City diary: Cosima Marriner
Tapering off his pre-budget preparation, Gordon Brown yesterday broke bread with the 1966 World Cup winning England side and their German counterparts from the legendary "they think it is all over" match. Both teams went on to visit the new Wembley stadium, which builder Multiplex assured us until very recently would be ready in time for the FA Cup final in May. We wonder if the Germans, used to more efficient construction projects, were moved to joke "we think it's only just begun".
· Today of course is the chancellor's big day, budget day. But it was almost not budget day at all at the Isle of Dogs where most of the journalists at the Independent were planning a strike in pursuit of higher pay. The strike was called off at the eleventh hour last night which is a pity. Staff were about to don catchy badges demanding "Gimme 5 ... %" (double the 2.5% on offer), while adhering to their unofficial motto for the day: "No budget for us, no budget for you."
· If only the media analysts at Citigroup were as succinct. Their note rating Sir Martin Sorrell's WPP advertising monolith a buy started off well enough, with the title "Hitting the Sweet Spot". But it quickly descended into indecipherable goobledygook, such as this gem: "Cyclically we see the group entering a sweet spot as it benefits from the mini, post-mini, maxi-quadrennial phasing of non-annual repeating events." Qué?
· One Indy staffer who has no need to strike is Jason Nissé. The business editor of the Independent on Sunday yesterday crossed the journalism/PR divide to join Barclay's press office. Nissé was straddling both his past and future careers on Monday night, sitting on the Barclays table at the British Press Awards. We hear he also bonded in the past with Barclay's former press chief Chris Tucker (who left to travel the world) over a mutual love of Arsenal.