Author Archives: Chris

A trip to the dentist

Some years ago I paid a visit to the dentist and was treated to what was almost like a scene from Fawlty Towers. I wrote and complained and was gratified to receive a phone call very early the next day  from the person at the center of the debacle. A gracious apology was delivered and that person […]

What goes around comes around – and around again

The Guardian reported on the 17th January 2013 that English National Opera had made a loss of £2.2 million for the financial year 2011/2012. Opera is an expensive form of music to put on and it would be easy to snipe away about under represented musics at the expense of opera. How ever there are musicians livelihoods at stake and the financial loss […]

Gloria de Piero MP undertook ad hoc research to find out why voters dislike politicians – “Seek, and ye shall find”

An interesting article regarding Gloria de Piero’s research into why people supposedly “hate” politicians http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/dec/31/labour-mp-gloria-de-piero#start-of-comments People’s perception of MPs are influenced by a number of factors. Firstly there is the problem with many of today’s politicians on every side of the House who do not have a discernible ”hinterland”; as Kitty Muggeridge said of David Frost, they have risen […]

Brian Hennessy – guest contributor

For many years I served as a trustee of the Welsh Jazz Society.  Brian Hennessy was the Managing Director until the Arts Council of Wales decided to pull the plug – see other posts on this topic and more to follow. Brian has a marvelously well developed sense of humour and considerable business nous and expertise. This letter is Brian’s complaint to […]

Sir Cecil Anderson – guest contributor

I welcome to this site Sir Cecil Anderson, bon viveur, raconteur,wit, soldier,statesman, adventurer.Recently he has had some dealings with emails from abroad whose sole purpose is to dupe the recipient out of a few bob. “May I first express my delight to learn that a gentleman of the cloth and of integrity now has an executive role in the administration of an International Bank……….” To […]

  Welsh Jazz Society complaint upheld – Arts Council of Wales issues an apology

WELCOME TO JAZZ IN Welsh Jazz Society complaint upheld Arts Council of Wales issues an apology As a result of the decision by the Arts Council of Wales to cease funding the Welsh Jazz Society from July 2008, the Society submitted a formal complaint to the Public Services Ombudsman (under Section 21 of the Public […]

The banks are at it again

On the 9th October 2012 in the Observer there was an excellent article by Lucy Rock called “Generation Rent:why millions are locked out of owning their own homes”. Young people cannot get mortgages yet people can easily get buy to let mortgages.  Young people on low incomes , students with student loans to pay off can whistle down the wind.Meanwhile people with a bit of disposable income can buy a […]

BBC recruitment procedures – state of the art – 100 years ago

Any one witnessing the recruitment of the Director General at the BBC would have thought the pantomime season had started earlier than usual. When George Entwistle was appointed at a annual salary of  £450,000, Lord Patten said “George is a creative leader for a creative organisation”. Alas events  the grave and the past were his undoing , that, […]

Mickey Mouse leads a cast of thousands at Santander

Further to my post in August regarding Santander. I mentioned that I had emailed Lord Burns the Chair of Santander at the House of Lords. Needless to say I received no reply.  The end result was that we moved to another bank.From the 3rd of October Santander hiked their  Standard Variable Rate to 4.74%. The Bank of England […]

Continuing Professional Development for Accountants – could be a nice little earner

In 2011 my accountants informed me that his professional body had visited his premises and rattled through my accounts picking up on one or two items. There was talk that the fee charged may have to be increased to pay for the bit of extra work. I pointed out to him that I should not be paying for his […]