Last night I went off to a talk by Dr Edwin Moses...probably better known as the hurdler Ed Moses. An interesting man who doesn't seem quite reconciled to his legendary status....he didn't enter the room until we were all sitting quietly, where as the other speakers had, and acknowledged the applause as he walked to the podium. As he said, it's better to be a living legend rather than just a legend. He spoke for almost an hour with no notes and almost no repetition...but then he was speaking about his sporting career, which he should know pretty well. Evidently he wasn't much of an athlete when he was younger, and he puts his success down to passion, planning, determination and overcoming fear. At least I know where I went wrong. I could have been a contender.
Despite being egged on by the people with me, I did resist the temptation to go up to him and say "It's good to meet a fellow-Olympian". It didn't strike me that humour was his strong point.
Another part of the evening included one of the Olympic Games major sponsors. One of their senior managers was quoted on video as saying " You need to eat the elephant one spoonful at a time". Given her size, one suspects it was a large spoon and several elephants. Don't you just hate corporate-speak bollocks?
Another business quote, retold by the Lord Bishop of London, I heard this week was "I hire for skills, and fire for character" Probably true if I look back over the last twenty five years....something to keep in the back of the mind.
*we're off to Suffolk tonight to go on an RSPB (shouldn't that be RSPH?) boat trip to an island which is full of hares. As the Cat's Mother
