Laurie Taylor column

Dear Everybody

Greetings from Scarborough. Well, I say Scarborough but in fact I'm happily ensconced in a lovely little guest house on the moors behind Robin Hood's Bay. Our nearest spot on the actual coast is called Boggle Hole! (Went swimming there yesterday. Freezing!)

There are some interesting people here at the guest house. People from all backgrounds who simply like walking. I've spent a long time talking to a very serious hiker from Surrey who holds a top management position in a leading international company. He asked me what I did for a living so I went through a few of my daily tasks. 'So, you're a senior account executive?' he asked as I came to the end of the list. 'No,' I explained, 'I'm a departmental secretary.'

Anyway, the long and the short of it is that he thinks there might be a position coming up soon in his company that would pay me three times my present salary, offer three more weeks' holiday, better pension rights and a 20 per cent reduction in patronising remarks. Of course, it would mean giving up the prestige connected with working for a university.

What a dilemma! The mind fairly BOGGLES.

Love Maureen