A Visit To The Bank

The holiday now seems like no more than a distant memory. I have returned to so many things that need doing. My daughter in law made a marvellous job of looking after my plot when I was away. The one thing she was so unsure about was harvesting the now very fruitful space. She was able to cut lettuce and salad leaves and pick peas, but that was it. My onions were all ready to bend over and prepare for lifting and drying. My potatoes were all ready for cropping and a marvellous crop it has turned out to be this year.

She and my son have been off on holiday and this has meant my keeping tabs on his mail for his legal business, a task that took a few hours out of each day.  So one thing and another and I have as yet not managed to have a day at the paint since my return. I hope to put that to rights as soon as he returns home which will be this evening.

I have had a few occasions that have required trips to the bank over the past week. On one day in front of my in the line of people waiting to be served was a family from USA. They were hoping to change US$ into GB£. The exchange rate, as you all are aware I am sure, is not at all good for such an exchange. So he was letting me know loud and clear that this was the case. Telling me and everybody else in the bank that my lovely country was a costly place to visit.

This reminded me of the tale I was told very recently that just has to bring a smile to your face.

There was an Asian lady  in the bank
trying to exchange yen for dollars.
It was obvious she was a little irritated  ... . She asked the 
teller, "Why it change? Yesterday, I  get two hunat dolla fo yen.
Today I only get hunat eighty? Why it change?"


The teller shrugged his shoulders and said, "Fluctuations."

Taken aback for only a second, 
The Asian lady says, "Fluc you white people too"

My apologies for that but it really did make me laugh out loud.

One last bit of news.  Those who follow my blogs know that I am not a competitive sort of person!!!!! So it is with some humility that I share with you that I have just been told I have won the trophy for the best garden plot for 2011. All my work has not only given me wonderful produce but also I feel pleased and honored to have won this award. 

The pic is of my first cooking of my first crop of beetroot, and that little lot is not even noticed missing in the plot.

How Many Does It Take.

I stood in the shop waiting and waiting. There were four members of staff present and the delivery man was there also, so five of them and one of me. I waited while all four were gathering items to complete the order the delivery man was waiting to deliver. Heads down intense on the task to hand.

I studied the clock on the wall as the second hand repeated its journey for the now sixth time. This must be a really important person they are serving I thought. The need for urgency was so obvious.

At last one of them turned her attention to me. “What can I do for you?” I thought for a moment and said, “Serving me would be nice.” “I see,” she said, “What can I get you?”

Well I had an answer but decided just to tell her what it was I wanted. She went to get the required items. Actually it looked like maybe she was having a real bad day. Her face looked so sad and downcast. At last all the required items were gathered and I paid the bill.

Surprise, surprise she could smile. She beamed as she handed me the receipt. “Can I ask you to look at the back of the receipt? We are asking customers to go online and complete a customer service survey. You could wind £200.”

I looked at her straight in the face and gave her a gentle smile. “I would just love to complete your survey.” Yesterday I did just that can you guess what I said in it? I will leave you to think about that.

Reminded me of the survey about artists and light bulbs.

How many artists does it take to change a light bulb?



Ten. One to change it, and nine to reassure him about how good it looks.



How many modern artists does it take to change a light bulb?



Four. One to throw bulbs against the wall, one to pile hundreds of them in a heap and spray-paint it orange, one to glue light bulbs to a cocker spaniel, and one to put a bulb in the socket and fill the room with light while all the critics and buyers are watching the fellow smashing the bulbs against the wall, the fellow with the spray-gun, and the cocker spaniel.



How many surrealists does it take to change a light bulb?



Two. One to hold the giraffe and the other to fill the bathtub with brightly coloured machine tools.



How many visitors to an art gallery does it take to change a light bulb?



Two. One to do it and one to say "Huh! My four-year old could've done that!"

How many members of staff does it take to serve a customer? Five if the customer cannot take time to come to the shop.

How many muscles does it take to create a smile? Every muscle in your head. I hope they are all working right now.

I am indeed looking forward to today I hope you are also.  And yes the above story about the shop and the survey is a very true story, I can give you the link to the customer survey.

This blog is linked to my other.  I Have Added More Darks