I had an interesting start to the week on Sunday when in the company of John Needham a council member of CIOBS, I attended a Festival Service at St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh. We were joined by representatives of many other organisations in this celebration of the 62nd Edinburgh International Festival.
The Cathedral was full of all sorts of VIPs and me!
Each organisation was "protected" during the procession by one of the High Constables of Edinburgh. Our protector was a world War One veteran and he carried a baton. He told me it was ceremonial. The event passed off peacefully and the baton was not used for any other purpose.
I was very impressed by the number of people lining the streets and also by the number of people taking photographs. Goodness knows what sort of websites these photographs might appear in!
You might notice that there is no podcast this week, but rest assured your favourite method of catching up on all the business news from home and abroad will be back in its usual place next Thursday.
We probably need a rest from from some of the recent gloom and doom anyway. So I will just mention a couple of newsworthy items here in the blog.
The pound has sunk to 22-month low against the dollar after the Bank of England's inflation report warned the UK could be heading for a recession.
The US economy is still suffering from the credit crisis but analysts say the deteriorating outlook elsewhere in the world has buoyed the currency's standing.
So a glimmer of hope there.
So with the Edinburgh Festival in full swing and the Olympics taking place. I am sure you are asking"Where is Raymond?" Is he competing in China or Performing in Edinburgh?"
Well, the answer is no on both counts.
I can exclusively reveal that as the schools here in Scotland get ready to return after the long summer break and with everyone else at CIOBS looking forward to the Autumn and the various events in the calendar, the great man is preparing to jet off to somewhere interesting.
Have a good break Raymond and do not worry about anything here at CIOBS. I will look after the place when you are away.
That's put him in a panic. Will he go or will he stay?
Tune in to next week's blog and I shall let you know.
And finally a little holiday tale with a financial services touch to finish this week
Jimmy and Mona are flying to Australia for a holiday to celebrate their 40th anniversary.
Suddenly, over the public address system, the Captain announces," Ladies and Gentlemen, I am afraid I have some very bad news.
Our engines have ceased functioning and we will attempt an emergency landing. Luckily, I see an uncharted island below us and we should be able to land on the beach. However, the odds are that we may never be rescued and will have to live on the island for the rest of our lives!"
The plane lands safely on the island.
An hour later Jimmy turns to his wife and asks, "Mona, did we pay our Bank Master card bill yet?""Oh no! I'm sorry. I forgot to send the cheque," she says.
"One other thing, Mona. Did you remember to send a cheque for the car loan to the finance company this month?" he asks.
"No I didn't send that one, either."
Jimmy grabs her and gives her the biggest hug in 40 years.
Mona pulls away and asks him, "So, why did you hug me?"
Jimmy answers, "They'll find us!!!!"
Oh well, back to work for me.
Michael (I hope I find you well)
