Event Experts

UK Diary

As most of you know the Academy has launched an office in London and so this year I decided that it was time to have a white Xmas. This new office has given me just the excuse I needed to visit my family over the festive season and mix a little business with pleasure. I thought perhaps you might like to share the experience with me, so have decided to keep an online diary of the things that happen during my trip and any tips and event planning secrets I discover.

DAY 1

I am currently sat in Abu Dhabi feeling slightly worse for wear after a 14 hours flight surrounded by 4 screaming babies. I have discovered that babies are much like dogs, when one starts to bark they all do, well the same applies to babies. So my first tip to any of you who are about to embark on an overseas flight of any kind is to stock up on plenty of earphones and earplugs. I was lucky in the fact that I had my iPhone on flight mode and was able to blast out the screaming with the dulcet tones of everything from Il Divo to The Muse. The other alternative of course is to get a light sleeping sedative, but I only recommend that on long haul journeys such as this one.

I have never been to Abu Dhabi before and I can’t really claim to have seem anything other than the airport, as this is merely a stop off for our plane refuels before taking us onto the UK. The one thing that has struck me though is how incredibly clean and ornate it is. The other thing which they have that we don’t in Australia is free WIFI at the airport. Why don’t we have this type of thing? Most major international airports do. When I went to Texas earlier in the year you could get free WIFI in the local shopping mall. I think Australia could learn a thing or two.

Anyway, I don’t really have much more to add as I really am too tired now to think straight. The one thing I can tell you though is that when I left Australia there was 8 inches of snow in Colchester, which is about an hour south east of London where my family lives. Looks like I might get that white Xmas I was dreaming of.

I’ll check in with you tomorrow after I’ve arrived in snowy England and hopefully had some sleep.

Day 2/3

Well I’ve had some sleep but still feel pretty jetlagged. We arrived to be greeted by 6 inches of snow and a bitterly cold day. Luckily we were well prepared with gloves, hats, coats and scarves. One large skinny mocha and a hot chocolate later and we were on our way back to see the rest of the family in Colchester, Essex (about an hour south east of London). As we had landed in Manchester we had to endure a 4 hour car journey before we had finished our mammoth trip. I have to say though, the journey was made a little more pleasant by the fact that it was like driving through a Xmas card picture. There was snow lining all the trees and the fields were covered in a snowy white blanket. Soft flakes were dropping as we drove and it really was an amazing sight. This coupled with the beautiful old buildings of northern England got me all nostalgic. This soon wore off after an hour of travelling though as tiredness took over.

I have to say I have never been so glad to see a bed before in my life. By the time my head hit the pillow we had been up and semi-conscious for just over 50 hours - not something I would recommend in a hurry.

The next day we were greeted by more snow and another Xmas Card scene as we looked out of my parents back garden. To my daughter’s delight more snow had fallen and she was out in a flash to build a snowman - the first she had ever made. I was a little more reserved and viewed the spectacle from a safe and warm distance by the comfort of the open fire.

There was no rest for the wicked though, that afternoon we were off to see an ice show at the local ice skating rink and a spot of shopping at the local mall. As we dragged our weary bodies around the shops we were once again reminded of how lucky we are to live in the worlds most livable city - Melbourne. The warmth and Chadstone Shopping Centre are certainly not things we will ever take for granted again.

Xmas in the UK

I can’t believe we are now onto Boxing Day. It has all gone so quickly. It is amazing to see how much kids grow when you haven’t seen them for 4 years. My nephew Louis has gone from being a cute toddler to a real little boy - full of confidence and very much like his Aussie Aunty in personality.

Both Summer and I have suffered the dreaded English Flu and whilst Summer is coming out the other side of it, mine is still in full flight. It didn’t however stop me from enjoying a traditional Xmas Dinner that comprised of the biggest chicken I have ever seen (17 pounds), roast & sweet potatoes, cauliflower & broccoli, peas, carrots & swede, parsnip, cabbage, runner beans, stuffing, cheese sauce & gravy. God I love my Mum’s cooking. This was followed by homemade Xmas Pudding before we literally waddled into the lounge to watch the kids open their presents.

As today is Boxing Day we are off to the good old English Pantomime. For those of you who have no idea what this is check out this website which is dedicated to the world of Pantomime. Of course no Boxing Day would be complete without the traditional meal of bubble & squeak accompanied with cold meats and pickle. Again for those of you who don’t know bubble & squeak is all the left over veg from Xmas dinner fried up in a big pan - bloody gorgeous.

Well I hope you all got what you wanted for Xmas and had a wonderful time over indulging and spending time with your family. For some of you I am sure you will be hitting the sales today so good luck with your purchases, and for those of you who have decided to take it easy again I hope you enjoy the rest. Till tomorrow.

On the 6th day of Xmas my true love gave to me - one English Cold!

Well in true English style I have spent the last couple of days battling a stinking cold and haven’t been able to do an awful lot at all. The pantomime was fantastic and a good time was had by all. The following day we took my little nephew to the ice skating rink down the road to see what he was made of. He took to it like a duck to water and had a fabulous time. Summer had a ball showing off her moves to her Uncle Ross who watched in wonderment from a safe distance off the ice. Despite my sore throat and runny nose I did get on the ice although wasn’t up to much at all.

The cold is now on it’s way out, thank goodness, so today I am venturing down to the gym to work off some of that Xmas pudding. Then its off to the UK office to start looking at the new courses for 2010 and arrange some meetings with my UK counterparts. Quite exciting really to think about all the things that lie ahead for us in the new year. I will be sad to see this year end as it has been one of growth, education, risks, success and above all else fun, and I have loved every minute of it. With each new year comes a new challenge so bring on 2010 and all that it has to offer and goodbye 2009 and thank you for a wonderful year.

Happy New Year to one and all

This is probably one of the most memorable New Years Eves I have had in a long time. Just being back home in the UK has been exciting enough, especially now I have got over my English cold, but I have also had 2009 extended by 11 hours. Silly I know, but I did think it was worthy of note that as I started 2009 in Australia and ended it in the UK, I have actually managed to get an extra 11 hours out of this year because that is how far behind Australia the UK sits in time zones.

That amazing fact aside, I started my New Years Eve off in the way I mean to carry on throughout the rest of the year, at the gym slogging my guts out. This was however swiftly followed up with lunch at one of my favourite restaraunts - Cafe Rouge. The food was fabulous, the company excellent and the surroundings were perfect. It was then off to London to the Barbican Centre to attend the traditional New Years Eve Viennese Concert given by the London Symphony Orchestra every year for the last 34 years. We worked out that it had been over 20 years since I had last attended one of these concerts. It’s frightening to think how quickly the time goes by and I’m not quite 40 yet.

The concert was amazing and hadn’t lost any of it’s charm and as if this wasn’t enough, just after the sounds of Big Ben had bought in the New Year and the clock had chimed Midnight, the snow started to fall all around us in a heavy blanket. What a perfect way to see in the New Year. So now the excitement of Xmas and the New Year is over and we are over the side of all the celebrations it is time to start putting my game plan together for 2010. Today is the day I enjoy the most about a new year - a blank piece of paper, lots of ideas and a whole day to play around with those ideas and make them into a workable plan. I can’t wait. It’s my yearly brainstorm day when anything goes, no ideas are bad ones and I get to decide where my company is going to go for the next year.

I shopped till I dropped

Well they do say that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, or in my case girl. So it would be rude to be in the UK and go to Harrods - well that’s my philosophy anyway. I have spent the last few days working and getting ready for the launch of our Summer School back in Australia so it felt right to take a day off and go to London, and what a day it was.

We started off at Harrods and wandered around the ground floor in wonderment. It took quite alot of convincing to get me to leave the chocolate hall I can tell you. Laden down with bags we decided that we were hungry and that if we were going to eat it may as well be in the largest and most well known store in London. We settled on the Pizzeria and sampled one of the best woodfired margherita pizzas I have ever had. This was washed down with a glass of their finest champagne @ $25 a glass (I can’t believe I paid that much).

The next stop on our agenda was Fortnum and Masons and what a joy that was. It is certainly more on the smaller side than Harrods but so beautifully laid out with exquisite taste. I loved walking up and down the huge wooden staircase with the battered red carpet - absolutely perfect. Then it was time for Tea.

Nobody does tea quite like the English and the Ritz has to be the best place to go. This was elegance, style, opulence and pure indulgence all rolled into one. It was an experience like no other and one I will remember for a long time to come. After all that food we practically rolled onto Picadilly and enjoyed a brisk walk through to Leicester Square where it was time to catch the tube and make our way back to Colchester.

Like all fairytale days this one came to an end, but I have to say it is one I won’t forget for a long, long time.