Who would have thought

For the past two days, I have been attending International Confex, a trade fair for event organisers. This year it's being held at the ExCel Centre - about 5 minutes from my flat. Not only do I not have to put up with commuters for three days, I can also stay in bed for another hour!*

It's the first time I've attended Confex and I have found it invaluable. It's great to be able to meet with so many different venues, to make a face-to-face contact and find out about new technologies. For example, I love the idea of hiring a photo booth for delegates to use at an event. You can get it branded and delegates will have a great souvenir to take away. According to one of the suppliers, attendees get up up to all sorts of monkey business in the booths, too, forgetting that all photos are saved in the system (and not only on the actual photo that gets printed... - one to remember!).

In addition to the vast exhibition, there are also a number of talks. Olly Hicks was talking about "One man and his boat". In 2005 Olly rowed across the Atlantic and he is planning to row around the world next. He interestingly always talked about "we" and when I asked him after his talk, he confirmed that he refers to himself and his boat as 'we'! He said that he enjoyed the solitude on the boat but it is an adjustment to go on the boat as well as getting off again.
While I am personally not really interested in spending months on a boat all by myself, having to deal with sharks and hurricanes, I can totally see what an amazing, thrilling and unique experience it must be.

Karina Hollekim told about her life as a free skier and base jumper - before and after her accident, which broke her legs in an absurd number of places and paralysed her. In 2006 after her accident she was told she'd never be able to walk again - and in 2009 she was back on her skis! It was incredible how much positivity she exudes. When she was a child, her family was in a car accident. While they all survived, her mother sustained serious injuries. I asked her whether she had never felt bitter about her family having been hit by such awful accidents twice. She replied that in a way, she felt that she was better prepared for her accident than other people might have been, as she had seen her mother cope with the consequences in such a courageous way. And she had always been aware of the risks that came with the dangerous sport she was doing. Her message today was "Dare to dream".

The event has really exceeded my expectations. Who would have thought...


* I should check whether ExCel has any job openings going....