Reading the Guardian this morning it seems that plans are afoot to sell Woolworths for just £1. Blimey that's less than we pay for Friday's bacon butties. I can just see tomorrow's order. "15 Bacon, sausage, egg on baps. How much? Twenty five quid! I could get Marks and Spencers for that. Throw in Next and you've got a deal." It will be sad to see the end of Woolies. I can't remember it not being there. It seems that the credit insurance companies won't insure their debts for suppliers who are therefore pulling the plug.
Despite being on holiday, I spent last night at work doing our figures for October and I am pleased to say that we have a huge improvement on last year and have made a profit for the first two months of our financial year despite raising provisions for potential bad debts in excess of £20,000 just in case. I am raising these provisions out of prudence as the big customer with the bounced cheque has issued a notice of intention to appoint an administrator. The frustrating thing is that I know they have at least nine boilers in stock but we can't go and get them back without going through legal proceedings during which time they can sell them! I have every sympathy for businesses that are having a hard time but I don't have much for this one as no phone calls have been returned after their cheque was not paid. Fortunately we had sufficient funds to cover this but if we had not and had issued cheques against it on the basis that it was good it could have lead to us having to grovel to our bank and that is the last thing that we want. Honesty is always the best policy. Avoidance can only lead to suspicion and ultimately tears.
Whilst not at work, we are trying to do a few holiday things. On Tuesday night we went to the Philharmonic Pub in Liverpool (above) and had fish and chips before going to see Will Young over the road at the Philharmonic Hall. An excellent concert spoiled only slightly by the ubiquitous camera phones. The whole theatre was alight with miniature screens as the audience (who I assume had paid good money to watch Will performing live) spent the evening watching him through a small screen held head height in front of them and then sending this to their friends. What message are they giving? "Na na nya na I've got tickets for Will?" "The sound on this camera phone is crap?""I am not very good with a camera?" Anyway ,this minor gripe apart, I have to say that Will Young is a great showman and excellent singer to boot. A bit like the visit to see "Mama Mia", I was in a very small minority of men in the audience of women of all ages. From their passionate shouts it was obvious that many of the women had less than innocent designs on Will and, as he is on the Julian Clary and Lary Grayson scale of campness, I had to wonder if I had missed something.
Marion and I took Marion's mum Flo to Liverpool yesterday to buy a few Xmas presents and to get some new curtains and bedding for her newly decorated bedroom. Marion kindly told me to go off on my own so I had a good look around the Tate at the Albert dock which has some fantastic art and some stuff that bore no semblance to art whatsoever. I honestly think that some of this stuff is King's New Clothes territory. Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol yes, but a square canvas of just one colour (albeit a very nice one) or a cast of a blow up bed by Rachel Whitbread? Sorry. I also got to look at the excellent museum of slavery. A trip to this should be compulsory to all racists.
This morning as the holiday continues, Marion has gone to work. "I should be back by ten o'clock" she said. It's now heading towards 12 and we are taking some friends to lunch at half past. So while she has been out I have whiled away my time with a visit to the doctors. Blood test results were good but blood pressure is now sky high. I think this recession is going to cost the NHS a fortune. The doctor's advice? See below.
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