Saturday 30 May 2009

Ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife

Isn't it ironic?

I started getting outrageous calls from EDF Energy (my electricity provider) last week saying I was seriously over due on my bills and if I didn't pay within 5 days they would take me to court. When I got home there was indeed a bill dated 28th April saying I had to make my payment before May 12th. How am I supposed to meet this deadline if I receive the letter 2 weeks too late? Inside was also a leaflet outlining the huge benefits of paying by direct debit - the day I trust utility companies to take money out of my account automatically is the day I start wearing Burberry baseball caps. Backwards. With a matching Chihuahua.

The Government expenses scandal has reached fever pitch and we are on the brink of seeing the 13th casualty (I still like it when something reaches the number 13) - and I, the good apathetic citizen that I am, am getting bored. It was funny to see them squirm at first but it's just unbelievable what they've been getting away with. The Labour MP who claimed expenses for a house with no remaining mortgage, then the Liberal MP who claimed for a house for his daughter, then the Conservative MP who claimed for a house for his ducks! Look to your left to see what £1645 will get for your feathered friends these days. All this while they are trying to make Bank CEOs take less pay.

There is a man in Texas called T. Boone Pickens. One of the big wildcatters of yore, Pickens made a small fortune in the oil industry taking him onto Forbes' Rich List but is now campaigning for renewables of all things - investing his own wealth into wind farms across Texas which has seen the US recently overtake nuclear Germany as the highest renewables generator in the world. But this is still peanuts if you consider the US uses 25% of the World's daily oil production for 4% of the World's population. I am no environmentalist - my green credentials stop at separating out wine bottles and newspapers from my household garbage. I don't understand Boone Pickens - maybe he is trying to make up for his past carbon footprint or maybe he is laughing at us all - but I can't argue with Pickens' Plan. So what if he makes money out of it too? It's a whole lot better than financing the likes of Paris Hilton.

5 comments:

  1. I hear you in that last paragraph! If someone wants to "make up for his past" by doing something good for the world, good for him! (and for the rest of us).

    Here in Spain most of us have our utilities paid through direct debit. When I was in Belgium ditto. I for one consider it headache avoidance as I have a tendency to pile to the bills to be paid... and then forget about it until I'm late! :p The only thing is you need to be sure to get the bill before they deduct the sum from your account (unless it's a fixed number each month) so you can verify the amount and have time to protest if there's an error. In other words you need to keep a watchful eye. But still, it saves time and headaches...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Quotinh Mariah Carey LOL! You are a unique soul, O, worried about T Boone Pickens, quoting Mariah Carey, and still a fashion guru! Glad you are back!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Its nice seeing the politicians not get away with this and having to pay the money back!

    ReplyDelete
  4. wearing a Burberry baseball cap, backwards, with a matching Chihuahua might be kind of interesting to see...can you do it just once for our entertainment :-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Boooooooo to EDF Energy. They're my energy provider too and they suck.

    ReplyDelete