Message from the Chairman

by Steven Ferry

As one cyclone after another brushes past Mauritius in the Southern Indian Ocean, the winds pick up on the rooftop restaurant, but the sun still shines on the azure waters.

A handy metaphor for life today, perhaps.

I did not realize that the Dodo bird came from Mauritius, and that Dutch settlers, in part, wiped them out because they were easy to catch, fearless of humans, and made great food supplies for their long journeys across the various oceans. With only 50 people living on the 700 square miles of the island in the 17th century, the major cause of the disappearance of the Dodo (and other lesser-known life forms) was the introduction by those few individuals of non-native species to the island that raided the Dodo nests; as well as deforestation of the habitat by you-know-who.

Let’s hope that modern man does not follow the same short-sighted approach to the rest of the treasures on this tiny but beautiful planet, for it will not be much fun to butle on a billiard ball for a planet.

We always recommend this one-minute Public Service Announcement as a tool to help enlighten and motivate others to protect their environment from the actual dangers it faces, such as plastic pollution in the seas and ocean acidification.

This newsletter continues to have interesting commentary and information from regular contributors who come through month after month—their expertise and assistance is appreciated.

Plenty of exciting news from our side, which we will share when the time is right—life is good, and thank you for being a part of it.

 

The Institute is dedicated to raising service standards by broadly disseminating the mindset and superior service expertise of that time-honored, quintessential service provider, the British Butler, updated with modern people- skills, and adapted to the needs of modern employers and guests in staffed homes, luxury hotels, resorts, spas, retirement communities, jets, yachts & cruise ships around the world.