So the weirdest thing happened this week.
I was up in the homeland on Wednesday for a few client meetings with our China banks analyst. I went to Edinburgh the night before actually and had dinner with an old friend at the second best curry house in town. We were a little distracted and probably, if I’m honest, under-appreciated the quality of the food as a result, by a very fine bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape. But I’m sure it was a much better wine to drink with curry than the Chasse Spleen 2000 I served to my Scottish clients last Christmas when testing my Curry with Claret proposition. Also unsettling our focus was a story I was told by my father who I was speaking to on the phone as I travelled into town. He told me that some 70 years earlier he used to fish for stickleback in the Water of Leith standing on a large flat rock underneath the Stockbridge, not 50 yards from our chosen dining spot. I made a mental note there and then not to have fish curry that evening.
Anyway I digress. I returned south the following evening. I had bumped into a salesman from Citigroup and bemoaning our lot we sank a couple of pints of cider and some packets of tomato crisps dusted with oregano. Fair to say I was in a merry mood and, whats more, my flight left on time which added to my feeling of well-being. We landed at Stansted ahead of schedule and as were taxiing at quite a speed towards the terminal I was beginning to think, if I ran all the way from the plane stairs to the car park, I might be able to catch the whole episode of the Archers. But suddenly the plane screeched to a halt. I’ve never thought there was much point to these seatbelts they make you wear on planes other than to remind you to remain planted, but if I had been unbuckling and preparing for a sneaky fast exit I’d have been in big trouble! Seriously, the brakes were just slammed on. Even in the good old days when I had my Porsche…well it wouldn’t have been able to stop as abruptly as the pilot brought his Easyjet Airbus to a halt. Bollocky boo I thought to myself. Here comes a bit of a delay. However almost as quickly as we had stopped the engines picked up and we resumed albeit what felt to me at least a slightly more circumspect progress towards the airport buildings. “Ding dong” went the tannoy……. and this I am not making up. I kid you not. I heard it with my very own ears. I sometimes feel it is an odd world I inhabit. “Sorry about that folks” said the Captain, “but I very nearly ran over a rabbit.”
Incidentally, talking of my weird world, I was dragged to a quiz night yesterday held by a couple of Bob’s friends to raise money for the reconstruction of a Nepali village supposedly wrecked in the earthquake a year or so back. A process also knows as funding their Gap Year antics. I drank too much and went to bed too late so I have been struggling a bit today as you might be able to tell. But I want to ask you something. I’m not bragging. The fact is our table came second last. We were wretched. But my team, crammed with Oxbridge students incidentally, looked at me in awe when I immediately and correctly answered the question…”which is the 3rd book of the Old Testament”. I was amazed at their reaction. Don’t they teach Scripture any more?You lot are generally blinking hopeless at responding to this email – don’t worry, I don’t still love you – but, without conferring, tell me honestly, did you know the answer????
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