London

Last week, Finola and I were in London.

We met our daughter, Juliana who lives there, and who has recently taken up an appointment with a public relations/public affairs company, Blue Rubicon. She previously worked with Cadburys and at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House).

I always enjoy visiting London, especially London’s pubs, which have retained a character that has been lost in other cities where such establishments have become too big and too anonymous.

We also were invited to go to the Wimbledon tennis finals. This was a brilliant experience.

On the business side, I visited Lloyds. I am a director of a reinsurance company and this was part of my education. I was struck by the quiet efficiency of the operation, whereby brokers can interact with providers of insurance in face to face way, while still availing of the most up to date technologies. Lloyds is more than a market place because it insists that participants have sustainable business plans as a condition for participation. I met Lord Levene, a former Lord Mayor of London, who has overseen the transformation of Lloyds in recent years.

This Sunday, I will be going to Croke Park for the Leinster Gaelic football final between Meath and Louth. I see that Meath are strong favourites but this is an uncomfortable position to be in. In recent years, Meath have been the more dominant force, but historically Louth have won these encounters almost as often as Meath have.