My sister: Your blog is never updated. Your loyal followers are disappointed.
Me: Well, tomorrow is the first of November, so you know what that means.
Her: NaBloPoMo
Me: Correct, so a post every day in November.
Her: Meh. The standard of those posts can be really variable.
Siblings
Citizen of the World
Previous correspondence with my sister.
Me: How’s Spain?
Her: Fine, I imagine but I don’t know as I am in Germany.
In my defence, she has a very heavy travel schedule. She recently returned from India.
Me: How was it?
Her: Oh, fine. Horrible hotel room.
Me: Why?
Her: In India, the way they make a non-smoking room is to take out the ashtrays.
And then the next week, she was in Abbeyfeale. It’s just non-stop.
Home Truths
Me: Where does all my money go?
My sister: Sympathetic noise.
Me: I mean, I get my hair cut once a year (it grows slowly – has always only needed an annual cut, really).
Her: Sympathetic noise.
Me: I don’t buy make up or perfume (these are supplied by my sister who is an adventurous purchaser and gives me spares). I hardly ever buy clothes. I get my books from the library now. Where does it go?
Her: I think you will find that effective savers don’t eat lunch out every day.
Some Thoughts on High Finance
Stay with me here, alright?
I was talking to my sister recently about her friend who is very bright and asked, “Did she come first in your class in college?”
“No,” said my sister, “in our class it was only really a fight for second place because we had Joe Soap in our class. He was the cleverest man, I ever met. It felt like he was only going to lectures to be polite to the lecturers.”
“What did he do after?”
“He went to Oxford and did a PhD in Chemistry but then he decided Chemistry wasn’t for him. We were all a bit depressed when we heard because, honestly, if Chemistry wasn’t for Joe Soap then it really wasn’t for anyone.”
“So what’s he doing now?”
“Oh, he’s a banker in the City of London.”
And it just struck me that the rewards associated with international finance do attract super-smart people who are used to being right and being the brightest people in the room. Do you think that makes it likely that they would accept that it’s all their fault if something goes wrong or that they would respect the regulatory authorities?
Sample size 1 as a colleague says when I produce these kinds of things but still.
I think I might go back and re-read my copy of “The Best and the Brightest“.
Fishmonger to the Queen
You may not remember this, but when the Queen of England visited Ireland, she went to the market in Cork.
She chatted to one of the fishmongers and he has made it his business to keep this in the forefront of people’s minds, inter alia, by hanging a large picture of himself and herself over his stall (“Rebel county, indeed” as Mr. Waffle remarked sardonically at the time). This drives my brother insane and my sister and I have had hours of harmless entertainment pointing to the marketing abilities of Mr. O’Connell.
Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, he published a book. This is from the blurb:
In this heart-warming story, Pat O’Connell recalls the historic visit of Queen Elizabeth II to the English Market, which left a lasting impact not only on the market itself but also on his own life.
This is from my brother when he heard the news.
Why are they doing this to me………………I’ve had enough..this guy makes me want to buy frozen fish from an industrial fish farm in the south Pacific, with 3 gizillion food miles, online from a faceless global retailer that pays no tax, headquartered in the Caymen Islands (or maybe Ireland)….
And look, only look, at the cover of today’s Examiner: Pat getting fitted out for his trip to Buckingham Palace.
Hours of harmless entertainment for all the family.
It’s all about who?
Sister (to me last week): You haven’t updated your blog in ages.
Daughter: I know, and I have said so many blog worthy things.
So, obviously, I’m back.