I’m not usually a great fan of ‘gala dinners’; like most journalists I find them about as interesting and productive as an evening with Gordon Brown. Credit where it’s due though, the recent ‘bash’ at the Dorchester Hotel in London given by the South African fruit industry was both informative and fun – even if absolutely no one in the room had ever heard of the two ‘celebrities’ present!
So why did this particular event work when so many fail? Well, it was well organised (take a bow Red Communications), the food and wine was good, and the service superb. But there was something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on, until my colleague, Diane, said: “They were really nice people weren’t they?” That’s it! They were nice people.
From experience I know that South Africans are a friendly bunch. What’s more, they have an approach to both business and pleasure that seems to have increasingly gone out of fashion in the UK. Before we commenced eating, for instance, grace was said. Now, I’m not a Christian, but I found this to be a rather nice touch, recalling standards of bygone days. The various speeches given were full of humour too, including various quips about cricket (which a high proportion of the British ‘audience’ knew nothing about) and football (which our South African hosts knew nothing about!).
It was a good evening, and you’ll find further information on South African growers’ major new promotional campaign within the pages of this august journal.
Rod Millington
Chief Editor
