As the CII conference geared up for its traditional opening night reception, there were some worried faces on the Groupama stand. Groupama managing director Tim Ablett was caught up in the London snarl-up caused by the tube strike.
As the 7pm kick off approached it was evident that Ablett was not alone in being delayed.
Despite a fresh image for the conference, 650 delegates are expected. About the same as last year, according to CII spokesman Steve Radford. But there could be some support from unexpected quarters. It seems that Simon Bates has been promoting the show on the London local radio station that he now works for. How do we know? Well, CII director general Sandy Scott under the drill at the dentist yesterday when he heard Bates declare that the CII conference starts today. Scott nearly leapt out of the dentists' chair - fortunately at the shock of Bates' publicity not a cavity breached.
A talking point at the CII stand was Andy Hawkes' departure from R&R after just a few weeks. Will former Indie man Hawkes be joining the fellow former Indies at the CII?
