Spice Girls, millennium – no mention of elections
As I write this the country is wallowing in politics. I am also aware that the day you are reading this is The Day. While I know this is an awful confession, I can't get excited about politics. I have tried, but it just leaves me cold.
So you will be pleased to know that I have not dedicated my diary to the election.
Whether it is the economic climate or the recent sunshine livening everyone up, new business seems to be buoyant at the moment.
Certainly there's nothing more satisfying than the result of gaining a contract which you have been after for five-and-a-half years.
This contract had my name on it and I was determined to gain it. But why, oh why - when it has taken so long to say "yes" - is it then quickly followed by: "And you can start in two weeks, can't you?"
countdown to 2000
We all know that we have less than 1,000 days to go to the millennium celebrations. The media is full of it.
However, a recent article in the Mail On Sunday started my mind working overtime. Apart from it stating that the Spice Girls want to be together at midnight on stage at Greenwich singing Wannabe, the article also explained that there is an official "countdown clock". This clock is counting the number of days to the millennium - "999 day", for example, was dedicated to the emergency services.
Apparently it is hoped that various companies and individuals will choose to sponsor the remaining countdown days.
This started me thinking - Chez Nico at 90 Park Lane; Fifth Floor at Harvey Nichols; and Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons - what a party these venues could hold. And just imagine the guest list.
Apparently the price for your dedicated number day starts at £3,500.
While this isn't cheap, not many of us will be seeing in the next millennium, and it is certainly a good idea as a marketing tool.
This month saw the opening of our new contract in Manchester. It is a super operation and we had an amazing start with an 80% uptake and lots of happy customers.
As ever, we did have a hiccup or two with the greenfield site.
On the first day, temperatures were rising in the kitchen and the chefs were sweating to meet the 11.30am lunch deadline. However, it was unusually hot for a brand new kitchen with a top-of-the-range extraction system.
The next day it was discovered that the motor had been fitted the wrong way round and it had been pumping hot air in, not extracting it.
Also on the first day, our new trolley service began. The catering assistant went off on her travels via a new glass lift from the restaurant.
However, halfway up on her journey the lift broke down. Unfortunately, due to the rush to finish the facility, the emergency button had not yet been fitted, nor had any handles on the doors. This resulted in the poor girl having to wait for passers-by arriving for lunch and her using some exaggerated sign language.
Next diary from Robyn Jones will be on 29 May
