Up close and personal in travel retail
When I spied him at the British Airways desk, I noticed Peter was checking in his golf clubs. “What did you need those for?” I asked, a fair question, I thought, given I had played golf with Peter on a couple of occasions at the Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup.
My palate might not have been best attuned to sipping whisky at that hour of the morn but a combination of the TREX status, the renowned quality of Penderyn and Lee’s persuasiveness overcame my admittedly feeble resistance.
So good is the wine and food combo that I’ve almost forgotten last night’s catastrophic rugby result. I said almost.
Over some succulent oysters and a pan-fried snapper so fresh it was practically flapping on the plate, washed down with fine Man O’ War Estate Chardonnay from the island and back-lit by a sublime beach, sea and sky view, it was an unforgettable moment in time.
At least I was better off than a fellow passenger, a mother travelling with several family members. “How many bags are you missing Ma’am?” “Eleven.”
Ystradgynlais (Welsh for ‘vale of the river Cynlais’) is easier to find (at the northeastern end of the Swansea Valley ) than it is to pronounce. But after a good dram or two of the outstanding local whisky Penderyn, I’ve just about got the hang of it.
If Bengaluru Duty Free is the airport world’s best arrivals duty-free shop, this Mitti Café is surely its most special food & beverage outlet, ‘The Magic of Abilities’ writ large across the warmest smiles you could ever hope to encounter.
Any requests? Something by The Moodie Blues, I suggest?
The calligrapher kindly asked me to choose a design of my choice. Admiring the bright orange hues and the lovely shape of the lettering, I made my choice. “What does it mean?” I asked. “It means ‘Write like an angel.”
All of us in travel retail have had these moments of not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Not only would a Heathrow transit mean 28 hours or so of flying plus transit time from Mumbai to Hong Kong, but I’d actually not be back in time for my subsequent flight to Hainan.
In family terms, the Ahujas also put the worst of times to the best of use, transforming the family ranch with astounding alacrity and vision into the outstanding facility it is today.
Vivek told me he’s been reading The Moodie Davitt Report every day since he started in the business a decade or so ago, catching up with brand launches, product trends and, yes, my Blog.
For I dipt into the future, far as human eye could see/Saw the Vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be/Saw the heavens fill with commerce, argosies of magic sails/Pilots of the purple twilight dropping down with costly bales