Welcome bank
Above: Suzanne Gair, Pauline Goodfellow, Stuart Howard, Julie Green, Manager Ben Black, Toni Ross, Pearl Roper and Irene Hall
The posters said, ”Welcome to your new bank, it’s 200 years old,” as Amble’s Lloyds TSB branch reverted to just the TSB bank. The new venture was marked by a ribbon cutting ceremony on 9 September.
New manager Ben Black told The Ambler, “We are very excited about the new bank, it’s all about community,” and so a member of the community Stuart Howard was invited to do the honours; the prizes were donated by The Mad Jam Lady and Moira at Pride of Northumbria.
All the current staff welcomed the customers, and staff from the old Amble TSB branch were invited to share in the opening.
The manager when it closed, Michael Sergeant, brought along old photographs of his time in the branch, which was previously located on the other side of the road.
They had a very busy morning, some people had come to do banking, others to join in the celebrations, many to ask questions about the new set up, and inevitably some were disappointed because some transactions were no longer available to customers who have stayed with the Lloyds part of the banking system.
The raffle was won by Susan and Derek from the Schooner and raised £175 for the Nial Howard Fund. Other fundraising raised £282 for the Alzheimer Society. This total was doubled by matched funding from the bank.
