Just one flub spotting mention will do me JJ as it means I've made a contribution to your commendably well-structured and comprehensive tribute to MPI, the show we love so much after all these years.
I make minor contributions (and even they take a lot of time and effort) to a couple of sports blogs and know how much time it takes to maintain a website to the quality of Magnum Mania.
I recall reading the discussion on the use of the term "old nob" on the Foiled Again thread and my take on it is that someone of Troubshaw's background (public school educated and middle-aged) would be trying to convey he is being friendly to Higgins.
He does this by using a semi friendly/familiar greeting of "long time old nob", which when used by someone of that background and in that context, on face value, would be where "nob" is merely being used as a term for someone of the nobility, but knowing that Troubshaw takes every opportunity to belittle Higgins his use is not friendly but condescending, especially as he probably believes Higgins is not
actual nobility.
The speaking style Troubshaw et al employed is used a lot in the series of PG Wodehouse books "Jeeves and Wooster", a TV adaptation (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeeves_and_Wooster ) of which you may have seen starring Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, the former of which did a reverse John Hillerman, i.e. a Brit pretending to be an American.
When he follows that up with that classic line "you look well...." it confirms he is only using that opportunity to undermine JQH. That reminds of something I heard at a school reunion of mine (not said by or about me I hasten to add) "so what have you been doing all these years...apart from eating ?"