CITY DIARY

Uncharted territory is where Brian Winterflood of Winterflood Securities usually likes to be found. Borneo, North Korea, Cuba and (in former days) various Communist bloc states - before they became de rigueur to visit - are all places the intrepid market-maker founder had an urge to visit.

Last night, though, Mr Winterflood had to make do with a destination much nearer to home: a double celebration in London of seven years in the market-making business and his promotion to the board of the parent company, the merchant bank Close Brothers.

Even at the tender age of 58, he has no plans to give up the market-making and settle for a life of adventurous globe-trotting. "I'd rather turn back the clock," said Mr Winterflood "and do it all over again."

Sir Peter Walters, the SmithKline Beecham chairman, is having a little trouble with an American punk rock band.

The band in question was little known until it broke into the mainstream with a chart-topping hit. Not much cause for concern to a large pharmaceuticals company, you would have thought, except for one thing: the band call themselves Thorazine - the same name as an anti-psychotic drug marketed by SmithKline.

The company wrote to the band in May requesting that it change its name by July - but to no avail. Understandably, SmithKline has said it doesn't want the "anti-psychotic" drug it introduced in 1952 to be associated with punk rock.

Meanwhile the group are about to embark on a two-month US national tour beginning in September - with a lawyer in tow.

First there was road-rage, then there was water rage. And keen utility- watchers will hardly be surprised to find that Yorkshire Water has once again swum straight into it.

In June the company made the gaffe of sending out glossy Yorkshire Water brochures to customers "over the border" in the Northumbrian area. This time it seems the hot weather got the better of it.

While the temperature rose over the weekend, residents in Halifax were cut off for 24 hours when a pumping station at a reservoir failed. Up to 60,000 people had to rely on standpipes for the duration.

The company's offer to bring forward its customer charter compensation - due to be launched in September - would mean pounds 10 in compensation for each customer.

The customers say they are not impressed but Yorkshire maintains the pump failure is not its fault and will not accept responsibility.

The takeover frenzy in the electricity sector appears to have caused some confusion - and red faces - at the offices of the watchdog Professor Stephen Littlechild. As with previous electricity bids, he issued a consultation document yesterday on the proposed agreed pounds 2.5bn bid by Hanson for Eastern Electricity. Unfortunately, the gremlins at Offer managed to insert Manweb for Eastern in the introductory paragraph.

The mistake was swiftly rectified - but caused much-needed mirth in the Manweb camp, which is currently fending off a pounds 1bn hostile bid from Scottish Power. As one industry source put it - that says it all.