A compromise

The new Marketing Assistant, Alison Davis, has joined us, and over the next four weeks will be shadowing the existing Marketing Assistant Adrian Taylor until he leaves on 10th November.

Alison wasn’t my first choice as an Assistant, but was a compromise between Neil Hancock and myself. I actually wanted to appoint someone who had a philosophy degree, but he absolutely vetoed anyone so intellectual (I could tell she was irritating him at the interview when she talked about abstract ideas). In return, I refused to consider any of the gung-ho, extrovert, assertive types that he favoured (“You want someone who’s going to push you” he said. “No I don’t” I told him, “I don’t like being pushed. If anyone pushes me, I’m going to push them back…”).

Aged twenty-one, Alison Davis is a Marketing graduate from one of the “new” universities. She is very practical, and keen to make a good impression. She has certainly made an impression on Adrian Taylor – several times he has blushed deeply when talking to her (and on the most banal subjects such as the direct marketing programme, or how the big colour printer works).

With my lunch today I had three apples – a Spartan from Poland (small, with a fresh slightly bitter taste), a Russet from England (heavy apple scent, soft thick skin, hard white flesh), and a Golden Delicious from France. The nicest was the Golden Delicious. No-one in the office believes this can be possible (they are supposedly bland and tasteless).