As I will be flying back to the UK tomorrow, instead of out of it, at least I will be able to take a book on board, but not toothpaste it seems. I’m re-living my Ancient History tutorials of 20 odd years ago with Robin Lane Fox’s The Classical World. I’m reminded that the ancients, including the first historian, Heroditus, believed that pride comes before the fall. How true of modern business! And media relations in general. It’s not hard to make a list. Enron (probably the most boastful company ever), IBM before cheap PCs, GEC in the days of Jack Welsh, Miscrosoft - not fallen of its pedestal yet, but rather wobbly of late…. And then you can think of those media types who appear just about everywhere, just before Fleet Street’s finest cuts them down to size, - Boris Johnson comes instantly to mind.

The Classical World also has a lot to say about modern geopolitics. Greece v Persia, Athens V Sparta - reminders that power blocks are nothing new, and that Democracies such as Athens are just as capable of Hubris and global over-reach as their totalitarian rivals. Athens was brought down by an ill-advised foriegn adventure. I fear that brings us full circle to the mess that the world seems to be in today. I’ll try not to think about that mid-air.