Getting to the bottom of Selmes' thinking is not the easiest of tasks but what in essence he is doing is trading a mummy (as in King Tut) for a big daddy (as in Tennessee Williams).

When either the red plate (indicating very hot weather above 32 deg C) or the orange plate (indicating hot weather between 30 and 32 deg C) are displayed, a water parade must be conducted before, and during, training. In a water parade, soldiers line up and drink water.

'I stopped for one night to see Ur and the Chaldees and for three days in Baghdad with the A.O.C., who happens to be an old friend of mine.'

Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer lending comes close. This is an industry that brings together individual savers and lenders on online platforms. Those that want to borrow are matched with those that want to lend.