Tuesday 31-10-2006

What! No assertive groups of youngsters at our door, in gross plastic ghoul faces demanding ‘trick or treat’ on Halloween night? Where will we get rid of last years chocolates now?
I started this blog in hope of bringing to the blog the good bits of life here in Spain as well as the bad bits. It’s easy to highlight the good bits because that re-enforces our decision to make the move here in the first place. It is quite hard to moan about the bad bits of life here because it is tantamount to admitting that we made the wrong decision to move.
Well without us wanting to pull the plug and come home, here is another really naff bit of life in Spain.
Today we simply wanted to go down to Albox to shop and to take a £ cheque into the Albox branch of our Spanish Cajasur Bank. We also wanted to then take out 100€ in cash to live here on for the next few hours.
We arrived at the bank mid morning and there were just three people in front of us. There were two girls trying to ‘help customers‘, whilst one other girl pratted about chatting and sorting out mail, but utterly refusing to stoop as low as actually serving a customer. Obviously she had recently had a promotion to a prominent position and her job description, did not that include the menial task of serving the people who pay her wages.
I (and Elayne who was also waiting) stood for thirty five minutes waiting to put one cheque in and take one dollop of money out. It was hot in there as we stood waiting and at one time I did actually think that I was going to faint from the heat.
The two girls who were attending to customers, were dealing with all customers and every reason, some of who seemed to be wanting to make wills or draw securecor sizes of money out of the bank and required special permission from head office. They were also taking random phone calls and spending enormous amounts of time with whom ever was on the phone.
When finally I did get served I said to the girl that they should have more staff on duty but then only got the Spanish shrug of the shoulders to signify ‘tell the boss, I’ve told him ten times already’ manana.
I used to get frustrated at Barclays, HSBC or TSB in Otley when it took ten minutes out of my lunch hour to do a transaction.
There you go, don’t grump about Barclays, HSBC or TSB to me again!!!!!
But this is wonderful Spain and it has been twenty six degrees today, the last day of October, and wall to wall sunshine.
Pictures: Spanish sunset, and then my sunshire, is she looking good on this sun or what, but I am a little biased???