If you live in the UK or if you live to watch the goings-on in the money market, then you’re familiar with the problems reported with the financial giant Northern Rock. If not, then here’s the gist: Eventhough the Rock’s market is the UK, it was affected by the growing mortgage problems in the USA. Major lenders turned it down for a fund injection. BUT the Bank of England loaned them an undisclosed sum to tide them over (an unprecedented move). AND the Chancellor spoke to say that there’s no need to panic as they guarantee that the savings accounts are not affected by the problem at all.

Anyway, as expected the savings account holders were queueing around the UK, cashing in. The shares of Northern Rock continue to plummet. And a colleague and myself have been speculating whether we ought to buy some of those as a likely buyout can trigger an upsurge. Anyway I can go on & on about boring details & market news but that’s not what my post is about.

My corner of the office faces a Northern Rock branch. The morning of the news about their problems, I noticed a man taking pictures across the street. I didn’t think anything of it, our office is next to the gherkin so I assumed it was just another tourist. Then before I lunched I looked out again & I saw two photographes in the same spot as the first. Ah! So I whipped out my Nokia & took their pictures.

the photographers… I wonder how much they earn…

That was Friday. Then this morning, I saw a queue of mostly OAPs were already there! The queue would have grown longer had the branch remained shut for a while longer. By around lunchtime we saw staff giving away FREE coffee! I wanted to sprint & stand at the end of the queue for a while, freebies make me do strange things. The branch also put a burly doorman in front of the queue and a blonde woman just inside the main door.

the queue at around 730am

…and around 10am

I wonder what sight awaits me tomorrow?