Mike and I climbed the stairs to the private function room. At the top we were greeted by the media liaison.
We exchanged names and hellos and she asked "Are you bloggers?" I'm not sure what gave it away but I agreed with her guess, Mike is of course a photographer and hence of higher standing.
"Who do you write for?"
"Public Address"
"Oh I love Public Address!"
"Really? Cool"
"Yes, I own both of David Haywood's books".
I walked off to get a drink.
It was called a "Tongan Tackler" and while nice had less power than the name suggested. Among the team-themed drinks and shots was a "New Zealand Fritter" which seemed to be Red Bull and vodka, very traditional. At this time the speeches strarted.
Martin Snedden got up to speak at one point. I took notes in which I spelled his name wrong, despite putting it past Mike. This is why the press is dying, inadequate spelling skills and fewer pendants.
A drunk and rambling Martin Snedden was not the rousing speaker you'd expect. In fact he was far less entertaining than the drunk fellow who had blagged his way in pretending to be with ZM. Snedden did say something that I liked though:
People around the world are talking about us [on Facebook] and if you're not on Facebook… GET ON IT!
You can't say that he isn't up with trends.
Later that evening we saw Murray Mexted in Hooch. It was one of those celebrity sightings that make you think something special is in the air.
Today is the first day of the Sevens and I have already seen numerous small herds of costumes. None of the meta- or self-referential style though, sadly. I picked up my media pass at the NZRU briefing this morning. First on the agenda for journos: don't get drunk. And if you do, don't be the first person thrown out, like last year.
I'll see what I can do.