Astronomy is a rubbish
hobby. Last night there was a wonderful meteor shower; the
Quadrantids. Or there would have been if there wasn't complete cloud
cover. I've mentioned before that every time there is anything of
astronomical interest going on there is always a sky full of clouds.
Over the last few days
I've griped that I've not been feeling quite one hundred percent. I
felt particularly grotty today. I considered phoning in sick, but out
of a sense of duty I persevered. I really don't know why - I've never
liked the idea of phoning in sick. I think I've done so twice in all
the years I've been blogging.
I thought I might get
some cough sweets on the way to work, so I went to the shop over the
road. Over the years this place has had a variety of businesses
operating from it; none of which seem to pass the test of time. And I
doubt this one will last. Clearly ready for business, with the door
unlocked and complete with a bored-looking chap behind the till, the
place still had a "closed" sign up. But I went in and asked
if they had any cough sweets. The chap behind the counter said no.
Just as I was about to walk out I saw about a dozen different
varieties of cough sweet. I commented on them. The chap looked at
them as though he'd never seen them before. Mind you they didn't have
my favourite brand - given the choice I'd always prefer to suck on a
fisherman's friend.
As I drove to work there
was an interesting article on the radio about endowment mortgages.
It's now eighteen months since ours finally let us down completely.
When it happened we were several thousand pounds out of pocket on the
deal, and apparently about now is the time when the vast majority of
everyone else's endowments mature. Or fail to mature to be more
precise. Despite countless warnings and predictions about the things
not being what they were promised, it seems that thousands of people
have ignored all the warnings. They have apparently done nothing
about making alternative arrangements to pay off their debts, and are
all now out of pocket to the tune of an average of seven thousand
pounds each.
Whilst I sympathise with
their predicament, it's a bit late to start worrying about the
problem now. We took out extra policies to cover the predicted
shortfall years ago. Other people would seem to have ignored the
problem and now that it's too late to claim about allegedly mis-sold
products they are trying to claim compensation.
Having been stuffed by
the things myself I have to admit that endowment mortgages were a
gamble. We were told that we would make a killing on the basis of
predicted interest rates. We were also told that interest rates were
not predictable. We were sold our endowment in good faith by my
father in law. So I know that it was sold in all honesty and with no
malice. We took a gamble. We might have won. We might have had
thousands of pounds profit. However we lost. So has everyone else.
But this cannot possibly come as a surprise to anyone?
Being on a late shift
today meant that I travelled to work at the busiest time. For some
reason the roads were deserted, so I got to Canterbury far earlier
than I expected. I spent a little while mooching round the bargain
shop I'd spotted a week or so ago. It has some good deals; but
nothing that I really wanted. Perhaps it didn't help that there were
normal people bumbling about. They wound me up - there weren't many
of them, but those that were there had the uncanny knack of getting
in my way no matter where I tried to go.
I also went into Pets at
Home to get some tins of scoff for Furry Face. I'm trying to persuade
everyone else who feeds him to only give him a third of a tin of food
at each meal rather than half a tin. He never eats all that is put
down for him. Unlike most mutts, he's not greedy and we throw so much
dog food away.
I also got some treats. I
shall stick those in my pocket and dish them out when he least
expects it. That might make him less inclined to wander off when he's
off the lead.
The phone rang - an
employment agency had a job offer for me. Super-sciency stuff; just
the sort of thing I would like. However it would involve a
relocation. To Denmark. Apparently the fact that i don't speak Danish
wouldn't be a problem as everyone there speaks very good English (!)
I turned the job down. I
don't think that I will regret that somehow...
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