Fondly remembering Joshua - his South African PR hauls out the anecdotes...
Created by greta 12 years ago
The cruel disease of cancer all too often sloughs the best souls far too early – and I know how Joshua always prided himself on hailing from a family with notable longevity. He would tell anyone about his parents that bravely decided to move house when they were virtually in their mid 90s… and his mother wanted the same carpet colour as in her previous house! (if memory serves correct in terms of the details of this anecdote).
Yes, cancer is far too cruel, yet if we take a philosophical look at “reasons” why Joshua had to leave us too soon, maybe a clue lies in that he was quite possibly specially chosen by the heavens to show us, in his leaving, that life is far too short to waste a single nanosecond: just take a look at Joshua’s life story on this website and you’ll see what I mean! I can see him now… peering down at us, urging us on not to waste a minute: that life is too short not to reach for one’s dreams or to manage a smile aimed at a sad looking worker conducting menial labour – then to make their day by taking time out to share a joke or impart upon them an inspiring message… That is the Joshua Galvin that I remember, in my capacity as his media relations consultant for the South African market.
I wish my memory didn’t fail me so badly or I’d be relaying plenty amusing anecdotes of travelling around Cape Town with Joshua in the 4-year period 2005 to 2008. Suffice to say: anyone who knows the quintessential gentleman that Joshua was – peppered with a finely honed sense of humour – would have had a colourful experience during the pleasure of spending a week or two in his fine company during his visits to South Africa. He always spoke at great length of his love for his family (our PR trips to various media would coincide with his visits to his family staying in Cape Town).
Joshua had the unique honour of managing to get away with product mentions on a radio station that was just not going to allow that with anyone else! (he’d also get away with an interview that was notably longer than the permissible norm). He’d also fast turn a situation around where he’d conduct a store visit to check on stocks and, following a hawk-eyed scrutiny of the shelves, in the nicest possible way he’d ensure fast action from a store manager to replenish stocks – and they’d remember him the moment he’d walk in on his next store visit. I recall walking into a store that stocks his product and his pre-recorded radio interview would be airing through loudspeakers. It wasn’t long before tellers were whispering and pointing at Joshua… “Could we possibly be in the midst of the same guy who we’re hearing on the radio right now? Sounds like the same voice. Gee, he must be really famous!”
South African media known to him over several years would greet him with a continental kiss as if they were genuinely reuniting with an old friend. Now that is something rare to see in my field. I’ve never bought into pretence, and it was so good for the soul to see media swoon over Joshua’s exceptional abilities and genuinely seem delighted he’d flown back in town to appear on their radio show or to give them another hot hair tip for their magazine or newspaper. To this day, I often find myself telling prospective clients that “my ‘Godfather of Hairdressing’ client managed two full pages in the Cape Times and a full page in Cape Argus – so if hair can be a newsmaker, so can your product – that client quickly taught me that it’s all in the spin and in unearthing useful, interesting anecdotes and news they can use!”
Rudyard Kipling’s “If” comes to mind with a gentleman the calibre of Joshua Galvin, and my heart goes out to all those feeling his loss, especially his family in the UK and family in South Africa:
“If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch…”
“If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!”