Making waves in the Big Applie

OUR ICONS OF SCOTLAND AWARDS, HELD TO MARK THE MAGAZINE'S OFFICIAL LAUNCH IN THE STATES, SHOWED HOW BROAD THE APPEAL OF SCOTLAND IS. DOMINIC ROSKROW REPORTS

Do you know that feeling of overwhelming well-being that you get at the end of doing something that you're really proud of? You're dog-tired, but the weariness mixes with your contentment so that you sit in a reverie until someone invariably says, “which bit did you like the most?”

So it was with the Scotland Magazine team as we sat in JFK Airport in New York, beers in hand, at the end of an intense, tiring, but ultimately satisfying four-day trip to America.

We had organised and attended a lunch for more than 100 luminaries to launch Scotland Magazine officially. We had presented awards and made new friends. And our feet had hardly touched the ground.

So here we were in the airport, indulging ourselves in the luxury of bathing in the event's afterglow, when along came the inevitable question.

And you know what? I just couldn't do it. I couldn't pick one moment that stood out from all the others. I mean, how can you choose between the majestic splendour of New York's Explorers Club and the excellent lunch that top chef David Kinnes and his assistant Mary Rose prepared? Between the bizarre interview with Bonnie Prince Charlie and Howie Nicholsby's marvellous kilts? Between addressing a haggis and tasting Scotland's finest alcohol in the form of the three Macallans that accompanied lunch, or the Drambuie on ice that followed it?

You can't, I decided at the time. So I ignored the questioner and focused on my beer instead. But, since then, I've reconsidered and managed ...

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• By : Dominic Roskrow
• In : Events
• Issue : 8
• Page : 15
• Words : 2,924