Names later
I AM settling down to write an airport novel. I had thought of calling it The Twelve Pink Forms or Honour and Offer but have picked on Names Later, Old Boy. This is a stock-market term used by buyers, in giving instructions to brokers. My novel will fea- ture a nobleman who has formed a chaste friendship with a Tibetan interior decora- tor. One day, feeling restless, he rings up a stockbroker and orders a million shares in Lloyd's of London. The broker, who has never dealt with him before, says that it may be hard to fill the order. He finds will- ing sellers, though, and the nobleman is so excited that to please his friend, he books the order to the Dalai Lama. Three days later and before any money can change hands, a Canadian life insurer bids for Lloyd's. A large uncrossed cheque wings its way to the Lama, who has given the noble- man's town house as his forwarding address. At this point the lady of the house returns from a long day at Lloyd's, where she serves in a non-executive capacity, drawing on her experience of hardship. The telephone starts to ring, and the inspectors call. All ends hap- pily, though. You may find the plot of my novel incredible, but it will make a lot of money, and that is what counts.
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