£177. That is how much I spent getting ready for the Financial News annual drinks party. This used to be a few of us knocking around in the Cholmondeley Room in the House of Lords and has grown to a few hundred in the opulence of the Mansion House, the London home of the Lord Mayor and a location far more convenient for those of us working in the Square Mile. I don't normally go to such expense but this was a special occasion and in any case drastic action was needed.

After three weeks out of the office I was horrified to look in the mirror the morning of my first day back and see a woman who, even by my lax standards of personal presentation, looked a shocking sight. Not having to put on any make-up for 21 days and living in France in freezing cold temperatures meant I had allowed myself to go completely to seed, covered up by so many layers of clothing that I never noticed my legs were starting to resemble the Ardennes.