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George and I had a lazy start today. We lingered over breakfast and chatted about old times. He was remembering some of the things he’d heard his taxi passengers talking about.

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Years ago when I was working in the City of London, he picked up a couple of Americans at Heathrow and took them to one of my firm’s competitors. They were discussing a government work project which both organisations were bidding for, and which I was working on. George didn’t know it was my project at the time, but he did recognise the name of my firm when it came up and the passengers were planning how to sideline the partner I was working with, and make him seem in the wrong.

They also used the code name of the project, which was Galileo. When George reported the conversation to me that night, I knew exactly what he was talking about and, with that titbit of information, we were able to scupper their plans. It was an amazing coincidence and brought home to me just how careful you have to be about being overheard. In hindsight, I’m also a bit goggle-eyed about how long I survived in that cut-throat environment. I’m well out of it all now, thank goodness.

More recently, George brought two senior members of the Neal’s Yard company from the station to their local factory. They were talking about how they were going to fire a woman who worked in the London office and occasionally visited this factory. George was horrified as he knew the person quite well from ferrying her to and from the station. He didn’t know what he’d be able to say when he saw her again. Fortunately for him, if not for her, it didn’t happen as she hasn’t been back since.

So do remember the taxi driver if you’re chatting away in the back seat. He can’t help but overhear.