Renovating the sitting-dining room and other parts of my house

Roses alongside the front door © Ricky Yates

As I wrote at the end of my previous post, K & K, (as in K & K renovace nemovitostí Decín), besides renovating my study-bedroom, have also done work in other parts of the house. This is the promised further blog post describing and illustrating their work.

The ground floor of the house has only three main rooms – my study-bedroom, a kitchen and adjacent small shower room, (completely refurbished in January 2018), and a sitting-dining room.

The sitting-dining room, along with the adjacent entrance lobby, is the newest part of the house. As a result, there was no need to do anything to the walls, other than painting them . . . → Read More: Renovating the sitting-dining room and other parts of my house

Renovating my Study-Bedroom

Stará Oleška 44 © Ricky Yates

I have now lived in my retirement home in Stará Oleška for six years. During that time the only major work I’ve had done to the interior of the house was the refurbishment of the kitchen and adjoining shower room in January 2018 when, for three weeks, I was living in the middle of a building site.

At that time, I did ask Elefant, the firm that installed my new kitchen and shower, if they would be interested in carrying out further work on the house. But they were booked up for several months ahead and also were really only interested in work that involved kitchens and bathrooms, installing units and fittings that they themselves sell out of their showroom in Decín.

. . . → Read More: Renovating my Study-Bedroom

Brexit, Barclays & HSBC Banks – Postscript

The view from my bedroom balcony in Beatenberg, Switzerland © Ricky Yates

Late in the evening on Tuesday 11th April, I logged in online to my HSBC Sterling bank account, to discover that the age of miracles is not quite yet past. Nearly four months to the day since I had first requested it, earlier that day, the balance of my closed and frozen Barclays Bank account had finally been transferred. And, in a lot less than fifteen working days since the transfer was promised!

Since that day, I have pondered whether it was worth compiling yet another letter, pointing out to Barclays their series of failures and seeking some compensation for the costs I have incurred. Or deciding whether I should leave things and just be thankful that I finally once more have . . . → Read More: Brexit, Barclays & HSBC Banks – Postscript

Brexit, Barclays & HSBC Banks – the final instalment

The irony of this advert is still not lost on me 😉 © Ricky Yates

The day after I wrote and published my previous post, I compiled another letter to Barclays, Leicester, pointing out to them what I wrote in that last post – that I cannot view their update to my complaint CRYX28K7KH because I have had no access to Barclays Online Banking since 27th August 2022 and that access requires a current debit card which I do not have.

Less than an hour after I returned home from sending that letter by registered post, my phone rang. The call was from a UK phone number unknown to my phone. After a brief message saying that the call might be recorded for quality control or training purposes, a female voice . . . → Read More: Brexit, Barclays & HSBC Banks – the final instalment

Brexit, Barclays & HSBC Banks – the third instalment

The irony of this advert is not lost on me 😉 © Ricky Yates

On Friday 2nd December 2022, I discovered that the age of miracles is not quite yet past. Forty-two days on from when I had made my request, there sitting in my mail box was a large envelope containing detailed statements of my now closed Barclays bank account. A week later, I set out as planned and travelled to the UK. Armed with those statements, together with my passport, on the morning of Tuesday 13th December I once more visited the 2 High Street, Nottingham branch of Barclays Bank to set about regaining access to several thousand pounds of my money.

Having explained at the downstairs front desk, what it was I wanted to do, I was told I needed to meet . . . → Read More: Brexit, Barclays & HSBC Banks – the third instalment