Glass Half Full
Length of national TV debut: one minute and 15 seconds
Signed contracts: one (hoorah!)
Favourite beer this week: SA Gold (must appeal to my Welsh half!)
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A week that starts with a cameo appearance on national TV and ends with a signed contract from my first drinks client can't be all bad, can it? It's hard to believe that I left my last job only eight weeks ago, so much has happened that it feels more like eight months.
Several of the things I swore I'd get done within a month of going it alone remain on my 'to do' list, but there have been so many others that I didn't predict would come along. It's good being able to adapt and pursue new opportunities. That flexibility is something that we'll all have to offer if we're going to survive or even succeed in a difficult market.
Predictably, three hours of filming by the Newsnight crew were transformed into a one-minute clip of my 'credit crunch Christmas'. Just as predictably, I failed to programme the DVD recorder to capture it. My father who, bless him, stayed up for his daughter's moment of fame, is proud but somewhat bemused by it all. My eldest son seems to have earned some respect from his mates. And I'm pleased that, as the camera zoomed in on my fingers flying across the keyboard, I finally got some pay back for those years of investment in fake nails.
The British Guild of Beer Writers deserves praise for its Annual Dinner and Awards, held last week. Okay, not all the courses worked for me, but the beer and food combinations were interesting and unpredictable and sparked discussion. And if you can't 'push the envelope' on beer and food matching at a dinner for beer writers, when can you? Overall, this event was a good showcase for an emerging new, more contemporary face of beer in the UK. It's a shame that, bar a handful of journalists writing for the national press, the audience was drawn mainly from within the industry, as I think the outside world would be pleasantly surprised by the relative youth and absence of 'beer bellies' displayed by most of the guests!
Like many in the industry, I tuned in to The Money Programme's 'Last Orders' programme on Friday evening. It seemed to have more bad news than good about pubs but overall it painted a fairly balanced picture of what's happening in the sector. And it did a reasonable job, I thought, of getting across the link between hikes in beer duty and pub closures, but I wonder what viewers will have taken out of it? Or what it might encourage them to do as a result? Has the 'Fight the Beer Tax, Save the Pub' website had more hits from pubgoers who've woken up to the threat to their local?
How realistic is it to think today's consumers can be made to care about a pub closing, when there are so many other places where they can spend their precious cash and time? Other pubs and bars, coffee shops, cinemas, shopping centres… it's a long list. But, as one of the co-owners of the co-operative pub featured on the programme commented, if you give your customers what they want, they'll come back, and tell their friends about you. He made it sound simpler than it is for many licensees, I know, but he has a point. And his pub has apparently achieved 40% sales growth.
Finally, I'm sure many of my blog followers will be waiting with bated breath for news of my new client and with the contract now signed, sealed and delivered, I can reveal it to be the Brakspear Pub Company. The PR programme kicks off properly in January, but I've already written my first press release, on commercial director Tom Davies' impressive round of Christmas gift-bearing visits to all 149 pubs in the estate. And that's the last time I'm going to shamelessly abuse my blog to publicise my client, the Brakspear Pub Company. Did I mention they have 149 pubs, mainly in the south east? Or that you can find out more at www.brakspearpubs.co.uk.
Next week: 'Glass Half Full' takes a festive break. Thanks to all who have read my blog and posted supportive comments over the past six weeks, and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and as good a New Year as we can hope for!
