O'Leary's flights of fancy mocked

RESEARCH NOTES from Joe Gill of Bloxham Stockbrokers are rarely boring, especially those relating to his pet subject, aviation.

This week Gill outdid himself with a narrative based around Wanderly Wagon, the RTÉ children’s programme of yesteryear.

“Over the past 10 days Ryanair’s Mr Fortycoats has done some wandering of his own,” Gill said in reference to a series of interviews recently by Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary in the British press.

“It included visits to see the dog Judge (London Independent), the acerbic Mr Crow (Daily Telegraph), Godmother (the Guardian), Foxy (the FT) and Sneaky the Snake (your choice),” Gill added. “Each of these was regaled with fantastic tales like the Plane With No Pilot, the Global Warming Scam and the old hoary My Time Is Over piece.

“All of these meetings included a narrative about the Bogeyman (Boeing) too.

“We always wondered whether or not Fortycoats would hit the Bogeyman over the head 200 times. ‘Oh yes he will,’ cried some of us. ‘Oh no, he won’t,’ shrieked others.”

“Do you recall the Vertical Seat Adventure? Or maybe you heard of Miss Coin-Operated Loo-Loo? These too were fabulous trips of the imagination.

“Sometime soon you may see the Wanderly Wagon in your neighbourhood. If so, don’t spend too much time thinking about it. Just put on a silly hat, catch the hand of the nearest analyst or fund manager, and start singing the theme song ‘Here comes the Wagon . . .’.”

Gill’s note must have led to a a lot of head-scratching among international investors reading his note. And a surge in demand on YouTube for clips of Wanderly Wagon.