Under the influencer

I’ve been sulking a little since a PR person knocked back my request to bring a plus one to an upcoming event.

The PR said it’s an “intimate gathering“ at a fancy restaurant, so numbers are tight. She trilled that she was so happy that I could make it on my lonesome.

I hadn’t indicated that I was definitely coming, so this was a cunning ruse on her part to guilt me into attending solo.

I’m sure there are highly social individuals who can think of nothing better than going to an event after work on their own to converse with total strangers for a few hours while drinking bourbon.

I am not one of them.

On the other hand, DD would love the chance to sip some premium spirits with me by his side.

I don’t mind schmoozing solo during the day, because that’s work time. But the night is my time and I don’t get much of it in my single-mum whirl, so if I’m sharing those precious hours I want it to be with a friend, relative or lover.

Tip to PRs when organizing events – most people would rather go to a slightly less fancy restaurant where they can bring someone along. It’s more fun that way and I’d imagine that joy will translate into any stories they might write about the product.

Whenever I see lone influencers at media events they look quite gloomy. But they still pony up “I had such a wonderful time last night” posts on Instagram that are total BS.

Actually, the same thing goes for a lot of travel stories. I’ve had a miserable time on a few. So I tend to take the ones published in newspaper travel sections with a grain of salt.

I can remember being with a group of journalists on a junket to Thailand and moping together at a bar one night about how badly we all wanted to go home.

The whole trip, from dawn to dusk, consisted of hotel room tours conducted with military precision. Yet we were all expected to go back to our respective publications and write glowing stories about how wonderful it had been.

I’ve stayed in stunningly beautiful accommodation and thought, “meh, pretty, but it would be nice to have someone to share the fun with me”.

Conversely, when I took my friend Mel for a night on a cruise ship a few years ago – when I was a travel writer – we had an absolute blast. Loved every minute.

Speaking of Mel, I took her to a cocktail tasting at the latest Merivale venue, Will’s at the Coogee Pavilion, last night.

And we had bulk fun.

I’ll let you know when I’ve posted the story about it to The Thirsty Travellers site. I’d been hoping to have it ready for this morning, but I ran out of time after chugging my third cocktail.

PS Another tip for PRs … don’t send me press releases about an event that you invited “50 media, influencers and friends of the brand” to … but not me … and expect me to write something about it … Just sayin …