Two "random blasts from the past"

February 27th 1990

During the 1980s, I have often puzzled about the sort of life that people try to lead in the modern world. Before I met Linda I had, I felt, already produced a break from the consumer society that has become such a feature of the last decade (of course Henry Thoreau wrote about it all in similar terms in the 1850s!) I was passionately interested in travel and saw myself pottering around the world while temping as an accountant to earn money. Meeting Linda put a stop to that plan though I have always said that I hope to visit Tibet (more likely Nepal) one day [ . . . . . ]

(Addendum. I had sought over the next 15 years to produce a situation in which I might revert to something like my original plan once Emma was settled at college. There were hints of this life when I was travelling in the Land Rover across Europe last summer, but recent events have, perhaps, moved the possibility further away. This remains a great problem for me in respect of my philosophy of life. Of course, my views on consumerism are unchanged)

February 27th 1995

Baring Bank dominates the news. We are all amazed that it appears to have collapsed following exchange traded contracts. Everyone concerned with derivatives has given all sorts of likely scenarios that could cause a collapse, but no one suspected it would be an exchange that would have such a thing happen through it. We all assumed it would be OTC. We await further news with interest

Back home, Linda remains unwell but at least Emma is back at school tomorrow. Emma and I read a bit of her junior astronomy book tonight. I would really like her to move on to older reading - longer stories that take several nights for instance

(Addendum - I was working at Hanson when the Baring's story broke and did most of the work related to keeping up to date with derivative market developments. Even then, there was a trend towards ludicrously complex derivatives - things with rates squared in them for instance. I remember Banker's Trust used to send me a ludicrous idea every week!

Years later, Emma would accompany me to half a dozen "Astronomy Weekends" at Oxford University. Sadly we will miss this year's as it is the weekend she returns to Cambridge. Emma was a slow starter with reading, but certainly made up for it later!)