Waiting for Godot

I was the first to arrive for a 12.30pm lunch meeting at the Metropolitan Hotel in London yesterday. I sat down at a beautifully laid round table for 10 in the centre of a large private dining room, enjoyed a tomato juice and caught up on my e-mails. By 12.40pm I was still the only guest. At 12.45pm the waiter told me that the company was delayed in traffic and the lunch had been postponed until 1pm. He brought me another tomato juice. At 12.50pm the broker hosting the lunch arrived. "Hello, WW!" he said, "I didn't know you were coming to this lunch." I assured him that my place had been confirmed by his secretary. He introduced me to a couple of the other guests who'd walked in and one gave me his card: he worked for Wind Tower Consulting. "Why is Wind Tower Consulting interested in a Chinese food company?" I muttered to the broker (who used to be a colleague of mine some years ago). "WW!" he exclaimed, "You're at the wrong lunch!" The broking house was hosting two private lunches at the hotel. I raced upstairs to find that "my" lunch was well advanced: I'd missed three-quarters of the company presentation and the main course.