Happy Hotel

I’m now on the way back home. I am exhausted. Four late nights and three early mornings mean that I am very much ready for the weekend (and a little afternoon siesta today if I get the chance). Overall it has been a good week with some real highlights. Professionally the re-launch of the group in London went well, as did an initial meeting with a new client yesterday. I met a number of new people in EMC, and I also managed to do a few meetings in the members’ area of the Tate Modern gallery in London so that made for a nice change. Personally I was really happy to be back in Brussels for the first time in a while yesterday. It has been a long time since I was so happy to go back to a hotel – I “lived” in the Crowne Plaza in Rue Gineste for about a year or so when I was working at Fortis. Little had changed, including many of the people who worked there, and I was happy to see the colourful carpets, big beds and black and white mosaic bathroom floors again. I also managed to meet a few old Belgian friends and, very importantly for Sandie, Maxime and the Parents and Teachers Association of Maxime’s village school, I also managed to sell eight “P’tit Monsters” key rings to raise some money for the school. I suspect my other upcoming business trips will see another box of key rings being thrust into my suitcase as I head for the airport – I think that’s called being a victim of my own success. A good week all in all.

Big is Best

It looks like it is going to be a big week. London tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday, and Brussels on Thursday for a follow up meeting with a bank I spoke with in Barcelona recently. I've got a whole load of meetings in London including a key one where I'll "re-launch" our Enterprise Information Management and Analytics group on Wednesday evening (basically the same presentation as the one in Johannesburg last week). I'm also really looking forward to going back to Belgium - with a bit of luck I'll manage to see some old friends inbetween client meetings and dinners. I'm trying not to think about the 6AM flight on Friday morning!

Bad Influence

Neither of us were sick but both Maxime and I have spent the whole of the day in pyjamas. I blame him. He was also the only one who spilt tomato sauce on his white top at lunch time. We had a super day lying in, eating ice cream, having siestas, watching "The Incredibles" on DVD, and talking about Papy John and Mamy Moira's new poodle who should be arriving in January. If only every day was a Sunday!

Re-Read in 2031

I wonder if this is the type of article that I'll re-read in 20 years time and conclude that nothing has changed and that the youth of today blah blah blah..... http://www.economist.com/node/21529000

Lekker Bubble

I am sitting on the upper deck of an Airbus A380 waiting to head back to the Northern Hemisphere. It’s been a lekker trip (Afrikaans for “great”). I would like to say that I stared danger in the eyes and that I survived the rough and tumble of Johannesburg, but in reality, I was put in an expat bubble and mollycoddled for the whole time being picked up from my luxurious hotel and driven between the EMC offices and client sites in an air conditioned Audi. I was even put back in my place abruptly and bundled into the car when I told one of my colleagues that I was happy to walk the 1 km back to my hotel from the restaurant last night. The most adventurous I was allowed to get was a 30 minute run in broad daylight at 7AM around the hotel grounds, although I was very happy when I managed to convince a colleague that it really would be ok if I took the airport express train from Sandton to the airport on my way out tonight (about a 15 minute journey).

Despite not seeing “real” life (or maybe that is as close to reality as a tourist will ever get), it was a fascinating experience. There were a number of key things that struck me. Firstly that Johannesburg is a fairly ugly and very spread out city; that South Africa seems in many respects to be a first world country with certain third world features such as poor infrastructure and awful potholed motorways (although some of the South Africans would see it the other way around); that it is unusual for me to see condoms being dispensed freely in the men’s toilets in a corporate office environment (Anglo American); that despite the end of apartheid in 1994, life is still tough and complete racial harmony or integration still has a way to go; and finally, that white middle aged males really are a threatened species – South Africa’s Affirmative Action or Black Empowerment (BE) policies really seem to stack the odds against them…. It was eye opening to think that one’s career can be so directly dictated by government policy – moving jobs for them is a risky business and opportunities are scarce as companies attempt to meet BE quotas.

Overall I think that despite the political climate, if we manage to get a few basic foundations in place, then there are huge opportunities in the country (and in Africa more generally for certain companies). The quality of the small team we have there, and the cutting edge work they are doing, were really impressive. I suspect I’ll be back there in the not too distant future. Lekker!

Correction

The Republic of South Africa has three capitals: Pretoria, often treated as the single capital, is home to the executive branch of government (including the President). Cape Town is home to the Assembly and the Supreme Court is located in Bloemfontein. Although Johannesburg is the commercial center of the country, is not actually one of the capital cities. Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_capital_of_South_Africa#ixzz1dmHMTrP3

The Swallow Has Landed

Just a quick update to say that I am safely in my hotel in Johannesburg. The taxi driver was a delight (although I was sure to belt up as soon as I got in the car). The hotel is pretty fancy too http://www.southernsun.com/deluxe/the-palazzo-montecasino/pages/overview.aspx. Lunch, a brief afternoon nap and then off to work and dinner...

Autumn Migration, Northern Winter

As many a sensible swallow would tell you, heading for warmer climes is a pretty sensible thing to do at this time of year. As I sit here in my A380 in Paris waiting to fly to the South African capital with all the leg room you could wish for, I would be inclined to agree. That said I have to confess that I was initially a bit concerned about flying to Johannesburg as a result of stumbling across the following news articles this weekend http://www.economist.com/node/21536658, http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/15714042.stm and also a story from a colleague about a 32 year old client who was a father of two and who was killed instantly in a head on car crash in the city last week… As I said goodbye to Maxime earlier today, I was very conscious of the fact that I really did want to get home in one (living) piece at the end of the week – we’ve still got lots of stuff to do together. I suspect being less carefree, along with an increased interest in the weather forecast, is all part of hurtling towards middle age. However I was also adamant that I’m not ready to nestle into my comfy slippers just yet, and that I am very much looking forward to this trip to see some very smart young colleagues in a new (albeit supposedly dangerous) city, in what is reputed to be a wonderful country.

One Foulée back, four Foulées forward?

This weekend saw another show jumping event with Pich. This time it was conveniently in Biarritz meaning that I could ride for three days in a row whilst still respecting the babies’ siestas and routines, and complete other domestic jobs including UK and French tax returns. Three bars on the Friday, a clear round on the Saturday, and one down on Sunday meant that, on paper, the results were exactly the same as the previous weekend, however the events of Saturday suggest that real progress has been made. To date Pich has never really forgiven me for the small errors that I make. However on Saturday I misjudged one jump but he remained wonderfully calm and produced a huge, generous, jump at the third which ensured a very pleasing clear round in front of family and friends...it almost felt like he was committed to the team. He’s a good lad really. I hope he realized that the two kilos of apples that followed it was not just by chance! In fact Saturday was a good day all round - in addition to a super clear round, it also included hair cuts for Maxime and Papa, a birthday present from my parents, aperos with Michel in his truck, and dinner in my favourite restaurant which serves the best profiteroles with hot chocolate sauce in town. It’s not often you get a day like that.

Viva Barcelona!

I spent a couple of days in Barcelona last week. It was actually my fourth time in the city. Previously I had always been very disappointed with what everybody told me was a wonderful place. This time I made a point of taking a late flight back on the Thursday to allow myself some time to have a little walk around (rather than just rushing to the airport to sit and do emails in the lounge, again). I have to say on a warm November day and under a glorious blue sky I was finally taken by the feel and the architecture of the place – the normally screeching Spaniards didn’t irritate me either. The sun draped old town was beautiful, and the city was a wonderful mix of the traditional and the youthful. I also found some excellent food and even a free internet connection in Starbucks (I couldn’t go a whole afternoon without emails you understand). The conclusion I drew as I sat on the train to travel back to the airport in the evening was one’s opinion of a city is typically much more positive when you’re not there on a stag do (as I had been the three other times I had visited the Catalan capital)!

Kick in the Ribs

Last weekend saw three days of show jumping with Pich. The results were a mixed bag – one clear round and four bars down (not the objective) between the two other classes. Whereas it is increasingly clear to me that to get a clear round with Pich I really need to ride with an extreme level of precision, a different conclusion that the weekend threw into doubt was the one where I had said it was better to share a bed with moneyed Maxime rather than his crumb loving mother…. Maxime came away with me for the competition whilst the rest of the family stayed in Biarritz. We stayed in a little hotel nearby and because he was a touch sickly he ended up sleeping alongside me in the big double bed. Never has so little a person taken up so much of a full sized adult bed. He kicked me on numerous occasions throughout the night. At one stage I thought he was just messing around so I was somewhat alarmed to see that the little kicker was fast asleep as he sought to cave in my rib cage. Bring back the crumbs I say.