Once again we had an excellent time on the boat trip. The sun shone, there was a short shower to refresh the air, and we were grateful that the roof of the boat slid automatically and effortlessly over us, and back again once the sun reemerged. The wine flowed freely, the food was superb, and the Union Jacks fluttered bravely in the breeze as we wended our way amongst the canals.

This month, we are not at the Apollo, so please don’t turn up to an empty bar! Instead, we have a marquee organised at the international cricket match at the VRA Amsterdam national cricket ground in the Amsterdamse Bos. There we will relax over a good lunch, watching The Netherlands play a CB40 match against Gloucestershire. The luncheon price includes entry to the ground, and those wishing to stay after lunch are welcome to watch the whole match.

Please reserve your tickets quickly, as we need to fix the numbers next week. Do feel free to bring guests, and note that CADS summer dress rules are now in force. The event will be televised by Sky, so you may end up on TV. Perhaps an opportunity to give your Ascot or Henley dresses a second outing?

We have welcomed a number of new and returning members to CADS over the past couple of months, and are currently busy recruiting speakers for next year. If there is a specific person you want to hear from, do let me know.

In the UK another banker turned out to have feet of clay. Bob Diamond, the star of Barclays, tried to use the incompetence defence (I didn’t know what was happening), and failed even that defence, after one of the politicians asked him how he could claim ignorance of a matter he had testified to a US grand jury about 4 years ago. So he’s senile as well as incompetent then. His punishment? Early retirement with another 17+m British pounds of Barclays’ shareholders and depositors funds, on top of the 150+m he has received from them to date.

Meanwhile, a further 22 serving police, army officers, hospital administrators, nurses and doctors have been arrested by the Met on grounds of corruption by Rupert Murdoch’s employees, who paid them for confidential information about their jobs and clients. So far your chairman has not been offered any money….

I’m off to Russia to enjoy the delights of Moscow and St Petersburg. See you!