Bank chief finds no use for cash
SPEAKING after announcing annual results, Clydesdale Bank chief executive David Duffy related a tale which underscores the pace of change in the banking world.
During a two week spell in the UK and the United States Mr Duffy did not once use any cash.
Between digital boarding passes, Uber, Apple Pay and other online tools Mr Duffy said: “I realised I had gone all the way [to the US] and back and hadn’t taken my wallet out.”
Curry is still a hot favourite
RUMOURS of the curry’s demise have been greatly exaggerated, according to Ashoka restaurant boss Sanjay Majhu.
The entrepreneur has been slowly winding down his restaurant empire but insists curries remain as popular as ever.
“I don’t think people eat less curries, I really don’t,” he said. “Our restaurants are still doing the same covers that they used to do 10-odd years back.
“I think it’s down to the fact that things change and the whole climate around restaurants has changed. People access Indian food through supermarkets, through grocery shops, through kebab shops, [and] through restaurants. There is such a massive outlet for them that I think the restaurant in many ways is getting diluted.”
Fast decision on cheesy email
THIS week’s prize for cheesiest email goes to Edinburgh-based Origo, the e-commerce body for the financial services sector.
It said in a letter to delegates who recently attended the National Association of Pension Funds’ annual conference: “Three days have never gone so quickly! In fact, it was almost as fast as our pension transfers.”
Our contact informed us: “An email has never gone so quickly into my delete folder.”
No chance of that greeting being misinterpreted.
Growler is toast of awards
A BIT of alliteration goes a long way in a company name.
Just ask Jehad Hatu, founder of the wonderfully-titled Grunting Growler.
Mr Hatu, who moved to work in Glasgow from Chicago, does not own a pet shop but a business which allows drinkers to fill their reusable jugs (or growler) with beer and take them home.
And the entrepreneur, who plies his trade in Peckham’s Clarence Road store in Glasgow, has just been awarded for his efforts. He has been named the Scottish Bartenders Network’s beer champion for 2015.
All power to his elbow.
Ad slot bid proves arresting
IT all started with a disused police box in Morningside. Now coffee shop business The Counter is reaching a nationwide audience on primetime television.
Ali and Sally McFarlane, who now have three police box coffee shops in central Edinburgh, can be seen chatting about their venture on major satellite TV stations this month.
It comes after they won a competition hosted by mobile payments company iZettle, which invited firms to submit a 15-second film for the chance to win a television advert.
The Counter now has police box coffee shops in Morningside, Tollcross and at the Usher Hall.
Ali said: “The past 15 months has been a whirlwind for us but winning this competition and having our independent coffee business broadcast on primetime television really is the icing on the cake.”
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