Geoffrey Taylor, a serious man, had an underlying humour that surfaced in some of his writing and in his dealings with those he knew well.
His friend Michael Hides, former Guardian chief subeditor and later editor of the Sheffield Morning Telegraph, was surprised one morning to receive a helium-filled balloon in the post. Geoffrey had decided to test the ingenuity of the Royal Mail by taking the balloon to his local post office and arguing that, since parcels were charged by weight and his was lighter than air, the Post Office should pay him for sending it. His case was rejected, but the parcel was accepted for a small fee and delivered to Sheffield, still inflated, the next day.
