Dear listener,

I don’t know why I objected. I hadn’t even paid for the plane ticket. But when the crew member on the BMI flight said she wanted me to pay £1.80 for a cup of tea (made with a tea bag) I thought it was unreasonable. And I wasn’t the first judging by the response of the hard-pressed and probably underpaid woman when I asked if I got a discount because I didn’t want milk or sugar. Then I began to wonder why did I object? Travelling to Glasgow on the train would take much longer and, on some ticket options, cost more. But I wouldn’t expect the train company to give me free tea. So why do I expect airlines to include refreshments, meals, newspapers, and a handy guide explaining how to escape should the plane crash very slowly on flat open ground and not burst into flames? At least the latter has some amusement value as you trundle round the airport looking for a slot.

All of which leads me to why I was in Glasgow. Some of you will recall (it was after all as long ago as Tuesday when I told you) that Money Box Live was broadcast this week live from the Buchanan Galleries shopping centre in Glasgow with questions from the audience rather than the phone lines. I spent much of the day wandering round (no, not shopping though one of our producers did manage to buy some shoes) talking to people who were waiting to get one-to-one financial advice from the 30 experts who were there as part of the BBC Money Matters Roadshow. Redundancy – and the fear of it – was a minor theme. The odd bankruptcy emerged. And generally the people of Glasgow who came for advice were very concerned about the effects of the changing economy on the interest earned by their savings; how to make the best use of their pension money; and curious about the merits of buying shares or property in these confusing times.

If you want to hear Money Box Live (did I mention it was live from Glasgow?) and the extra half hour that wasn’t broadcast (not on grounds of taste and decency but just because – despite the expense of the £1.80 cup of tea – we still only got half an hour on air) our website is the place to go bbc.co.uk/moneybox.

And such good news that Goldman Sachs is paying out £14bn in bonuses after a record £2bn profit in the third quarter of the year. Not for nothing is it known as Sacks of Gold. Not that everyone will get the same. There are two sorts of employees at the investment bank. The Haves and Have Yachts. But it does seem that tax on the individual bonuses paid in London and the profits of the British end of the company could bring in £2bn or more for the Treasury. So we’re all winners. Hmmmm.

AND PACKED INTO THE BEST RADIO PROGRAMME (Oh, by the way we are also Financial Programme of the Year after the Association of British Insurers Financial Media Awards voted us top on Thursday night):

Actually we’re still not 100% sure what’s in the programme this week. News has happened and pushed out some stories we were planning but, as I write (trying to get this out to you before midnight) here is our draft agenda.

We reveal a major loophole in one bank’s Chip and PIN security.

We find the cheapest pension and ask why does the dearest charge ten times as much to run your investment?

A fund manager tells us that there are hidden costs that we never even see or get told about that eat away at our pensions and investments.

Equitable Life – which has been on Money Box’s agenda even longer than I have – rears its head again as the Equitable Members Action Group wins (mainly) a major court battle against the Government. Will it mean more compensation (or ex gratia payments as the Government prefers)? To more people? And when?

And two companies that put investors into bonds backed by the failed US bank Lehman Brothers are themselves wound up. So it’s over to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and its limited protection for their 35,000 customers.

Probably not running:-- another court defeat for the Government. Judges find it has been behaving unlawfully in recovering overpaid social security benefits. And have customers of a Dutch bank really forced it to fail after a coordinated campaign to take their money out?

You can see our problem with 24 minutes and a dozen stories (I didn’t mention the other five).

Find out what makes it and what is left in the good-ideas-if-only-we-had-more-time box by tuning in to Radio 4 on Saturday at noon. The repeat is on Sunday at 9pm – and 24/7 on the website. Or subscribe to the podcast on bbc.co.uk/moneybox where you can also read stuff, watch things, follow up stories, download tons, and send us your ideas.

Best wishes,

Paul

e-mail Paul Lewis