Welsh otters stand up to Seán Quinn's plans: In the lucrative world of business, even the successful giants of enterprise can sometimes come up against obstacles that are simply beyond their control.
Take Seán Quinn, who last week said he would invest nearly €200 million in a radiator plant at Newport in Wales. The investment drew whoops of enthusiasm from Welsh workers, who eyed the 460 jobs the development would create. The Welsh Assembly, which owned the site in question, was also pleased, having presided over an empty property since LG Philips shut up shop there in 2003.
There was, however, one group that wasn't so happy: the otters. Yes, that's right, the otters, with the mink and a few other furry friends apparently a bit disgruntled, too. Or at least that's what the planners at Newport city council would have us believe. According to a regional Welsh newspaper, Quinn Group first began to look at the LG Philips property a year ago, only to run into otter-related problems after applying for planning permission. In February, the council confirmed "the regular presence of otters" in the area and asked Quinn what it would do about it. Not until June were its members satisfied the otters wouldn't be disturbed by the investment.
In the end, the matter was resolved, according to the newspaper, by Quinn's agreement to phase in the development rather than do it all at once. In this way, they could take account of the "movements and cycles of the wildlife" and thus ensure that the otters didn't get too upset. Phew.
Aer Lingus flight fails Canadian style test
Some executives who have taken a flight with Aer Lingus in recent years may have found the service a little, well, down at heel.
This is not generally the case on the airline's new short-haul aircraft, but the older Airbus 330s that travel to the US certainly need some sprucing up. But recent comments on the airline's service by the Financial Times struck Current Account as slightly over the top.
The writer, Tyler Brule, a well-known style guru from the magazine world, was certainly not impressed by the Heathrow to Dublin service. He said the crew were "chippy rather than chipper", the "uniforms were better suited to a building society than an airline" and Pringles crisps were the highlight of the menu. Ouch.
But unfashionable uniforms and crisps were not his only gripes. "The seats were covered in some illegible Irish poetry that was woven into the fabric and there was no business class," said poor old Tyler.
Things got even worse when the Brule stepped onto terra firma. "Navigation signage seemed non-existent, toilets were filthy and the ceiling heights must have been specified when leprechauns were a major force in business and leisure travel." Oh dear.
Tyler Brule happens to be a Canadian, so hopefully he won't be too shocked to hear that former Aer Lingus supremo Brian Dunne is about to take a top position at Air Canada.
Cork separatism
You'll probably have noticed that mobile operator Vodafone has been vigorously pushing a service that gives subscribers video pictures of GAA matches. But Current Account has to admit it's puzzled by the marketing campaign, which features photographs of various hurlers and footballers in action.
Most of the country's leading GAA counties are featured, but the surprising thing is that they appear to have left out Cork's hurlers, who are set to defend their senior title at Croke Park in just over two weeks.
We were in the Rebel County recently and noticed that the campaign there was just as prominent as everywhere else. But the window display pushing the service in one of Vodafone's Patrick Street stores featured Clare and Kilkenny hurlers.
Furthermore a Vodafone poster for the service in a nearby pub declared "watch the Dubs play live here", precisely the sort of thing that would put off any self-respecting Cork supporter.
We were scratching our heads about this. The explanation cannot be that Vodafone is a British-based company, and thus its executives would be a bit slow on the uptake when it comes to the world's fastest field game, since it sponsors the GAA All Stars.
And then it dawned on us: it could only be that Cork hurlers' jerseys feature the brand of its biggest competitor, O2, which of course sponsors the Rebels.
