In an endless sea of financial press releases, there's always a gem

When you write for The Spectator, it’s tempting to stick to the more cerebral issues of the day. As money editor, this can include tracking the progress of Sterling post-Brexit, ruminating on the downward trajectory of house price growth or reflecting on the merits of equity release.

Some days, however, that’s the last thing you want to do – Monday mornings being a case in point. We’re only a few hours in to the working week and already I’ve been invited to breakfast with the Austrian federal minister of finance, Hans Jörg Schelling, to an obesity lecture, a hotel show, and a FinTech launch. Sometimes I wish I’d never gotten out of bed.

As a financial journalist, I’m inundated with press releases, invitations, unsolicited requests for coverage and phone calls. There’s a permanent Post-it on my desk which reads ‘deal with inbox’. It’s a never-ending task that, in my heart of hearts, I know will never reach completion.