The Titanic Hotel Belfast general manager picks five of his favourite things
Favourite book
I love reading, and you’ll always find me with a book in hand when I’m on holiday. When I’m not reading books about RMS Titanic or effective leadership, you’ll find me reading a novel by my favourite author John Grisham. When it comes to favourite books though, hands down my favourite book has got to be Animal Farm by George Orwell. I studied it at school, it was teaching us about communism in the then Soviet Union. However, if applied to modern-day politics in the West, we can see how the manipulation continues — just in a different way.
Favourite song
I’ve had the privilege of travelling all over the world for work and for pleasure, and my favourite song has been a favourite since the Nineties when I made one of my closest friends sing it in a bar in San Francisco! It’s Wonderwall by Oasis. Unlike the brothers and their rumoured famous fall out, I still keep in contact with my friend! Oasis is my karaoke go-to band, as is well known by my rugby friends on our eventful rugby tours.
A scene from the film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Favourite film
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (above). I read the book under a recommendation from a friend. It was very moving to then see the movie. Although the storyline was based on the fictional novel set in Nazi-occupied Poland, it had a lot of similarities to the stories we’ve heard from that time. The story is based around Bruno, an eight-year-old German boy living in Berlin who is uprooted with his family after his SS officer father is promoted. It’s harrowing how we can treat fellow humans, and yet the most unlikely of forbidden friendships can be forged in the most surreal of settings.
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Favourite place
I’ve worked in and partied my way around Shanghai, Denver, San Francisco, San Jose, Dallas, Kansas City, London, Dublin and Nairobi. Of all the places in the world I’ve visited — recently I was stunned by the beauty of Croatia — San Francisco is my favourite. I spent over a decade in the city, honed my skills as a hotelier and made lifelong friends there. As Tony Bennett once sang, ‘I left my heart in San Francisco,’ and part of mine is still there.
Favourite food
When I’m at work, I have the joy of dining in the Wolff Grill at Titanic Hotel Belfast. I’ll have a seafood starter, always followed by a perfectly cooked steak and finished off by anything chocolate for dessert. When I’m at home and I’m not in the kitchen meal prepping for the week on a Sunday afternoon, while sipping a glass of wine or baking my way through autumn so as to be ready to distribute my Christmas cakes during the festive season, I’ll be ordering a Chinese every time. I lived in Shanghai and really appreciated authentic Chinese food thereafter. I love a good Chinese meal with good company, and always with chopsticks!
Adrian McNally is general manager of the multi-award-winning Titanic Hotel Belfast. www.titanichotelbelfast.com