Jet Setting

Leaving in a day to head out to the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany. I will be setting up and manning my company's booth all by my lonesome for 5 days, during which time I have over 40 appointments with clients pre-booked.

I've never been to Germany. The first book fair I did was in NY earlier this year. That was tiny compared to Frankfurt, which has more than 80,000 booths currently registered, is spread out over 8 warehouses and has its own zip code. I'm thrilled to be in the "Australia Pavilion". At least my neighbors will speak English!

Peter has taught me how to say the most important thing I will need to know in German: "Can I have a coffee with milk, please?".

I've been preparing for this trip for months, and have all of my notes, strategies and thoughts basically mapped out now. The rest will be "off the cuff" and hopefully no one does anything too strange. I've been pre-warned by a colleague in the UK that Frankfurt is where, "Aging male publishers go to get to know their secretaries.".

OK. Gross. A few days after that chat, I did in fact get a few emails from clients which I felt were grossly inappropriate in the context of business correspondence. I went out and spent about $600 on clothes that button up to the neck after that. Nothing like being sexually harassed in 5 different languages on an unfamiliar continent.

After the fair, I'm flying over to London for a few days to see my old roommates from Kingston days. It's been 9 years since we've seen each other, but honestly it feels like just yesterday, and I can't wait! I'm also going on a walking tour of Arundel Castle and Hampton Court and hopefully the V&A one day. Mostly though, I am looking forward to stepping out alone one afternoon, taking the tube to Trafalgar Square and wandering around. I'll step into St. Martin's to listen to a rehearsal, and then duck over to the Crypt Cafe for a coffee and a look at the prints on the walls. I just like walking around London. It's my favorite city for that. I've missed it.

Can I be an American-Australian yet?




Ollie and Lauren at age 18. Love the hair....Amina A and Nia McGovern. Nia, where the hell are you?Ollie, Andy, Rob and Jo. I'll be staying with Jo mostly, but with Amina too. It's all very exciiiiiting!

I will have basically no Internet access, so... wish me luck and see you for Halloween!!!!