Hi All,
This past week has once again made me realise the extent of my responsibilities and work involved as the worldwide spokesperson for the LBGT community. I have tried to live my life as normal as possible, but my title has shown me that things are not always as they appear. There is an element of normality, unknown and the expanse that is the rest of the world. The gravity of the unknown and the world is making me realise that you need an experienced and committed team to help you deal with your professional and personal life on a global scale.
My team and I have been working on various issues, but this requires serious multi-tasking, to make everything happen concurrently. As a result, I have completed a full-length interview, nearly 20-minutes long, with a production crew for a national TV show. I had to fly into Johannesburg late on Thursday evening, to secure my Canadian Visa, and as part of my International travel itinerary. However, upon my arrival at 22H30, I had to do an interview for a Canadian Breakfast show, which showed me that somewhere in the world someone is awake and doing business.
I thought that my weekend would be restful leading up to my departure, but Saturday started at 07H30 to get ready for my first Social Event, where International Performers, Business People and VIP guests had confirmed their attendance. The guest list was overwhelming and a true baptism of fire to the world of hosting a function for influential people – business and social. Nevertheless, the event was a great success with The Twelve Tenors spending most of the day with my team and me. We (my Business Manager and me) had individuals like Jennifer Su (Radio & TV Personality), Edith Venter (PR Guru & Socialite) and her husband Johnny, Isla Galloway (Chairperson of Dauphin), Anne Power (Legendary Performer), Wilco Stemmett (Businessman), Liane Luriel (Prima Ballerina from SA Ballet) and Bennie Louw (Businessman) in attendance.
The event and atmosphere was so relaxed that it became an informal affair, where everyone kick-backed and appreciated the venue, company and comfortable surrounds. Formalities were quickly forgotten and we began to have fun making a cream mustache competition with our "new" friends from abroad – this showed me that no matter who are, a local celebrity or international performer, we are all just people that want to have fun and be ourselves. All societal expectations, pretences and norms get ignored – we are all just people being people having some fun.
After a hectic morning and start to the weekend, there was barely time for me to get ready for the airport before the flight to Canada. Anyway, I am now finally on my way to Vancouver, and will update you when you when I get back to SA. However, I must thank the following people, companies, for my time in Johannesburg and assisting with the event.
- Le Carnard Restaurant - official restaurant, host and venue in Johannesburg
- Serwala – Chauffeur's to The Twelve Tenors for our function
- Bone Wear – Wilco and co. for designing the Swagbag of swimwear and underwear for the Twelve Tenors and our guests
- The Cupcake Boutique (Colleen) – Designing our cupcakes for the function
- Tania Miles – Personalised flower arrangements and gifts
- Bennie Louw – Venue and Catering
- Gavin Borrageiro – Guest list, PR (incl. The Twelve Tenors) and Expense Management
- Travel with Flair – Canadian Visa assistance and submission
Cheers for now
Charl
