Sorry seems to be the sweetest word for some C2C commuters
THE ART of the official apology is a difficult one to master (see: Tesco’s “hit the hay” tweet and Nick Clegg’s video mea culpa), and rail operators are not known for their human warmth when trains break or go missing.
So The Capitalist is heartened to hear of C2C’s act of contrition, which came in the form of free mini eggs and chocolate buttons.
C2C sent teams wearing bright pink hairshirts to Fenchurch Street, Limehouse and West Ham stations to apologise for delays caused by a broken down train last Thursday. Commuters took the treats in good cheer – particularly those who weren’t even on the delayed services last week.
■ Presumably giddy with success, Bertrand de Mazieres became an unexpected talking point at Wednesday evening’s IFR banking awards by slipping over on the podium as he came up to accept his honour for becoming Issuer of the Year. Despite being warned of the slippery floor surface ahead of the presentations, the waistcoated director general of the European Investment Bank lost his feet entirely, knocking over the lectern and a couple of glasses in the process.
Luckily for him and his colleague, De Mazieres recovered his composure to receive his award from actor Stephen Mangan, who congratulated him for avoiding hospital.
Bank of the Year was BNP Paribas, which did what was expected of it by the hundreds of bankers present. As is traditional, the winning bank bid the highest amount for the tombstone auction, hosted by TV presenters Natasha Kaplinsky and Jonny Gould, helping to raise funds for Save the Children. Its £350,000 helped bring the grand total to £1.054m.
More than one thousand bankers then danced the night away in the Grosvenor House’s ballroom.