As if volcanic ash and BA air strikes weren’t enough to contend with I thought I would share a little ditty from my recent travels in the US. Absolutely nothing to do with finance, rather a bit of light relief before the weekend!

Having concluded our business trip my colleague and I were heading back to JFK in a limo when we had a front wheel blow out on the NJ turnpike. This of course would not be an issue, but upon the discovery that the spare was flat we did start to wonder about the predicament we found ourselves in. With the infamous NY traffic building up around us a State Trooper turned up, and after flexing his muscles called a police tow truck and a taxi for the two Brits sitting on the crash barrier. As luck would have it the tow truck arrived and carted off the limo, wonderful, however the taxi didn’t and we remained sat with the State Trooper on the side of the road being admired by several hundred motorists, our luggage in the gutter.

Eventually the Trooper had a brain wave, he would take us to the Hilton Hotel on the opposite side of the highway and we could wait there. We piled into the back of the caged patrol car and headed to the Hilton, and there would have ended our story, had the Trooper not got called onto another job, leaving only one option… with sirens screaming and the lights flashing we skidded to a stop in front of the Hilton. The officer ran around opening the doors and the sight of my colleague and I tumbling out of the cages with our luggage would undoubtedly have made a You Tube hit. It was with great delight that we tipped our cap at all the guests waiting in the foyer and gathered together both our luggage and nerves.

We eventually made it to the airport in time to catch our flight home, however having just arrived in Kuala Lumpur for the OMFIF Electronic Money Roundtable I can only imagine what adventures might be on the horizon. I can only hope the police aren’t involved again!