HMRC

Every month, we make our PAYE/NIC contributions by bank transfer, we make our annual corporation text payments the same way, and every quarter our VAT is taken by direct debit: hundreds of thousands of pounds make their way speedily from our account to those of HMRC. And if they are at all tardy, then, as you might expect, fines are imposed.

Unfortunately, for us - if not HMRC - the converse does not apply. If HMRC owes you money, it's never 100% clear when you might expect to receive it and, when it does arrive, it is in the form of a cheque. A cheque!

These days, there are not so many Lloyds branches around and I either use the one in Kendal or the one in Leyland, which is nearish to the Minx. Actually, it's a testament to how much I loathe Kendal's one-way system and parking set up that I even bother going to Leyland.

But when I have the time, I do like to walk into Kendal to use the bank, as I did today. And once the cheque was safely deposited - take that, HMRC! - then I decided to walk back along the old canal and get some steps in. One of the small pleasures I take in that walk is looking at the old buildings, trying to imagine which ones might have been there when the canal was in use. 

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Reading (not reading): 'Manchester Stories'