Humour

I just spent a few days in bars and restaurants in a place where everyone lives underground. It’s called Toronto. A place so cold that even Olaf from Frozen has migrated South. In fact, it gets so cold in Canada, they actually have hair freezing contests. Anyways, sitting in a bar, I was privileged to…

My children are big fans of The Gruffalo. If you’re not familiar with The Gruffalo, it’s the story about a mouse who might get eaten by threatening creatures like a Fox, an Owl or a Snake, but makes up a fictional character who could actually eat them instead. The fictional character, the Gruffalo, turns out…

As it’s Friday, a slightly more whimsical post. I was amused to see a story floating around the internet yesterday that read like this: ‘Missing’ woman mystery solved A group of tourists spent hours Saturday night looking for a missing woman near Iceland’s Eldgja canyon, only to find her among the search party. The group…

When did you last write a check (cheque)? When did you last receive one? Although a valid payment mechanism in some countries, it has been phased out in many. Finland stopped using checks in 1993 and Poland in 2006. The Netherlands have taken it a step further. Having banned domestic checks back in 2002, the…

I enjoy being around bankers who have been immersed in the industry nearly all of their lives and hearing their war stories. I heard two stories recently from a retiring banker, and thought it worth sharing to show just how far we’ve come. This friend started life in international banking in the wilds of the…

A long while ago, I had an early start to get to a meeting. Leaving home before sunrise, I went from subway to train to taxi, and arrived bright eyed and bushy tailed. However, as the day went on, my battery started to run dry. By mid-afternoon, with lunch firmly mixng around my stomach muscles,…

Being raised on Monty Python, an old sketch popped into my head (The Four Yorkshire Men) and led to a thought. A grandfather and grandson are at the dinner table … Grandfather: Ah, when I was a lad, life was very different. Grandson: In what way, grandad? Grandfather: Well, we used to get our milk delivered…

So yesterday, I gave you the top ten trends for 2019 from British Airways’ Business Life magazine. The article also discussed a range of other trends that are noteworthy, so here’s a quick summary of the other things to expect in 2019. 2019: The Year of the People This is the year of witty protest….

Hello, hello and hello again. Welcome to 2019. A brand new, fresh, shiny year, and just out of the starting gate. Having said that, yes we are still talking Brexit and we still find a group of shady bankers knocking off billions. Same shit, different day, as Stephen King would say. Being a different day or,…

There’s nothing like a true story to bring a point home, so here’s my latest one. I’m starting a new venture. It’s a philanthropic thing, nothing to do with banking, but because we are seeking sponsorship, we need to open a bank account. I choose to open an account with ABC Bank, where I already…