Good evening,

I had the good fortune to take a business trip to New York at the end of June. There was of course some serious business to be done, but it was a great opportunity for me to re-acquaint myself with my colleagues in the Altria Park Avenue office and all of my old 'haunts' in Manhattan.

Unfortunately, the Altria office is winding down and a number of retirements and retrenchments are lowering the morale a little, but as always, the staff were friendly and professional.

A good friend and colleague, Darwin Stanley, retired on the Friday and after a formal dinner on Thursday, I was fortunate enough to head out to Darwin and Kathie's beautiful property for a most enjoyable evening of fine food, exceptional wines, conversation and music. Darwin is a jazz fan with a dedicated listening room, an incredible CD collection and some seriously good gear.

The city was again a fantastic place to hang out. The weather was superb and perfect for walking, observing, window shopping and sometimes buying. The bars and restaurants were as good as ever, as long as you like 'American' style cuisine. The coffee, of course, is diabolical!

The Apple Store in the middle of the iPhone frenzy, a listening session at 'Sound by Singer', crab cakes at 'Houstons' and an enjoyable walk through Central Park (and paying respects at Strawberry Fields) were highlights of a great weekend.

I am just sorry NYC is so far away and my visits are therefore so infrequent.

Bye for now, BomberBoy