I realized last week that I had ballsed up my diary and had arranged to have 2 lunches on Tuesday at the same time. I juggled and so arranged lunch one for 1 PM and lunch 2 for 3.30 PM. Still not feeling 100% I trekked up to London for a meeting with Enables IT and braced myself for lunch one having just enough time to check my emails. Bugger. Hell's Teeth.
Are we still on for lunch at 2.30 said the mustachioed corporate financier via an email sent while I was off line on the train? The guy was coming to London to see me and was already on his way.
There was no alternative. Lunch one started at 1.05 PM (the stockbroker was late but generously paid for a couple of bottles of Valpolicella and a lunch). Lunch 2 arrived early so he bought another bottle and ate a salad as the three of us talked and then just the two of us. Lunch three, a CEO, then arrived and ordered another bottle of wine and ate. The three of us talked and then the two of us. By 5 I needed a bit of a rest.
I had a brief snooze and contemplated how Real Man Pizza is rapidly becoming like Malcolm Stacey’s fabled Punters Return with CEOs, PR operatives, corporate financiers and brokers popping in every day. This afternoon we have a broker, some PR totty and a CEO on their way.
Incidentally, in one of those email balls ups I was copied in on an email between the CEO and his PR totty in which it was revealed that the CEO was reluctant to engage with me ( as I had written something nasty about his company) but that there would be a senior PR man there who could control me. Methinks not. Anyhow I replied to all and assured the CEO that I was a nice guy really but he was not to tell anybody as I have a reputation for beastliness to maintain.
A couple of hours later I was sitting outside Real Man Pizza having a cigarette and wondering what day of the week it was when who should wander up but an employee of t1ps.com who was looking for me. The sinner repenteth!
Apparently he wishes to join all the others abandoning the t1ps ship and wondered if I might have a spare berth on the Real Man express as our media operations expand at a rate of knots. It is more fun being on the winning team he admitted. Hmmmm … buy me a drink and we can talk my friend.
As for the transfer from the t1ps ship to the RM Express…please form an orderly queue Gentleman.