Friday 7 January 2011

This Old House

A long time ago in a village not so far away….

It is a period of growth and regeneration. In a bid for a better life people are moving from the cities to the countryside where new housing developments are springing up all the time. Each house is different, gardens are big and garages house not only a car but also work benches and cupboards, with still enough room to open the car door.

My family are already living in the village. With three children, two dogs and another baby on the way, the search is on for a bigger house.

Enquiries with a local developer yield news of a new yet to be announced housing development. An old house will be demolished and a development of around 40 detached houses will be built on the plot of land belonging to the old house.

Old House From Road

Seizing the opportunity a prime plot is secured and appropriate modifications to plans made. The new house will occupy the same location as the old house. Some of the existing old gardens walls will be retained along with a large walnut tree.

Old House

Soon the past is swept away to make way for the future. This new house is constructed and my family move in the following Christmas. The new baby, my sister, is born in the April and I follow two years later, we are both born in the new family home.


Foundations

I remember throughout my childhood the story of our house being told. The one part that stuck in my mind was the picture of the old house that stood before. For all these years the pictures have remained hidden, locked away in a “safe” place.

Looking through some old slides I came across my first glimpse of the old house and now more than ever I wish we could have moved in there instead. Don’t get me wrong, our family home holds many good memories, but it still saddens me that a house such as that should be demolished.

Saturday 1 January 2011

Banking on the Future

I was in my bank the other day paying a cheque in. I rarely gets cheques so actually being in my bank was quite a novelty.  The woman at the counter took this opportunity to tell me about all their products that would enrich my life. Soon I was battling for my freedom and the easiest way out was for me to agree to go in for a review. You could see the frustration on her face as I explained I could only manage Saturdays and would not be free for several weeks. But, eventually we had a “date”.

Looking back I could have easily refused but but felt agreeing to the meeting could actually be quite entertaining.

One reason I may have been “assaulted” was that I had ticked a box once stating that I did NOT want to receive sales/marketing/product information through any channel, e-mail, phone or post.

Amusingly, they once contacted me by letter explaining that this was the situation and that if I would just “tick here” they could better advise me, for I had surely made a mistake. I think not!

My position with banks these days is: I wouldn’t trust them as far as I could throw them.

This “review” they have booked me in for WILL be a sales presentation. Facts will be presented to me that will show that “buying” their products will benefit me. My doubts will be countered with logical arguments and where I can demonstrate other peoples products being more competitive they will probably be able to do me a “deal”.

I hope I am being cynical and will be proved wrong.

Through personal experience and media coverage (we can trust the media, can’t we?) my opinion of banks is lower than ever. The simple fact is that they are a business, responsible to shareholders, who want to make a profit, a fact I never forget. I always question their motives.

Any financial decisions I make will be made by me using information from more than one source, looking at products from many providers, ignoring information from people/companies giving me advice I haven’t asked for. When I ask for advice it will be independent.

Of course, this assumes that I will not cancel the appointment. Smile