Dashwood: The knives come out again for Sir Mervyn Downturn Abbey on the cards? Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes has plenty of material for a drama on bankers, should the muse take him. Fellowes observed a number of dealmakers at close quarters at last week's Pelham Bell Private party, including Credit Suisse's Sebastian Grigg, David Wormsley of Citi, and Deutsche Bank's Nigel Meek. Throw in Centrica chief Sam Laidlaw, former Chancellor Norman Lamont, and ex-G4S chief Nick Buckles - socialising just hours after announcing his exit - and you can see why security was "tight." So tight, in fact, that the wife of Pelham Bell Pottinger chief James Henderson was denied access. Although ex-chief whip Andrew Mitchell, on best behaviour after the Plebgate entry scandal, slipped through without incident. Baroness Thatcher's image adviser Lord Bell still moves in inner Tory circles. The advertising grandee bid £7,000 at a Tory fundraiser last week to appear as a character in a novel ghostwritten in the name of the late Dick Francis. But the plot twists: Lord Bell plans to donate the prize to his horse-racing mad business partner Piers Pottinger. "I want to influence the storyline so that Piers makes millions from racing," he said. Which is contrary to what happened in real life. Banking bosses on a sticky wicket Most cricket fans can only dream of playing at Lord's. But working in high finance - and being able to stump up £9,000 to host a client cricket day - opens doors. Last Thursday, about ten City teams fielded teams of eight players at the annual six-a-side Corporate Cricket Challenge. Or, as Lord's calls the six-a-side tournament followed by a black-tie dinner until late, "an opportunity for you to treat your clients to the ultimate corporate event." Deutsche Bank, Lord's sponsor JP Morgan, and two other "particularly large City banks" were among those tipped to appear, with each team's batting average bumped up by help from a professional ringer. But the match results, and the winner of the day's "champagne moment" - that's the City's version of Man of the Match - were batted away, because the MCC's clients "did not want any publicity." Not cricket, in Dashwood's opinion.