Your reign with Spain is off to a flier, Teresa

ACTING the gentleman doesn’t always pay which is my excuse for not always being one. I was reminded this week of a PR acquaintance who kindly invited me onto a cruise ship when it docked in Dublin this year.

When I saw that she was being exposed to the lashing rain I offered her my umbrella. Cocktails and vino were taken on board and it was only when I got back in the taxi that I realised she had forgotten to give me back the brolly.

I wouldn’t have minded but this was a brolly with a Grand Canal Venice motif on it. The PR e-mailed to ask whether she should post it on putting me on the spot and I suggested we share a cruise ship in the future up the Grand Canal and buy a batch of them. We’re still friends and we might do that yet.

I managed to replace that brolly this week with one from the Spanish Tourism Office which opens into a Spanish scene, a very generous gift to mark the beginning of Teresa Gancedo Nieto’s tenure as Director of the Tourist Office and the fact that Spain has passed the 1m figure for Irish visitors. They actually got there in the summer, but hey Mañana, Mañana. It’s now at 1,245,767. Well, a million welcomes to Ireland, Teresa.

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