DIARY: The heat was definitely on at IPR conference

It had to be every PR person’s worst nightmare - the fire alarm

went off at 8.00am on the first morning of the IPR’s conference at the

Midland Hotel in Manchester last week - and around 200 guests were

caught in the full glory of their early morning dishevellment.

Lipstickless, suitless and mobile phoneless, many of the delegates -

wearing elegant hotel towelling robes - swarmed out of the hotel and

overwhelmed the streets of Manchester city centre.

Groans of ’I haven’t even brushed my hair’ and ’there aren’t any clients

here, are there?’ were overheard.

The cause of the false alarm remained a mystery (although some suggested

it was the press trying to flush out opera impresario Pavarotti, who was

also staying in the hotel).

However, the cause of the second fire alarm of the day, just as Hugh

Colver, Derek Draper and Ian Wright were about to regale the audience

with their collective wisdom on the politics of communication, seemed

clearer.

’Too much hot air,’ was the murmured comment