I generally believe that being a career woman by day and a Chelsea housewife by night gives me the best of all possible worlds. But recently, as I walked down my deserted, cherry-tree lined street in Chelsea, and counted the number of my girlfriends ensconced for the summer in Cornwall/Provence/Umbria/Andalucia, I wondered whether I am mistaken.
Mark Hoban, Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury and an accountant by training, was heading off for his summer break the day after I met him for coffee. He may well be based in Brussels if the Tory Party makes it into government. That is one of the best suggestions in their recent blueprint for overhauling City regulation.
Hoban mentioned how European Commission officials said the Brits did not engage on a sustained basis. They arrived late for meetings and left early. "I suspect the only way to build up relationships with our European peers is to be there more often," says Hoban. That is crucial as the crisis means a much more interventionist Commission will be in place after October, he notes.