What makes the Olivier award-winning  'King of Chameleon' tick?

by Ambrose Mendy

Famed as the leading actor in BBC1's mega-iconic show, Hustle, Adrian Lester's emergence as one of the most charismatic actors of his era was established when bravely cast as Hamletfor which he won an Olivier-award. This was further solidified when he was chosen to play the lead role in the Royal National Theatre's highly-acclaimed production of Henry V in 2003.

More recently, and more commonly to most people, Adrian Lester is renowned for resetting the benchmark for cool television characters in his portrayal of big-time conartist Mickey Bricks in the BBC1 hit show, Hustle. 

COOL is a matter of opinion. It is perhaps the greatest currency you can possess; whether you are running for President, or pitching for the next big event! It is what gives an events venue the position of strength when negotiating with an event organiser…

COOL is a matter of opinion. It is perhaps the greatest currency you can possess; whether you are running for President, or pitching for the next big event! It is what gives an events venue the position of strength when negotiating with an event organiser…

The barometer should not be biased towards all that is ‘new’ in our opinion. There is always a place for the classic / heritage venue. They often possess a character, charisma, and class that many ‘newer’ builds cannot yet match.   So what is COOL? A COOL venue should have: Charisma, Originality, Style, Innovation, Sex Appeal, Authenticity, Aspiration, and Uniqueness.  COOL is a very personal opinion. Therefore, a panel of judges was selected to form a council.  Each understood the intrinsic factors, elements and characteristics that deem a venue to be COOL.  
The council represents a diverse collective; writers, industry figureheads, and event organisers / specialists.  They have applied the strict guideline that each nominee should not be selected as a result of its technical capabilities, since many of these facets (lighting, AV, etc) can be imported. This year’s ‘barometer’, created by a council of 12 judges (see bottom of page), provides very interesting reading. The Savoy, despite undergoing refurbishment, proved a problem in the COOLest for galas category. The headache was solved by the two-sided and correct argument, that in recent annual music awards, the late great Michael Jackson, who wasn’t active in album releases, but is still achieving huge sales, triumphed in many categories, and since our awards are a barometer of COOL, the late Godfather of Soul James Brown was about as COOL as you can get and still is the COOLest even though he is know longer physically around. Hence, the Savoy decision (and to those that didn’t make the shortlist, remember there is always next year and 12 months to change ‘opinions’)….

Coolest Hotel Chain / Group: (Previous winner: Radisson Edwardian)

Winner:
Radisson Edwardian

Runners-up:
Malmaison
Morgans
Maybourne
Hotel Du Vin
Relais and Chateaux
Mandarin Oriental
Sheraton
Four Seasons
Von Essen
Barcelo
Firmdale
Soho Hotels

One minute you are COOL, the next minute you are not. COOL is a matter of opinion. It is perhaps the greatest currency you can possess; whether you are running for President, or pitching for the next big event!

We put together three of the industry’s leading corporate party experts to assist you in creating the perfect Christmas party.

The five Ws; Why, Where, When, What and Who?

Better to be safe than sorry

By Ben Leary of Aubergine Rercruitment

Would you like to use a charming, charismatic location for your conference or event? Why not go to Malta and use the services of MFCC.

Now is not the time to turn your back on your staff and clients, rather to keep their loyalty and to motivate them further because you need them now more than ever. Don’t “cut spend”, invest more efficiently.