Meal breaks

I was very sorry to learn of the death of David Cemlyn-Jones. When I arrived in Madrid in 1971 as a Reuters trainee, David was working for UPI, and we soon struck up a firm friendship. On the frequent occasions when we were both on the evening shift in our respective bureaus, we came to a highly satisfactory arrangement whereby we would inform each other of when we intended to take our meal breaks, thus ensuring that one wire service would not break a story while the other was unmanned. It was during these “meal breaks” that David was able to introduce me to the vibrant Madrid bar scene, which flourished even in the dying days of the Franco dictatorship. David taught me an important lesson which has stood me in good stead over the past half century: we may be rivals, but we can still be friends. Go well, old friend. ■