Post 100 for me, and I go find this weird old thread to waste it on!
Anyway, I wanted to tell a Princess Di story. It just so happens that I was flying to London on business on the Saturday night of her accident. They did not announce it on the plane. I found out because I shared a booth on the train from Heathrow into town with an American couple who had come in on another flight; they saw it on the TV news. The news was still spotty and we kind of speculated that maybe she or the boyfriend was actually driving the car...
Anyway, when we got in (Charing Cross station if I remember right) I got one of those black cabs and this driver slowly drove around that big circle in front of the palace. There were thousands of people there - the place was covered in flowers and the crowd was so orderly it was unreal. There was just total silence.
I had all day Sunday by myself before going out to find our local office on Monday. It was just about the weirdest business travel day of my entire life - the place was like a freeze frame on a DVD player. On Monday, about everybody at our office (including our U.S. based CEO) was just sitting around the canteen and watching the news. Then we were off on Tuesday to Cologne, Germany on our customer visit.
My British partner on the call, Ken Rowe, and I get a cab at the Cologne airport. It is, ominously, a great big Mercedes sedan. The driver pulls down into the connecting tunnel, accelerating to at least 140KPH. Ken and I kind of share a look - and we make a nervouse laugh. (Great, here we are in the back seat of a big fast black Mercedes doing about a ton down through a tunnel!) The excellent lady driver delivers us safely to the Ford plant and all is well.
On the thread subject, I think the loss of the Princess was a great one. If Camilla can possibly create some sense of order and happiness in that weird realm - I say more power to her.
James