Initial excitement at BP's St James's headquarters over the Republican Party's choice of Presidential running mate has quickly subsided.

When Sarah Palin was announced as John McCain's vice-president, it was soon disclosed that the Alaska Governor's husband, Todd, worked for the British oil company.

But oh dear. It's difficult to imagine Todd attending a boardroom lunch with those smoothies, Peter Sutherland, Tony Hayward et al. Todd is a “production operative”, which is company-speak for a roughneck.

He was once, it is true, a production supervisor, but gave that up because of a perceived conflict of interest with his wife's position. He likes to be known as First Dude, is the Iron Dog snowmobile champion and was a judge in this year's Miss Alaska contest.

Any thought that BP might have its own silky lobbyist inside the White House can, alas, be dispensed with.

* Worse for BP than the prospect of having its very own Billy Carter at the top table is the thought that Palin's presence may actually work against the oil firm. The company, which is already receiving a battering in the US, is unlikely to be seen to receive favours from a new Republican administration for fear of the public rows that would cause.

* Todd Palin was a member of the Alaskan Independence Party from 1995 to 2002. During that period, the party, “Alaska First — Alaska Always”, campaigned vigorously against BP's 2000 merger with Arco. “The AIP supports the lawsuits filed by Alaskans opposing this monopolistic takeover of Alaskan resources ... If the merger goes through, over 72% of Alaska's revenues will come from one source: BP. It is our position that Alaska should control Alaska, not having the price of oil dictated to us by a foreign entity.”

Hot time at Barclays' barbie

OH dear. High jinks at the Barclays Wealth staff summer BBQ, held at their Mayfair headquarters.
Towards the end of the night, the bankers looked up and noticed one of their colleagues from the Ultra High Net Worth division (which looks after clients worth more than £10 million and handles many of the top Premiership football players) getting up close and very personal against the fourth-floor window with a Barclays Wealth female banker from the Canary Wharf office. Alas, the gallivanting came to an abrupt end as a security guard interrupted them.

* Ah, the perils of PRs and their big mouths. Neil Bennett of Maitland was chatting idly to one of his clients, Martin Gilbert, chief executive of Aberdeen Asset Management. Gilbert's firm is sponsoring this weekend's Braemar Games in
the Scottish Highlands.

Included in the fare is a “hill race” to the top of a nearby mountain. Bennett said: “I could do that.” Gilbert took him at his word — and has arranged for him to take part.
But Bennett tells friends: “I think the race is going to be a bit short for me.” Hmmm.

A lofty claim from O'Leary

Plans by Ryanair to revive its bid for Aer Lingus are causing EU officials to revisit the detail of the budget airline's crack at the Irish carrier that was blocked last year. One nugget: Ryanair claimed it would make maintenance cost savings of
€60 million (£48.8 million). In 2006, Aer Lingus's maintenance costs amounted to €75 million. Was chief executive Michael O'Leary serious? An 80% saving — on maintenance?

* Poor builders. Now they are facing a major problem from Sopranos-style protection rackets north of the border. Building magazine details an array of arson attacks, thefts and other damage being inflicted on contractors brave, or foolish, enough to politely decline the services of “security consultants”. Local builders complain the police are not interested unless somebody actually gets injured. Insurance companies seem to do little but pay up and increase premiums. A registry has been launched by the Security Industry Authority but guards on many sites, including one site in central Glasgow being run by Taylor Wimpey, are not on the approved list.

It's all white now as the Eighties make a comeback

Funny how the 1980s is back. First we have boom-bust repeated under Gordon Brown, then we get girls in leggings and heavy make-up, and now we have a surge in the number of people ordering their cars in retro white. Nissan, Honda and Toyota have been exhibiting their new models in the colour last popular in the decade that taste forgot. Seat tells Marketing magazine that in the first seven months of the year, sales of its “candy white” Ibiza and Leon models jumped, er, 3592%. The biggest-selling white car remains the Mini, where demand is up 6% this year. What does it all mean?

* What's this in The Guardian? Only a full-page article by Sir Terry Leahy, extolling the virtues of Tesco's environmental habits, complete with a pic of the grinning supermarket chief executive himself. It is an edited version of a speech he gave recently.

What's significant is that The Guardian chose to run the piece at all — and, City Spy understands, without asking Tesco's permission or notifying the company in advance. Could the feature be an olive branch to Leahy, who is suing the paper for libel after it wrongly claimed that Tesco was avoiding corporation tax through an off-shore haven?

The Guardian admits it made a mistake and, with the prospect of a full trial next year, would almost certainly like to end the dispute now. Will this be enough to placate Terry? What more must editor Alan Rusbridger do to get Tesco to call off the legal dogs?

* City Spy is left pondering whether a new ad campaign for Marks & Spencer ready meals, featuring Del Boy, will attract the same level of parody as their “this is not just food” predecessors. The latter were the subject of spoofs from Bremner, Bird and Fortune, Deadringers and countless Youtube subscribers.
Perhaps the best of all, though, was the message seen inscribed on the back of an M&S van soon after the adverts launched three years ago: “This isn't just dirt, it's M&S specially selected organic dirt”.