Je suis knackered!

So, today was the main conference day. On parade at 09:00 I was on my feet until I left at 19:00. My back, my feet, my legs, my everything ached. My Chairing went down well this morning, the great thing about not having anything to sell and nothing to prove is that you can be quite controversial and not really care! I didn’t give the panelists a hard time but I did hold them to account for some of the failings of the industry. There were a number of questions from the audience of about 1,000 which are transmitted via an app and displayed on a screen (how modern!). None of the panelists seemed particularly keen to answer them, ‘how do you plan to be carbon neutral 24/7’ or ‘what steps do you think the industry needs to take to improve its image’. Needless to say, I had an opinion, so I answered them! That seemed to go down well. That and my observation that it was great to be in front of a live audience again … apart from those who looked half dead but that was almost certainly down to the ‘Buddha Bar’ (famous in Monaco for being open all night) and arriving back at the hotel at 3 in the morning!

So, whilst I was busy working and doing my ‘thing’ Captain Clarke was off for some breakfast. I don’t grudge him this at all, I would happily have joined him but needs must. The truth is that I get paid far more for doing this rubbish than I can earn in a month doing what we do every day. I can’t ignore that! I got three job offers today too … I don’t want a new job but there may be some negotiation tomorrow! The breakfast served at the conference was all bread related, (bread and cheese, bread and ham, bread and tomato) but for those of us that have a yeast allergy it was hardly a great choice! I settled on water! I was, as the photo above shows, Chairing the Keynote, this means that most people turn up for it. It was good fun because. have nothing to prove. I have been in the industry so long that nothing surprises me and nothing is off limits That’s the jeopardy that the organisers face … what will I say or do? Nobody knows! Least of all me – but I’m always fair and I never go out to embarrass or belittle a panelist. That said, the guy on my right was so boring that I had to cut him off several times! We won’t meet again and, if we do, he will never sit on a panel I chair again because I will make sure of it!

So, it is now down to Captain Clarke to entertain you in Monaco, I was working. Captain Clarke had the brilliant idea of getting a sight seeing bus of Monaco. We have done this in many cities we have been in around the world and it always works out well because you get to see much of the city and you learn about the history. I have been to Monaco 21 times and Captain Clarke knows more about it now than I do! This photo overlooks the marina and is actually taken close to our hotel. The marina is beautiful and the boats are fantastic but it is all a fantasy world. The boats are manned by security staff who are preparing them for the owners to visit this weekend to watch the e-Prix. Tonight two of them are being used for a corporate ‘do’ hosted by Huawai, a Chinese company that are controversially providing the majority of the backbone of the Internet (those who get worried or excited about the Chinese spying on our activity on the Internet are about 10 years too late!). I was invited to attend but declined this, along with about 10 other corporate events. I’ve done them over the years but I’m too tired and would rather have a quiet meal with Captain Clarke!

Captain Clarke took his bus tour up to ‘The Rock’, somewhere, I have never been. The tour took him to the palace where Prince Albert II has a residence although he flies the flag of the monarchy all the time preferring to keep his location to himself. Captain Clarke was very impressed with ‘The Rock’ and definitely prefers it to the area that I am familiar with by the sea front. I have never been up there having really limited my visits to Monaco over the last 20 years to the sea front and to the area around the Grimaldi Forum. Funny how a different set of eyes can see somewhere completely differently! I have never really enjoyed Monaco but maybe that is because I have seen it from the eyes of someone working and not someone who is seeing it for the first time as a leisure activity. I think there is a learning point here, although I am not sure what it is because I would only ever come to Monaco for work and would certainly prefer other places to spend my leisure time!

Captain Clarke explained that he really enjoyed ‘The Rock’ which reminded him somewhat of Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy. Apparently there were lots of little gift shops selling somewhat tacky souvenirs and a number of small restaurants that were busy and inviting. Having enjoyed his tour of ‘The Rock’ Captain Clarke hopped back onto the sight seeing bus and decided to do a second tour of Monaco. His ticket lasted the entire day and he decided to make good use of it. Apparently the sound wasn’t so great on the first bus but was much better on the second. He explained to me that the principality of Monaco used to extend to include Menton and another small village that is now in Italy. It was only when Menton was lost to the French that Monaco had to reinvent itself. Prior to this the land was very fertile and lemons were the biggest crop that was sold in both Italy and France. The loss of Menton to the French meant the loss of 80% of the land, so King Charles I (King Carlos) decided to change the laws to allow gambling and created the Casino in what is now known as ‘Monte Carlo’ which is technically a district or ward of the principality of Monaco.

Captain Clarke decided to take a small lunch whilst on The Rock. Noix d’entrecôte au sauce poivre et une verte du vin rosé was his chosen snack – Rib Eye steak with pepper sauce and a glass of rosé wine. When in Provence it should be law that the only wine to be drunk is Rosé! The wine here is just stunning. I have been drinking it here for over 20 years but Captain Clarke has now also come around to my way of thinking. Captain Clarke sent me this photograph suggesting that it was someone else’s lunch that he had photographed. He said “That was a lunch I saw someone having”. Really? And did they allow him to place his glasses in the photo too? There is a learning point here … if you are going to try and pass your lunch off as someone else’s, don’t leave any incriminating evidence in the photograph! I, on the other hand, had a lunch of a skewer with tomato and mozzarella on it and then a chicken skewer. It isn’t that the lunch wasn’t plentiful at the conference but every single dish was bread – tuna sandwiches, cheese sandwiches, ham sandwiches, croque monsieur, ham and parmesan rolls, etc., etc. For those of us that have developed an allergy to bread, it wasn’t exactly gastronomic! To be fair to the catering in the Grimaldi Forum, it has been better this year than others. The food has never been its strongest point but that has always been compensated by the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff. This year water is plentiful (in the past it has run out by about 10 o’clock in the morning), there is coffee and tea available all day and if you like cake (sadly I don’t) there have always been little cakes to enjoy with your coffee or tea.

Just briefly returning to the conference, sustainability has been very high on the agenda this year and there has been much talk about how the industry can improve its image. The photo here is of a stand from one of the major operators in the US and in Europe. The stand is entirely made of recycled cardboard which is also recyclable again. That said, they intend to use it several more times at conferences and exhibitions they are attending this year. The biggest challenge they had was achieving the fire rating required for health and safety whilst maintain the environmental credentials. It is coated with a fire protective coating which is entirely natural and does not affect the ability to recycle! They even discovered that when someone spilt some juice on it (they have a juice bar within the stand), the cardboard did not immediately disintegrate and they were able to wipe it clean. Apparently the only issue has been that when they first put it all together they were all sitting down very gingerly just in case the cardboard wasn’t as sturdy as it might need to be! No accidents, they needn’t have worried.

So, today is the last day of the conference. I am speaking in what its known as the ‘graveyard slot’ – the very last session of the conference. Trust me, there will be virtually nobody there! Many people don’t even bother to turn up on the second day and of those that intend to, many will be so hungover and tired that they won’t. I would not normally have agreed to the graveyard slot because I know just how many people will be there but the session is about some looming legislation that will fundamentally change the industry for everyone if it is to be passed. I am chairing the session which is considered so important to the participants they they changed their flights and accommodation just to be sure they could be there. Sadly, the organisers now put commerce over content (the original organisers have been bought out and the new owners are far more commercial – they don’t have the experience of the industry and don’t recognise what is good content and what is just more of the same!) so the session got put at the wrong end of the conference. Apart from sustainability, the threat of banning the running of generators, at all, in urban areas is the biggest threat the industry has faced in its relatively short history! Oh well, maybe they’ll learn something from this … or maybe not. There are other conference series coming along and it may be that we have to change or allegiance to another. Content is everything and to be associated with the wrong one is very bad indeed … it’s RudyMenTerry!