Herry's Early Experiences of Banking
My idea of what retail banking should be like is heavily coloured by my first experiences of it. I opened an account at Barclays* in Winchester when I was about 13 and had just gone to school. A small amount of money was deposited in my account by my parents and occasionally topped up. I didn't need much; just enough to go to the school shop a couple of times a week for egg and chips (2/6p) to supplement the appalling food that Francis King served in Phil's. Other things were bought on my mother Annette's account - groceries at Cullen's in Jewry St and books at Harrington's in Parchment St. Later we used to go to the Two Bare Feet coffee bar (also in Parchment St) and have weak cappuccinos in glass cups and saucers and imagine that we were cool. As a consequence, I went rarely to the bank (these were the days long before cash machines) to draw out money, but when I did, one entered the rather splendid high-ceiling banking hall and I sought out Carole , an a...