During the investor week, I stayed in London and found myself at the Mayfair Holiday Inn on Friday morning.   This sounds more salubrious than it was and the fact my room was immediately over the loading dock in the alley out back only made that more obvious.   I’d just returned to my room with my coffee after some exercise when the fire alarm went off.   It went on and on and on.   Since I was on a tight schedule and drenched with sweat I decide to get going any way.  So I put in some ear plugs took a shower and got dressed for the investor meeting at 8:30.  The alarm finally went off after 40mins.  I left my room, waited for the lift and got on.  There were three large firemen in the lift.  Not a word was said.  The doors open on the lobby floor and there is a large plate glass window to the street immediately opposite the door to the lift.  As the doors open I see the entire hotel standing out on the street, hair messed up, in their jimmy jams and otherwise very unhappy.   I come out fully dressed up and bolt immediately out of the hotel on my way.  No one said a word.  Later when I got to the first meeting (actually I was early) there was a sign saying they would be testing the fire alarms that day.