Latest posts by Martin Moodie (see all)
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One down, two to go. No I’m not talking about days at the Cannes show, I’m talking Rugby World Cup, of course.
Outnumbered hopelessly by the French and (mainly French-suppporting) neutrals at Ma Logan’s Irish bar on Saturday night, I made a fair fist of raising Kiwi decibel levels to volumes as thunderous as the sound of the All Blacks forward pack chasing down any Frenchmen in sight. But even as wildly fanatical and one-eyed a supporter as me could not possibly have hoped for that stunning 64-13 victory against Les Bleus.
[The All Blacks flag is still flying proudly outside The Moodie Report Interim Cannes Bureau. And a desolate Dermot Davitt refuses to take down the Irish one.]
But that’s precisely what happened and now it’s onwards to meet the awesome might of our greatest foe, the South African Springboks, at the weekend, a match I will be attending and probably will watch with eyes closed.
First though there’s plenty of business to deal with here. We started the week in style with the annual Moodie International Superstars Honorary Invitation Tournament (MIS-HIT) on Saturday, a fun and often hilarious occasion. History was made with our first all-female winning team – (left to right in second picture below) Catherine Bonnelli, Britt Riches and Cecile Souchon, with Catherine (below) winning the coveted MIS-HIT Blue Jacket.
Alas for Gebr Heinemann and The Estee Lauder Companies, we again stole the best weather, and their tournament was played in persistent drizzle the next day. But that didn’t dampen any spirits and I enjoyed a great match with Dubai Duty Free’s Colm McLoughlin, Gebr Heinemann’s Harry Diehl, and Frankfurt Airport’s Martin Turek. It was nice to see the hosts donate the entrance fees to a local charity set up to assist those in need from the recent floods.
Now it’s down to rather more serious business as the TFWA World Exhibition is in full swing. It’s remarkable to see the Palais – and Cannes – in such good shape after the tragedy and catastrophe in this region earlier this month (referred to elegantly and compassionately by TFWA President Erik Juul-Mortensen in his outstanding opening speech on Monday). Let’s not forget that 19 lives were lost in this region and that hundreds of people had property and possessions destroyed. If you’re tempted to complain about anything in Cannes this week, please don’t. We are all blessed and lucky to be here. There are many around us not so fortunate.
[Spare a thought for our head of sales & events Sarah Genest who suffered a nasty knee injury just before the show. But help was at hand when a damsel in distress needed a pick-me-up Champagne. Our interim Irish waiter for the week continues to do an outstanding job.]
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