Happy Monday!

Well, it may be - the Co-op Bank have finally (after a wait of six weeks) sent me a new debit card and PIN number. They lost my application to set up a new security number so I'll try to sort that out tomorrow. They have actually added the promised £50 to the GOES account and some friends of S (thank you, J & M from an office in Tunbridge Wells) have sent a very welcome donation which I will now bank!
 Because I'm in a good humour again I've put 'Mussukunda' one of the 'Malinding' series of eBooks for Kindle on free offer for a couple of days ... I'm not stopping you from buying the rest of the series if you want to help GOES, of course!
Best wishes, nearly out of the woods,
Tom

Leaping, very slowly, into action again.

Title says it all; actually had a phone call from the Co-op Bank yesterday. My missing correspondence has been found, but due to some clerical error we have to start all over again but a debit card will be sent, together with a new PIN so I can start to use the bank again. Great! Hurrah! When? Don't get too excited - it will take seven to ten working days ... in other words, we're back to the same position we were in five weeks ago. The difference is that this time I have a real live, named, person to speak to. So it all may turn out for the better, but not just yet. The good news is that the Bank will present GOES with some money as an apology. We'll see.
 I had a good day working at Gladstone's Library today - 1,300 words added to the fifth book (not thought of a title yet - 'Returned Empty' is my best effort so far but I don't really like it.
 Friend S (you know who you are) has been coaxing his friends into raising money for the cause - details when I have their permission to print them!
 HMRC have received our application for Gift Aid and I hope it will be processed before we travel out to The Gambia in November.
 So, the future's bright (but not just yet).
Best wishes to everyone,
Tom

We'll be back!

Decided to have a few days off and visit/inflict-ourselves-on some good friends and relations we've not seen for a long while. Maybe the Co-op will have restored our access to the charity account by the time we return and normal service can be resumed! To compensate you for our absense from the blogosphere I'm putting 'Empty Bananas' (the first of the Malinding series of e-books) on free offer from Sunday for five days. This, I hop wou will agree, is about the right price for it!
'Bye for now,
Tom

Still trying!

We've been away from home for a couple of days. I needed a break - this stupid business with the Co-op Bank has really been getting me down. We took refuge at Gladstone's Library, where the first Gladfest of Poetry and Prose was being held - a great success and a good opportunity to try to forget the hassle of failing to deal with the Co-op Bank and the USA's IRS for a while. Great food too!
A fellow poet (Annie, many thanks) made a kind donation to GOES with the condition it should to used to make a child smile. Will do, and thanks. 
 Mention of money brings me back to the problem with the Co-op Bank a/c - slight progress; we now have a form to fill in which, after we have posted (post? Not fax or e-mail???) back to the bank may enable us to receive a new debit card so we can withdraw money from the account and send it to people who need it! So, we may be back in business sometime next week. Possibly. Perhaps. 
 While we were at the Library I managed to fit in a few hours work on the latest Malinding book - the word count is now over 30K ! 

Still banging my head ...

Yes! Still banging my head in despair at attempts to regain access to the GOES bank account. The 'Co-operative Bank' are being totally un-co-operative, and we're now into the third week of trying to operate without a bank account. I've been able to use some of our own money to help the most needy people but we can't keep on like this. Telephone calls to the 'customer support' line offer no help. and visits to the local branch reveal that workers there have no more success then we do. Oddly, I can deposit funds - I just can't make withdrawals!
 Happier notes: the tilt-top table sold for £26 and went to a good home (the money is buried in the vaults of the Co-0p Bank ...
 'Stories for Gambian Children' is now available on Kindle - free!
I'm going to try my hand at registering with The USA IRS so they won't deduct tax on the $1 that each of the Malinding books sells for over there.
Maybe tomorrow will bring a positive result from the Bank - you'll be the first to know if it does!
Thanks for putting up with me again!
Tom

Progress - or lack of it - report.

Hello again. Still waiting for the Co-op Bank to get round to customer support! Ten days after informing them that my bank card was missing I still don't have a replacement! This is the Charity account and I can't get money out of it ... the GOES system is that when we receive an appeal for help, and approve it, I potter along to any UK bank, pop my card into the slot, key in the code and amount required and take the cash to Bayba via Barclay's Bank. With luck the money is available in The Gambia the same day and I'm informed when the collection has been safely made.  Sadly, the system fails because the Co-op is working so slowly. At least, I suppose they're working - I've no evidence to show that they are.
 However, there is a little more money waiting for us - the pretty little Victorian table I mentioned a couple of weeks ago has now sold (for £26 ) on EBay and is ready for the buyer to pick up.
 I'm faced with filling in a lot of information for the American tax authorities, who want a slice of the 'profits' from the sale of the 'Malinding' series of books - it won't pay the National Debt off! I've put 'Stories for Gambian Children' on free offer next week (4th - 8th August) if you're interested. It's a short book of short stories I've told in various Gambian schools - well worth the offer price of £0 !
Thanks for reading so far.
Tom

Back to work!

Finally sorted out the Gift Aid claim for GOES. I really don't like trying to do important work on line, especially with a dodgy PC. J was away last week on a course and I'd promised myself to do the claim and then to relax with a few trips to local places I'd not visited for a long time. Not to be! I discovered that my wallet was missing; in it was the money for my car repairs and all my bits of plastic - bank cards, bus pass, driving licence, membership cards and , worst of all, a really nice picture of J; all were missing. So my time became very occupied. Nat West Bank very helpful - I could access my account two days later. Other institutions weren't so helpful - the Co-opBank least of all. I did manage a good day writing at Gladstone's Library (and a very nice cake ..!) but it was a very frustrating time.
 I suppose the good bit is that nobody tried to steal my identity (who would want to impersonate an absent-minded 77 year old?) but I do rather resent the theft of my time.
 Fingers crossed and hoping the Gift Aid claim goes through without too much bother; there are a number of good causes needing a helping hand. There are times when I feel that I'm too old for all this hassle and maybe I should finally retire and riot around a bit while I still can (total lie - I was never much good at rioting!)
 Sorry to moan but it's been one of those weeks!
Tom