Goodbye Mikhael Gorbachev

The former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev has died at the age of 91.

Mikhail Gorbachev, who ended the Cold War without bloodshed but failed to prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union, has died aged 91, Russian hospital officials say.

The Central Clinical Hospital said in a statement that Mr Gorbachev died after a long illness. No other details were given.

Mr Gorbachev’s office said earlier that he was undergoing treatment in hospital. ABC News

I once shared a stage with Mr Gorbachev.

When I say ‘shared a stage’ what I really mean is that we were both on the same stage at the same time. Gorbachev was speaking to an audience and I was carrying his cup of tea.

It was May 1999 and the World Masters of Business was at the Burswood Dome in Perth. Some friends were staging the event and so I not only recorded all the voiceovers to introduce the guests, I got to be the stage manager on the day.

One of the things Mr Gorbachev requested was that he would have a very hot cup of tea placed on a table off to the side of his lectern.

At the last minute we realised that the cup of tea quite wasn’t ready so there was a lot of frantic activity to get it made and to a small table to the side of the main presentation area of the stage. It was essentially a storm in a tea cup.

By the time the tea was ready, my voice was already booming through the venue to introduce Mr Gorbachev to the stage so I couldn’t walk on and place it in full view of a crowd expecting to see a world leader appear.

We decided the best option was to let the introduction run, let him walk on stage and then while the attention was on him, I would quickly follow, put the cup on the table, then get off as quickly as possible.

It all went to plan and Mikhail Gorbachev was warmly welcomed.

He never drank the tea.



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10 Things You Probably Haven’t Done

ten

Let’s get the conversation going. I want to know about some of the things you’ve experienced that most others haven’t. What are the unique moments of your life?

I thought I’d try to spark things by listing a few things I’ve done that you probably haven’t.

While you may find one or two things on the list that you’ve done I sincerely doubt that you’ve done all ten. 🙂

I’m hoping that you’ll come up with a few of your own in the comments section of this post or that you’ll write a similar post on your own blog or Facebook page and link back here. If you’ve done any of the things on my list let me know.

I’ll just list the ten things and leave it to you. If you have questions about any of the items in the list, feel free to ask.

Ten things I’ve done you probably haven’t

1. Cycled across Australia five times.

2. Escaped a country when rioting and looting in the capital became widespread. (Haiti)

3. Hand fed a rhinoceros.

4. Stood on stage with Mikhail Gorbachev.

5. Cycled from Agra (home of the Taj Mahal) to Delhi in India.

6. Met General ‘Stormin’ Norman Schwarzkopf.

7. Interviewed 2011 Tour de France winner, Cadel Evans.

8. Preached at Cathedral Church of the Redemption in New Delhi, India.

9. Been mentioned at least twice in Australia’s Federal Parliament.

10. Cycled up and down an aisle at K-Mart in Miami, Florida.

So there you are. Now it’s over to you.



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Ten things I've done you probably haven't

So let’s get the conversation going.

I’ve been so busy recently with moving offices that I haven’t had the opportunity to reply to many of the comments readers have left here or get involved in conversations through this blog. I thought I’d try to spark things by listing a few things I’ve done that you probably haven’t.

While you may find one or two things on the list that you’ve done I sincerely doubt that you’ve done all ten. 🙂

I’m hoping that you’ll come up with a few of your own in the comments section of this post or that you’ll write a similar post on your own blog and link back here. If you’ve done any of the things on my list let me know.

I’ll just list the ten things and leave it to you. If you have questions about any of the items in the list, feel free to ask.

Ten things I’ve done you probably haven’t

1.  Cycled across Australia five times.

2.  Escaped a country when rioting and looting in the capital became widespread. (Haiti)

3.  Hand fed a rhinocerous.

4.  Stood on stage with Mikhail Gorbachev.

5.  Cycled from Agra (home of the Taj Mahal) to Delhi in India.

6.  Met General ‘Stormin’ Norman Schwarzkopf.

7.  Interviewed at least seven Australian Idol finalists and winners.

8.  Preached at a cathedral in India.

9.  Been mentioned at least twice in Australia’s Federal Parliament.

10. Cycled up and down an aisle at K-Mart in Miami, Florida.

So there you are. Now it’s over to you.



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