Thursday, 25th


May 2017


info@eastcorkjournal.ie East Cork Business Post Exhibitions for a Different Kind of Life - Outsider Perspectives by DR ROSARII GRIFFIN


Recently, I was invited to attend an exhibition. It was a trade show with a difference, not one I would normally at- tend. In fact, I rarely attend exhibitions unless by chance. For instance, when I ran the Dublin, London and NY mar- athons, there happened to be a trade show at the venue where we picked up our race num- bers. This consisted of stalls to do with running: athletic footwear, running gear and high technology stalls with all kinds of timing watches re- cording personal bests (PBs). There was the nutrition stall, promoting energy drinks, bars and supplements. Such trade shows are specifically geared towards an event. Occasional- ly have stumbled upon sum- mer shows with everything to suit families and kids. At this particular expo, I was invited by a friend to attend.


High-End Show


Now this trade show was what was referred to as ‘a high-end show’ - predom- inantly concerned with the luxury lifestyle market. Nor- mally, the places I have been in Africa, or the most rural parts of Latin America or Asia Minor, would have Ba- zaar, Souks and open farmers’ markets. Here traders sell everything one might need for subsistence living includ- ing basic foodstuffs, practi- cal footwear and traditional clothes and jewellery - all in- expensive, sensible and nec- essary (jewellery being essen- tial for women!). The more rural into the developing world you go, the more basic and less processed goods are. Goods tend to be raw, earthy, more real. Artistic, yes, in a more pragmatic way.


High-end of the spectrum


Here, at this trade show, we were at the opposite end of the lifestyle spectrum. Some- times, I find it hard to square the circle when it comes to the very unequal distribution of wealth in the world, where


10% of people hold 90% of the world’s wealth (and vice versa). That said, my Dad always said, ‘there are all kinds of people, and they are all there’, and this includes rich and wealthy individuals too. And here they were, con- gregating at this show to see how they might improve their quality of life. As an invited guest, I looked on as a curious observer. But, I have to say I enjoyed it too as it was a bit of welcome escapism. One could imagine how life could be, if one could only add a few ze- ros with a lazy decimal point towards the end of my bank balance. It is nice to dream and indulge in a fantasy world sometimes. So, what follows is a description of how the ‘other half’ (i.e. the top 10%) live and some of concerns that might preoccupy those who live in the ‘icing’ tier. Though I don’t care too much about wealth, I was definitely curi- ous and interested enough to enjoy the show, though from a socio-cultural viewpoint of course!


Aircraft and Motor Cars


Outside the exhibition, I looked upon the line of su- per aircraft that lined the runway. There were private jet airplanes for sale or for hire; small private airplanes or helicopters also for sale or for hire. Further along, there were sports cars on dis- play: Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Mustang. The interior of these cars was adorned with wooden panels, cream leath- er seats, sophisticated audio systems, and flash scenes, all very nice, plush and pricey! Further along were the more stylish cars (open


topped,


leather seated, wooden interi- or) Rolls Royce. These were very attractive indeed. There were some very modern, classy electric super sports cars with doors that flapped backwards like wings looking like they had just come off a ‘Batman’ set. All boasted high speed, high spec. and a high price. The sporty electric car, for instance, could reach up to 180km per hour and retailed at £250,000 sterling. At that price, the fact that it costs so little to power the car (by not using diesel or petrol), would just be an incidental detail.


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Luxury Lifestyles Other exhibits included


the ability to purchase sailing boats or yachts. One lady was offering tailor-made safari adventures in Africa which all seemed very exotic and exciting. The exhibit opposite displayed original artwork: paintings and sculptors. Some pieces were stunning indeed. The exhibit also offered the opportunity to purchase or rent a villa in Marbella, Spain where all the rich and fa- mous can be found in Puerto Banus hangout out on their multi-million dollar yachts. Next up was a Jewellery stall displaying unique handcraft- ed jewellery. As I continued to meander along the isles of stalls, each offering an image of what life could be like in the fast lane, I turned left, to discover a ‘financial lane’. This comprised of exhibitors dealing with: ‘wealth man- agement’; ‘tax advisors’ and building your own investment portfolio in stocks and shares; the sale or rental of office blocks in the financial district in London; etc. etc. This was a more boring section. So I turned around and discovered a more imaginative aisle.


Fun and Games This isle displayed more vibrant offerings, such as ‘party organisers’. This com- pany organise your party from A to Z (a bit like Franc does for weddings!). Then, you had the cocktail stand, where they performed the making and shaking of cocktails in a ‘Tom Cruise’ like fashion. This was followed by a Cavier stand, with black Russian caviar being served in a number of ways, most interestingly with champagne and cream cheese. So now, I am delight- ed to report that I am now the proud owner of a Caviar recipe book! The next, slight- ly out of season but nonethe- less interesting display were the


‘Christmas Decorators’.


These crew could be commis- sioned to build an elaborate ornate display in your shop, office block, or private res- idence for Christmas. Their display did look amazing, if a bit odd given it was summer time! So, I smiled thanking God Christmas


and Santa


were still six months away, and I moved swiftly onto


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the next stall: the drinks bar. Here, party-animals invited you to try all kinds of home- made spirits with this and that. I volunteered to test and report back on which cocktail I liked best. Finally, I couldn’t decide, they just all tasted so good! I wasn’t very help- ful for their market research, even if they liked my descrip- tive commentary after each sample was knocked back. “Dodgy, very dodgy, let’s try the next one, shall we?’. Once I had tried them all, I sidled off to visit a purpose-built sound studio!


The Studio


The studio display was an elaborate set up. I thought the guy was trying to sell a recording studio, but it tran- spired he was demonstrating an elaborate sound system ‘for your home cinema’ or ‘villa in Marbella’! Indeed! I was invited to sit and listen to him play a number of dif- ferent soundtracks, and then see if I could tell the differ- ence between Stereo sound and the newest digital sound which divided all the instru- ments into component sound particles. Now, if I was a conductor listening to an Or- chestra piece, this would be ideal, for it would isolate all the instruments in any classi- cal piece of music. But I am just an ordinary punter, so it all sounded more or less the same. But, his sound system was more sophisticated, or so it appeared from the video displaying the sonic sound waves. I didn’t ask the fatal question about cost in case he thought that I was gen- uinely interested. Instead, I expressed an acquiring his brochure. I could tell he was French from his accent, so I had a polite conversation with him en francais about the election of President Ma- cron. When leaving, I took the literature, bidding adieu. Curious to see what else was next, I turned the next corner when there was an announce- ment: a ‘Lifestyle Choice Talk’ about wine was about to begin. Now that sounded like the business, so I headed for the talks venue.


Investing in Vino The talk on investing in wine was given by a lady


dressed in a very smart black suit. She was extolling the virtues of their wine investing company, and the returns it can bring on investment. To further her case, she spoke about various wines she had on display. Then, each lis- tener had two glasses placed in front of us, so that we too could taste the delights of the wines which were originat- ing from Australia, Chile and surprise, surprise, Hungary. Hungary apparently is a rela- tively newcomer to the wine market. Investment returns from here can be as high as 10%. This ladies’ company promised to source promis- ing wines, transport and store them for potential investors (for a small fee of course!).


The White Variety We then turned our at- tention to the white wines. Similar analyses were made of the quality, vintage and aroma of the wine. First, we were instructed to look at the colour of the wine, then sniff the aroma it emits as it swirls in the glass. The task was then to identify the pri- mary, secondary and tertiary aromas of the wine. Primary consist apparently of floral, herbal or fruit scents. Second- ary aromas scent of cheese rind, stale beer or nuts. And tertiary aromas are those that derive from the aging process. Was the wine aged in an oak barrel, a bottle, or in a steel vat? Following our smelling assessment of the wine, the process then moves onto the best bit, the taste. Is it bitter, sweet, sour, acidic, salty or bitter? Then the texture is important. How did the wine feel on the tongue…gritty, smooth or


dry? Then, the


lady continued, you decide on what you think about the wine after all that. Was it finely bal- anced? Did the flavour stay with the palate long after the wine was drunk? Next, she said, you must decide wheth- er or not you liked the wine, and whether it was pleasing to you. Then, she added, you might decide to invest in it for personal pleasure, or for financial gain. For me, it was for immediate pleasure, the glass that was swirling in my hand, and that was it! For the record, it went down very well. I’d recommend it for


investing, but for me, just for sampling! The next lifestyle talks were already being an- nounced: ‘the importance of eye-wear’ followed by ‘pri- vate pilot licence training’.


Sun Glasses


This talk was given on the importance of getting good eyewear to save one from the


onslaught of glaucoma


or cataracts. The man who gave this talk spoke about the effect of different rays of the sun on the internal part of our eye, and how we can and should protect ourselves from the dangers of UVA and UVB rays. When it came to pick- ing out eyewear, of course I chose the glasses which were the most expensive on his stall - £279 sterling. While I thought it would not be a bad investment, given how pre- cious eyes are, still, I thought I might save that purchase for another day? Besides, I am forever losing and breaking sunglasses. If I were to break or lose them at that price, it would not be good. So, I held off any impulsive buys but kept the reference number, just in case my fortunes ever changed that much! The final talk of the day was being an- nounced.


Flying Time Years ago, I began train-


ing for a private pilot licence (long before I could drive a car). I decided to attend this talk to see what, if anything, had changed since I took my introductory flying les- sons. Well, it seems a lot has changed in the interim period. When I did my training (all 10 hours of it), the requirements were that


it only took 30


hours of flight time (plus the- ory) before you could fly solo and apply for the PPL (private pilot licence). This has since increased to 55 hours! The average cost of getting a PPL is now estimated at £10,000, outside of doing one or two compulsory flying hours each month (at an average cost of £250). These costs are aside from medicals and other up- grades one has to do in the interim period. So, I thought I might be giving the refresh- er course a miss for now! Besides, I fancy living a few more years, and going solo sounds like too much hard


work! The next talk was to be on mindfulness, so I thought I’d give that one a skip and further investigate the luxury stalls I missed earlier.


Luxury Lifestyles The last set of lifestyle exhibits offered spa breaks, the


opportunity to experi-


ence massage chairs, or book a breakaway weekend at 5 star luxury hotels. The next stall offered a dating service for high-flying business ex- ecutives of high net worth anxious to meet like-minded and like-bank-balanced indi- viduals with similar lifestyle expectations. Interesting, but I moved swiftly on. The next set of stalls comprised of make-up artists, personal fitness trainers and personal fashion stylists; expensive handbags


and specialised


handmade leather shoes; flowing robes and chic dress- es.


I smiled politely as I


passed by, becoming slight- ly self-conscious of how I appeared at this point in the afternoon. I dutifully picked up business cards, and moved swiftly on. Next up was a coffee shop. Yes, I could do with a long, overdue, caffein- ated, coffee: ‘I’ll have a latte please!’


Grand Finale


As the expo drew to a close, there was a party for all the exhibitors and expo at- tendees. Cocktail drinks were served with canapés. Some of those present were dressed to kill. I mixed and mingled sampling as many different canapés as I could. I felt like Bridget Jones, and eventu- ally, couldn’t wait to leave. Once my partner said his fi- nal goodbyes, and we slipped away. Breathing a sigh of relief, we could return to nor- mality now, so we found a nice rustic country pub with good country style pub-grub, washed down with a glass of local pale ale. Together we laughed, comparing our re- spective experiences, recall- ing interesting conversations, extravagant stalls and ridic- ulous prices. We both raised our glasses and I toasted to ‘being grounded’. ‘Yes’, he smiled, ‘I’ll drink to that any day!’ Contact Rosarii at info@eastcorkjournal.ie or @ rosarii_griffin.


Tel: 021 463 8000 • Email: info@eastcorkjournal.ie • Web: www.eastcorkjournal.ie


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