Lord of the rails
THERE is a vacancy for a viscount at Kleinwort Benson, the merchant bank noted for its wide range of noblemen. Lord Tenby, Bill Lloyd George that was, son of Gwilym and grandson of David, has hung up his City hat and was last seen wearing a British Rail uniform cap presented by the driver of the Flying Scotsman. Bill's friends in and out of the bank marked his retire- ment by having him ambushed and taken to Sheffield Park on the Bluebell Railway, where they awaited him in a special train, made up of vintage dining cars with vintage contents, and steam-hauled. A band was there to strike up his family anthem. News that Bill would be driving the train before lunch, anyway — presented a busi- ness opportunity to Michael Hawkes, Kleinwort's enterprising chairman, who could be heard offering life insurance, on terms of a million pounds for a fiver. He knew his man, and Kleinwort, whose rights issue has played its part in rendering the institutions' indigestion so painful, this time had no need to call on the underwri- ters.
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