The Spirit of Basil Fawlty

The spirit of Basil Fawlty abounded around specialist broker Lancaster Insurance recently with echoes of "don't mention the war" being whispered in its corridors. When Lancaster was launched 21 years ago, much celebration of the centenary of the end of the Second World War provided the inspiration for the name, which carried the desirable connotations of battle-proven dependability. All well and good, however, the interior designer that kitted out its offices turned out to be something of a Lancaster Bomber nut and incorporated the Lancaster design into the wallpaper, seats and even the carpets. While this was something the staff came to live with, when they were expecting a visit from a team from Munich Re, a sapient executive decision was taken to meet them at a local coffee house.

Loss adjusters from Sigma have been dishing out some highly specialised risk-management advice recently. After urgently being called to an oil rig in Nigeria, one of many that stands in swampland hundreds of miles from civilisation, they were asked for their advice on how to deal with the parrots that have apparently been dive-bombing crew members. Thanks to Sigma's help, the problem has been greatly reduced now that staff are confined to eating only in the canteen.