Is your money safe at Santander bank?

A collection of climate stories mostly

A forlorn bank building for sale

From our house, it was a 10–15 minute walk down a leafy suburban road into Oxton village on the Wirral. In 1970, the centrally located Midland Bank (now HSBC), was on the left, with parking for at least 10 cars. The sign said, Bank customers only, but there was no one there to administer and a blind eye was often turned.

Oxton village

It was a convenient car park for quick comestibles and other needs. The greengrocer, which became the baker was next door, Adam’s the butcher opposite, had been there for years, Cottams for newspapers and birthday cards, the Co-Op, two hairdressers, even a beer in The Talbot — not the best, was on hand.

I can’t remember my parents ever walking, so the car park proved handy.

The bank was a modern 1960s creation, not dissimilar to my junior school assembly hall. A glass roof was supported by wooden buttresses in a pleasing geometric shape. A glass frontage was even more welcoming to the bank’s customers. It was at odds with everything else standing in the…