A forgettable year in many respects - but here are my highlights.
Well that was probably a year that most of you are quite keen to forget. Except if you are a banker, of course, in which case you’re probably already in Barbados nestling down with your bonus and bottle of chilled Pol Roger while preparing to whoop it up with Michael Winner.
Having spent most of the last twelve months stuck in the economic mire, now we’re all knee deep in ice or slush. (I’m amused to note, by the way, that while the Eurostar is having trouble with current climatic conditions, the steam-driven Bluebell Railway in Sussex – where I am due to travel on the Santa Special tomorrow along with several hundred ear-splitting toddlers - is currently working normally despite the fact that its locomotives are more than a century old.)
I hope over the year that we’ve brought you some little rays of sunshine both online and in the magazine. Our highlights have been many: despite the downturn we’ve continued to produce an award-winning monthly magazine that, unlike its competitors, has refused to compromise on editorial quality by slashing budgets. Our scoop of the year was with the mysterious man of the shadows Matthew Freud, who opened his mouth for the first time in nearly a decade. (And then immediately regretted it.) The portrait of Freud – naked in the style of his uncle Lucien - drew gasps from all over town and led to a bidding war for the original oil painting, with Rebekah Wade in the forefront.
We’ve also submitted Kenneth Clarke, Mark Thompson of the BBC, Sir Victor Blank of Lloyds TSB and Luke Johnson to the 3500 word grilling. We even persuaded the reclusive head of the NHS, David Nicholson – a man with a £120 billion annual budget – to answer a number of tricky questions. Life is about to get far tougher for him.
MT readers need to know how to weather this recession intact. So this year the magazine has emphasised a regular diet of practical material: “How the bonus culture goes wrong", “How to keep the cash flowing,” and “Survival Tips from the Silvertops.”
Our roundtable discussion on the pressing issue of business reputation attracted CEOs from Diageo, BSkyB, Unilever and Aviva to produce a much talked about feature on the public’s loss of trust in business. Our 35 Women Under 35 sub-brand has developed a vigorous life all of its own with networking events and seminars. This year the list contained the first appearance by a transsexual, Kate Craig-Wood.
Britain’s Most Admired Companies awards at Claridges three weeks back again attracted the crème de la crème of UK business. Well done to BSkyB for winning the title.
Well, at least we’ve past the shortest day yesterday - and we can now all head for the sunlit uplands of 2010 with a song in our hearts. Well, sort of. Have a Kool Yule – you deserve it - and see you again on January 4th.
