McFarlane's First Group farewell

JOHN McFarlane made the most of his last meeting chairing FirstGroup before plunging into the minor job of turning round Barclays.

The first shareholder comment was a vote of congratulations to the company on achieving its twentieth anniversary last week, while the second was the customary 10-minute complimentary review of the business from Somerset-based and wheelchair-bound transport campaigner David Redgwell.

“You are incredibly well-informed,” the chairman told him.

“You should join the management team.” He told the floor: “Thank you for your wonderful and positive comments. I am a banker so I don’t usually get them.”

Sculpting success

TOP marks to Kingsbarns Distillery for exploiting the opportunity provided by The Open in St Andrews to the full.

The distillery, based further down the Fife coast from the Auld Grey Toon, caught the imagination with a series of sand sculptures on the St Andrews beach during the tournament.

The Claret Jug, the R&A Clubhouse and the late Seve Ballesteros, who won The Open at St Andrews in 1984, were among the subjects impressively sculpted on the sands.

Even the high winds which disrupted play on Saturday did not deter their sculptors’ enthusiasm for the job, with constant repairs being required to keep their sandy creations intact.

Naturally, the activity peaked with a sculpture of a whisky still on the last day of The Open on Monday.

City philosophy

WE were surprised to say the least to hear who paid a visit to the offices of London investment broker Hobart Capital Markets.

According to analyst Justin Haque, whose colourful missives regularly bring mirth to the business desk, none other than the Dalai Lama dropped by, leaving a few pearls of wisdom.

When asked what surprised him most about humanity, the Dalai Lama is believed to have said: “Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.”

Not exactly the kind of stuff you’d hear often hear spouted around the bars of the Square Mile.

Silly season is near

BOOKMAKERS must never be idle. No sooner had William Hill lengthened its odds against a Grexit this year from 7/2 to 5/1 than it was taking bets on how soon PM Alexis Tsipras would resign, offering even money that he would quit before the end of 2015.

Never mind, they can soon reopen the book on which Premier League manager will be the first to be sacked in the new season.

Short shrift

ANNUAL meetings give shareholders the chance to let off steam, but sometimes they try the patience of the hall with over-long private obsessions – in the case of FirstGroup, usually a complaint on the shabby appearance of a local Aberdeen bus.

Chairman John McFarlane attempted pre-emptive action last week, warning that although a shareholder might believe such a question was of general interest, “I assure you in general it is not”.

He urged shareholders to keep to the business of the meeting but added: “I will tell you candidly I am not optimistic about this.”