An accountant crossing a river without a bridge or a boat

THE HUMBER BRIDGE was constructed between 1973 and 1981. Sometime during that period, my wife was a trainee accountant. One of the assignments that she was sent on was to audit the Humber Bridge construction. She arrived at the site after the completion of the two towers from which the bridge was to be suspended, but long before the span traversing the water had begun to be built. The two towers were then only connected by a cable ropeway.

Being a conscientious auditor and of an adventurous frame of mind, she wanted to investigate the situation close-up. She managed to persuade site manager that to do her job properly, she needed to cross the water via the cradle that the workers used, which was suspended from the ropeway. Having done this, she included it in her audit. When her senior read the report, he looked at my wife and rolled his eyes incredulously.