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He’d say things like “I think we should do this” or “We should do that” and it didn’t take a BFO to realise that HE wasn’t going to be doing it – Frank and I were going to get lumbered with whatever it was.
At some stage, Frank asked “What’s all this crap about ‘WE?’. Is he schizophrenic or something?”
“Nah” I said “He’s obviously twins in a single persona – Gert and Dieter”
So it was like
“The Twins want to see us. 2 o’clock. Looks like WE’VE got a new task”
“OK, Twins at Two it is”
And the name stuck.
Everyone knew.
Except him.
In fact, at some hoolie (I think it was his 40th birthday) he said:
“You now, over all these years I’ve NEVER had a nickname . Not at school – are you alright, Herr Schümann? Did something go down the wrong way? – not at university, not here – Herr Burland, is something the matter, your eyes are watering, why are you holding your stomach? – at Lufthansa. Nope, never had a nickname”
But what struck me the other day was how clued up the guy is.
It was at LEAST 10 years ago (and probably closer to 15) and we were chewing the fat about revenue management and pricing theory (that’s what we were working on at the time) and he said
“You know, this currency trading and suchlike has an unhealthy feel about it. These people who are trading on margins don’t actually create any value – they’re just skimming the cream off the milk. Piranhas, if you ask me. I can’t see how it’s sustainable”
Truer words have rarely been spoken.
You Must Be From Away 