Some interesting entries leap out of the list of participants at the World Economic Forum at Davos later this month. Next to each other, nay, jostling each other even, are George Osborne, Shadow Chancellor, and Lord Mandelson of Foie Gras. Now, where did they meet before, and what were the consequences? Corfu, last summer, and embarrassment for Osborne.

Also on the list for Davos, Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. Now, where did he and Mandelson meet before, and what were the consequences? Corfu, on Deripaska’s yacht, and embarrassment for Mandelson. I would suggest separate ski slopes at Davos for all three of them, and no joint photo opportunities.

Alternatively, they could all leg it across the mountain to Klosters, and a private meeting away from prying eyes at Nat Rothschild’s chalet there. Now where have all four of them met before? Ah yes, Corfu. Mandelson was on Deripaska’s yacht because there was no room at Rothschild’s villa there. Osborne, of course, did not solicit a donation to the Tories from Deripaska on said yacht. Small world, clearly, for the rich and powerful.

Rare chance to bring the Square Mile to its knees

The City’s own church is seeking a vicar. An ad has appeared for a new appointment at The Guild Church of St Lawrence Jewry-next-Guildhall, the last one, David Burgess, having retired. This is the official church for the Corporation, and various functions for the City guilds take place there. Applicants should be “comfortable with the requirement for a degree of formality and pageantry”, and it’s a traditional gig, Book of Common Prayer to be used, so no guitars or happy-clappy stuff, please. There is a good choir, and a four-bedroom flat with a roof garden. “The ability to preach and promote the Gospel to a varied congregation is a significant requirement.” The Gospel? Very traditional, then.

— What does your company smell like? If you work for Samsung, for example, “freshly of lemons and a little of computers with a hint of wood”. Welcome to the world of corporate fragrance, and cologne-based Scentcommunication, which creates tailor-made scents for Samsung and, among many others, Credit Suisse. “The use of fragrance enables companies to boost brand awareness significantly,” its founder tells the magazine of Deutsche Börse, a mine of offbeat ideas. Credit Suisse wanted its own fragrance wafting around in 32 branches. BMW, at the International Motor Show, wanted “Air”, a fragrance of fresh mountain air. As opposed to diesel and petrol fumes, tarmac and burning rubber, then. Engagingly dotty.

— I suppose I can probably tell you this now. All week the offices of Cifas have been closed for relocation, and e-mails and telephones have not worked. I have not come across Cifas before, but it claims to be “The UK’s Fraud Prevention Service”. Heaven knows what might have happened if fraudsters had learnt that its eagle-eyed gaze was temporarily averted.

— Bruce Packard, of Evolution Securities, on Royal Bank of Scotland apparently trying to sell its Bank of China stake: “This is the equivalent of someone with a huge mortgage and negative equity trying to solve the problem by selling their iPod.”

Helical’s helmsman
In the blue corner: Mike Slade

Mike Slade, chief executive of Helical Bar, the property group, takes to the high seas again this weekend. He and his crew begin the 2009 Heineken Cape to Bahia Race at Cape Town, on the Icap Leopard, a 100ft monohull, it says here, that he owns and designed. In 2007, it won the Fastnet race in record time.

Starting out as an estate agent (but then, nobody’s perfect), Slade took control of Helical Bar in 1984. He is regarded as one of the shrewder readers of the runes in the property world, having managed to offload most of his London office projects before the 1990s crash.

The cross-Atlantic Heineken race picks up the trade winds in the second half but there are, apparently, a few trickier bits after Cape Town. As befits the boss and the yacht’s owner, Slade is listed on the crew manifest as sharing responsibility for “helm/tactics”.

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