2 posts tagged “new plymouth”

Before The Lord of the Rings, before Bad Taste even, Hong Kong film-makers on the crew of 最佳拍檔千里救差婆 (Aces Go Places IV) came to New Zealand to film their action–comedy.
   Watch as we go all from New Plymouth to Auckland to Wellington: by the miracle of film you can exit the Auckland Harbour Bridge and wind up on Willis Street, Wellington!
   Fly over the Cable Car tracks from the Clifton Terrace car park and wind up at … the Clifton Terrace car park going the opposite way!
   Fly off the Lombard car park and wind up on a Hong Kong sound stage, your Holden Torana turned into a Ford Taunus!
   You know this is old because the traffic on the Bridge is moving.
   You also know this is fiction because the drivers on the Bridge are letting other motorists through.
   Kiwi TV fans from the 1980s: look out for Credit Card hostess Gayle-Anne Jones as a henchwoman—yes, there were beautiful blonde TV hostesses before Hilary Timmins.
   And, Indiana Jones fans, that is Ronald Lacey there as the baddie in the Rolls-Royce.

Yesterday, I became a customer of the Taranaki Savings Bank. I got my accounts open with the manager herself, Lynne Russell. Today, one of her staff opened my US currency account, on which I get interest—rather than be stung the $17 or whatever it was at the ANZ just for having the account.
   No fees on EFT-POS and ATM (not that I ever use these), no fees on my account since I have a healthy balance, and, basically, banking as it should be.
   Remember when you deposit money into a bank you are technically making a loan to the bank. There is no logical reason you should be charged for that—unless when you take out a loan, you can charge the bank a discretionary fee. (I dare you to ask.)
   The TSB gets it. It gets that the customer is ‘paramount’, as I was told by one of its team today. Sir John Anderson and his fellow directors do not. I was with the ANZ since 1995 (leaving after Sir John took over from Sir Spencer Russell at the National Bank and began instigating some ridiculous charges there). I told Lynne she should expect I will stay with the Taranaki bank for 20-plus years.