"He's right. Of course he's right. He's always right"

The "new man" offers some friendly advice (from strip 868)

It is rare for Bristow to like and admire one of his colleagues. The back-stabbing, bitter fight for survival and sucess in the murky corridors of the Chester-Perry Building tends to create barriers. But from the moment the "new man" made his appearance in July 1962, there was such a feeling of mutual charm and respect between them that one might almost suspect some sordid sexual motive.

The "new man" has no name. He is well dressed and affable, a dispenser of valued advice and a shoulder to lean on. What he does in the Accounts is unclear since the main function of that department seems to be the calculation and distribution of the weekly wage-packets, and we do not find him engaged in this vital work. He and Bristow rapidly hit it off and he always has an answer to Bristow's quest for career advancement. Sometimes he is amazingly reassuring. More often he suggests something that runs contrary to Bristow's own inclination, and even odder is that Bristow always at once proclaims how right he is and changes direction to follow. It is not at all clear that his counsel vis-a-vis the upstart Barker is in Bristow's best interests.

But the "new man" (he even describes himself as the new man when he phones Bristow) comes up trumps when an ambitious and insolent youngster, one Tyson, enters the Buying Department and hoodwinks everyone (except Bristow, the subject of his insolence) into thinking how efficient he is.For the price of lunch, the new man's cunning plan sees off the imposter (and neatly traps Bristow himself )

The "new man" vanishes from the scene during the later 1960s. He was probably a little too charming and devious even for Chester-Perry's

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