Why patience is an underrated quality

When my children were young I couldn't wait for them to "grow up a bit". When would they sleep through the night/crawl/feed themselves/walk/learn to read/ride a bike/know their times tables off by heart.

(Actually, I'm still waiting for that last one. For some unfathomable reason "learning your times tables off by heart" went out of fashion. Instead of just knowing that 7 x 6 is 42 they were expected to be able to use all sorts of ridiculous methods - chunking, arrays (nope, me neither) - to sort of understand the why. It drove me totally insane. Surely to goodness you just need to bloody well KNOW that 7 x 6 is 42).

Anyway, back to the point. There was a lot of waiting: and patience was a virtue of which I possessed very little. That was then.

Becoming an Overnight Success

More than three years ago I met a man who had recently taken a very senior role and who I knew could potentially be a great client one day. Not too long after, I met a woman who was running an influential think tank who I was pretty sure could help our company, the Reignite Academy generate more business. This week - approximately 150 weeks, and 750 working days later - they both finally did the decent thing and stepped forward to work with us.

Three years I had to wait! And don't go blaming the pandemic.

It made me realise that sometimes in life, you just need to be patient. Do the right thing and then wait. It's not often I quote a footballer - in fact I think this is the first - but here's what Lionel Messi has to say on the subject.

So this week's newsletter is dedicated to my new found virtue. Patience.

The IPCRESS File Finally got Going

I almost gave up. To describe the acting as "wooden" would be a little unfair on wood which, if you study it closely, contains all sorts of intricacies.

There was the guy from Peaky Blinders wandering about looking - well, puzzled really. It was as though he couldn't understand why his brothers had stolen his cap, decked him out in some thick black glasses and then gone off to hide somewhere. His expression never changed. Until they tortured him, and even then it was the same expression just decorated with bruises.

And then there was Mandy Rice Davies who had the best outfits but who looked equally perplexed. Though in her case it could have been the weight of the eyeliner that prevented her from changing her facial expressions.

Tom Hollander made a decent fist of it but if you think about it really, all he did was take his Corky character from the Night Manager and add a few references to Eton and plonk himself in London circa 1950 instead of Majorca circa 2010.

But on account of there being NOTHING else on telly and having to get through 5 x 1 (=5 by the way) hours on Zwift I had to stick with it. And in the end, it was reasonably entertaining. Patience won out.

Peaky Blinders Came Good

Again, I almost gave up. At one point it seemed to have gone completely bonkers, with the chess player draping herself on any piece of furniture she could find and Tommy wandering about the Wild West looking for gypsies (did anyone else think that scenery couldn't possibly be anywhere within striking distance of Birmingham?). The Moseley & Mitford double act is almost as wooden as the spy duo and, frankly I began to question my commitment to seeing the series through to the bitter end.

And then in comes Ada. Stealing the show.

"I'm a Shelby too" she once said, I think in season 1. However, despite that being true, she never got a look in on the dialogue front. She rarely

appeared on the posters and was shipped off to America/London at will, it would seem, as the script writers didn't know what to do with her.

Well they do now. Perhaps she and they took inspiration from the late Helen McCrory but whatever the reason, Ada is now the main attraction. And she's wearing the trousers. Literally. Fabulous outfits.

Worth the wait.

Sue Gray

Still waiting. Though as all the Conservative MPs seem to have withdrawn their letters of no confidence "damp squib" springs to mind. However, have patience my friends. His end will surely come one day,

Les Francais N'attendent Plus

("The French wait no longer" for those of you who weren't paying attention at school).

To pretty much no-one's surprise, M Macron has put them out of their misery and announced he will be running for a second term as president. Quelle surprise.

They Really Should Have Waited

P&O. I believe it's the law that if you're going to sack over 100 people you have to tell someone in power a lot more than 30 minutes before the Teams meeting starts. And there is a due process to be followed. Could be wrong.

You'll Be Waiting a Very Long Time

The fashion editor of The Times this week announced that "pencil skirts are back". No. No, they're not.

These are the images they used to tempt us. They failed.

Things you cannot do in a pencil skirt:

1. Get on a Santander bike
2. Get on any bike for that matter
3. Run upstairs
4. Tie your shoelaces
5. Breathe

Trust me, folks. they are not back.

Not Sure Why They Had to Wait So Long

In a bleak week for news, wasn't it heartwarming to see the pictures of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe being reunited with her family. And let's not forget Anousheh Ashouri whose family must have been just as desperate but sadly not quite as attractive to the media and therefore much less well known.

I'm not even going to pretend to understand or have a view on the geopolitical issues involved with the payment of that debt and why it was OK to pay it now but not four years ago.

And with that. I'm off. The little boy who I couldn't wait to see learn to ride his bike without stabilisers seems to have taken to this cycling business and I'm off to watch him race this weekend. Thus far races have been in places like Gravesend and the weather has been arctic. I've been far too busy waiting for important things to happen/be delivered to spectate.

This weekend le soleil brille (did I ever mention that I studied French?) and the race is in Bruges. I've decided I've waited long enough to be a supportive parent and I'm off to watch. Or, more likely, to drink beer, eat moules frites and stuff myself with chocolate.

So I'm pressing "publish" now, otherwise you'll be waiting until Monday to get your regular weekly newsletter. And we can't let that happen can we.

I'm watching: The Sinner. Season 4. It's OK. Season one was great. Really different. I may skip to the end now though because "We Crashed" has been released on Apple TV and I think it could be a fabulous watch. We will see.

I'm reading: Educated by Tara Westover. It was my turn to choose the book for book club and after The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles (you MUST read this book) and The Promise by Damon Galgut (you must also read this book) I felt under immense pressure. I NEVER read non-fiction but my friend Erin recommended this and I started it on holiday at Christmas, loved it but left it in France so I've plumped for this.

I'm listening to: Timothy West narrating an Anthony Trollope Book. It happens to be The Prime Minister and it's by no means his best (that goes to The Way We Live Now) but there is something soothing and satisfying about hearing him read a satirical novel written in 1876 which, in part, pokes fun at the very same behaviours and attitudes we're putting up with today.