More Cohen

There are more videos of Thursday's Leonard Cohen Concert now on You Tube. So here is a longer one of Hallelujah.

South Carolina not 'So Gay'

The media frenzy around our ads for South Carolina is intensifying and moving round the world.

In South Carolina, the State newspaper again have an article.

In the UK, the Guardian and the Independent have big articles.

It has reached Northern Ireland and Taiwan.

It is being reported in newspapers across the USA.

I understand that the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) have issued a statement as follows -
“We would like to congratulate Amro Holidays and Out Now Consulting on a phenomenal advertising campaign. The very creative campaign was thought provoking and created discussions worldwide about gay travel and the diversity of destinations that LGBT travelers visit. We are honored to have both of these outstanding companies as members of IGLTA!”

Hey - thanks guys.

And all of this from one small ad on one tube line in the London underground. Ian from Out Now Consulting who devised and led the advertising campaign has managed the media interest brilliantly and truthfully (not always the same thing).

So at last we are getting the name of Amro Worldwide known throughout the gay and lesbian community and beyond. All thanks to a naive and rather stupid Senator and Governor in South Carolina who felt unable to resist making bigoted and, frankly, untruthful comments.

And who knows? We may have made the people of South Carolina address issues which previously they had never addressed. And some of them might have started to realise that they actually don't mind attracting gay travellers. That in fact they have no real problems with sexual diversity. As Michael (Mouse) Tolliver said in Tales of the City - [there are] people who don't consider sexuality in measuring the worth of a human being.

If we have made some people in South Carolina accept their spirit of tolerance, then not only has Amro Worldwide benefited, but hopefully South Carolina as well.

Amro Worldwide

Where do I start with this one?

It's been a surreal week, and I've only been on the edge of it.

Let's start at the beginning. Andrew wanted a new type of advertising for the travel business and hit on doing panels on the London Underground around the time of Pride. To spread the cost he dealt with 5 American states who were happy to come on board. The 'So Gay' campaign was launched. At the last minute, South Carolina asked us if they could join the campaign and we agreed.

So for the past 2 weeks we have had a series of posters running up Leicester Square Underground advertising a number of American states as well as advertising Amro Worldwide. The tag line is 'so gay' as in 'Las Vegas is So Gay', 'South Carolina is So Gay' etc. The reasoning was that this reclaimed this phrase for the gay community and showed the attractions of each destination for gay and lesbian travellers.

The campaign was launched and went very well.

Then a blog in South Carolina objected to public money going to fund a campaign to attract gay travellers. The blog should have just been ignored but suddenly a Senator and then the Governor in Sough Carolina agreed and demanded that the ad be pulled and stated that they would not pay for the campaign. The person who approved the campaign was made to resign.

Suddenly the story grew and by today it has been featured in numerous US newspapers, blog sites, television news broadcasts etc and also now by media outlets in Britian.

This has given Amro Worldwide publicity and focus which we could never have afforded to buy. For us it has suddenly put Amro in the spotlight and hopefully shown the gay community that we are a serious travel company in their market.

As examples, it has been reported on by Time magazine in the States and the Guardian over here as well as on American television and on various blogsites.



It's all amazing. I can't believe the welter of publicity which at the moment shows no signs of abating. I am sure that the Senator and Governor regret what they have started. Amro, meanwhile, will continue to tell the truth and hopefully gather the positive exposure from the story.

Leonard Cohen in concert

I was privileged to see Leonard Cohen live in concert last might at the O2 arena in London.

The arena was a bit of a problem. It is too large for what should have been a more intimate concert. In particular during the whole concert, there were people going out, getting drinks, bringing them in. There were many people taking flash photographs when they were so far from the stage that all the flash would have done is illuminate some of the heads which would have been in the way. All of this, for me, spoiled the atmosphere.

But Leonard Cohen was brilliant and so were his band. His songs, his poetry is magnificent. I saw him in concert in Edinburgh in about 1978 and never thought I'd get the opportunity to do so again. To hear the master sing Suzanne, Bird on the Wire, Sisters of Mercy and, of course, Hallelujah was fantastic. Thank you Leonard.

Here is a short clip of Hallelujah at last night's concert.

Scattering the ashes

The final farewell.

Today we went over to Crathie, as I had done with my Mum on many previous occasions. This time, though, it was with the urn of her ashes to be scattered around the family plot in Crathie churchyard.

When we got there, the churchyard was deserted, which was just as I had hoped. Suddenly an old guy arrived - obviously the caretaker. And he hovered around the whole time, which was a pity. So the leaving of the ashes in the churchyard was not as private nor as unhurried as I'd have liked it to have been. But we did it, and finally my Mum is laid to rest.

Then we went to Braemar for lunch and on to the Linn of Dee, another place where we had been many times previously with my Mum. And finally to the top dam at Lochnagar Distillery where my Mum and played and swam as a child.

I think it was a fitting tribute to my mother and to the place of her childhood.





'Years have rolled on, Lochnagar, since I left you
Years must roll on ere I see you again
Though Nature of verdure and flowers bereft you
Yet still art thou dearer than Albion's plain
England! thy beauties are tame and domestic
To one who has roved on the mountains afar
Oh for the crags that are wild and majestic
The steep frowning glories o' wild Lochnagar'

Wester Ross

This weekend both my sister and I are up to be with my Dad and, on Sunday, to go over to Crathie to scatter my Mum's ashes in the churchyard there.

But first today we went for a drive in the car. Quite a long drive actually. In fact we drove over to Inverness and then north westwards through Garve, Achnasheen, Kinlochwewe and finally to Gairloch on Scotland's north-west coast.

It was a glorious day - warm and sunny. There were people sunbathing and even swimming at Gairloch. It is a magical place on a day like this and I enjoyed just walking around, taking in the views of the mountains to the east and the sea and islands out to the west.

When I was a kid, we spend a number of holidays in this area in a caravan or a rented cottage, and since then I have visited on a number of occasions. Gairloch never fails to get to me in an emotional way.

This time of course there was an added bitter-sweet response. I had always been here with my Mum. She loved the place as well. So each time I took a photo, I remembered old photos both of the early visits when I was a kid and of later visits.

But it was right to come here and my Dad enjoyed the experience.

From Gairloch we drove via Poolewe round via Gruinard Bay - still in my opinion the most beautiful road in the world. There was a feeling of moving on, but also of remembering past visits with pleasure and almost of still being able to talk to my mum and remind her of past visits.

It was a great day.

Leonard Cohen at Glastonbury

I am really looking forward to seeing Leonard Cophen at the O2 on 17 July. He has been receiving rave reviews for the concerts he has done so far, including his set at Glastonbury. Here is part of that set.

Malaga

It has been a good week and reminded me why I love Spain, and Malaga in particular. We didn't rush around, but we spent time in the hills, time on the beach, had good meals and generally were able to relax.

This is a picture of the block in which our flat is. Still building work going on all around, but slowly the neighbourhood is improving and bieng upgraded.

Most of the morning of the final day was spent trying to pay our outstanding rates bill, but even that was an interesting experience. We grabbed a final couple of hours on the beach and that was that. Back to London.

La Noche De San Juan

This morning we were at the Malagueta where we spend a couple of hours in the sun and in the water. Then we met a couple of girls at El Poseidon in Torremolinos before heading to Reg and Gloria in Fuangirola.



Finally once we had returned to Malaga, we headed for the beach at midnight. This is the evening that the Spanish celebrate the longest night, the festival of La Noche De San Juan, by lighting bonfires all along the beaches and partying until dawn. We didn't stay quite that long, but it was an interesting experience.

Hills and beach

I really enjoyed today. We took the car into the hills up to Casabermejo, turned off to RoiGordo where we stopped for a coffee, and then took the spectacularly scenic drive via Vinuela to the coast.

Then we headed for La Herradura where we had a paella for lunch in the same restuaruant that my Mum, Dad and I had been to 18 months ago. It is strange that I feel the presence of my Mum very strongly over here, I guess beacuse I tend to visit the same places and can remember taking her to them during her two visits out here. The memory saddens me, but also I am pleased that I was able to show her these places which now mean so much to me.

Later in the afternoon we found ourselves at the naturist beach just along the coast from La Herradura, and had a pleasant couple of hours there.

Traffic was bad on the way home, but it didn't spoil the day.

Cirque de Soleil

Andrew had some work to do, so I went to the beach for a couple of hours in the morning, we had an excellent menu del dia in a small restaurant in Calle San Juan De Letran. Then we headed off to the tent at the feria ground to see Cirque De Soleil. I had never seen Cirque de Soleil before and I'm afraid I was disappointed. Yes there were some amazing moments, but it was a 30 minute show stretched to over 2 hours with a lot of padding.

Andrew's Birthday

Today was Andrew's birthday. We took the car to my favourite area around El Chorro and the lakes. I had given Andrew a flip video for his birthday, so he was able to learn how to use that and take some video footage of the lakes and gorge.

Later we had a very pleasant meal at the Vino Mio where of course we went for my birthday last year. The food was excellent and I enjoyed being able to be with Andrew on his birthday and in Spain. We ate too much, though, and didn't sleep very well as a result.

Malaga beach

Here we are back in Malaga for a week. It is some time since we have been here, and after all that has happened I am looking forward to a break. We didn't do a lot today. The morning was spent cleaning the flat and the patio, then we had a big lunch and managed a couple of hours on the beach. A gentle start.

My father

Since my Mum died, I have tried to comfort my father and help him with his deteriorating health, but of ocurse life is not easy for him right now.

Today we went into Aberdeen because he had another eye injection. These cannot be very pleasant, but at least my Dad's deteriorating eyesight has been arrested, maybe even reversed slightly. I hope that he can carry on with a reasonable quality of life and hope also that his understandable grief can lessen as the months go on.

Keith Seniors Open

I am back in Scotland to help my Dad and to take him to Forresterhill Hospital tomorrow. So I took the opportunity to play in the Keith Seniors Open golf tournament. I remember being a junior in Keith, which doesn't seem very long ago, and here I am qualified for the seniors. Scary.

In fact I played quite well and had a gross 86, net 69. Twice I landed in ditches which were not there last time I played at Keith. There were three prizes, and I finished fourth!

In the evening we went to the Delnashaugh for dinner. As always, I enjoyed the drive up there and so, I think, did my Dad.

Britain's Got Talent

Having watched most of the semi-finals, this evening I watched the final of Britain's Got Talent. And indeed it has. There were some wonderful acts. But I voted for George Sampson not only because I thought his performance was best, but because of what the prize would do for him and his mum, living as they do in some poverty in Warrington. And here is his performance.

Amro change of staff

This evening we went out for a meal to mark Charnelle's last day at Amro. She heads back to New Zealand with boyfriend Russell. It is a great pity. She has been an excellent employee and will be missed.

But we had a good meal and a good evening at Number 32 in Hitchin.

A Wet Bank Holiday

If only I had gone to Scotland - where the weather was warm and sunny. Here in London it was cold, windy and wet. Very wet. And so I rather let Sunday and Monday slip by without doing much of note. On Saturday I watched the farce that is called the Eurovision Song Contest. On Monday I watched 'Britain's Got Talent.' In between, I should have been more productive. I really don't have the energy these days to get on with things. Yet I have so many things to get on with - most notably getting my flat into a fit state to be put on the market.

But I am working every day this week, I am in Stratford next week and Scotland the week after. So I have rather let opportunity slip by for at least three weeks.

Yesterday's Birthday

The service was a bit aggressive, but the food was superb and the evening was generally enjoyable. Certainly I would return to Albannich again to eat the food. And I would hope that the staff would be slightly less touchy every time we made a request. And hopefully the music would be less loud.

It was good to See Steve and Tom again and, as always, to see Alan. I enjoyed the evening and am generally looking forward to the year ahead.

Birthday

Yes, another one - another year gone. There won't be any wild celebrations today - I'm too old for that. But I am looking forward to seeing a few friends this evening and having a meal at Albennach, a Scottish restaurant near Trafalgar Square.

But of course there was no card from my Mum - and won't be a phone call from her either. I still haven't quite come to terms with that.

Today, of course, is the first day or the rest of my life. Time to move on and look forward.