"Is it me, or has everybody gone mad?" The sage words of Brian Potter, the fictional owner/operator of the Phoenix Club, sprang to mind as I digested the news that Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) had parted company with yet another senior executive.
The announcement that chief executive Adam Fowle was leaving the company came as a shock. After the turmoil of shareholder revolts and board upheavals his seemed like a firm hand on the M&B tiller. While he wasn't responsible for every good deed done, Fowle nevertheless played a great part in the group's success, both recently and during his 25 year career in the business.
So when Jeremy Blood - charged with temporarily holding the M&B boat steady while it seeks a replacement for Fowle - eventually hands over control it will have had four chief executives in as many years. Is M&B the Coventry City of the pub world? The corporate equivalent of a bag of frogs? It certainly feels that way.
Yet however distracting Fowle's departure proves, M&B will undoubtedly plough on, at least operationally. One of its more creditable achievements in recent years has been that despite the rows with uber-rich shareholders - first Robbie Tchenguiz, then Joe Lewis - and an apparent revolving door policy when it comes to its executive board, it has maintained its position as one of the best operators in the business, period.
With Fowle gone, the M&B board now contains no-one from the pre-Joe Lewis era. Here's hoping the new chief executive is allowed to get on and do his or her job to the best of their ability…
Meanwhile, will pubs get special treatment in this week's Budget? Probably not. One can only hope that in time the Chancellor recognises the good they do for both the economy and wider society, and account accordingly.