The Northern Secretary, Dr Mowlam, was in town this week, and after talking to the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, about how to create a North-South digital corridor, she dropped by the Institute of Directors lunch at the Berkeley Court hotel. She told tales from her time as

an inexperienced Labour Party City spokeswoman, insisting the very mention of banks or bonds in those days used to fill her with dread.

"At lunches, I didn't know what to talk about. So I would come in and say: `First of all, gentlemen - they were almost always all gentlemen - could you just give me five minutes on what you think are the issues and priorities at the moment.' Then 45 minutes later, the lunch would nearly be over!" she quipped.