I now know the old saying that “if you think a policeman looks young, it means you are getting old” is true; not because I have noticed lots of young policemen lately but more because simply everyone I seem to encounter appears to be so  much younger than me….. teachers, hotel managers, people in all sorts of high flying careers just seem too young to have got there yet.  This fact is a strange one to me as after all, I was only 21 when I became a hotel inspector, which at the time was very young to hold such a position and so I always prided myself on not judging other young people in positions that were generally held down by their elders.

However, I have concluded that I am just getting old and beginning to suddenly feel “grown up”. Gerard and I (he’s ancient compared to me!) took Romané to a concert and the TerraVina team thought it most amusing…. Old people go to concerts too…. yes they do they chimed, but not generally to Lady Gaga- well I can safely say that we weren’t the oldest there (not far off though!).

We were in the seated area… well us oldies need to have a seat to rest our weary legs, but actually we stood throughout the most amazing, brilliant and very clever concert as all the rows in front of us were standing up so we had to too in order to see anything (actually our eyes are going too as we couldn’t see more than a dot on the stage, although the big screens helped). However, we danced, waved our arms and knew all the words to many of the songs- Romané pretended we weren’t with him I’m sure when we started to tap our feet to the support band The Darkness (we remembered them from their first  time round- they’re no spring chickens either!)… however, the point of the evening was Lady Gaga and wow she was impressive- her energy and stage presence was incredible. Her voice is fantastic and her costumes bizarre but amazingly clever- we had a fab time and loved every minute of it… I just wish I was still young enough (and brave enough), to be like so many in the crowd who had dressed up as Lady Gaga lookalikes.

We don’t go to concerts very often but I think our “street cred” has risen a notch or two with the team as they were very impressed that we had enjoyed it al and don’t think of us as being quite so ancient now!

Till next week

Nx

Every week just before my Wednesday deadline I write my next blog and post it… I have been doing this religiously now for nearly 2 and a half years. Each Wednesday used to come round with relative speed but this week, I’m not quite sure what happened. One day it was Wednesday and then today was Friday. Did I sleep round the clock and miss Wednesday and Thursday? Where did the past week go?

Alarmed that I seem to be losing chunks of time at an alarming rate, I thought I would back track and double check:

Monday was a blur of meetings, dentist appointment for Romané before going back to school, school uniform fittings and general going back to school activities. Team building and development meeting ended the day.

Tuesday was a blur of back to back meetings, cinema trip (Batman The Dark Knight Rises- I didn’t fall asleep which is what usually happens when Romy and I go to the cinema! It’s not the quality of the films, rather that the rarity of sitting still is so novel it relaxes me into a slumber)

Wednesday up early on the road and off to The Bear in Woodstock for back to back meetings- home for dinner by 7.30pm and then on switching on my laptop I lost the will to live as all of the e mails that had accumulated over the day (no signal in Woodstock) needed to be actioned- all 100 plus of them

Thursday rude awakening at 6am as it was new school start day. Flurry of activity and excitement and nerves for mum but thrill for Romy. He had a brilliant day, but I didn’t get to collect him or go to the 1^st parents event at school to meet the teachers, as GB and I were in London at The Innholders Hall in the City- opposite the church were Dick Whittington is buried (as is his cat- they found the skeleton of a cat to prove it). GB was making an after dinner speech to an illustrious group of elite hoteliers, all of whom are Master Innholders – it was an honour to be invited and to be in the same room as some of the iconic figures of our industry and it really was a roll call of impressive names and personalities. Home in the wee small hours and oh joy, the alarm clock at 6am again… I am sure I didn’t even get to go to sleep

And thus it’s Friday – I still am playing catch up with e mails and my to do list.. so long now it’s more of a novel than a list. The day has been crammed full of meetings, interviews, urgent actions and team conferences. School pick up, after school swimming and then back to the hotel for dinner with some lovely hotel friends

Thus another week has flown by and I’m not sure where the days went- work life balance is my new buzz word, if only I knew which bit to balance first. We are off to see Lady Gaga tomorrow night and frankly at this moment I feel a bit gaga too!

Apologies for the late posting but the days juggled themselves into a bit of a blur. I’m hoping to do better next week as my school report should read.

Nx

Due to family illness, Gerard’s mother is 96 years old and has not been well recently, we found ourselves having to hop across the Channel for a family visit. Usually we enjoy visiting and whilst not so far away, (we were only travelling to Lyon) it always gives us the sense of a different culture… however, right from when we arrived at the airport we were struck with the poor service that is begrudgingly offered.

We flew EasyJet… not by choice, but because the flights were available and the times suited. The ticket prices weren’t cheap and by the time baggage and speedy boarding was added on it was certainly not a discounted airline price; however, the attitude of their staff on the ground at check in certainly makes you feel like you are cattle fodder and they go out of their way to ensure you have the most stress and most inconvenience possible….. it got no better in terms of customer service when we arrived in France- a walk from the plane into the baggage collection area which felt as though it was almost as long as to have walked from the UK; easily 15/20 minutes.  Is that acceptable at an airport? Personally I don’t think so.

Airports aside the “service”, (I use the term very loosely), we encountered in Lyon was mostly truly appalling. Many of the staff in shops, restaurants and in taxis were happier by far to say “Goodbye” rather than “Hello” and few made any effort to be helpful, friendly or have any pride in their jobs…. I suppose we noticed such bad manners and lack of care because we are in a service business ourselves, but people just seem so accepting of poor service and that seems so sad. We did find a few happier souls who did smile and were more helpful but it truly was a handful.

The icing on  the cake for the trip was at the airport when we were flying home… they have created a terminal especially for EasyJet customers- with minimal seating, no refreshments, no air conditioning (and probably no heating in winter). You can only check in exactly 2 hours before (but you wouldn’t want to arrive early anyway) as you are merely herded into what is essentially an airplane hanger- this is 2012 in a civilized country- are such conditions acceptable when you’ve paid over £600.00 for airplane tickets? Even when you have checked in, in our case by a surly chap who made three phone calls whilst dealing with us at the desk and who showed such a lack of interest in the customer that his arrogance was breathtaking. However, when we passed through to departures, the situation was even worse- so few seats that elderly people and mother’s with babes in arms were forced to stand or sit on the floor- we were all crammed in and the whole area was dismally inadequate for the numbers of passengers passing through- rarely was I ever happier to return to the UK, which let’s face it isn’t so great in many aspects either, but on the evidence of this French trip we are oh so much better.

Apologies for the rant this week, but the reason I’m so stirred up by the poor service we received is that despite the fact that our team work their socks off, always try to give their best and offer guests the best service they possibly can, sites such as Trip Advisor allow people to have a voice which is often nasty and unfair… people can complain about the colour of the walls and the fact they didn’t like the organic, local lavender products and that if they wanted a hand made, large sized, individually wrapped ginger bread dog, there was a mini bar charge… how do people think we pay the staff, the not inconsiderable rates, the mortgage and all the other overheads the hotel incurs if we don’t charge for items consumed… our team give so much of themselves and it really rankles when you visit places such as our recent French trip and others don’t and no one seems to notice, care or be bothered by the fact that they are treated in such an ill mannered and uncaring way- well I do care and hence my frustration when our team are so nastily complained about- thankfully it’s not often and mostly we have lovely guests who appreciate all they do and how hard they work.

Till next week

Nx

I am back from holiday and by popular demand I packed the sunshine in my suitcase and brought it back to the UK… what a difference some sunshine makes. The hotel is busier, the phone is ringing off the hook with people making bookings, guests are happier and people are just generally more smiley- I LOVE the sunshine as it makes the world a better place.

Terraces, roof terraces and patios have all been popular choices around the hotel and the outdoor pool has suddenly come to life, with guests lazing by the poolside, dipping their toes in and then taking the plunge and floating in the warm water on the pool beds- lovely! I’ve never actually swum in our hotel pool- ridiculous I know, but there just never seems to be the right moment, so I only ever get to dip my toes in.

On Sunday 29^th July, we are celebrating our 5^th Birthday (a couple of weeks early but never mind, the date worked better) and are holding our annual cocktail party, which is always full of laughter and fun and is really what TerraVina is all about and what we do best… a relaxed, chilled out and fun venue where guests feel comfortable and at home- it’s all we’ve ever strived to be, a much liked hotel and so 5 years on, we are thrilled to continue welcoming back so many guests who love the place for all the right reasons and of course the main reason TerraVina is so special is thanks to our fantastic team, headed by Suzi, who is simply a gem in a very special mix of people. There are still a very few places left for the party, so if you are at a loose end and fancy joining us for a great event then do give us a call.

I am pleased to report that both Gerard and Malmsey survived my holiday and in fact both looked very well… however, Malmsey has been poorly since and is off to the vets tomorrow for an operation. She’s been chewing too many twigs… I am on paw holding duty, as Gerard is wine tasting in France and Romy is off on an adventure packed holiday in deepest, leafy Dorset- I’m judging at the New Forest show this week too; best dressed lady at the inaugural Ladies Day event… no pressure on me then! I’ve been worrying for days as to what I should wear… I can’t judge best dressed lady and not look snappily dressed myself… maybe I need to go shopping!!!!

Till next week and do enjoy the glorious sunshine

Nx