled by a forcefull and misdirected individual.
I’m not sure where they do their processing, but are they immune from an RBS/NatWorst problem?
On the other hand, just as some people feel that too many banks are close to the Tories, some might not like the fact that the Co-Operative Bank could be too close to the Labour party.
In fact that last point might make lots of customers go elsewhere, if they were to be transferred without asking their view. It’s like ordering a new Ford and getting a Vauxhall delivered.
And that is the heart of the matter. Can your bank account be transferred from one bank to another without your approval?
It strikes me, that this could be another part of banking, with rich pickings for lawyers.
But let’s face it most banks are the same to the general public. All they do is pay bills from on-line accounts. I bank with Nationwide, and I haven’t been into the bank for a banking purpose since probably November last year and that was to pay in a cheque for a few pounds. I do go into their branches sometimes to use a cash machine, as they often have comfortable chairs, where I can sit down to organise where I put my money.
Now here’s an idea!
Let’s put cash machines into coffee shops like Starbucks or Costa. Abbey National did have some Costa branches in their foyers, but then along came Santander and stopped it.
It would be interesting to see where I get my money out of cash machines. I’ve used these a couple of times in the last few weeks.
- Barclays by the bus stop at Islington Green, where I sometimes get off the bus.
- Nationwide next to Starbucks in Upper Street.
- Lloyds by the bus stop at the Angel, where I get the bus to come home.
- One of the machines in the subway at Kings Cross station.
So no real pattern there except that all these machines are of course free! I would never use me a cash machine that charges me for the privilege of accessing my own money.
Are Rangers Really Going To Play In Division 3?
This post on the BBC web site leaves a lot of holes to be exploited and arguments to be settled.
There’s going to be a lot of money kilted by lawyers.
Somebody Has to Come Into the Nursery to Make Some Rules
This was said by Lord Justice Thorpe, when he trying to sort out a divorce between a warring husband and wife.
C always despaired that divorces like this that ended up in the papers with large fees all round never came her way. I think in some ways, when they first met her, she gave it to them straight and they decided that hatchet burying was the best thing to do.
Brian Cox on Libel Reform
Brian Cox, the particle physicist or celebrity scientist, depending on your view has a piece published in today’s Evening Standard about libel law reform in the UK.
It is a well-written piece that deserves to be read. As does Libel Law Reform’s web site.
Beware The Essex Girl
This story in the Daily Mail, shows that not all Essex Girls live up to their stereotype of being thick and have liking for Ford Capris, sex, fake tan, silicon breast implants, booze and white stilettos in no particular order.
Certainly, Georgina Blackwell doesn’t follow the stereotype. although, she is trained as a beautician.
I remember in the early days of BBC Breakfast television, they had a female legal expert, with long bleached blonde hair, a job at one of the job law firms, a penchant for very short skirts and an accent forged in Dagenham.
I think she was too much for Northern inferiorities, so she was quietly dropped.
The Anonymous Widower 