Bashful Basham is in his element
AS AN ex-City spinner you’d imagine Brian Basham’s passions being along the lines of lunches at The Savoy, Bentleys and well-tailored suits (and goodness knows, they probably are) but the veteran PR has revealed a somewhat more esoteric enthusiasm over the last week – the radioactive chemical element, Thorium.
Basham, who as we revealed last week has just launched a new crowdfunding business, wrote a paper last year titled, “Thorium: The eighth element.” The paper was spotted by ADVFN chief Clem Chambers who suggested he put it out through the financial website’s publishing arm. The paper is now giving Richard Dawkins a run for his money on Amazon’s “Bestsellers in Science Essays & Commentary,” section, at number 29 (Dawkins is at 30). “It’s amazing, but it’s the subject not my prose,” a bashful Basham told us.
When Chambers told Basham about the good news, the pair imagined the headlines at his meteoric rise up Amazon’s charts. “Thooor!” was Chambers’ suggestion for a certain red-top.
As for whether Basham will give up his new day job and turn to a life of science writing, we’re not sure he’s terribly convinced by the royalties: “Soon I’ll be able to afford a large cup of coffee,” he told us.
■ LORD Mayor Fiona Woolf has been bashing her contacts book pretty hard. She is hoping to raise £686,000 on the City’s Giving Day on 11 July (the random number relates to her being the 686th Lord Mayor) and has been writing to the City’s CEOs asking them to donate £2 for each of their employees. Deloitte has signed up, happily coughing up £17,576 for their 8,788 beancounters. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, UBS, The Stock Exchange Group, AMV BBDO and Grant Thornton have also joined the crusade. The Capitalist hears the Lord Mayor has also asked Mark Carney to stand out at Bank station and collect with her on the day. Now that’s something we’d like to see…