End of Term

What a week! The last official week of term has been quite hectic what with trying to buy shoes for my youngest and failing until an hour before their train was due to leave for Paris yesterday, moving my TWDB into his summer quarters chez moi, and going to a merry piss-up welcome apero at HSBC on Thursday.

My eldest started his end of term early; he's already been farting around for a week now with his friends. On Thursday they were roasting marshmallows with a lighter on my (tiled) coffee table. I think they must have run out of gas though because I also saw evidence of much match use when I came in from my gallivanting at HSBC.

Appealing HSBC ad, especially the détente bit..

I had been with my TWDB downtown enjoying the bank's hospitality as I'd opened an account there earlier this year. I was considered (rightly) as a new client and got invited to the piss-up after-work apero for encouragingly copious amounts of Laurent Perrier and delicious nibbles. There's no doubt about it, a bit of customer care and attention goes a very long way. LCL has never invited me to share a peanut let alone quaff bottles of decent champagne.

My LCL conseiller is a nice guy, but at HSBC they do it with class. You should have seen the courtyard we were in with the most amazing stone staircase. It must have been part of one of those hotels particuliers because it was lavishly built and decorated, and part of HSBC. Apparently the flat at the top used to made available to the bank's current director, but they've since sold it and the poor incumbent now has to slum it in the open market.

It's not that I'm anyone's (commercially speaking) for a glass or two of champagne and a tray full of nibbles, but it does help! In fact, to date I've been very pleased with HSBC, especially because my conseiller is tip top. I might also be easy to please because I have only modest amounts of the readies and am not asking too much... HSBC already have a huge advantage over other banks however in that they communicate, are reachable easily, and use the parrain/marraine system to acquire new clients from happy current ones. For that you need to be recommendable!

Earlier in the week my eldest went swimming in the river with his pals, had a picnic in the garrigue of the parcours de santé and enjoyed the delights of one of his friend's swimming pools. He's had a marvellous time. Now both boys are up near Paris chez their dad where they know no one and can't racket around with such alacrity and freedom. I'm sure there are other advantages however...

So I'm blissfully free of boys for a month, much as I love them and I intend to take full advantage of their absence. Last year it was spring cleaning, this year I have a cleaner so I'll be catching up with some of the writing I've accumulated thanks to ex-hs, boys, and end of terms. Also some R&R I think - aperos on the beach, dinners out, and evenings on the sun-bed (rosé in hand) without the Xbox roaring.

Cheers!