You would think that, given that you can only get the best annuities by comparing the market, everyone would go through this process. Alas, this is not the case because of the reasons already stated. The annuity providers by and large don’t help you much either, as many of them will knowingly sell their customers a poor value annuity. Despite a recent code of conduct introduced to help raise awareness of shopping around, the majority of retirees ignore such advice and take the first offer from their current pension company. Until it is made explicitly clear that comparing the market is essential or the open market option is made compulsory, the situation seems unlikely to change radically.

It is not as if us Brits are averse to shopping, especially for insurance products. The past fifteen years has seen a massive growth in comparison websites, which allow users to produce real time quotes. An annuity cannot be compared in the same way as, for example, car insurance can. A full and compressive annuity quotation requires detailed medical information plus consultancy over which type of annuity products are attractive (there are dozens of these). An annuity may not even be the preferred option as there are alternatives such as drawing down your pension fund.

You can see with all this financial jargon why so many of us are put off annuity shopping. There are so many other more enjoyable activities in life. However, by spending some time learning about annuities, however dull that is, you could get a much higher income in retirement. Some annuities, such as enhanced annuities, pay on average 20% more than standard annuities. These are for those retirees who have a medical condition that can impact on life expectancy. Most of those who buy an annuity qualify for enhancements but, as it suits providers not to tell you this, often you will end up with a standard annuity. That is, of course, unless you decide to shop around.

Article by Annuity City.

This time the sender was Southern Electric. Again, I have changed my aunt’s name but nothing else.

The letter was addressed to “The Estate of Mrs E. James” and continued “Dear The Estate Of Mrs E. James”. It bore no signature.

It is all well and good for companies to save time and money by automating the letter writing process, but they merely invite ridicule and risk customer dissatisfaction if their staff cannot operate the system better than this.

The twelfth and final episode of Homeland was shown on Channel 4 on 6^th May. A few days earlier, I watched the final episode of Six Feet Under on DVD. These were very different types of TV drama but, each in its own way, was hugely impressive.

Homeland is a gripping thriller involving the CIA, terrorism and the possibility that a US army sergeant has been “turned” by al-Qaeda. It remained interesting throughout and built to a nerve-racking climax. My only criticism is that it might have benefited from being shortened by a couple of episodes. Other than that, the writing and direction is taut, the characters complex and the acting of a very high order. The two leads, Claire Danes and Damian Lewis, are particularly impressive. The series was named Best Drama Series in the latest Golden Globe Awards and Danes won the award for Best Actress in a Drama Series. She is a truly outstanding actress. In my blog on Sky Atlantic of 17^th May 2011, I mentioned her role in Temple Grandin, for which she also won a best actress award. An uninformed viewer of both performances may well not have realised they had watched the same actress.

I have already mentioned Six Feet Under in a couple of earlier blogs, in particular the one about Sky Atlantic of 13^th March 2011. I have watched all five series, comprising 63 episodes, and it is among the best drama I have ever seen on television. Having said that, it is clearly not going to be to everyone’s taste ( but then, nothing is). The Fishers are a dysfunctional family; all of them, and most of the satellite characters, are screwed up in one way or another. The characters are complex and so are their relationships. The drama is often dark and it is occasionally shocking or distasteful. It is sometimes surreal. It is usually very moving and is consistently brilliant in its writing and acting. The final episode contained probably the best series ending ever written. What more can a lover of intelligent drama ask?

All five seasons of Six Feet Under are available in a box set (see the Alive and Twitching aStore). As far as I am aware, Homeland is not due to be released in the UK until 1^st October 2012.

 The Home Page of the aStore displays a number of retirement guides that readers may find of interest. Then, in addition to the full Amazon range of books, DVDs and CDs, I have included a selection of books and DVDs that I personally have enjoyed very much, several of which have been mentioned in various blogs.

 For every item purchased I will earn a small amount of commission. Any such commission will be gratefully received as the cost of removing the malware was considerable.

A girl made medical history when giving birth to quintuplets, each of whom was a different colour to the others. The mystery was solved when it was discovered that she had confused her birth-control pills with Smarties.

Last year I read 15 books and am listing them below in the order in which I read them. As usual, they are a mixed bunch, both in respect of genre and quality. Writing this, it is apparent that, on the whole, I enjoyed the books read in the first half of the year more than those read in the second half.

The Shadow of the Wind (2001) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
This is an international best-selling Spanish novel, set in Barcelona after the Spanish Civil War. A slightly strange mix of genres, although principally a Gothic thriller. It is beautifully written in a style that evokes classical novelists. When reading it, Dickens came to mind. A terrific story, well-told. 

The Snowman (2010) by Jo Nesbo
This was the first book I had read by Jo Nesbo, the hugely successful Norwegian writer. Apparently, one of his books sells every 23 seconds. This particular book is one of several in a series featuring an Oslo detective named Harry Hole. It is an exciting, albeit gruesome, thriller. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A Week in December (2009) by Sebastian Faulks
This is a state-of-the nation novel set in London during a period of seven days in December 2007. The characters are drawn from various sectors of society and it is apparent from an early stage that their lives are going to cross in some way. These people include a hedge fund manager, a young barrister, a wealthy immigrant businessman, a potential Islamist terrorist, a Tube train driver, a premiership footballer and a book reviewer. It is an entertaining novel, although somewhat flawed. A romance between two of the characters is highly unlikely; the gross TV reality game which obsesses the son of the hedge fund manager, whilst intended by Faulks to be satirical, is absurd; and the book critic seems to have wandered in from another novel. What impressed me the most was the way the author handled the detail of the financial shenanigans involving the fund manager. This must have necessitated a great deal of research. 

Italian Shoes (2009) by Henning Mankell
The Swedish author is the creator of the Wallander series of crime novels. This book. however, has nothing to do with that detective or, indeed, any policeman. It is a novel of loneliness and mortality. The central character is living in self-imposed isolation in a desolate landscape when a visit from a former lover brings life-changing consequences. This is a well-written, atmospheric novel, albeit a rather bleak one.

Innocent (2010) by Scott Turow
This is a belated sequel to Presumed Innocent (1987), possibly the best courtroom thriller I have read. It is reputedly the first of this genre which later spawned John Grisham among others. It was later made into a popular film starring Harrison Ford. The principal characters from the earlier book are present in the sequel, although over twenty years older. It is cleverly plotted and will keep you guessing until the end.

The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim (2010) by Jonathan Coe
Jonathan Coe is one of my favourite authors (see blog of 21.08.2008). This book, however, proved to be a disappointment. The eponymous hero is a sad, lonely, loser who finds life a constant struggle. As with other Coe novels, it is often funny and is an effective satire on the UK today. However, it is strangely structured and I found the ending irritating. It seemed to me that the author was being too clever by half.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2008) by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
A book that takes the form of letters passing between a writer and various Guernsey residents just after the end of the Second World War. It recalls events affecting the lives of those residents during the German occupation of the island. The book was recommended by a female friend and I think it is one that will appeal more to women than men. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it and thought it was charming.

The Long Song (2010) by Andrea Levy
This is the second of Andrea Levy’s novels that I have read. The first was Small Island, which was one of the best and most enjoyable I have come across in recent years. This one, about the slave trade in Jamaica, is also very impressive although I have one criticism. Despite the title, I felt that the narrative should have been longer as it omitted a substantial part of the heroine’s life. I was left feeling a little cheated, but perhaps that is an indication of how much I had enjoyed what there was.

 Click on book title for Amazon UK link.

The south-east’s crowded skies

There has been considerable debate for several years about the need for an additional airport or, at least, additional runways to serve London and the south-east. It is not difficult to see the commercial benefits of enhanced facilities, but these have to be set against safety and noise pollution factors.

 I live in the south-east, within easy reach of Heathrow and Gatwick. There is a field behind our house which provides an unimpeded view of a large expanse of sky. Whilst walking recently in this field, I was surprised by the number of vapour trails and decided to count them. This revealed that there were at least ten aircraft within view at the same time. I must admit that I find this a little alarming.

Hofstadter’s Law

I recently came across Hofstadter’s Law, devised by an American academic named Douglas Hofstadter. It states that “It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law.”

It was a relief to find that underestimating how long it will take to complete a job is a common problem. I had thought that it was simply me being slow.

 An extraordinary coincidence

I have mentioned in an earlier blog that I am acting as executor for an aunt who died recently. She, in fact, died in late January. About two months later, her neighbour, who lived in the flat across the corridor from my aunt, also died. They both lived alone in sheltered accommodation.

 I did not notify my aunt’s electricity and gas supplier of her death until yesterday as I had been keeping the flat heated periodically during the cold weather. Yesterday afternoon, I rang them to request that the meters be read and final accounts be rendered. The lady at Customer Services to whom I spoke told me that she had just taken a call in respect of the flat opposite, where the tenant had recently died, with a similar request. It transpired that the call had come from my aunt’s neighbour’s daughter. The Customer Services lady and I both remarked on this extraordinary coincidence. The fact that both old ladies had the same utilities supplier was not a surprise as they were friends and had probably decided to use the same company. What is extraordinary is that the two ‘phone calls were made so close together (bearing in mind that the deaths were about two months apart) and that both calls were taken by the same person, especially as I was informed that there were about 120 people working at the call centre at that time. I wonder what the odds against that combination of events would have been. Probably considerably less than winning the National Lottery.