Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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This week I received news I'd been expecting for some time: our regional cleaning & hygiene exhibition & conference, originally due to be held in Manchester this week but already postponed until next month, is to be replaced with a virtual event with the main show rescheduled for 2021. A good call by the organisers!
If you've been following my Leaders over the years (this is the 936th I've written in Cleanzine!) you probably know how much I enjoy these shows and how sad I feel on the drive/flight home that they're over. Our industry's known for being a bit like the Eagles' Hotel California... "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave" and much of this is down to the people, many of whom we don't see from one event to the next. Friendships are formed and cemented over the years and our industry colleagues can sometimes feel like part of our extended family. And with us all getting older and the pandemic far from over, there's always the feeling that our paths may never cross again.
Over the many hours I've spent chatting to people on their exhibition stands I've learnt that these shows can be a drag, in as much as there are so many staged all over the world. Whereas I may be heading home for a rest, company staff will often have to break everything down, pack it onto trucks and accompany it to a different part of the world before setting it up at - and working - another show. Some have revealed they haven't seen their families for months, so while I'm mourning the damage the pandemic's done to our gatherings, I can see that others will be grateful to not be on the road for a change. I can imagine though that those whose job it is to stage huge international events must be feeling almost bereaved when these are cancelled at the last minute. It must be soul destroying!
Some of us are still having to travel though, so it was with interest I learned this week that Rome's Fiumicino Airport's is the first in the world to receive the Covid-19 5-Star rating from international rating agency Skytrax, who recorded very high standards of cleanliness, a visible presence of cleaning staff in customer-facing areas and the testing of several UV sanitisation methods which further enhance hygiene levels at high-contact points. ATP testing of frequently touched surfaces indicated that exceptional disinfection and hygiene measures were in place. Well done to all involved in achieving such high standards!
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Yours,
17th September 2020