The Evil Diaries: Fevertree and Burberry

Fevertree (FEVR) continues to astound. There is surely little chance of the stock being up here, 660p, in two years’ time. For Goodness sake, it is just a grotesquely overpriced bottle/can of tonic water. Absolutely any fool can replicate it and probably will.

*****

Burberry (BRBY) has taken ten years to start properly disappointing on the share price front. The press is lining up Christopher Bailey, the groovy CEO, to get it seriously in the neck. And he will. What’s been his crime? As far as I can see it has been to preside over a phase of sobriety on the part of women who can, at long last, see through the marketing con that BRBY is in essence. I can’t see how BRBY recovers from this. Now £10.80.

*****

On Tuesday evening I went to Haslemere Town Hall, an undistinguished building, to attend a debate on the EU Referendum. I had expected perhaps 100 obsessive old codgers. Instead the place was packed. All 350 seats were taken and I guess that there were a further fifty people standing around. Nobody left early as Paddy Ashdown and Michael, Lord Forsyth, slugged it out. The chairman was a very sensible solicitor-type who wisely and effectively cut out any attempt by speakers from the floor to gas on (always a danger). As a result, energies were directed to the arguments in hand and I for one thought it all most illuminating. The average age was over 60. I am pleased to report that not one single argument advanced had not already been considered by me. Anyone care to recruit me to speak?

Yesterday I told my pal Lord Monson that were he to promote a similar event in Chelsea he would fill at least 1,000 seats with no effort at all. The public’s interest in this matter is massive and rising.

Finally, this referendum is going to swing round sovereignty and it is this central consideration that is sinking into the people’s minds. Astonishingly the Leave result is 3/1 against on Betfair.