culture and etiquette at Glyndebourne and the Royal Opera that Alex and Clive revel in. Christian is a European junior working his way through the ranks. Although sometimes described as "Eurotrash" he is actually a sophisticated and highly educated member of a rich French family. He disdains the 'Anglo' culture and in return is often the butt of Alex's jokes. He speaks a number of languages which the other staff find rather frustrating, especially when he and another foreign worker speak out openly — in English rather than French or Spanish about how badly the English cricket team is doing. Christian has not appeared in the strip since before the Brexit referendum and his present status is unknown. Jane was Alex's head of department in 1996. A decisive and masterful figure, he was in awe of her the moment they first met. She herself had an apparently genuine passion for Alex and they had a brief affair. This ended when she had to resign for undisclosed reasons "after a full and frank discussion with the board". Her last act was to send a late night email to all her staff thanking them for showing her "kindness, warmth, respect, personal support, encouragement, loyalty, hospitality and friendship", concluding that all of this was now completely wasted since someone else would be determining their bonuses. Ruth was Clive's American lover, not seen much lately. An expatriate investment banker and a frequent character in early years, she would appear in strips in which she and her female colleagues would complain about the treatment of women in the City Shelley is Director of Human Resources at Megabank. While other staff members come and go, her appointment appears to be a permanent one. She was briefly (2002) Rupert Sterling's lover. Wendy Tanner was Alex's secretary and had an affair with him. When his wife Penny found out they almost divorced, but later made up. Alex decided that there was no future with Wendy and felt it unwise to continue any longer since her probationary period was due to end and it is hard to sack clerical staff once they become full-time. Cyrus is Alex's God-fearing American head of department who arrived on the scene in 2006, soon after the Megabank merger and the apparent promotion of Rupert to senior banker status. Cyrus is an unabashed workaholic who bows his head during Thanksgiving dinner grace in order