Actually it wasn’t, but I do so like to pretend.
To have such a day would be to acknowledge that we have
families and loved ones whom we care about. I am still pretty new to the whole
corporate banking/private equity thing but I suspect admitting such human
emotions might show a level of weakness that would be frowned upon. (To be
honest, all of the people I have met at GWDP are lovely, but why let the truth
get in the way of a good stereotype?)
Anyway, despite it not being Bring A Relative
day I took my dad to work with me. It wasn’t just so he could meet my lovely
caring delightful colleagues (I have gone too far the other way now haven’t I?).
48 years ago, when my father first started work, he slaved away in a little,
hidden away, side-street near Bank tube, called Austin Friars. I learnt this
over the Christmas holidays and was astonished at the coincidence as I now work
in the same little Austin Friars.
Indeed, as my father described the building he had worked in
I became convinced we were not just in the same street but we even occupied the
same building. Just 48 years apart.
The only way to confirm this was for him to visit the office
in person. However, the opportunity to re-visit his old haunt was time limited
as in 2 weeks we move into our new swanky (s optional) offices in The Shard.
Today he visited the offices and confirmed that it was the same street, same
building, same office….just the wrong floor. True, the carpets have a few more
coffee stains (at least I hope they are coffee stains) but the
basic infrastructure is unchanged (actually I think the carpets might date back
to the late 1960s)
And, of course, he got to see my GWDP colleagues - he thinks
they are lovely too. They also got something from his visit. They have seen what
I will look like in 30 years (see attached photos). Something tells they are
going to use this against me for some time to come.
I probably deserve it.
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