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Mobile demo - on a Tube strike day - fails to convince

My Editor has asked me to express his thanks for the invite to meet your clients yesterday. An interesting venue, the Zetter hotel restaurant! and not a bad story, which - he informs me - he will certainly use. I was looking forward to meeting you, so the assignment was very welcome.

It was a bit of a bugger, yesterday, wasn't it? I'm sorry if I was a wee bit late but, as you said, the traffic was rather evil - what with the Tube strike, and so on... but all in all, I reckon 15 minutes after the 12.45 appointed time wasn't too bad.

It was a trifle unfortunate that your client's demo didn't work unless we went outside into the street to get a 3G signal, of course. And I suppose it's also a bit rough on your client that I regard their chosen area of expertise as a dead end. Please do accept my assurances that there's no sense of vindictiveness here: this is the sort of cockup I would have included in my story, simply for the entertainment value for my readers.

My journey home can't be laid at your door, and I don't blame you, not a bit. You weren't to know about the traffic jam which had built up, even worse than before lunch, causing my normal 30 minute bus journey home to take nearly two hours.

But I suppose you will understand that my sense of humour had rather evaporated by the time I got home at four PM; so while you can't be blamed for the mood I was in - even if it had not been for the unfortunate incident over lunch - I can see that your client might not see it quite that way. So I certainly won't tell them about that.

As to that incident, just between ourselves: next time, if you invite me to meet your client at 12.45 in a restaurant, and if the plan is not to have lunch at that time, I'd appreciate being informed.

Having sat patiently through an hour-long demo of very little value, and having had to walk a long way at some speed in order to get to the restaurant in time, I'm sure you'll believe me when I tell you I was really getting very hungry by 2 PM. So I was, quite candidly, not a little surprised when everybody stood up and said: "Good-bye!" - roughly at the point where I was really expecting to be shown the menu.

You'll be relieved to hear that the migraine headache caused by missing lunch has passed today, and so, although it's rather late I admit, I'm now nearly done with the report - I'll forward the URL of the news story when the Boss has posted it.

I agree, it's a report which is possibly not altogether flattering of your client. Hopefully, you will take it in the spirit of a "free press performing its function" even if the spirit of tolerance, and the feelings of good will between you and your client is somewhat eroded - by the difficulties they will also have experienced in getting back to their Reading offices (no doubt).

And I'm sure we'll all enjoy a good chuckle about it in a year's time!