Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Disgraceful
Following my various posts about the Halifax Building Society (see, for example, April 7th 2012 and March 14th 2011), I decided to act. So into Epsom and into our local office, steamed up for action. But no. Oh no sir. We can't talk to you about our insurance policies in this office. Why don't you call the nice insurance people using that phone hanging on the wall? Not best pleased, but I give it a go, listening to dire music for a bit, then a long warning about how the call is being taped then a short chat with a pleasant young call centre operative. Short because in the absence of paper and pencil I was unable to note down some reference number to repeat to the next operative in the chain. We agreed that it might be simpler if I called from home armed with paper and pencil.
Get home and phone the number on the insurance renewal document. As it turned out, this pleasant young operative did not need me to be armed with paper and pencil but instead, with much gushing, suggested knocking back this year's insurance premium to something quite close to last year's. Which is all very well but I think that it is a blot on the landscape of our financial services industry that they make money out of people's laziness in this way. About on a par with the retail banks making their money out of often minor and/or technical infringements of the terms and conditions in the unread small print, rather than simply charging bank charges in the old way. The morality of the jungle rather than that of a civilised society, some 2,000 years after the Son of the Lord showed us the error of our ways.
Then this morning I read that the organisers of the Olympics see fit to invite the ageing 'Sex Pistols' to participate in the musical part of the closing ceremony. Quite extraordinary that we choose to highlight such an outfit in such a context. At least they had the good sense to refuse.
Having got all that off my chest, I can report a red-letter day yesterday, the occasion of our first meal out since being invested with the order of the bag. Started off gently with the 'Shy Horse' in Leatherhead Road (http://www.vintageinn.co.uk/theshyhorsechessington/), where, with the special beef lasagne being off, we both had a chicken, ham and leek pie. Which turned out to be rather good. Lumps of chicken in a white sauce involving leeks, ham and cheese, served in a bowl with a freshly cooked slice of puff pastry draped over the top. Warming the stew and cooking the pastry having been accomplished in a single operation. With the additional property that the stew could easily be rebadged with some Italianate name and served with pasta, or, alternatively, served up as a fricassée with rice. A good way to tart up left over chicken. Rounded out with two goes of cloudy apple juice, costing perhaps half what I would otherwise have spent on a couple of pints of 'Pride'.
Later in the day felt the need for some hearty soup so down Manor Green Road to buy 300g of stewing beef. Chop finely with a large onion and several stalks of celery and simmer for two hours. Add a portion of Sharwoods medium egg noodles for the last 10 minutes. Good gear, with the beef having generated a good quality broth. Knocked off the last pint for breakfast.
Get home and phone the number on the insurance renewal document. As it turned out, this pleasant young operative did not need me to be armed with paper and pencil but instead, with much gushing, suggested knocking back this year's insurance premium to something quite close to last year's. Which is all very well but I think that it is a blot on the landscape of our financial services industry that they make money out of people's laziness in this way. About on a par with the retail banks making their money out of often minor and/or technical infringements of the terms and conditions in the unread small print, rather than simply charging bank charges in the old way. The morality of the jungle rather than that of a civilised society, some 2,000 years after the Son of the Lord showed us the error of our ways.
Then this morning I read that the organisers of the Olympics see fit to invite the ageing 'Sex Pistols' to participate in the musical part of the closing ceremony. Quite extraordinary that we choose to highlight such an outfit in such a context. At least they had the good sense to refuse.
Having got all that off my chest, I can report a red-letter day yesterday, the occasion of our first meal out since being invested with the order of the bag. Started off gently with the 'Shy Horse' in Leatherhead Road (http://www.vintageinn.co.uk/theshyhorsechessington/), where, with the special beef lasagne being off, we both had a chicken, ham and leek pie. Which turned out to be rather good. Lumps of chicken in a white sauce involving leeks, ham and cheese, served in a bowl with a freshly cooked slice of puff pastry draped over the top. Warming the stew and cooking the pastry having been accomplished in a single operation. With the additional property that the stew could easily be rebadged with some Italianate name and served with pasta, or, alternatively, served up as a fricassée with rice. A good way to tart up left over chicken. Rounded out with two goes of cloudy apple juice, costing perhaps half what I would otherwise have spent on a couple of pints of 'Pride'.
Later in the day felt the need for some hearty soup so down Manor Green Road to buy 300g of stewing beef. Chop finely with a large onion and several stalks of celery and simmer for two hours. Add a portion of Sharwoods medium egg noodles for the last 10 minutes. Good gear, with the beef having generated a good quality broth. Knocked off the last pint for breakfast.
# posted by Jim @ 4:12 AM 
