No More Powder Monkey

The Post is reporting that NCC isn't going to be attending MIPIM in 2011 because for some reason, and despite the fact that we have a nice new business friendly Tory government who are going to make things all right again*, the private sector doesn't feel able to stump up for the booze soaked jolly on the riviera important and vital source of business leads.

We already knew that NCC had decided to pull the funding for next year and according to the Post article had only contributed £20k this year, thanks to JoCo saving a bit of cash and popping down on his bike. Frankly it could hardly be said that they were winning the PR war either, everybody who attended went straight to the media and talked about nothing but the parties they went to.

I was half expecting JoCo to announce a sponsored pedalo trip down there for next year. If he got one of those four seater jobs he could hold the 'vital' business meetings while pootling round the harbour.

The 'Invest in Nottingham' pedalo, christened 'Powder Meercat', yesterday

So the business leaders will have to find somewhere else to

"... rub shoulders with city leaders and heads of major companies, have lunch with a Lord, be interviewed by national newspapers and magazines and raise the profile of my company in front of a diverse audience of potential clients from across the world..."

next year and chase up those valuable business opportunities in Derby and Coventry by, er, going to Derby and Coventry instead.

It's the end of an era...

*Or tip us screaming into a world ending double-dip recession, whichever you prefer. Under the circumstances, what do you think our local business community is expecting?