Michael Jackson: 1958-2009

Wow. Michael Jackson has died. He was only 50.

Shocked.

RIP MJ.

“Massive Layoffs as Gloom Deepens”

Wow. 70,000 jobs go in one day.

We’re Now Officially in a Recession

It’s official: the UK is in the grip of a recession for the first time since the 1990s.

It’s a formality, of course — we all knew it was coming. But now that UK GDP has shrunk for two consecutive quarters it’s officially allowed to be called ‘recession’.

Sterling is at a 24-year low against the dollar — £1 is now worth $1.355. Last time we visited Chicago (last November) £1 got you around $2.

Keywords abound: grim, weak, depression, severe, deteriorating, decline, slumped, losing confidence, shrink…

Despite the government injecting £37bn into the banks they’re still not lending and still not passing on the massive rate cut to borrowers — the cheapest mortgage rate from Nationwide, for example, is 4.00%.

The BoE base rate is currently 1.5%.

However they are passing it onto savers — a regular day-to-day savings account from Nationwide currently offers around 2.00% interest.

Remember When VAT Was 17.5%?

Yesterday Darling (insert Blackadder gag here) reduced tax on purchases to 15% from 17.5% in an attempt to stimulate the economy.

I wouldn’t normally post about such things but there have been some amusing reactions — my favourite quote is that it amounts to nothing more than ‘vote manure’ — brilliant!

VW Polo GTi for Sale

Seeing as we’re relocating to Chicago, we’re relucantly parting with our pride and joy.

Here are the vitals:

• VW Polo GTi
• 1600 engine
• 125bhp
• Black metallic paint
• 93,000 genuine miles
• Full service history
• Comes with original VW roofrack & all fixings

If you’re interested, please do drop us a line. Alternatively you can make an offer via eBay or view the car on Auto Trader (coming soon).

UPDATE: She’s gone…sniff…be well, car, be well.

Note to Self

When writing, designing, printing and trimming 40+ wedding invitations during your one weekend ‘off’, make sure you check the time you’ve asked people to arrive.

If the ceremony starts at 12.30pm, do not put ‘from 12.30pm’. People will inevitably arrive late.

Put ‘at 12.30pm’.

And reprint. Retrim.

And curse. 

The Forgotten Pollutant

Please, please, please — stop playing the same Christmas music in shops & malls every year.

Come on people. I don’t care if I never hear “It’s Christmas” again.

Avoid Bank Robbery

Stephen Hone was charged £64 by Abbey for two penalty charges apparently incurred on his account.

Stephen telephoned Abbey asking for the money back, which they refused. So he took them to court and they settled shortly afterwards, refunding Stephen £840.

This BBC story has made me think of the charges I’ve incurred over the years and whether they’re really representative of the administrative costs involved at the bank.

I can’t see why Lloyds TSB need £30 to send me a letter telling me I’m over my overdraft limit, for example.

Here is a link to a PDF letter template you can send to your bank demanding they refund all charges from the past 6 years, unless they can prove to you that the cost of administrating your account reflects the charges made. Make sure you read how to claim back penalty charges too.

Don’t Lose Your Screws

Having just replaced the shower in our bathroom (in under an hour, a record for DIY by me) I thought I’d share a bit of wisdom.

If you’re working over the bath (the plug end) and you unscrew a screw from the bottom of your shower, make sure you’ve got the plug in. It’ll mean those tiny screws won’t roll down the drain should you drop them as they come out of their holes.