Plans change

There you are - the rest of the week planned out and an an email drops on the metaphorical doormat inviting you to the client's HQ for a 1-2-1 with the CIO. A planned eight hours of revisions and preparation get cut to to three... and one colleague has a bee (or is it a parrot) in his bonnet about one aspect of the review.

In the midst of all this prepaprtion the Gorse Fox finally got throuh to Starfleet's travel advisors and managed to slip his return flight to Saturday - accommodating a Friday afternoon board meeting.

We headed down town at breakneck speed, driven by an American colleague here on assignment. He seems to have picked up their road protocols without any difficulty. He was explaining that being here as a resident, rather than a visitor was very different. In particular with a wife and two kids he has to be very careful over security.

We arrived at the bank HQ and the Gorse Fox could only contrast it with those he has visited in the UK. It was exquisite, and the owning families of the bank are great art collectors. They have thick books listing their collections - which are on display all over the bank for all to see and admire.

Back at the hotel another plan changed. The Gorse Fox had planned to eat in the hotel restaurant, but when he got there he found it didn't open for a further 45 minutes. Worse still, there was no pizza on the menu and the Gorse Fox really fancied a pizza. He returned to his room - pizza was available on the room service menu. He now awaits a knock on the door.