Plenty of comedy double acts have lit up the world over the years, from Abbott and Costello, Laurel and Hardy to Morecambe and Wise — and more recently Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.
Now shipping can lay claim to its very own: Rodgers and Burke.
The tanker-owning duo's latest sell-out performance at the 10th anniversary Marine Money conference in London last week saw them on top form, reprising some of their best gags from down the years, including those from TradeWinds’ own past events.
Perfect foil
Their styles are a perfect foil: Euronav’s Paddy Rodgers, the slightly intense and talkative Brit, to Ridgebury Tankers’ Bob Burke, the more laid back and droll Yank.
Perhaps only Rodgers could quote Damon Runyon to make a pithy point about the risks being taken by those expecting to bank profits from scrubbers: “You’ll squirt cider in your ear!”
But then only Burke could roll effortlessly into making a Goldilocks pun about his suezmaxes being not too old, or not too small, but just about right to be worth fitting scrubbers to, before joking: “But let me leave the metaphors to Paddy!”
*************
Bags of joy
Freebies given away at conferences have been on a rather depressing downward trajectory in recent years. The pens seem to have got cheaper, the phone adapter cables less compatible, and the less said about the occasional food giveaways the better.
Such goodies don’t so much enhance the brand of those giving them away as open them up to contempt.
But there are signs a few creative people are trying to improve matters. In the latest, Bureau Veritas has shown that even the humble conference document bag can be a thing to treasure.
Journalists attending the French class society’s London briefing were given a simple shoulder bag — but rather than the usual cheap nylon, this one is made from recycled life-raft rubber and leather by Mamukko in Kinsale, Ireland.
The bar has been raised: those giveaways must be good ones.
