Bunhill: Oh Susannah

IT WAS hard not to feel a twinge of sympathy on Thursday for Susannah Simons, former queen of Channel 4's lamented Business Daily and now presenter of soothing tunes on Classic FM.

For the eighth successive year, Simons was mistress of ceremonies at the prizegiving that forms the highlight of the Coopers & Lybrand PLC dinner at the Grosvenor House in London's Park Lane.

Sadly, the boorish mob of stockbrokers, accountants and public relations wallahs were unable to contain their thirst for gossip and continued to talk loudly as Simons personfully battled her way through terminally boring descriptions of the prize candidates, ploughing gamely on about 'steady and patient progress', 'planned and orderly expansion' and 'enthusiastically received products'.

As if that were not ghastly enough, she finally confessed to the remnants of her audience still listening that Coopers had never once increased her fee these eight years. I trust it has taken the hint and doubled her honorarium for 1995.