Oh and there is a clearly separated budget for long term investment and day to day expenses - that's something we really, really could do with here.
If the Conservatives talked right and governed left, Mamdami shows signs of doing the opposite.
His no nonsense focus on basic bread and butter issues is quite refreshing and contrasts strongly with everyone who's tried to emulate his style so far.
I've been into a bank branch maybe twice since covid. Banks just don't want to encourage people or businesses to use them, other than depositing cash, there's little need for them now.
If you need a loan, branch staff will help you fill in a form or give you the details of how to apply, but won't be able to process it themselves.
Loss of a bank branch is a big thing in rural areas, particularly for elderly users. I feel sorry for them, its just a society change we need to get used to. Also feel sorry for small business who incur large percentage processing fees for small value transactions. The upside should be to make working with card payments much easier and cheaper than depositing cash in a bank several times a week
I think cash will still be around for a while yet but cheques will disappear in a few years time, the decline in use is more than 15% year on year
Banks no longer accept cash. They direct you to the Post Office which still accepts it.
Not true. All the major high street banks accept cash deposits as a matter of policy.
Interesting. My HSBC doesn't having taken away the tellers but it seems you can deposit cash in the ATM. Not much help to cash businesses though.
I would suggest it is almost certain (since they are generally all built on the same model) that your HSBC, like the one in Newark, has an ATM for taking cash deposits. The move away froim tellers is unrelated to the move away from cash. It is just part as the longterm trend towards more automation, fewer staff and poorer customer service.
Family member worked for a multi-site (50-60) leisure related company which took in millions in cash at the bars, restaurants and events. It cost a lot to have G4 collect, process and insure the collections. During Covid when the takings dropped, they cancelled the G4 contract and have been cashless since. Covid has had a transforming effect for cash businesses both good and bad.
DLS method is broken, England have won by 11 runs under DLS having lost four wickets in their chase.
9 runs off 12 balls with 6 wickets remaining?
Sounds right that it was a pretty clear victory.
No doubt England would have won, but they won by 11 runs.....when needing 9.....
Yeah, sounds about right.
We had 2 overs left to get 9 runs and were scorimg at over 8 an over.
Given teams tend to score more in final couple of overs the idea we would as a par score get about 20 more in those 2 overs (so are 11 ahead of the 9 we would need) seems about right.
The allegations seems to be that Starmer and Labour are controlled by Morgan McSweeney and a right wing project, Labour Together, backed by hedge funds.
I've been into a bank branch maybe twice since covid. Banks just don't want to encourage people or businesses to use them, other than depositing cash, there's little need for them now.
If you need a loan, branch staff will help you fill in a form or give you the details of how to apply, but won't be able to process it themselves.
Loss of a bank branch is a big thing in rural areas, particularly for elderly users. I feel sorry for them, its just a society change we need to get used to. Also feel sorry for small business who incur large percentage processing fees for small value transactions. The upside should be to make working with card payments much easier and cheaper than depositing cash in a bank several times a week
I think cash will still be around for a while yet but cheques will disappear in a few years time, the decline in use is more than 15% year on year
Banks no longer accept cash. They direct you to the Post Office which still accepts it.
My problem is cheques. I am treasurer of our Residents Association (freeholder) and when I took on the role I stipulated that we had dual-signature cheques, so I could not get money out on my own.
I can never scan them in on my phone. I think this is because they are large format dual-signature cheques. I just scanned a cheque my mum sent me for my birthday and it scanned straight off.
In practice, I pay suppliers myself electronically and claim the money back. I would be happy to move to an account where we could pay electronically but hardly anyone offers dual mandate as a standard option. And opening a new account is near impossible due to money laundering regulations.
My nearest branch is now 4 miles away, at least it is somewhere I visit fairly often or pass through on the train and could break my journey. I used to be able to pay in at the Post Office but they ended that arrangement in December just before the local branch closed.
I've been into a bank branch maybe twice since covid. Banks just don't want to encourage people or businesses to use them, other than depositing cash, there's little need for them now.
If you need a loan, branch staff will help you fill in a form or give you the details of how to apply, but won't be able to process it themselves.
Loss of a bank branch is a big thing in rural areas, particularly for elderly users. I feel sorry for them, its just a society change we need to get used to. Also feel sorry for small business who incur large percentage processing fees for small value transactions. The upside should be to make working with card payments much easier and cheaper than depositing cash in a bank several times a week
I think cash will still be around for a while yet but cheques will disappear in a few years time, the decline in use is more than 15% year on year
Banks no longer accept cash. They direct you to the Post Office which still accepts it.
My problem is cheques. I am treasurer of our Residents Association (freeholder) and when I took on the role I stipulated that we had dual-signature cheques, so I could not get money out on my own.
I can never scan them in on my phone. I think this is because they are large format dual-signature cheques. I just scanned a cheque my mum sent me for my birthday and it scanned straight off.
In practice, I pay suppliers myself electronically and claim the money back. I would be happy to move to an account where we could pay electronically but hardly anyone offers dual mandate as a standard option. And opening a new account is near impossible due to money laundering regulations.
My nearest branch is now 4 miles away, at least it is somewhere I visit fairly often or pass through on the train and could break my journey. I used to be able to pay in at the Post Office but they ended that arrangement in December just before the local branch closed.
The people best placed to bypass the money laundering regulations and actually do things like open a bank account and heaven forfend, move and spend money, are the launderers themselves with their private banks and highly paid advisers. It is all a sham, that is restrictive for Joe and Jane Average.
The emails show that at one stage Jeffrey Epstein traded on his friendship with Lord Mandelson to promise a friend a visit to No 10 Downing Street and the House of Lords.
He wrote to Glenn Dubin, a billionaire hedge fund manager, in July 2009: “I will organize a trip to Number !O , and the house of Lords with Peter Mandelson for you guys [sic].”
Michael Crick @MichaelLCrick · 40m Wednesday's controversial poll of 143 Gorton & Denton voters by pollsters FindOutNow was commissioned by a firm called Betterworld Ltd run by wealthy Labour & IPPR donor Henry Tinsley who is co-founder of 38 Degrees & runs Labour Campaign for Human Rights.
Michael Crick @MichaelLCrick · 27m The poll had Reform on 36%, Labour on 33%, and the Greens well behind both on 21%, beliw experts' expectations. Most pollsters say the 143 sample was far too small. Find Out Now agree but say they didn't publish the poll & it must have been the client who did so.
Oh and there is a clearly separated budget for long term investment and day to day expenses - that's something we really, really could do with here.
If the Conservatives talked right and governed left, Mamdami shows signs of doing the opposite.
His no nonsense focus on basic bread and butter issues is quite refreshing and contrasts strongly with everyone who's tried to emulate his style so far.
Yes, Polanski's attempts seem particularly transparent, in my opinion. Personally, I think many politicians, regardless of party or ideological affiliation could learn a lot from Mamdami. A true political talent, at least this far.
OpenAI have released a free competitor to Overleaf, a collabrative Latex editor...to which 99% of people go what is Overleaf, what is Latex. Latex, it is a psuedo programming language that all scientific papers are written in because of its ability to handle things like typesetting complex maths. What are OpenAI playing at. A total waste of resources to develop a product to put a very niche company out of business. Bizarre.
Latex? My racing system relies on troff. It never finds enough winners to justify updating to latex.
OpenAI have released a free competitor to Overleaf, a collabrative Latex editor...to which 99% of people go what is Overleaf, what is Latex. Latex, it is a psuedo programming language that all scientific papers are written in because of its ability to handle things like typesetting complex maths. What are OpenAI playing at. A total waste of resources to develop a product to put a very niche company out of business. Bizarre.
Latex? My racing system relies on troff. It never finds enough winners to justify updating to latex.
Green and Reform neck and neck in BF bet market. 2.3
Whats labour ?
Used to be one of the two largest political parties in the UK, but the solutions it offered could not work in a multipolar world with an aging population, massive debt and weak national adherence. It retreated into technocratic managerialism and collapsed in the 2030s when parties more suited to the times consolidated their grip.
"Universal basic income could be used to soften hit from AI job losses in UK, minister says Lord Stockwood says people in government ‘definitely’ talking about idea as technology disrupts industries"
The allegations seems to be that Starmer and Labour are controlled by Morgan McSweeney and a right wing project, Labour Together, backed by hedge funds.
The curious thing about the Left Entryists types to Labour is they are obsessed with Right Entryists.
The emails show that at one stage Jeffrey Epstein traded on his friendship with Lord Mandelson to promise a friend a visit to No 10 Downing Street and the House of Lords.
He wrote to Glenn Dubin, a billionaire hedge fund manager, in July 2009: “I will organize a trip to Number !O , and the house of Lords with Peter Mandelson for you guys [sic].”
And in another email, he seems to have given Lord Mandlebrot’s SO £10K….
The emails show that at one stage Jeffrey Epstein traded on his friendship with Lord Mandelson to promise a friend a visit to No 10 Downing Street and the House of Lords.
He wrote to Glenn Dubin, a billionaire hedge fund manager, in July 2009: “I will organize a trip to Number !O , and the house of Lords with Peter Mandelson for you guys [sic].”
And in another email, he seems to have given Lord Mandlebrot’s SO £10K….
The DOJ are now rapidly scrubbing Trump entries from the Epstein files as journalists find them
It's perverse but being already known as a sleazeball gives Trump a buffer against Epstein revelations. Amongst the possible ways he topples I don't have this high on the list.
I've been into a bank branch maybe twice since covid. Banks just don't want to encourage people or businesses to use them, other than depositing cash, there's little need for them now.
If you need a loan, branch staff will help you fill in a form or give you the details of how to apply, but won't be able to process it themselves.
Loss of a bank branch is a big thing in rural areas, particularly for elderly users. I feel sorry for them, its just a society change we need to get used to. Also feel sorry for small business who incur large percentage processing fees for small value transactions. The upside should be to make working with card payments much easier and cheaper than depositing cash in a bank several times a week
I think cash will still be around for a while yet but cheques will disappear in a few years time, the decline in use is more than 15% year on year
Banks no longer accept cash. They direct you to the Post Office which still accepts it.
My problem is cheques. I am treasurer of our Residents Association (freeholder) and when I took on the role I stipulated that we had dual-signature cheques, so I could not get money out on my own.
I can never scan them in on my phone. I think this is because they are large format dual-signature cheques. I just scanned a cheque my mum sent me for my birthday and it scanned straight off.
In practice, I pay suppliers myself electronically and claim the money back. I would be happy to move to an account where we could pay electronically but hardly anyone offers dual mandate as a standard option. And opening a new account is near impossible due to money laundering regulations.
My nearest branch is now 4 miles away, at least it is somewhere I visit fairly often or pass through on the train and could break my journey. I used to be able to pay in at the Post Office but they ended that arrangement in December just before the local branch closed.
I am getting a small VAT refund every three months from HMRC (a few hundred pounds each time as most of my work is non VATable but I have a few small overheads). I have repeatedly given HMRC my bank details - at their request - so they can pay the refund directly into my business bank account but every 3 months UI get a cheque from them instead. It is a real pain and no matter how ofetn I try to get them to do a direct transfer, and no mater tim sthey say they will, I always end up getting a cheque.
Jeffrey Epstein arranged for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to have dinner with a 26-year-old Russian woman in 2010
Pizza Express?
It's difficult to get excied about any of these Andrew stories. I can't see what he's supposed to have done. I have worked with two of his ex'es and both are far more interesting than any of those being linked to him. Also in my experience when it comes to male celebs they are far more chased than chasing and I'm sure he would rate very highly on the desirability pecking order.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
The emails show that at one stage Jeffrey Epstein traded on his friendship with Lord Mandelson to promise a friend a visit to No 10 Downing Street and the House of Lords.
He wrote to Glenn Dubin, a billionaire hedge fund manager, in July 2009: “I will organize a trip to Number !O , and the house of Lords with Peter Mandelson for you guys [sic].”
And in another email, he seems to have given Lord Mandlebrot’s SO £10K….
Jeffrey Epstein arranged for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to have dinner with a 26-year-old Russian woman in 2010
Pizza Express?
It's difficult to get excied about any of these Andrew stories. I can't see what he's supposed to have done. I have worked with two of his ex'es and both are far more interesting than any of those being linked to him. Also in my experience when it comes to male celebs they are far more chased than chasing and I'm sure he would rate very highly on the desirability pecking order.
Seems like you are excusing reprehensible behaviour
I would suggest you read and listen to tonight's revelation on the disgraced Andrew and reconsider
One can put the details together reasonably easily but hey.
I work for a bank that closed a lot of branches. Each time there was a big wave of closures they told us the same thing, no-one wants to use them any more, mobile banking, blah blah footfall down blah, and essentially the more branches they closed then the further people had to travel to a branch anyway so the more likely they were to stop using the branch network so it was a feedback loop.
Our bank was bought over by a big building society. Said building society has exactly the opposite philosophy to the extent of guaranteeing branches staying open, for a few years at least, and extending that guarantee to the branches of the bank it has bought.
So for me as an employee it's been interesting to watch the 180-degree total volte-face in attitude towards celebrating and promoting the branch network because the customers want and need it instead of saying it needs hacked and slashed because the customers don't want and need it.
Some of it can probably be put down to shareholders vs. mutual but I assume some of it simply has to be an entirely different view on what customers want.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
They're around 30% in midterm. It's not exactly stellar. It's more than the 22% who have a favourable view of Trump, but I'd imagine most who have a favourable view of him are backing Reform.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
Also holding up despite the number of useless Tory retread failures who have jumped on board in last week or two.
But again 90% of the public will have no idea what I am talking about
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
Yes. Plus Labour & the Conservatives have not recovered.
One can put the details together reasonably easily but hey.
I work for a bank that closed a lot of branches. Each time there was a big wave of closures they told us the same thing, no-one wants to use them any more, mobile banking, blah blah footfall down blah, and essentially the more branches they closed then the further people had to travel to a branch anyway so the more likely they were to stop using the branch network so it was a feedback loop.
Our bank was bought over by a big building society. Said building society has exactly the opposite philosophy to the extent of guaranteeing branches staying open, for a few years at least, and extending that guarantee to the branches of the bank it has bought.
So for me as an employee it's been interesting to watch the 180-degree total volte-face in attitude towards celebrating and promoting the branch network because the customers want and need it instead of saying it needs hacked and slashed because the customers don't want and need it.
Some of it can probably be put down to shareholders vs. mutual but I assume some of it simply has to be an entirely different view on what customers want.
Customers want all sorts of things from their banks. The banks have fallen short. They have some idea that the slightly less of a rip-off is what sells.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
Why ?
I’m not.
People here follow it and are engaged by it.
I doubt many others are. The TV news barely covers it.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
Probably more interested in Brooklyn Beckham. ITV even has a half hour documentary on it last night !!
Green and Reform neck and neck in BF bet market. 2.3
Whats labour ?
6.6
Green now a tad ahead of Reform - now favourites (just)
Thank you
I hope Goodwin's endorsement by Tommy Robinson really hurts him and Farage and his re-treads
A realistic hope to have. If we've become a country where a Tommy Robinson endorsement is a help to electoral prospects that really would be 'Broken Britain'.
Jeffrey Epstein arranged for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to have dinner with a 26-year-old Russian woman in 2010
Pizza Express?
It's difficult to get excied about any of these Andrew stories. I can't see what he's supposed to have done. I have worked with two of his ex'es and both are far more interesting than any of those being linked to him. Also in my experience when it comes to male celebs they are far more chased than chasing and I'm sure he would rate very highly on the desirability pecking order.
Seems like you are excusing reprehensible behaviour
I would suggest you read and listen to tonight's revelation on the disgraced Andrew and reconsider
I am really sorry for his daughters in all this
Then you can answer my question. Have you any idea how many times he would have been propositioned on any given evening in any club you care to mention?
One can put the details together reasonably easily but hey.
I work for a bank that closed a lot of branches. Each time there was a big wave of closures they told us the same thing, no-one wants to use them any more, mobile banking, blah blah footfall down blah, and essentially the more branches they closed then the further people had to travel to a branch anyway so the more likely they were to stop using the branch network so it was a feedback loop.
Our bank was bought over by a big building society. Said building society has exactly the opposite philosophy to the extent of guaranteeing branches staying open, for a few years at least, and extending that guarantee to the branches of the bank it has bought.
So for me as an employee it's been interesting to watch the 180-degree total volte-face in attitude towards celebrating and promoting the branch network because the customers want and need it instead of saying it needs hacked and slashed because the customers don't want and need it.
Some of it can probably be put down to shareholders vs. mutual but I assume some of it simply has to be an entirely different view on what customers want.
It is also a paradox but both can be entirely rational and correct.
The banks are probably right that (most) customers don't want branches and that with there being multiple banks and associated branches that cutting them bank is rational.
OTOH the building society has probably rightly spotted an opportunity in going against the trend and thus seeking to attract those (fewer) customers that do want branches.
Epstein says Bill Gates caught STI from ‘Russian girls’
Bill Gates slept with Russian girls and caught a sexually transmitted infection, Jeffrey Epstein claimed in emails.
In emails he sent to himself in July 2013, the disgraced financier lashed out at the founder of Microsoft for ending their friendship.
“TO add insult to the injury you them (sic) implore me to please delete the emails regarding your std,” he said, referring to a sexually transmitted disease, also known as an STI.
Epstein then claimed that Gates asked for antibiotics to slip to his then-wife Melinda. “Your request that I provide you antibiotics that you can surreptitiously give to Melinda and the description of your penis.”
I had occasion to go into a branch of Nationwide last week. It was absolutely brilliant. A much more stress free way to bank. And then into Barclays. Far more inconvenient because they've close most branches - and at my first attempt (Manchester Market Street) it turned out they don't have cashiers any more. What goes on there then? It was far from clear. But they directed me round to the branch on Mosley Street which was fine, though a bit of a queue. Seriously considering changing most of my banking to Nationwide now based on that experience. 98% of banking I can do online. But I appreciate having humans there for the other 2%.
I'm in Nationwide. They are great. And they give me £100 a year as well.
Unfortunately, the £100 is not supplied in a brown envelope of crisp tenners, or you could use it when submitting a planning application (allegedly).
One can put the details together reasonably easily but hey.
I work for a bank that closed a lot of branches. Each time there was a big wave of closures they told us the same thing, no-one wants to use them any more, mobile banking, blah blah footfall down blah, and essentially the more branches they closed then the further people had to travel to a branch anyway so the more likely they were to stop using the branch network so it was a feedback loop.
Our bank was bought over by a big building society. Said building society has exactly the opposite philosophy to the extent of guaranteeing branches staying open, for a few years at least, and extending that guarantee to the branches of the bank it has bought.
So for me as an employee it's been interesting to watch the 180-degree total volte-face in attitude towards celebrating and promoting the branch network because the customers want and need it instead of saying it needs hacked and slashed because the customers don't want and need it.
Some of it can probably be put down to shareholders vs. mutual but I assume some of it simply has to be an entirely different view on what customers want.
It is also a paradox but both can be entirely rational and correct.
The banks are probably right that (most) customers don't want branches and that with there being multiple banks and associated branches that cutting them bank is rational.
OTOH the building society has probably rightly spotted an opportunity in going against the trend and thus seeking to attract those (fewer) customers that do want branches.
Alternatively- pretty much everyone wants bank branches and not just for the idea... there are a handful of transactions which everyone wants to do face-to-face. However, the profits to be made from that are less than the profits to be made by cutting branch networks even if it mildly annoys most customers.
It's like neighbourhood shops, or pubs. The threshold isn't between want and don't want, it's between lukewarm wanting and wanting intensely. And that's a much tougher criterion.
Jeffrey Epstein arranged for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to have dinner with a 26-year-old Russian woman in 2010
Pizza Express?
It's difficult to get excied about any of these Andrew stories. I can't see what he's supposed to have done. I have worked with two of his ex'es and both are far more interesting than any of those being linked to him. Also in my experience when it comes to male celebs they are far more chased than chasing and I'm sure he would rate very highly on the desirability pecking order.
Seems like you are excusing reprehensible behaviour
I would suggest you read and listen to tonight's revelation on the disgraced Andrew and reconsider
I am really sorry for his daughters in all this
Then you can answer my question. Have you any idea how many times he would have been propositioned on any given evening in any club you care to mention?
Jeffrey Epstein arranged for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to have dinner with a 26-year-old Russian woman in 2010
Pizza Express?
It's difficult to get excied about any of these Andrew stories. I can't see what he's supposed to have done. I have worked with two of his ex'es and both are far more interesting than any of those being linked to him. Also in my experience when it comes to male celebs they are far more chased than chasing and I'm sure he would rate very highly on the desirability pecking order.
You would need to be pretty dire and desperate to be chasing that donkey,
I have a lecture where I teach the students about statistical process control. I do an exercise where I get the class flipping coins in order to generate a random number. When I developed this exercise, it worked fine. When I did it this week, I had to take a big handful of coppers in with me because none of the students have coins. Well, a few did, but only the mature students!
Yeah people have moved on. I never carry any.
It is amusing how cultural changes can affect lessons or lectures.
I spoke to a Maths teacher who said that when they started teaching probability they would regularly use concepts like dice and a deck of cards for questions, but that now they never use cards as an example any more.
So few kids play with cards nowadays that knowledge of eg how many cards are in a deck, or the suits, or even the numbers and face cards is just not common knowledge anymore. Questions like 'a card is drawn from a normal deck, what is the probability of a black number 7 card' no longer make sense.
I've been into a bank branch maybe twice since covid. Banks just don't want to encourage people or businesses to use them, other than depositing cash, there's little need for them now.
If you need a loan, branch staff will help you fill in a form or give you the details of how to apply, but won't be able to process it themselves.
Loss of a bank branch is a big thing in rural areas, particularly for elderly users. I feel sorry for them, its just a society change we need to get used to. Also feel sorry for small business who incur large percentage processing fees for small value transactions. The upside should be to make working with card payments much easier and cheaper than depositing cash in a bank several times a week
I think cash will still be around for a while yet but cheques will disappear in a few years time, the decline in use is more than 15% year on year
Banks no longer accept cash. They direct you to the Post Office which still accepts it.
My problem is cheques. I am treasurer of our Residents Association (freeholder) and when I took on the role I stipulated that we had dual-signature cheques, so I could not get money out on my own.
I can never scan them in on my phone. I think this is because they are large format dual-signature cheques. I just scanned a cheque my mum sent me for my birthday and it scanned straight off.
In practice, I pay suppliers myself electronically and claim the money back. I would be happy to move to an account where we could pay electronically but hardly anyone offers dual mandate as a standard option. And opening a new account is near impossible due to money laundering regulations.
My nearest branch is now 4 miles away, at least it is somewhere I visit fairly often or pass through on the train and could break my journey. I used to be able to pay in at the Post Office but they ended that arrangement in December just before the local branch closed.
I am getting a small VAT refund every three months from HMRC (a few hundred pounds each time as most of my work is non VATable but I have a few small overheads). I have repeatedly given HMRC my bank details - at their request - so they can pay the refund directly into my business bank account but every 3 months UI get a cheque from them instead. It is a real pain and no matter how ofetn I try to get them to do a direct transfer, and no mater tim sthey say they will, I always end up getting a cheque.
HMRC are hoping that cashing cheques will become impossible so that they can send them with no prospect of them being cashed.
Jeffrey Epstein arranged for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to have dinner with a 26-year-old Russian woman in 2010
Pizza Express?
It's difficult to get excied about any of these Andrew stories. I can't see what he's supposed to have done. I have worked with two of his ex'es and both are far more interesting than any of those being linked to him. Also in my experience when it comes to male celebs they are far more chased than chasing and I'm sure he would rate very highly on the desirability pecking order.
Seems like you are excusing reprehensible behaviour
I would suggest you read and listen to tonight's revelation on the disgraced Andrew and reconsider
I am really sorry for his daughters in all this
Then you can answer my question. Have you any idea how many times he would have been propositioned on any given evening in any club you care to mention?
One can put the details together reasonably easily but hey.
I work for a bank that closed a lot of branches. Each time there was a big wave of closures they told us the same thing, no-one wants to use them any more, mobile banking, blah blah footfall down blah, and essentially the more branches they closed then the further people had to travel to a branch anyway so the more likely they were to stop using the branch network so it was a feedback loop.
Our bank was bought over by a big building society. Said building society has exactly the opposite philosophy to the extent of guaranteeing branches staying open, for a few years at least, and extending that guarantee to the branches of the bank it has bought.
So for me as an employee it's been interesting to watch the 180-degree total volte-face in attitude towards celebrating and promoting the branch network because the customers want and need it instead of saying it needs hacked and slashed because the customers don't want and need it.
Some of it can probably be put down to shareholders vs. mutual but I assume some of it simply has to be an entirely different view on what customers want.
It is also a paradox but both can be entirely rational and correct.
The banks are probably right that (most) customers don't want branches and that with there being multiple banks and associated branches that cutting them bank is rational.
OTOH the building society has probably rightly spotted an opportunity in going against the trend and thus seeking to attract those (fewer) customers that do want branches.
Alternatively- pretty much everyone wants bank branches and not just for the idea... there are a handful of transactions which everyone wants to do face-to-face. However, the profits to be made from that are less than the profits to be made by cutting branch networks even if it mildly annoys most customers.
It's like neighbourhood shops, or pubs. The threshold isn't between want and don't want, it's between lukewarm wanting and wanting intensely. And that's a much tougher criterion.
Pretty much everyone seems a wild overestimate.
I have not done a single face to face bank transaction, or been to a branch, this decade.
One can put the details together reasonably easily but hey.
I work for a bank that closed a lot of branches. Each time there was a big wave of closures they told us the same thing, no-one wants to use them any more, mobile banking, blah blah footfall down blah, and essentially the more branches they closed then the further people had to travel to a branch anyway so the more likely they were to stop using the branch network so it was a feedback loop.
Our bank was bought over by a big building society. Said building society has exactly the opposite philosophy to the extent of guaranteeing branches staying open, for a few years at least, and extending that guarantee to the branches of the bank it has bought.
So for me as an employee it's been interesting to watch the 180-degree total volte-face in attitude towards celebrating and promoting the branch network because the customers want and need it instead of saying it needs hacked and slashed because the customers don't want and need it.
Some of it can probably be put down to shareholders vs. mutual but I assume some of it simply has to be an entirely different view on what customers want.
What customers want v what enables maximum dividends and bonuses.
I have a lecture where I teach the students about statistical process control. I do an exercise where I get the class flipping coins in order to generate a random number. When I developed this exercise, it worked fine. When I did it this week, I had to take a big handful of coppers in with me because none of the students have coins. Well, a few did, but only the mature students!
Yeah people have moved on. I never carry any.
It is amusing how cultural changes can affect lessons or lectures.
I spoke to a Maths teacher who said that when they started teaching probability they would regularly use concepts like dice and a deck of cards for questions, but that now they never use cards as an example any more.
So few kids play with cards nowadays that knowledge of eg how many cards are in a deck, or the suits, or even the numbers and face cards is just not common knowledge anymore. Questions like 'a card is drawn from a normal deck, what is the probability of a black number 7 card' no longer make sense.
Much shallower and less happy lives they lead, is it any wonder the latest generation are lacking any interpersonal skills and cannot count etc etc etc
I'm not prone to exaggeration but this is probably the biggest scoop I've ever been involved in
Mandelson's partner took £10,000 from Epstein to pay for his osteopath course while Mandelson was de facto UK deputy prime minister, according to new files
One can put the details together reasonably easily but hey.
I work for a bank that closed a lot of branches. Each time there was a big wave of closures they told us the same thing, no-one wants to use them any more, mobile banking, blah blah footfall down blah, and essentially the more branches they closed then the further people had to travel to a branch anyway so the more likely they were to stop using the branch network so it was a feedback loop.
Our bank was bought over by a big building society. Said building society has exactly the opposite philosophy to the extent of guaranteeing branches staying open, for a few years at least, and extending that guarantee to the branches of the bank it has bought.
So for me as an employee it's been interesting to watch the 180-degree total volte-face in attitude towards celebrating and promoting the branch network because the customers want and need it instead of saying it needs hacked and slashed because the customers don't want and need it.
Some of it can probably be put down to shareholders vs. mutual but I assume some of it simply has to be an entirely different view on what customers want.
It is also a paradox but both can be entirely rational and correct.
The banks are probably right that (most) customers don't want branches and that with there being multiple banks and associated branches that cutting them bank is rational.
OTOH the building society has probably rightly spotted an opportunity in going against the trend and thus seeking to attract those (fewer) customers that do want branches.
Alternatively- pretty much everyone wants bank branches and not just for the idea... there are a handful of transactions which everyone wants to do face-to-face. However, the profits to be made from that are less than the profits to be made by cutting branch networks even if it mildly annoys most customers.
It's like neighbourhood shops, or pubs. The threshold isn't between want and don't want, it's between lukewarm wanting and wanting intensely. And that's a much tougher criterion.
Pretty much everyone seems a wild overestimate.
I have not done a single face to face bank transaction, or been to a branch, this decade.
I guess you're not in the bank robbing business then.
Incidentially, Australian politics are quite interesting at the moment.
The long-standing coalition of the Liberal and National parties appears to be over and Liberal leader Sussan Ley is likely to be challenged for the leadership by Angus Taylor following Andrew Hastie's decision not to contest any leadership election.
Meanwhile, Pauline Hanson's One Nation has surged to second place in the polls following the Bondi Beach attack and the travails of the Liberals but this only likely strengthens Albanese's Labour in the two party preferred (2PP) polling.
One can put the details together reasonably easily but hey.
I work for a bank that closed a lot of branches. Each time there was a big wave of closures they told us the same thing, no-one wants to use them any more, mobile banking, blah blah footfall down blah, and essentially the more branches they closed then the further people had to travel to a branch anyway so the more likely they were to stop using the branch network so it was a feedback loop.
Our bank was bought over by a big building society. Said building society has exactly the opposite philosophy to the extent of guaranteeing branches staying open, for a few years at least, and extending that guarantee to the branches of the bank it has bought.
So for me as an employee it's been interesting to watch the 180-degree total volte-face in attitude towards celebrating and promoting the branch network because the customers want and need it instead of saying it needs hacked and slashed because the customers don't want and need it.
Some of it can probably be put down to shareholders vs. mutual but I assume some of it simply has to be an entirely different view on what customers want.
It is also a paradox but both can be entirely rational and correct.
The banks are probably right that (most) customers don't want branches and that with there being multiple banks and associated branches that cutting them bank is rational.
OTOH the building society has probably rightly spotted an opportunity in going against the trend and thus seeking to attract those (fewer) customers that do want branches.
Alternatively- pretty much everyone wants bank branches and not just for the idea... there are a handful of transactions which everyone wants to do face-to-face. However, the profits to be made from that are less than the profits to be made by cutting branch networks even if it mildly annoys most customers.
It's like neighbourhood shops, or pubs. The threshold isn't between want and don't want, it's between lukewarm wanting and wanting intensely. And that's a much tougher criterion.
I have not done a single face to face bank transaction, or been to a branch, this decade.
I've had two.
The first was because my internet banking would not let me close an account, and the person at the branch just opened up a tablet and handed it to me to go through some options.
The second was I had a faulty card, and had asked a local store to hold my intended purchase whilst I went across town and got the cash directly from the bank.
There was another occasion when I was sent a cheque by British Gas as compensation for being so shit, I suspect just to be bloody difficult, but a machine at the branch was able to take care of that, so it doesn't count.
I've been into a bank branch maybe twice since covid. Banks just don't want to encourage people or businesses to use them, other than depositing cash, there's little need for them now.
If you need a loan, branch staff will help you fill in a form or give you the details of how to apply, but won't be able to process it themselves.
Loss of a bank branch is a big thing in rural areas, particularly for elderly users. I feel sorry for them, its just a society change we need to get used to. Also feel sorry for small business who incur large percentage processing fees for small value transactions. The upside should be to make working with card payments much easier and cheaper than depositing cash in a bank several times a week
I think cash will still be around for a while yet but cheques will disappear in a few years time, the decline in use is more than 15% year on year
Banks no longer accept cash. They direct you to the Post Office which still accepts it.
My problem is cheques. I am treasurer of our Residents Association (freeholder) and when I took on the role I stipulated that we had dual-signature cheques, so I could not get money out on my own.
I can never scan them in on my phone. I think this is because they are large format dual-signature cheques. I just scanned a cheque my mum sent me for my birthday and it scanned straight off.
In practice, I pay suppliers myself electronically and claim the money back. I would be happy to move to an account where we could pay electronically but hardly anyone offers dual mandate as a standard option. And opening a new account is near impossible due to money laundering regulations.
My nearest branch is now 4 miles away, at least it is somewhere I visit fairly often or pass through on the train and could break my journey. I used to be able to pay in at the Post Office but they ended that arrangement in December just before the local branch closed.
I am getting a small VAT refund every three months from HMRC (a few hundred pounds each time as most of my work is non VATable but I have a few small overheads). I have repeatedly given HMRC my bank details - at their request - so they can pay the refund directly into my business bank account but every 3 months UI get a cheque from them instead. It is a real pain and no matter how ofetn I try to get them to do a direct transfer, and no mater tim sthey say they will, I always end up getting a cheque.
HMRC are hoping that cashing cheques will become impossible so that they can send them with no prospect of them being cashed.
I do wonder how much money they save because people don't remember to pay them in or lose them.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to draw that connection could the biggest mistake.
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise a foreign leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has faced in the modern era.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to make the connection could the biggest mistake
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise an overseas leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has ever faced in its modern times.
As opposed to our Prime Minister who is today idolising an overseas leader who is brutally implementing authoritarian rule?
I'm not prone to exaggeration but this is probably the biggest scoop I've ever been involved in
Mandelson's partner took £10,000 from Epstein to pay for his osteopath course while Mandelson was de facto UK deputy prime minister, according to new files
One can put the details together reasonably easily but hey.
I work for a bank that closed a lot of branches. Each time there was a big wave of closures they told us the same thing, no-one wants to use them any more, mobile banking, blah blah footfall down blah, and essentially the more branches they closed then the further people had to travel to a branch anyway so the more likely they were to stop using the branch network so it was a feedback loop.
Our bank was bought over by a big building society. Said building society has exactly the opposite philosophy to the extent of guaranteeing branches staying open, for a few years at least, and extending that guarantee to the branches of the bank it has bought.
So for me as an employee it's been interesting to watch the 180-degree total volte-face in attitude towards celebrating and promoting the branch network because the customers want and need it instead of saying it needs hacked and slashed because the customers don't want and need it.
Some of it can probably be put down to shareholders vs. mutual but I assume some of it simply has to be an entirely different view on what customers want.
It is also a paradox but both can be entirely rational and correct.
The banks are probably right that (most) customers don't want branches and that with there being multiple banks and associated branches that cutting them bank is rational.
OTOH the building society has probably rightly spotted an opportunity in going against the trend and thus seeking to attract those (fewer) customers that do want branches.
Alternatively- pretty much everyone wants bank branches and not just for the idea... there are a handful of transactions which everyone wants to do face-to-face. However, the profits to be made from that are less than the profits to be made by cutting branch networks even if it mildly annoys most customers.
It's like neighbourhood shops, or pubs. The threshold isn't between want and don't want, it's between lukewarm wanting and wanting intensely. And that's a much tougher criterion.
Pretty much everyone seems a wild overestimate.
I have not done a single face to face bank transaction, or been to a branch, this decade.
My wife goes to the bank pretty much every Saturday for a print out and to make various payments to or on behalf of our children.
When I was at University I used to have a summer job working in the Bank of Scotland in Dundee. It was the main branch so one of the tasks was to ensure that the branches had an adequate supply of notes and coin for their customers. We used to prepare these cases for something like 20 branches in an area that covered Dundee itself and some of Angus. Now, I doubt there are 3 branches left in that area and only 1 in Dundee itself. In those days we used to also make up the wages in cash for some of the larger employers like the Timex and on holiday periods the amount of cash supplied was very substantial. All gone but I am far from sure that the service is as good.
Gold Standard. The occupy the position Angus Reid once held.
I am genuinely surpirsed that, with all the Trump stuff recently as well as the connections with Putin, the Reform vote is holding up so well. For all that we are all interested in Trump and he is a bad joke figure to much of the British public, I wonder if there is a widespread decoupling between foreign and domestic issues in the eyes of the electorate that prevents Reform from suffering from their idiotic foreign policy positions.
I'm surprised you're surprised. Most voters are not interested at all in foreign affairs, much as one wishes they were.
And the failure to make the connection could the biggest mistake
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise an overseas leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has ever faced in its modern times.
As opposed to our Prime Minister who is today idolising an overseas leader who is brutally implementing authoritarian rule?
He has at no time described him, or the Chinese political system, as a model to enulate.
One can put the details together reasonably easily but hey.
I work for a bank that closed a lot of branches. Each time there was a big wave of closures they told us the same thing, no-one wants to use them any more, mobile banking, blah blah footfall down blah, and essentially the more branches they closed then the further people had to travel to a branch anyway so the more likely they were to stop using the branch network so it was a feedback loop.
Our bank was bought over by a big building society. Said building society has exactly the opposite philosophy to the extent of guaranteeing branches staying open, for a few years at least, and extending that guarantee to the branches of the bank it has bought.
So for me as an employee it's been interesting to watch the 180-degree total volte-face in attitude towards celebrating and promoting the branch network because the customers want and need it instead of saying it needs hacked and slashed because the customers don't want and need it.
Some of it can probably be put down to shareholders vs. mutual but I assume some of it simply has to be an entirely different view on what customers want.
It is also a paradox but both can be entirely rational and correct.
The banks are probably right that (most) customers don't want branches and that with there being multiple banks and associated branches that cutting them bank is rational.
OTOH the building society has probably rightly spotted an opportunity in going against the trend and thus seeking to attract those (fewer) customers that do want branches.
Alternatively- pretty much everyone wants bank branches and not just for the idea... there are a handful of transactions which everyone wants to do face-to-face. However, the profits to be made from that are less than the profits to be made by cutting branch networks even if it mildly annoys most customers.
It's like neighbourhood shops, or pubs. The threshold isn't between want and don't want, it's between lukewarm wanting and wanting intensely. And that's a much tougher criterion.
I have not done a single face to face bank transaction, or been to a branch, this decade.
I've had two.
The first was because my internet banking would not let me close an account, and the person at the branch just opened up a tablet and handed it to me to go through some options.
The second was I had a faulty card, and had asked a local store to hold my intended purchase whilst I went across town and got the cash directly from the bank.
There was another occasion when I was sent a cheque by British Gas as compensation for being so shit, I suspect just to be bloody difficult, but a machine at the branch was able to take care of that, so it doesn't count.
I have a few times. To deposit cheques as the app only takes a certain value. Also to deposit some cash me wife was given.
However my local branch has now closed so I’m not going to be going again.
BIG news from @bloomberg.com, which confirms that ICE has gone ahead and *purchased* multiple commercial warehouses with the aim of converting them into mass detention camps.
This is likely to be the big detention story of 2026 — literal warehousing of people. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
I still say Kemi Badenoch’a biggest mistake to date is that she wants a UK ICE, those comments are going to haunt her.
It was a very clear and specific policy from the Conservative Party - UK ICE to remove 700,000 people from the UK - identically matching the Farage proposal.
There’s a clear strategy the longer Badenoch’s leadership continues, is there not? Abandon the UK’s political centre, match all Farage’s commitments word for word.
Is Kemi a full u-turn type of person? The only down ramp I see for the Party to junk this policy, is change of leader.
Nobody seems to know how many illegal or undocumented migrants there are in the UK, let alone who they are and where they are. IF there are 700,000 (and I've seen estimates of up to double that number) , you would need to recruit and train specialist officers and provide a new infrastructure of detention centres - is any UK ICE system going to operate on the principle that unless you can prove you are here illegally, you will be considered to be here illegally and be liable for deportation - that seems to suggest some form of ID to prove your immigration status.
All this will cost and will require robust legislation to ensure there's no repetition of what happened when the previous Government tried to implement the Rwanda solution.
The Windrush scandal says Hi. To the letter of the law they are undocumented - hand cuffs, straight jacket and plane required for repatriation.
Comments
And what day Musk was looking to visit Epstein Island..
They do contain explicit allegations that Tr*mp engaged in sex acts with underage girls though
Sounds right that it was a pretty clear victory.
His no nonsense focus on basic bread and butter issues is quite refreshing and contrasts strongly with everyone who's tried to emulate his style so far.
We had 2 overs left to get 9 runs and were scorimg at over 8 an over.
Given teams tend to score more in final couple of overs the idea we would as a par score get about 20 more in those 2 overs (so are 11 ahead of the 9 we would need) seems about right.
1. Stop Reform
2. Send Starmer a message
3. Something about hopey changey stuff
https://x.com/CarolineLucas/status/2017278028762452082/photo/3
I can never scan them in on my phone. I think this is because they are large format dual-signature cheques. I just scanned a cheque my mum sent me for my birthday and it scanned straight off.
In practice, I pay suppliers myself electronically and claim the money back. I would be happy to move to an account where we could pay electronically but hardly anyone offers dual mandate as a standard option. And opening a new account is near impossible due to money laundering regulations.
My nearest branch is now 4 miles away, at least it is somewhere I visit fairly often or pass through on the train and could break my journey. I used to be able to pay in at the Post Office but they ended that arrangement in December just before the local branch closed.
He wrote to Glenn Dubin, a billionaire hedge fund manager, in July 2009: “I will organize a trip to Number !O , and the house of Lords with Peter Mandelson for you guys [sic].”
Pizza Express?
@MichaelLCrick
·
40m
Wednesday's controversial poll of 143 Gorton & Denton voters by pollsters FindOutNow was commissioned by a firm called Betterworld Ltd run by wealthy Labour & IPPR donor Henry Tinsley who is co-founder of 38 Degrees & runs Labour Campaign for Human Rights.
https://x.com/MichaelLCrick/status/2017293064033669580
Michael Crick
@MichaelLCrick
·
27m
The poll had Reform on 36%, Labour on 33%, and the Greens well behind both on 21%, beliw experts' expectations. Most pollsters say the 143 sample was far too small. Find Out Now agree but say they didn't publish the poll & it must have been the client who did so.
. Latex? My racing system relies on troff. It never finds enough winners to justify updating to latex.
Green now a tad ahead of Reform - now favourites (just)
His terrible behaviour was well-known in tech circles for ages. Good to see him getting more of the wrong sort of publicity.
Lord Stockwood says people in government ‘definitely’ talking about idea as technology disrupts industries"
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/29/universal-basic-income-used-cover-ai-job-losses-minister-says
Or not so curious.
Most of the time he appeared on his own with tour guides and nobody else
At his formal meeting with President Xi the only minister present was Peter Kyle
Where were Reeves and Cooper leaving the optics so poor and underrepresented ?
A reporter went among the public and not one knew who Starmer was, though a couple mentioned Macron
It looked like he was on a tourist visit when he has far more domestic problems to fight including Gorton and Denton
Hmm..
Hmm..
Pretty good answer. "As a plumber..."
Seems an excellent choice so far...
https://x.com/TurnLeftMediaUK/status/2017222871316042150
Sharp contrast to Salford's Mr Academic.
I would suggest you read and listen to tonight's revelation on the disgraced Andrew and reconsider
I am really sorry for his daughters in all this
I work for a bank that closed a lot of branches. Each time there was a big wave of closures they told us the same thing, no-one wants to use them any more, mobile banking, blah blah footfall down blah, and essentially the more branches they closed then the further people had to travel to a branch anyway so the more likely they were to stop using the branch network so it was a feedback loop.
Our bank was bought over by a big building society. Said building society has exactly the opposite philosophy to the extent of guaranteeing branches staying open, for a few years at least, and extending that guarantee to the branches of the bank it has bought.
So for me as an employee it's been interesting to watch the 180-degree total volte-face in attitude towards celebrating and promoting the branch network because the customers want and need it instead of saying it needs hacked and slashed because the customers don't want and need it.
Some of it can probably be put down to shareholders vs. mutual but I assume some of it simply has to be an entirely different view on what customers want.
https://yougov.co.uk/international/articles/53602-how-popular-is-donald-trump-in-europe-november-2025
But again 90% of the public will have no idea what I am talking about
I’m not.
People here follow it and are engaged by it.
I doubt many others are. The TV news barely covers it.
It may change in a general election campaign.
Lab - 38%
Con - 30%
Lib Dem - 20%
With Labour unpopular but competent and the Tories led by a Trump sycophant and the result of the next election looks foregone.
It's only because the Tories and now Labour are perceived as being utterly rubbish that that 30% of the vote looks impressive.
The banks are probably right that (most) customers don't want branches and that with there being multiple banks and associated branches that cutting them bank is rational.
OTOH the building society has probably rightly spotted an opportunity in going against the trend and thus seeking to attract those (fewer) customers that do want branches.
Mind you, it rather explains their divorce.
It's like neighbourhood shops, or pubs. The threshold isn't between want and don't want, it's between lukewarm wanting and wanting intensely. And that's a much tougher criterion.
https://x.com/7NewsSydney/status/2016777238663082330
Just say no
It is amusing how cultural changes can affect lessons or lectures.
I spoke to a Maths teacher who said that when they started teaching probability they would regularly use concepts like dice and a deck of cards for questions, but that now they never use cards as an example any more.
So few kids play with cards nowadays that knowledge of eg how many cards are in a deck, or the suits, or even the numbers and face cards is just not common knowledge anymore. Questions like 'a card is drawn from a normal deck, what is the probability of a black number 7 card' no longer make sense.
Weinstein
Roman Polanski
Paula Vennels
I have not done a single face to face bank transaction, or been to a branch, this decade.
The long-standing coalition of the Liberal and National parties appears to be over and Liberal leader Sussan Ley is likely to be challenged for the leadership by Angus Taylor following Andrew Hastie's decision not to contest any leadership election.
Meanwhile, Pauline Hanson's One Nation has surged to second place in the polls following the Bondi Beach attack and the travails of the Liberals but this only likely strengthens Albanese's Labour in the two party preferred (2PP) polling.
The first was because my internet banking would not let me close an account, and the person at the branch just opened up a tablet and handed it to me to go through some options.
The second was I had a faulty card, and had asked a local store to hold my intended purchase whilst I went across town and got the cash directly from the bank.
There was another occasion when I was sent a cheque by British Gas as compensation for being so shit, I suspect just to be bloody difficult, but a machine at the branch was able to take care of that, so it doesn't count.
Becauss Reform's leader, and many of their representatives, idolise a foreign leader who is seeking authoritarian rule, they are quite simply the biggest threat British parliamentary democracy has faced in the modern era.
Sell.our gold and signal to the market first.
Anyone who does that is MAJOR C*NT
When I was at University I used to have a summer job working in the Bank of Scotland in Dundee. It was the main branch so one of the tasks was to ensure that the branches had an adequate supply of notes and coin for their customers. We used to prepare these cases for something like 20 branches in an area that covered Dundee itself and some of Angus. Now, I doubt there are 3 branches left in that area and only 1 in Dundee itself. In those days we used to also make up the wages in cash for some of the larger employers like the Timex and on holiday periods the amount of cash supplied was very substantial. All gone but I am far from sure that the service is as good.
However my local branch has now closed so I’m not going to be going again.