Yesterday we had
the good fortune of being invited to attend the book launch of local Durban
Hotelier Alan Gooderson titled “You can’t change history – A Hoteliers story”
as told to Graham Linscott .
Briefly paging
through the book there are some glorious images and stories of some of Durban’s
Entertainers from way back when which will surely give the reader a walk down
memory lane, memories of the Lonsdale Hotel, Claridges and Killarney to name a
few, its all there. The book is easy reading and offers an insight into Alan
and his career in the South African Hotel industry, perfect for those lazy days
around the pool, or better still obtaining a copy when you visit any Gooderson
Resort or Hotel around the country for those relaxing holidays.
The Launch took
place in one of Durban’s Grand Old Ladies the Gooderson Tropicana Hotel (once
upon a time Claridges Hotel) incidentally one of the first ‘high-rise’
buildings on the beachfront a favourite haunt for many a Durbanite and tourist
over the decades.
Alan Gooderson and Graham Linscott - pics Paul Godwin
The book is
available at a cost of R275.00 at Adams stores and at all Gooderson Resorts and
Hotels.
Synopsis: You Can’t Change History!
The book tells the story of how the Gooderson
family translocated to Durban from the bleakness of post-war Britain in the
1950s, bringing with them a sturdy ethic of entrepreneurialism, hard work and
family solidarity.
The Goodersons were instrumental in transforming
the Durban beachfront from a buckets and spades seaside resort into the
pulsating centre of sophisticated entertainment it became in the 1960s and
1970s. Places such as El Castillian, the Bull Ring, Cookie Look, the Cockney
Pride, the Crazy Horse, Ruby Tuesday and the Millionaires’ Club were a part of
growing up for many thousands of people, and all of them were in the Gooderson
stable.
Gooderson Leisure – run today by Alan Gooderson –
is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and has a portfolio that runs from
traditional Durban beachfront hotels to golf resorts in the Drakensberg, to a
hot springs resort, to eco-tourism resorts in Zululand and to hotel/conference
facilities beyond the borders of KwaZulu-Natal.
The book describes the development of this
network – often in the teeth of economic adversity – in which Alan Gooderson
eventually became the single driving force. Alan’s faith in South Africa has
never faltered, in spite of the negatives – largely political – that
consistently confronted business over the years. That faith remains unshaken
today.
But it requires more than faith in the future to
sustain a group of the complexity of Gooderson Leisure. It also requires
success on the ground, and the book gives an insight to the discipline and
constant eye for detail that are required without fail for successful
hotel-keeping.
But this is also a very human book: the closeness
and loyalty of the Gooderson family; personal tragedy; the lighter moments of
hotel-keeping; Alan’s involvement in poker (though not a gambler), horseracing
(again not a gambler), golf and karate. He once swapped hotels with a man he
was playing poker with. He once bought a hotel in the Free State to keep the
bar open after an inter-provincial karate tournament.
It is a story of business success and a human
being who loves life. ”You can’t change history” is one of Alan’s favourite
sayings. His biography is written by Graham Linscott, who also writes the
Idler’s Column in The Mercury.
Thanks to Steven
& Alice (S&A Marketing) for the invite
25th February 2016, Durban, South Africa
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