For some reason, I keep getting German prompts saying 'You have successfully published your post.' Trouble is that I didn't post anything except the first letter of something terribly witty before the internet took over and posted 'stuff' in my name.
Never mind. I'm off on holiday! I'm going to Marseille and NO, I had NO idea about the rugby when I book my flight. I wondered why it was so hard to get an hotel. Anyway, I'll post when I get back!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
End of an era
I lived and worked in Paris for 6 years in the 80s. It was a time of high unemployment in the UK, and although I was ready to come back to England, I wanted to have a job to come to. In January of 1987 I had an interview with Thierry Cabanne, who ran a small winebrokers in Winchester, and by the time I had returned to my office in Paris, he had already rung my boss there to get a reference. This was a little embarrassing, as I hadn't told my boss I was thinking of leaving! I had 3 months' notice to give on my flat, so during April my brother and future sister-in-law came over in a van to take my stuff back to England. For the last couple of weeks I slept on a roll-up mattress on the floor, then packed up my final belongings and returned to Southampton at the end of the month, and started work with Thierry's and Tatham on Tuesday 4 May, after the bank holiday Monday.
The early years were great fun, and although the last few months there were traumatic because of people I won't name and for reasons I won't go into here, on the whole I loved my time at Thierry's. I met some great people, some of whom I am still in touch with 20 years later, and my five years there paved the way to further work in the wine trade, where I made more good friends.
Last night I learned that Thierry Cabanne had been killed in a car accident last week, and it's made me very sad. Although it's been 15 years since I left, the company was always there, Thierry was there, and that meant, to me at least, that a part of my history was still alive. I never knew the current crop of directors there: now Thierry has gone, so have all my links with the company, and with that era of my life.
RIP Thierry. I really enjoyed working with you when you were starting out and there were 9 of us in a renovated pub in Winchester. Happy days! The wine world will miss you, and so will I.
The early years were great fun, and although the last few months there were traumatic because of people I won't name and for reasons I won't go into here, on the whole I loved my time at Thierry's. I met some great people, some of whom I am still in touch with 20 years later, and my five years there paved the way to further work in the wine trade, where I made more good friends.
Last night I learned that Thierry Cabanne had been killed in a car accident last week, and it's made me very sad. Although it's been 15 years since I left, the company was always there, Thierry was there, and that meant, to me at least, that a part of my history was still alive. I never knew the current crop of directors there: now Thierry has gone, so have all my links with the company, and with that era of my life.
RIP Thierry. I really enjoyed working with you when you were starting out and there were 9 of us in a renovated pub in Winchester. Happy days! The wine world will miss you, and so will I.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
