The Home Pages was a feature that first appeared in issue four of "The Bentilean", and aimed to publish news, reports, hints and tips of use to housepersons. Having started the mag with the high ideal of publishing almost anyone and anything that people wanted to write, I'd concluded that this policy led to too great a variation in quality from issue to issue and decided it would be a good idean to take a leaf out of the design book of 'proper magazines' and introduce more regular columns and features.
Government Wealth Warning
Catalogues can seriously damge your wealth
The Home Shopping Catalogues, like Littlewoods & Empire, have become almost a tradition, and it can't be denied it's much more fun browsing through the glossy pages of a catalogue than trudging the streets of Hanley, Longton, or even Devonshire Square! but beneath the gloss can lie a grim reality.
It's all too easy to take on too much credit, and often the catalogue companies themselves have to share the blame. Miss a payment or two and there'll come the inevitable letter saying "you appear to be behind in your account", along with a gamult of "buy now, pay later" offers, "latest bargains", and Sale Extravaganzas!! Then there's the "pay over 100 weeks" blurb, and now even "pay over 150 weeks". Somehow it sounds a lot less than the three yearsit is. But now it's even worse.
Now let yourself be tempted by the free introductory duvets, towel bales, or bargain priced TVs, and you could find yourself being charged for a "Payment Protection Scheme", to "cover your payments for you in the event of unemployment or death", without much of a fuss being made to tell you about it.
Worse Still
Worse still are the smaller catalogues that charge you credit and the 'payment protection insurance' automatically for any use of their credit facilities {Here I'm thinking of Damrt & J.D. Williams & Co}. And should you find the payments are too much for you afterall, even returning them isn't the final answer. You could find yoursel being charged credit for the weeks you had the goods in your possession plus, of course, those payment protection charges on top.All is not gloom, however, write to the companies saying you don't want your payments protecting, and they'll deduct them from your account. And some catalogues offer interest free credit over 50 weeks, not just 38. But do be warned, and don't miss the reality beneath those glossy pages.
Did you Know?
The original map drawing for the Bentilee estate {by J.W. Plant A.R.I.B.A. A.M.T.P.I., esti-dated 1953} showed baths, a hotel, and a cinema, in addition to the church, health centre, and shop which currently reside on and around Devonshire Square. Further up the estate, a fourth church is shown where Mac's Supermarket now lives, next to some equally non-existent "exclusive maisonettes".
Hot Tip
Get a thermos flask and, when you make the tea, pour in any excess hot water for use later. Saves not only electricity but time too.
Copyright The Bentilean 1999
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