Page 197 - James Caan - The Real Deal

Chapter 19

An Amazing Day

(1993)

‘ It was the most effective staff-bonding exercise. The

atmosphere in our office that day was electric as the entire
team pulled together. ’

was stuck in traffic on my way to work one morning and
I was listening to LBC on the car radio. The DJ was talking to a
woman from Barts hospital as the deadline for lodging an appeal
against the closure of its Accident and Emergency unit was that
afternoon. They were £75,000 short of the cash they needed for
the legal fees and unless they got the money by the end of the day
the unit would close.
As I sat there listening, it seemed inconceivable that they hadn’t
been able to raise the funds. It had been a fairly high-profile
appeal, and as Barts is the nearest hospital to all the City firms’
headquarters, I couldn’t believe that one of the big corporations
hadn’t made the donation they needed.
‘Someone should help her,’ I said to myself. And as I said it, I
realised that that someone should be me.

187