Where's my Christmas card??

Thank you for all the cards and well wishes we've received. If you're wondering why you haven't received a Christmas card from us, we've chosen instead (like the last few years) to make a donation to the Starlight Foundation.

This year we are fortunate enough to be able to shut down the office and take some well-earned time off. The office will officially be closed from Friday, December 16 through until Monday, January 9. If you need anything during this time please send me an e-mail or leave a voice-mail message on the phone.

I wish you and your families a very enjoyable and relaxing festive season and we look forward to looking after you again in 2012.

Festival of food

Many people know that the way to my heart is through food ... so not surprisingly when peak corporate travel season finishes its a great time to catch up with sales & reservations managers over lunch.

Last Wednesday we had a nice long lunch with Zana and Brad from The Point Hotel. We did a lot of work with the hotel in November so it was a good time to discuss possibilities for 2012 as well as have a look at their new tower of rooms (that opened in October). The rooms look fantastic and I'm lucky enough to be staying in one this Saturday night which I'm looking forward to.

Wednesday night I had dinner with friends at the Sofitel. Since lunch (which was excellent) at The Point finished around 2:30 or so I wasn't sure how good an effort I was going to be able to put in to the buffet but somehow I managed to do ok!

Thursday lunch was spent with Nicole at the Brisbane Marriott checking out their new restaurant, Motion Bar & Grill. Nicole is one of our best contacts and has been for a while so it was good to catch up with her after she had been so helpful during November. Motion is a nice change from the normal 5 star hotel buffet (not that there's anything wrong with a buffet!) and the refurbishment of the restaurant decor looks great.

Thursday night was dinner at The Surf Club (celebrity chef Ben O'Donoghue) and then Saturday night was my mum's birthday so we had dinner at the Hundred Acre Bar & Restaurant at St Lucia.

Thankfully I've been working out almost every day so despite all the dining out I'm not as big as a house!!

Day at the cricket

We've done a LOT of work with Mantra Pandanas in Darwin over the last 18 months and this (mainly) led to an invite for me to a corporate box at the cricket on the second day of the first test between Australia and New Zealand.

I'm not a huge cricket fan but a day out of the office after the madness of peak season was something to look forward to. Plus, corporate box, food & drink, etc ... unlikely I'm going to turn that down! As you can see from the picture below, the weather wasn't great but that was a good thing for us (and no doubt the players) as it wasn't too hot.

The action on the field was a little slow but the company was great and the food and drinks flowed. Thanks so much to Edith, our sales manager from Mantra for the invite and her generous hospitality, it was a fantastic way to spend a Friday afternoon!