During the autumn of 1999, I took a phone call from an emissary of Paul Dacre, the commanding editor of the Daily Mail.
Robin Esser, in the glorious tradition of the newspaper, invited me to join him for a glass of champagne at the Howard Hotel on the Embankment in central London.
He told me that Andrew Alexander, who had been the Daily Mail s astringent City Editor, would be retiring from full-time duty in May 2000 and would I be interested in the job?
Historic: The Royal Exchange (right) and Bank of England (left) at the turn of the century
For the previous decade, I had been the Financial Editor of the Guardian and in political terms would be making the longest journey in journalism, from left to right. I also understood that if I were to land the post, I would be stepping into the footsteps of giants.
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