Oleg—Short for “O, Legend!” 😇

Oleg—short for “O, Legend!” 😇

If you have not read my post about champagne in the morning, I strongly recommend reading it before going any further. Otherwise, you will not get the full joke—one that has been running for several years now.

So, I am assuming you already know how Harrison Dabbs and I celebrated my birthday in May 2022.

In April 2023, my wife and I learnt that Harrison had started working as assistant manager at Club Med Palmiye in Turkey. We decided to carry on the tradition and booked a week at Palmiye, making sure my birthday fell during our stay.

It came as a complete surprise to Harrison when he ran into us at the resort. We immediately took a photo together—the second photo above—and sent it to Alexis, another Canadian whom we had been stranded with in the Turks and Caicos Islands and later hung out with in Cancun.

Alexis kept it brief. His reply consisted of just two words: “Oleg—The Legend!”

As luck would have it, the resort manager had the day off on 18 May, leaving Harrison in charge. Not wanting to break with tradition, we decided to enjoy a civilised champagne tasting in the resort’s main square. We thought 10:05 was a better time for it than 18:05, so once again the other guests were treated to quite a sight: the resort manager drinking champagne with a few guests in the main square first thing in the morning!

As we chatted, Harrison told me that the evening’s entertainment was an acrobatic show, so there was no way I could take part, however much I might want to. I would have to come up with a different present for myself. I asked whether I could have one of the Club Med-branded badges worn by all the resort staff. It turned out to be easy enough: I just needed to choose a job title. It could be anything except “resort manager”. What kind of ridiculous restriction is that? 🤣

After a little thought, we concluded that nothing could beat Alexis’s message.

At dinner, a beautifully decorated table awaited us in the centre of the restaurant. Halfway through the meal, Harrison arrived with a large group of staff carrying an enormous cake, then ceremoniously pinned my freshly made, personalised Club Med badge to my shirt!