I found myself at a (very fun) social evening tonight, sharing the story of my first visit to America.
In 1988, I ran the Moscow Marathon and raised some decent money for a charity called the Hunger Project. On the back of that, I was invited to a dinner in New York – my first ever visit to the USA, on my 19th birthday. It was not a regular dinner.
The dinner was a very smart affair to recognize Robert Mugabe, in person, for his leadership in Africa. Award since rescinded. John Denver was compere for the evening, Hugh Masakela and Miriam Makeba performed.
In retrospect, weird but fitting intro to NYC. I’m a big fan of John Denver and this was all a lead in to a John Denver tune, until I rewatched this on the Ed Sullivan show.