Reuters was crucial to my career

All friends and former colleagues, and especially Pascalito...

Sorry to hear that my old pal Pascal Fletcher done gone (Reuterwise, that is).

Asi es la vida.

Dunno what happened, Pascalito, but it sounds a bit like the 1988 evening in Mexico City when (with the help of a microphone) I criticised my bosses for taking free gifts from the Mexican government (who were the guests). 

Rooters sent me home to see Doc Richards but I never looked back.

I responded by handing in my notice to the lobby at No 85, having already been offered a better-paid job by the US media. 

No Pulitzer, no cigar but no regrets. 

No disrespect to the Baron either. What I learned at Reuters was crucial to my career and I am told still shines through. 

The day I was given my Reuters press card at No 85 in 1973 was the second happiest of my life.

The happiest? 15 years later, doing a Gene Kelly singing-in-the-rain feet-click by the No 11 bus stop after handing in my notice. 

Que te vayas bien, Pascalito. ■