Nelson Mandela with the author, Glasgow 1993
As concerns mount for the fading health of one of history’s most courageous and inspiring leaders, I wanted to share with my fellow ehotelier readers my memories of the “Big Man” from the time I spent looking after him at the Glasgow Hilton in 1993 during his first visit abroad, after being released from decades of detention, and how a few gently spoken words from him about the challenges of leadership changed my life forever.
Glasgow had signaled support for the campaign to free Mandela in 1986 by renaming St George's Place in the city centre, Nelson Mandela Place, much to the annoyance of the South African consulate there. So, Glasgow was his first port of call on a worldwide tour to say thank you to all his supporters.
It was a source of great pride when Mandela said he had been told in prison about the renaming of the Glasgow Square, and the award of the Freedom of the City. He said that in prison there is a sense of being forgotten and isolated, and to know that people remembered him so fondly in cities such as Glasgow, far from his lonely prison cell in South Africa, had been one of the many lifelines that kept him going during all the years of isolation.
Mandela was well known for his early morning swims, a daily activity that had kept him in such a remarkable physical condition when he was held on Robben Island, and so at the Glasgow Hilton he used to go for a swim every morning around 06.00, at which time he would complete at least 10 powerful lengths without stopping, much to my chagrin, as I could only manage 5 or 6 lengths without a break.
One morning after such a swim, while he was sitting in his fluffy white hotel bathrobe by the pool, chatting to me over a cup of milky tea and homemade Scottish oatcakes with marmalade, which he really enjoyed, he enquired about my 11 years spent in Africa, (Kenya and Nigeria) and if I was enjoying being back home in Scotland.
As I had my mobile phone with me, a big chunky thing as it was then, I said “why you don’t ask my mum if I am happy in Glasgow”; because she knows I am desperate to return to my beloved Africa or to some other warmer climes, and with that called home.
My mum lived in nearby Edinburgh, so I quickly called her up and put her on the phone to Mandela, who said "Hello, Mrs. Gorman, your son is looking after me very nicely here, and I am enjoying your home made oatcakes, thank you very much." My mum was quite abrupt and said: "Who is this, and why are you calling me at six o’clock in the morning?"
He told her it was Nelson Mandela but sadly she didn't believe him. “Put me back on to my son," she ordered, which he did, and promptly received a good scolding for my “prank”, but when she saw my photograph with the great man in the local newspaper the next day, as seen below, she realized that she had made a terrible mistake, although it was a great conversation piece for her for the next 20 years.
As we had so many young staff members below the age of 20, Mandela was already in prison before many of them were even born, which meant most of them didn't have a clue who the towering figure of a man was, apart from seeing his face on the Free Nelson Mandela T-shirts widely available in the local markets, but all were keen to meet and greet the Big Man, and to welcome him to Scotland, which they did with great pride and gusto, including bagpipe recitals and Highland dancing in the hotel’s grand lobby.
During his stay at the hotel Mandela made himself at home, and tucked into full Scottish breakfasts, discovering that he loved our salty porridge, Ayrshire bacon, black pudding, venison sausages and smoky Lock Fyne kippers, and it was during one of these hearty breakfasts that he said this to me, in response to how he felt about all his years in captivity.
Quoting from Niccolo Machiavelli; he said, “Gordon, It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than the creation of a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institutions, and merely lukewarm defenders in those who would gain by the new ones”.
He was of course making reference to overcoming adversity, and how difficult it would be to change the apartheid and political system in South Africa, but he was determined to do so, no matter how long it might take, or how painful it might be for him and for everyone else in that great country awaiting freedom.
I never forgot those few words of compassion, and determination from a leader who not only inspired me to become a better leader of people and profit, but also a better human being, and for that I will always be truly grateful to this remarkable man, whose time on this earth has been well spent in pursuit of freedom and justice for all.
About the author
Gordon James Gorman, General Manager Avari Towers (since 2006)
Gordon James Gorman has spent more than 40 years in the international hospitality industry, starting his journey at the Heart of Midlothian Football Club in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1972, not on the soccer field, but in the kitchens of their fine dining restaurant as an apprentice chef, later working his way up to the position of General Manager via stints at leading hotels in Glasgow, London, Paris, Rome, Nairobi, Mombasa, Abuja, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Hua Hin, Bahrain, Riyadh, Seoul and Karachi, with leading international brands that include Rosewood, Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Dusit, Accor, Hilton and most recently with Avari International Hotels in Karachi Pakistan, where he has spent the last six years.
He is an active blogger and feature writer for HOTELS magazine, ehotelier and various other Hospitality industry websites, the founder of FBAT, the Food and Beverage Association of Thailand, a much in demand keynote speaker on the subjects of Hospitality Management, Marketing Leadership and Young Entrepreneurship, and is an active supporter of many local charity and community projects in his adopted cities of Karachi and Bangkok.
His first book, entitled Five Years in Pakistan, Tall Tales of Hospitality from the Frontier of Terror, currently in the process of editing and publication, tells the story of how he and his team transformed the iconic Avari Towers, Karachi, which in 2007 was an uncompetitive four stars hotel, into the city’s leading five stars hotel, over the most tumultuous five years period in the nation’s history.
On his office walls at Avari Towers can be seen photographs of Mr Gorman, taken with many famous people, including President Zardari, President George Bush, Nelson Mandela, H.M. the Queen Elizabeth, Pope John, The King of Bahrain, President Moi of Kenya, Tony Blair, David Cameron, and many others to numerous to mention, all illustrating a lifetime of dedicated service which continues to this day in Karachi.
