Travel Tuesday

   You can tell when I’m returning because I ‘m faced the other way.

The alarm rang at 5 am – no matter, the pigeons already had me awake.  I tapped the coffeemaker into action, downed the last fruit in the ‘fridge, tossed out the trash bag for pickup.  5:40 – no way to make walk to the station in time to catch the the 5”56 train to Amsterdam.  The Dutch consider any hour before 9 am to be Peak Travel Times,, so it’s full-fare on an empty train as we roll through silent countryside – Sittard, Roermond, Weert.

British Airways had a sale on direct flights to London City Airport, a first for me.  The plane is full of men in suits'; I chose the out-of-place comfort of slacks and pullover.  The flight arrowed west, then spiraled down into the morning haze over London.  Great views of the Olympic construction, the Arsenal stadium, the Dome.  A nod and a card for the Border Police, then aboard the 11:30 DLR.

The calls start at noon – an investor meeting at two, a board member at four.  I regret the polo shirt and prowl Old Broad Street for a shirt and tie.  Quick drop into Starbucks for a latte and e-mails, then to Corney  & Barrow for the pitch.  Sadly, not to be: five minutes and I know I’ve failed to hook; ten and we’re done.

Tube to Kensington, another Starbucks for access while sipping an iced coffee. A smartly dressed woman interviews at the next table.  The candidate is in trouble: it’s a mistake to bring pink stationary and a matching gel pen to take notes.  I fire a Tweet to my daughter with sage advice.

Four-thirty pm, my partner and I launch into the revised Articles and immediately run into trouble. As written, if either of us leave the Board at any time for any reason other than death, it triggers a Share Transfer which strips us of all ownership in our own company.  I call the attorneys for an explanation – all are on Easter Break until middle of next week. We work through all of the other issues but fall short of concluding the agreement.

Dusk is gathering as I work my way to Kings Cross and on north towards Cambridge.  there’s time for a few calls between tunnels, a quick browse through the newspaper, a last few desultory taps at the keyboard.  A week of meetings and a full agenda of ‘must-do’ items are on tap.  Travel days are long days, and the work can pile up in my absence.