2019 Round-Up
2019 Roundup
Lana Mepham - Marketing & Events Manager @ Goho Marketing & Events
Christmas is behind us. Our waistlines are under pressure. And it’s nearly 2020. It’s the time where we all turn our thoughts to the year ahead. But before we do, we asked the team at Goho to share some of their best (& worst) bits from 2019.
Starting on a positive note, what was everyone’s best moment from 2019?
Mike: Meeting my boyfriend!
Liv: Walking in the parade at London Pride.
Roxy: My best moment was watching the sunrise at the Gran Hotel Son Net, Mallorca. It was a truly spectacular vista, spurring me to reflect on how we are blessed with day & night, light & dark, old & new, allowing us to see the different in everything and to be grateful for the lessons for our past, the moment in our present and the things we look forward to.
Stacey: The best moment of the last year has been launching Goho... from creating and building the brand, to landing new clients, executing amazing events, to hiring our 6th member of the team.... it's been an amazing year for us and I can't wait to see what 2020 brings...
Lana: My favourite moment? That’s a hard one! I think it’s got to be going to Fortnum & Mason in The Royal Exchange building and trying caviar for the first time. The waiter comes over and cooks your scrambled eggs right in front of you! It was such a gorgeous, ‘pinch me moment’ moment. Safe to say I’m now obsessed with caviar!
Best thing you've done in the last year?
Mike: Taking my nieces to Harry Potter Studio Tour. Although it's always something I've wanted to do myself, going with kids and seeing their sense of wonder and excitement was so special and made the experience even better for me.
Liv: My trip to Budapest was definitely one of the most memorable things I've done this year.
Roxy: One of the best experiences of 2019, was the Dorchester Collection's FAM Paris trip. It was a weekend of pure decadence, including a lot of fine dining, a vintage car tour of the city, Atelier des Lumières - seeing Van Gough's work come to life! A show at the Lido and the experience of staying at Hotel Plaza Athènèe and Le Meurice. The guys at the Dorchester Collection pulled out all the stops to ensure that the trip was purely magical from beginning to end. I will definitely be recommending a similar experience to any clients wishing to organise a standout experience in Paris.
Stacey: Where do I start? It could be the helicopter transfer from Nice to Monaco, the little cheese choux puffs on the Paris FAM trip with Dorchester Collection, our team Christmas lunch at Le Gavroche, putting on the No Limits Art Exhibition, or the banging steak at Pastis in NYC... the list is endless.
Lana: It’s got to be New York! New York has been at the top of my bucket list forever and in 2019 I got the amazing opportunity to go with Goho. It was a fantastic week of both work and play and I want to relive it all over again.
Thinking about others, what’s the best thing you did some for someone else in the past year?
Mike: Helping out my sister with her job hunt, rewriting her CV and giving her a little interview advice. She got the job too!
Liv: Being there for one of my closest friends when she needed it most.
Roxy: I was walking back home from Gunnersbury station and I could hear that the lady in front of me was distressed. I initially thought she was on the phone but then realised she was actually just speaking out loud, threatening to jump off the bridge, with her beautiful poodle dog. I touched her shoulder and asked her why she was upset and she explained that she didn't have any money to pay for her gas and so she didn't have any heating or hot water in the house. Firstly, I acknowledge that she had a little doggy to look after and he needed her and then reached for my purse to give her what little cash I had in there, which she didn't want to accept, I told her to take it and to know that she isn't alone in this world. I saw the same lady about 2 weeks afterwards walking her dog and went over to say hello. She explained that no-one has ever approached her like that before and she was extremely grateful for the conversation we had.
Stacey: My friends and I did a (ridiculous) challenge at 1Rebel whereby we had to complete a class at all 5 studios across London running 13 miles in between them all.... I burnt over 6800 calories, but we raised over £3k for charity which was epic. Marathon next?
Lana: I took my lovely mum to The Roux at The Langham for her birthday. She absolutely loved it and it’s made me feel warm ever since.
Ok lets get gritty - most embarrassing moment of the year?
Mike: Honestly can't think of one, I don't get out enough to do anything majorly embarrassing! Oh wait… I tripped UP the stairs at Highbury and Islington after running to catch a train, in front of about 100 people, and then got my yoga mat tangled with the handrail and tripped again - that was pretty embarrassing.
Liv: I may have blocked my MOST embarrassing moment out but it would probably be tripping down the stairs at Euston tube station whilst carrying about a million bags.
Roxy: My most embarrassing moment (which sticks out) was at the newly opened, Nobu in Barcelona. I bought a new outfit, literally 2 hours before I went out and was feeling extra glam. Everything was going wonderfully, until I went to the toilet and when I tried to zip my skirt up, I pulled the damn thing too hard and ripped the zip completely off! I had no safety pins and there was no way of mending the skirt at that point, in the loo. When walking out of the lavatory, my face looking horrified, the manager spotted my trouble straight away, called for a sewing kit and stitched me back into my skirt. Ensuring that I could continue my night. Now, that is service!!! I am eternally grateful to him and his fantastic staff.
Lana: I went Skiing in Bulgaria at the beginning of this year. We had been skiing for a couple of hours and decided to stop at this cute little cafe we’d passed on the slopes. I was seriously flagging and in need of a coffee or a beer so was a little behind the rest of the group. I saw the cafe and started to turn off the main slope. I didn’t look to my left and another skier came hurting into me. Both me and this skier began hurtling down to the cafe together, on the floor. We came to an abrupt stop in front of lots of people outside the cafe. It then took about 10 mins and 4 further people to help me and the skier become un-tangled. Not my finest arrival.
Proudest moment of the year?
Mike: Gay Pride of course.
Liv: My proudest moment of the year is winning a PRCA & PR Week award.
Roxy: One of my best proudest moments of 2019 was at the Kazakhstan Independence party, at Millbank Tower, hosted by his Excellency Erlan Idrissov. I was invited to the event by my father, who has been working tirelessly in the region, researching the history, organising expeditions to places unknown and writing important books on the history. To bear witness to how much he is celebrated by the Kazakhs, was truly momentous. Read more here.
The one thing you'll be taking with you into 2020?
Mike: That the best thing you can do is TRY.
Liv: Lesson learned: two things I never regret are exercising and starting my work early.
Roxy: I will be taking in to 2020 the knowledge and power, that I have benefitted learning in previous years. Having more perspective on what is important and what is insignificant... that and my beautiful winter coat which has served me so well in these colder months!
Stacey: Energy. It's so important to make sure you rest up and you focus your energy on important things. Too many people waste their time on unimportant stuff, or drain a room of all energy, at Goho we work hard but play hard too... (and also make sure we fit in tonnes of gym sessions). The whole team have 12 days off for Xmas so we can all come back fully recharged.
Lana: Happiness. Being able to find joy in the small things, as well as the big. And that happiness is fully owned by me. Oh and of course, Champagne.
And anything you’ll be leaving in 2019?
Mike: Worrying about the little things.
Liv: I'm going to leave my habit of using certain words ironically to begin with, that then become staple phrases in my vocab haha.
Roxy: One thing I promised myself a couple of months ago was to remove any negativity from my life. I like to think of myself as a positive person who has a bright outlook on life but I also understand that I have had a few people around me who are very much the opposite. It's difficult to change people's perspectives... plus life is too short and you need to protect yourself. 2020 is focussing purely on the positives.
Stacey: Bad people, with negative energy. I don't have time for that.
Lana: Being hard on myself. I give myself a bad time and really I shouldn’t.
And finally, what are you most looking forward to in 2020?
Mike: New challenges and opportunities, continuing to grow and learn, spending more quality time with people that matter the most.
Liv: I'm most looking forward to graduating from University and moving to London!
Roxy: It's really hard to identify just one thing I am looking forward to in 2020. We have so many wonderful and exciting projects that we are working on. Let’s just say, I am just really looking forward to 2020, being back in London, working with a fantastic team, lovely clients and awesome projects!
Stacey: Seeing Goho go from strength to strength.
Lana: The unknown. It’s scary, but that’s the point right?
