| Saturday, December 30, 2006 |
| Co-op Bank in Edinburgh - any chance? |
The Co-Operative Bank claims to be the only UK high street bank with an ethical investment policy. Their money-lending services are only available to businesses who comply with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, uphold Fairtrade practices and allowing workers' rights; they asses the ecological impact of their corporate debtors, steer clear of companies involved in genetic modification and the arms trade; they look to support social enterprise and have a high level of consumer consultation. They really are an excellent bank and I can only recommend them based on their initiative and reputation.
Unfortunately, there is as yet only one branch of the Co-Operative Bank serving the whole of Scotland. That is the Glasgow Branch, on 29 Gordon Street. If you're in the area I suggest you get along there and see what they can do with your groats.
Because I would really like to see more branches of the Co-op in Scotland, I compared the UK population with the number of Co-op branches in each of the home nations:
Country....Population....Co-Ops....1 Branch per:
England........50m...............77.............650,000
Wales...........2.9m................8..............368,750
N. Ireland.....1.7m................1...........1,700,000
Scotland..........5m................1...........5,000,000
Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, has large offices for many of the major UK banks, has been a Fairtrade City since March 2003, and is the base for a number of other FairTrade initiatives such as the New Consumer magazine. The combined population of Edinburgh and the Lothians is about 785,000. Also, and most importantly, I live here. So I'd like their next branch to be in Edinburgh. It's hard to believe there isn't one already - it must be because they have underestimated the use they would get and the benefit they'd bring to the 'burgh.
So I'm thinking of starting a petition to submit to the Co-Op, to show them that there would be significant demand for their services in Edinburgh. |
posted by pine-cones @ 17:30  |
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| Friday, December 08, 2006 |
| scariest toilet |
The toilets at work have motion-sensitive detectors in them. The lights turn off when there's no-one there, and when you walk in and the lights are off, there's a delay of a few seconds while the lights turn on again. So you're walking in on total blackness.
If you don't hesitate (and I don't these days) you can be right in the middle of the room, in pitch darkness, before the lights come on. You can even get a bit of a buzz out of it, but that's wearing off now. Of course, I suppose if you are in there and don't move for long enough, the lights will think there's no-one there and will turn off again.
Today I realised that I am secretly disappointed with the toilet situation. In all my time here, no-one has gone to the trouble of hiding in the toilets and then scaring the meat and potatoes out of me by shouting really really loudly in my ear just as I reach the centre of the room. I feel this is something that is really missing from my life experience so far and I hope there is something that can be done about it.
Surely there's someone out there who can help my dream come true? |
| posted by pine-cones @ 16:00 |
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