By SUE FEA - The Southland Times Tuesday, 10 July 2007

She's a hard road delivering the perfect beer, boy

SHE'S A HARD ROAD: Some things never change, like good southern men. True-blue Southlander Mark Wilson has been chosen by Speight's to 'man' its giant floating Speight's bar all the way to London.
Some things never change, like good southern men – and they're still making them, bred with all the star qualities of their fathers before them.
True-blue Southlander Mark Wilson, 26, now a Queenstown marketing manager, has the right credentials.
That's why Speight's picked him from more than 2000 applicants to safely "man" its giant floating Speight's bar all the way to London.
In just over a fortnight Mr Wilson with set sail with Lindsay Gilbert (South Canterbury), Jamie Munro (Dunedin) and Tim Clever (New Plymouth) for a "boys' sea trip" on The Great Beer Delivery, stopping off at Samoa, Panama and New York along the way.
Waiting at the dock in London will be a very thirsty James Livingstone, who sparked off the whole idea by writing to Speight's to complain about English beer.
The four Kiwi blokes will have 75 days of male bonding behind the bar and become TV stars along the way, making sure the cameras get some good nautical mileage.
A former Southland Boys' High School pupil, Mr Wilson played rugby and cricket and built tree-huts, before heading into the bush shooting and then to Otago University for five years "to further my drinking education", completing a science and commerce degree.
Queenstown then became the epi-centre of his "golden triangle", which takes in Manapouri, Dunedin and Invercargill.
"I'm a bit of a home-body – I mean, crikey, it's all right here, why would you leave? "Queenstown is sort of like going on your OE without going anywhere – this way I got a lot of international experience and a few little tools to help when I go look at the world."
But when the opportunity to promote his beloved Southland "while drinking Speight's" came up this year, he just couldn't turn it down.
"Southland's the heart of the beer, I feel. If I can't get Speight's (in a pub) I'll leave, I won't buy anything, unless it's forced on me – I'm 99.8 percent pure Speight's."
As a southern youngster attending "keg parties in woolsheds", Mr Wilson said he could not have dreamed of anything better than being given free Speight's and talking about the Stags and Southland.
Close at hand will be a signed Southland Stags jersey and the Southland centenary rugby flag.
On arrival in October, Mr Wilson will be forced to promote the sponsor's product in English pubs for two weeks, quenching the thirsts of the Kiwi masses longing for home.
And he even gets to fly a mate over to join him for free.
School and university buddy Doyle Richardson, now a father of two, is the chosen one.