just the business

I got directed towards the VIP drinks reception even though I really wasn't supposed to be there!
But it did mean I got to take part in a magic trick with a very good young magician, whose act - despite my best efforts to work it out - completely baffled me.
Later on 500 people sat down to dinner in the great hall with its marble pillars and the Victorian great and the good staring down at us.
The main speaker of the night was the irrepressible former CEO of Burger King, Barry Gibbons.
Luckily we weren't served flame-grilled whoppers.
He was a Manc but don't hold that against him because he studied at Liverpool Uni and met his wife here too.
He had some pretty good tales to tell about his time working in the States, but I be he's not a Kentucky Colonel like Colonel Sanders, Muhammed Ali, George Clooney....and me!
Yes, I never thought I'd have anything in common with fast food's Colonel Sanders but when I was in Kentucky a few years ago the governor made me a Colonel too! Now THAT'S a holiday souvenir.....
Actually, it was a fantastic but slightly bizarre visit to the beautiful Bluegrass state.
One lunchtime we had a meal with Princess Anne although I can't recall why she was there. I was seated at the next table along, between her lady-in-waiting and her (armed) bodyguard who was hilarious.
Anyway, back in Liverpool the business awards were a success and St George's Hall looked as stunning at the end of the evening as it did at the beginning.