I am writing this section of the newsletter as an email pops up in my inbox about the amount of complaints that are made to the Financial Ombudsman Service about financial advisers.
We reviewed this last year, and the latest figures are pretty similar. Last year Independent advisers were responsible for 3% of complaints, and this year only 2%.
The balance was made up of Banks at 61%, and the rest fairly evenly spread amongst general insurers, life insurance and investment providers, and general insurance intermediaries.
I wonder what proportion of the 2% was made up of Financial Planners who charge fees? Tiny we would hope and presume!
Anyway, back to the Wrap-Up.
I occasionally visit clients in the London area, and such an occasion happened the other weekend. I also arranged to meet a friend, David from Kent, in order to Go to see a well reviewed show called London Assurance at the National Theatre. This opened in March, and has had very good reviews. It is a Victorian comedy, and has Richard Briers (of The Good Life fame) in a supporting role. So in April we booked the tickets, quickly followed by the Hotel and train tickets.
Now I have been out and about in London a few times a year for something like 30 years, but I was far from being an expert on the best pubs with real ales, and thought it about time I did a little research to see what was new.
I am pleased to report that I found a diamond of a site called ‘The Dick Whittington Trail’. I printed off a map with several of the mentioned alehouses, and actually remembered to take it with me.
On the Friday afternoon, we decided to have lunch at the first one on the list on Blackfriars Bridge as we had a visit to the Globe Theatre to look forward to, and it was nearby.
Wow!
Doggett’s The Coat & Badge Pub was excellent. The food was really good, the views superb as it was actually on the river, and the real ale was magnificent! They had some we knew, Timothy Taylors Landlord and Workie Ticket for example, and some we didn’t like Morocco and Jaipur.
Oh boy!
We limited ourselves to just the one, and set off for the Globe Theatre, which I have been meaning to visit for 12 years. Better late than never. It was really impressive, with a museum and a guided tour which included sitting in on the rehearsals for the latest play, Shakespeare’s Henry VIII, which opens soon.
At this point, late pm, we returned to the Hotel for a quick rest (it’s our age you know) and turn around ready for the evening. We walked to the next on the list, the Bear & Staff at Leicester Square. Once again it was the same real ales, but you would not find us complaining.
A walk around the centre of the city and before we knew it, it was 11.30 pm. Time for a chinese meal in Chinatown. Very nice too, and taxi back.
On Saturday, David wanted to see Westminster and Whitehall. As we wandered around, he did his usual Cecille B. DeMille impression, camcording all the historical sights. It was busy, but not too bad, although there were a lot of demonstrations around Downing Street and Trafalgar Square.
Then we dashed along the Embankment to the National Theatre, grabbed a bite to eat on the terrace there with great views across to St Paul’s, and caught the 2pm matinee.
What a show! Within minutes we were well away laughing our socks off, to the point where your jaw aches and you ask for mercy, and David was making funny noises which I presumed was laughter! The acting was top notch, and when Richard Briers came on as Adolphus Spanker, his shambling walk was cheered before he had even said a word! Priceless!
Sir Harcourt and Lady Gay Spanker are amongst the characters of what is effectively a superb farce. I won’t go into detail as you may go to see it, but we came out after 2 hours with sore sides and tears of laughter in our eyes.
That night, as it was sunny, we walked through St James Park and on to Green Park, emerging at The Ritz. It was then a short walk up to Picadilly to find more of the recommended pubs on the list, and we ended up at a Curry House in Waterloo by 11.30pm 
Finally, I mentioned back in August that I had entered a Fantasy Football competition, with the team name being BobbyRobsonTributeFC. Well, I came joint second, which is not too bad a performance.
I am sure Sir Bobby would have done better though, god rest his soul.
