Balls, Bushes and Branson

We would like to apologise to our reading public for the recent lack of blogging on our part. We can assure you that this is not because we have forgotten you, but because we have been rather busy over the past few weeks. No, really. Despite what we may have lead you to believe with all the photos of palm trees and beaches we have been posting over the last few months we do actually have to work (well, some of the time at any rate).

In the past it has been Barn who has found himself spending long days and late nights dealing with lawyers, bankers and investors in London, New York and California, but earlier this month the tables were turned, as it was Bonnie's turn to put in a few shifts burning the midnight oil as two of the events she has been responsible for running finally came to fruition. And like all good things, you never end up with just one at a time...!

The start of November saw two of the largest events of the year come to Cayman in the form of the Cayman Alternative Investment Summit, and the Legends Tennis Tournament. This meant that nearly 500 delegates from across the world of investment and finance descended on the grand ball room of the Ritz Carlton to discuss the latest issues affecting the Alternative Investment world. At the same time 10 of the world's top tennis players (including Stefan Edberg, Martina Hingis, Jimmy Arrias and Murphy Jensen), and a couple of celebrities, headed down to the courts of the Ritz Carlton to battle it out on the courts for the crown of Legends Tournament. And it was Bonnie's job to make sure that everything went to plan.

To top it all, 3 days before it was all due to kick off, Hurricane Sandy rolled into New York, causing widespread devastation and, more signifcantly closing down the airports. Thankfully, Cayman Airways were to hand and put on an extra flight just to fly those delegates affected by the storm down for the event, which was very nice of them...

Although a task like this would be daunting enough in its own right, there was event more pressure on the team as the keynote speakers were none other than the 43rd President of the USA, George W. Bush, and the founder and CEO of the Virgin Group, Sir Richard Branson.

While Bonnie and her team were busy behind the scenes making sure that everything went to plan for the events, Barn was able to make the most of the experience, and went to watch the tennis, as well as the Bush and Branson keynote speeches.

George W. Bush was perhaps the biggest surprise of the event. The image which the media had portrayed of him during his presidency was as rather a buffoon who couldn't string a sentence together and relied on aides to tell him exactly what to do. However, the George Bush which we got to see on the podium was an entirely different character. He was polite, charming and witty, and I think it is fair to say that everyone in the room questioned the preconceptions they had about him. I for one left the talk feeling that, presidency aside, Dubya was not such an idiot after all.

Richard Branson, on the other hand, was almost the opposite. Where George Bush was confident on the stage and took the lead in the talks, Branson came across as far less confident, nervous almost. However he is not a politician, and you would not expect him to be as polished. The message which Branson gave, however, was incredibly inspiring, and he is certainly a force for good in the world, using his wealth and power to help others however he can, often quietly and behind the scenes.

After the keynote speeches, Barn was able to enjoy watching the old masters at work in the Legends Tennis, which featured some great play from Hingis, Jensen, Tom Blake, Jimmy Arras, Iva Majoli, some good play from Richard Branson and some not so good play from Greg Norman (who should probably stick to golf...).

While Barn got to watch Bush and Branson speak and the tennis players play, Bonnie got to meet them all. She even managed to get photos with Bush and Branson.

After such a hard week working (in Bonnie's case) and schmoozing (in Barn's case), it was time to kick back and relax, and we had a fantastic buffet breakfast then spent the day sprawled out by the pool at the Ritz Carlton.

Maybe it's not such hard work, after all...