Wednesday 30 September 2009

How safe can it be????

When we were going on holiday I put my credit/bank cards, cheque book and store cards - like Boots and Tesco point savers, in a safe place. Well, several really. When we returned I knew where my credit and bank cards were, got my priorities right, but could not for the life of me remember where I had put my cheque book or my other cards.

Last week after rooting round the house on a more or less daily basis with no result I had to ring the bank and order a new cheque book. No problem......... well, only that the person dealing with me must have decided that I couldn't get into my online banking and changed all my details. Eventually received new details in the post - but get this - the letter had my new customer number, my pin number, my bank sort number and my account number in the same letter - everything anyone needed to access my online account!! What is even more stunning, when I contacted the bank and pointed this out - they didn't think it was a problem!?!?!

Well, hurrah - this morning I found my cheque book, in the front of my ribbon drawer in the art room. Pretty obvious really.

I have £30+ on my Boots card and two receipts that have to be put on in the next week or two. Anyone got any idea where my point saver cards might be?


Tuesday 29 September 2009

Well....that was a long coffee break.

So much has happened in the last few months - I've retired - great but the run up was very hard work and tiring. I had to not only get all my work up to date, some of it a year ahead as exam work had to be prepared ready to go to the examiners next May/June, but I also had to train my replacement. Not easy as both he and I still had our teaching timetables so eventually had to spend a lot of time leaving copious notes and instructions on the computer.
Had a wonderful retirement party, lots of gifts and some lovely things said. Followed this by taking my teaching assistants out for a meal which was a nice finish to the term.
So forty years after I first stepped into a classroom as a teacher I said goodbye to my pupils and school. Quite emotional as you might imagine.

Next thing of note - had a brilliant week in New York with my daughter - my big retirement treat. Flew business class - what a treat- and stayed at The London NYC, very swish, had a suite and on our last night had a meal in Gordon Ramsay's Restaurant which is in the hotel. Excellent dining experience, staff were wonderful and I could spend the next three pages describing the food - enough to say that I could happily return as often as possible- but only if I wasn't picking up the bill. Did all the tourist things including a dinner cruise up and down the Hudson river which was great as we had wonderful night-time views of the city.

Finally - today was my induction day at Teesside University. I am starting an Honours degree in History next week, part-time, so that I still have time for me and hopefully my mojo will return. Have loads of crafty goodies I have gathered in the last few months which haven't seen light of day - including stamps and Copic Sketch markers which I bought while in New York.

So I hope I now manage to call in and add to my blog on a regular basis, preferably with some cards and scrapbook pages to show you and have time to call in on the forum and on member's blogs.