29 Oct The best of what we read, watched and listened to this week
A beautiful autumn day in the New Forest, taken by Charles.
Obviously the big UK finance story this week was the budget, even though it contained singularly little about personal taxation. Our detailed summary will follow next week but in the meantime here is a rundown of the key announcements, which you can celebrate with a glass of Prosecco. [7 min read]
‘Green’ bonds are a focus of much interest these days, although inevitably there is some variability in just how environmentally friendly specific issues are. Now National Savings and Investments has announced its own version which will be used to fund green projects. The interest rate is 0.65%pa fixed for three years and the maximum investment is £100,000 per person. [3 min read]
We’re obviously aware of the environmental impact of many aspects of our lives but how about that from how we store our digital data? All that cloud storage needs power to run the servers but there are ways that we can reduce our footprint, even if just by switching off video on our Zoom calls sometimes. [2 min read]
Air source heat pumps were new to us until we came across one at a client’s house a few years ago. If your property is suitable though, there is financial assistance available to help with the installation costs. [7 min read]
Despite Rob having trained in the subject back in the 1980s, he’s never had the opportunity to see a volcanic eruption live. Still, for those in la Palma, it seems that they’d be happy to give it a miss even if it does look spectacular at night. [3 min read]
A friend is currently engaged in clearing out a recently deceased relative’s property, which gave this cautionary tale some resonance. Tedious as the task can be, clearly it is sometimes worth doing diligently. [2 min read]
Visits to the dentist are never high on most people’s idea of fun but sometimes the dentist will come to you. Mind you it helps if you weigh 600kg and have three-inch canines. 😉 [1 min read]
In most of the interviews we’ve seen with Insulate Britain activists, they tend to come off worse than the interviewer. However, this clip shows that it’s not always a one-sided exchange and we’re now off to plant some concrete seeds. 😆 [0:57 video]
We hope you have a good weekend.
Charles and Rob