ALL ABOARD
I’m writing this week’s blog on the world’s most famous train: the Orient Express. The trip is a gift from my wife to celebrate my big birthday plus one. It’s like stepping back one hundred years, everyone is dressed formally for dinner in the dining car and while there is the rhythm of the sound of the train, there is also the tinkling of the piano. The only thing missing is a murder mystery!
The cabin is very small. The walls are all wood panelled with beautiful marquetry. Now, the bunk beds - life gets interesting! Do we snuggle up on the lower bunk? We give it a go but it’s too squashed despite my recent dieting. So I wonder who took the top bunk? As I climb the ladder, an express train rushes by with such noise and as the wind rocks our carriage, I get such a shock that I slip off the ladder and fall to the floor. My wife, unsympathetic due to a giggling fit, says, “This is such fun!” Now you know who the boss really is!
As I lie in my upper bunk, the Nurofen finally kicking in to ease the pain of my sprained ankle, I begin to relax with the rhythm of the train and reflect on what an amazing year it has been both personally and on a business level.
Our new financial year begins June 1st and all our in-country offices and various business divisions are planning, negotiating and budgeting, not just for the year ahead but for the next three years as we begin our new three year plan cycle.
Next week I’ll update you on some of the plans. In the meantime, I’ve arrived in beautiful Venice and I’m sitting on the balcony watching the gondolas sail past on the Grand Canal. I can’t wait to sleep nearer to the ground and the only motion is the lapping of the canal waters against the wall outside - heavenly!
The cabin is very small. The walls are all wood panelled with beautiful marquetry. Now, the bunk beds - life gets interesting! Do we snuggle up on the lower bunk? We give it a go but it’s too squashed despite my recent dieting. So I wonder who took the top bunk? As I climb the ladder, an express train rushes by with such noise and as the wind rocks our carriage, I get such a shock that I slip off the ladder and fall to the floor. My wife, unsympathetic due to a giggling fit, says, “This is such fun!” Now you know who the boss really is!
As I lie in my upper bunk, the Nurofen finally kicking in to ease the pain of my sprained ankle, I begin to relax with the rhythm of the train and reflect on what an amazing year it has been both personally and on a business level.
Our new financial year begins June 1st and all our in-country offices and various business divisions are planning, negotiating and budgeting, not just for the year ahead but for the next three years as we begin our new three year plan cycle.
Next week I’ll update you on some of the plans. In the meantime, I’ve arrived in beautiful Venice and I’m sitting on the balcony watching the gondolas sail past on the Grand Canal. I can’t wait to sleep nearer to the ground and the only motion is the lapping of the canal waters against the wall outside - heavenly!
