Adieu Mes Amis
Today is my last day before heading down to the French Riviera to see out the summer.
By all accounts the last few months have been frantic, intense and complex but most of all FUN!
The book I am putting together (The Communication Ideal) is progressing well. Last night I provided my agent, Isabel, with 4 chapters (she asked for 3 but I couldn’t choose) and an overview of the whole project (the book itself is only one of the media channels for the content).
Isabel is one of the most supportive people I have had the chance to work with and I remind myself on a regular basis that not all authors may be so lucky to have such a positive relationship with their representatives.
Now this will be put into the publishers market and lets how it does…
At this stage I have to tip my hat to Carl Taylor from Hutchinson and Peggy-Ann Salz from MSearch Groove who have worked above and beyond the call of duty to get the project to this stage.
My favorite edit that Carl made was ‘Starting this sentence with the word “well” makes you sound Welsh’. 
Coupled with the most red-lining I have ever seen in my life, they have turned some pretty random-ass nonsense into something at least readable.
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Ogilvy has been a lovely place to spend the summer and I have seen deep inside an organization which has interactive digital communication at its very heart. It’s a fantastic environment and a collection of super-smart and highly pleasant people from Malcolm in the Coffee bar to the big guys and girls upstairs.
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As I sip my skinny cappuccino (I know….what’s happened to me?) and ponder over Dave Trott’s superb comment on page 9 of Campaign, I feel a sense of contentment.
I can feel things are progressing on many levels – personally and professionally. I have never been more sure of what ‘true friends’ are and never gained more pleasure in helping people out, than now.
Jan in Belgium is gradually becoming a closer friend as are Nicole and Giles over here in Londoninium. My mentor Leif is omnipresent as ever – allowing me to grow up at my own speed but stretching me nonetheless.
Within the media industry there seems to be a pocket of the nicest people you will ever meet – and thankfully we are all connected on our Twitters, Texts and Typepads.
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I will finish my time today in town having a drink on the river with my old friend Alistair and talk nonsense whilst the sun goes down.
I hope it isn’t a cliché but now – more than ever – I can safely say:
It’s all good.
See you in a while and watch out for a refreshed and even more sun-tanned jMac coming soon to a boardroom or bar near you 
