In an optimistic frame of mind, I walk to Lloyd’s bank hoping that my PIN number for my new ATM card will be there. I am pleasantly surprised when the teller hands me an envelope. I step outside to use the ATM machine. I insert my card and unbelievably the machine “retains” it. In disbelief, I go back inside the bank. They look me up on the computer and discover that my card has been cancelled. But, they say, a new one is on its way. It should be here in another couple of days.
They assure me that the PIN number I have just received will be the same for the new card. Forgive me for being skeptical.
Even the tellers cannot believe my bank misadventures. They all know me by sight and by name. When the teller gives me my PIN number today, she said, “I am not going to ask for identification, I know you by now.”
Not expecting anything, I go back to the bank again the next day. Surprisingly, the teller greets me, “Ms. Harris, something’s come in the mail for you.” But it’s not my ATM card, it’s a new PIN number for the card I haven’t received yet. Of course, it is. The teller just smiles pleasantly and cashes my check.
I attend a school staff luncheon to welcome a new person and bid farewell to Josephine, the school’s receptionist. Ken Spencer, Head of School, makes some cheerful parting remarks and gives Josephine some vouchers (gift certificates) to Marks and Spencer, which he calls the “family firm.” But I don’t think he’s actually related.
Caroline happens to drive by while I am walking home after work and she stops to pick me up. I start to cross the street to jump into her car checking for traffic to my left without thinking that the cars will come from my right. Caroline yells out a warning as a car speeds by.
Caroline is singing a song from South Pacific. She has a concert tonight at a senior citizen’s home. Tony is ordering take-out Chinese and asks if I want to order some. I order the Chicken Satay. I am a little surprised to see that it is chicken in a brown sauce with green peppers, onions, and carrots. It is good though. I eat at their kitchen table with Lutchford snoring at our feet.
In today’s news: On the eve of her 40th birthday, Sarah, the Duchess of York (Fergie), gives an interview to the Daily Mirror. The journalist is Piers Morgan. He writes, “Yesterday, in a frank and emotional interview, she said she had never been happier and openly discussed her extraordinary relationship with her former husband, Prince Andrew. She tells of her great friendship with Princess Diana and the tragic loss of her own mother.
Jody’s UK Memories 