Tea Chat with Lady Jean

This year I was really pulled out of my hibernation by the voices of two charming ladies, whom I was very honored to meet in the beginning of 2008, however unbelievable this may sound to some people. Actually there where 3 ladies but I’ll come back on that later on. The first one was Preeti from Hyderabad in the South of India, but I already informed you about her.

And last week I was having tea with Jean Evans, Chief Executive of the Dublin Convention Bureau. For the occasion and because of the setting, I gave her the title of “Lady Jean”. Imagine the golden yellow armchairs, red and yellow tulips, Irish tea served in pure white Irish porcelain and the company of a lady who’s loved in the whole of Dublin because of her efforts to give the city an inviting destination appeal. And then I did not even mention the location: The Four Seasons Hotel in Dublin. What more could you want? And did you really think we were chatting about the fact that last year Lonely Planet proclaimed the Irish as the most friendly people of the entire world. No, we were talking about the construction of the new Convention Centre in Dublin, designed by the 80-year old Irish born architect Kevin Roche. The following quote describes him adequately: “The worst thing you could ever do is to retire”. I will act upon his advice in the literal sense. The opening of the Convention Centre Dublin is expected in 2010. I still hear Jean saying: “We are already waiting twenty years for this big moment. Everyone who even has the slightest connection with the meeting industry in Dublin is wildly enthusiastic about it.”
I can still hear myself thinking: “If only there were more cities that had such residents. Feeling happy because a new style of commodity exchange is built, this time not to trade goods but human intellect. A Brain Exchange Building!”