Gossip

Polar bears invade the Principality of Monaco

As you can see from the bear that has invaded my PC, I'm in Monaco. I'm here to see the newest Canon products - or at least, I thought I was. Instead, we got to see the boss's snaps, and a new logo.

The polar bear is called Auro, and is symbolical of a joint venture between Canon and the WWF wildlife protection NGO. It's cuddly, and aimed at teaching children about the environment.

And the new logo is apparently what will replace "Canon Can" in Europe. It reads: "We Speak Image" and it's written in pencil.

I want to go home now. It's sunny here in Monaco, the sky is blue, and the sea bluer still. Back home in London it's apparently wet, dark, and windy. But at least in London, I won't have to watch some guy's birthday snaps.

OK, if you own a camera, you get to bore your guests stiff with birthday snaps. If you own a camera company, it seems, you get to fly them to Monaco, put them up in lavishly expensive accommodation, and then - bore them stiff with holiday snaps.

So we sat through nearly an hour of reminiscences by a lovely chap, who has been with Canon for nearly all of its 50 years in Europe (that's the occasion for the birthday celebration) and has met all the great and the good of Europe. "This is me with Angela Merkel, this is me with Margaret Thatcher..." and so on.

If you ever want to invite a group of people to your 50th birthday, here's a tip. Ask yourself: "What's the difference between the way you entertain a spouse, and the way you entertain a lover?"

And the answer is: "Not much difference at all. But do make sure you don't do both at the same time!" - and then apply that to "the press" and "our dealers." I think the two or three hundred press here came to meet Canon executives; and they were all busy dealing with dealers. Can't blame them... but I don't think they did themselves any favours with the journos.