Bernard meets Ron and Richard (I'm not invited, but I don't think I really mind) and gets the go-ahead to sign the Andersen letter of commitment for Redgrave, our procurement jv. We will need discussion with AC and internally over the next few days to scope out the work needed to make the decision. There still isn't an absolutely clear" we're definitely doing this" decision. Because of Richard's doubts we are still considering other options short of a full joint venture. But at least we seem to be making some progress towards an ultimate decision. I start to think about what I am going to say to my staff next week when we announce that we are progressing Redgrave. I suspect they will have mixed feelings.
It has gone very quiet in terms of the bids, both internally and in the press. Attention is now focusing much more on the problems of Marks and Spencer, and the Peter Davis appointment at Sainsbury's. In other business news, Bill Gates has announced he is standing down (sort of) at Microsoft, or at least returning to more of a pure software development role.