This time: Working on my own, hippies and the loch.
The alarm woke me at six, I fumbled to switch it off and lay in bed for another ten minutes before I got up. Fortunately I have no problem with getting up early in the morning, of course I would rather stay in bed but if I have to get up then that’s it. Washed and dressed, at 06.50 I head down to the front door and go to walk in. It’s locked. I just stand there for a couple of seconds before I realise that it must be my job to unlock the door. I retrace my steps and this time head in through the back door, pass through the stillroom and make my way to the front of house. Behind reception is yet another new face, a woman of around twenty five with long blonde hair and a lovely smile. I introduce myself and she says her name is Monica. I ask if she is in the accommodation block, “No, I am in the caravan at the back of the hotel with the other receptionist Sheila.” I hadn’t seen a caravan but then I still hadn’t seen everything. She handed me a big old key which was in a drawer behind reception. “If you ever need to open the door early, this is where the key is.” I unlocked the door and undid the bolts on the second leaf and opened them both fully. They had hooks on the back to keep them open when it got windy. This done and the key returned I picked up my pad from the porters lodge and climbed the stairs to find any shoes that needed cleaning. There were only two pairs this morning and I brought them down and had them done in a few minutes. Monica rang the bell in the lodge from her desk. The one above “Reception” jingled on the row of bells and I headed out to see what she wanted. “The papers are done” she said. I picked up the pile she pushed towards me. Should I deliver the shoes back first then deliver the papers?, I decided to do both together, I found a shopping bag in the lodge and put the shoes inside and with the papers over my arm off I went. It was about 07.45 when I had completed both the tasks that Gregor had said needed to be done first. I thought with time to spare I could get a cup of coffee before Gregor arrived. The stillroom was noisy and busy getting the pots ready for breakfast so having said hello to Maggie and her assistant who I now knew was called Vivian I helped myself to a cup and made myself a coffee. It was too busy to sit there and drink, the porters lodge would be much quieter. Sat there just before 08.00, in comes Gregor, “what are you doing laddie”, I said I had just sat down with my first drink of the day. “You should have gotten up earlier and had one before you started.” Lesson learned, don’t get caught with a drink. That was the first and only time he caught me out, later that day I found a place between the stillroom and the lodge to hide a cup of coffee or a drink and that did me for the rest of the season. “There’s work to be done, get a broom and a hand brush and follow me. I looked around the lodge and found both and followed Gregor out into reception. “Sweep the dust and muck out of the main doorway then use the hand brush to sweep all windowsills of the dust that has blown off the road. It was another dry day and there was just a little heat in the sun so I thought I would spin the time out and enjoy the sun. It was short lived as I was called back in, there were suitcases to be brought down from the rooms. A list was handed to me, I noticed that Gregor didn’t have a list. If you weren’t fit before you started this job, you would be within a couple of weeks. Up and down stairs carrying suitcases could be great training for the Marines. I put the suitcases by reception as I had been shown the previous day and left a piece of paper with the room number on each one. Gregor was standing by reception talking to Monica all the time I was up and down the stairs. It was after 09.00 when I had finished. Gregor had taken some of the suitcases out to the cars of early leavers and no doubt given them the same sweet talk as I had seen him do the previous day. Any tip given slipped straight into his pocket. I asked him if I could go and get my breakfast now as there was a lull. “Off you go, but don’t be too long. I thought “I’ll be as long as it takes”. Breakfast service was nearly over and the stillroom was now much quieter. There were some of the chambermaids also having breakfast and I sat listening to them talking about the goings on upstairs, who was lazy and who was going out with who. Occasionally I was asked to comment on something they were talking about but I just said that I wasn’t sure who they meant. Breakfast over I headed back to reception just in time for Gregor to have me carry out and stow three suitcases in the boot of a car, He followed me out talking to the driver and his wife. I went back in, leaving him laughing with the couple, another tip on its way. Reception was now clear of luggage and I retrieved the hand brush from the lodge and went back to cleaning the windowsills. There were probably twenty to thirty and I took my time about it sweeping each one clear of road dust. Once finished and having picked up a few bits of rubbish on the way, I went back inside. Gregor was sitting in one of the armchairs in the lodge with a pot of tea for two on the table. “I was going to make one just for myself as you had a drink earlier but you’ve worked hard this morning so I brought an extra cup.”
Tea drunk, it was on to cleaning the lounges, Gregor looked at them both and chose the one that needed the least doing. I got the sun lounge at the front. True to its name, it was now quite sunny and the room was warm, there were cups, tea trays, newspapers, dirty ashtrays and a jumper that had been left behind. I spent some time cleaning it all up, the jumper went into the “lost property” box in the porters lodge. With the lounge now clean, I returned to join Gregor in reception. We were standing opposite reception, Monica was typing up the menus for lunch and we were having a three way conversation. The door from the corridor to the stillroom opened and two lads probably in their mid-twenties came out. Both had long hair, way past shoulder length. They were wearing “T” shirts and shorts, on their feet they both had sandals. Their skin was nut brown from what must have been hours spent lying about in the sun. They passed reception heading out the front door and both said “Hi” to Monica. They looked so out of place, they certainly weren’t guests and none of the staff looked like that. We were all white skinned from a lack of sun. I turned to Gregor and asked in a hushed voice who they were. He beckoned me and we followed them out the door and watched them walking down the road towards the loch. “These two, laddie,” said Gregor in a rather condescending voice, “are the water-ski instructors. They run the water-ski school down at the loch. Michael and Daniel or as they liked to be called Mick and Danny. They live in a caravan at the back of the hotel.” “So do Monica and Sheila” I said. “Yes” he said, “and I don’t agree with it, bloody hippies they are.” “And another thing, they’re English.” This perhaps in Gregor’s mind was worse than them not being married.
I thought to myself that I might have a wander down there later to have a look, I was off from 12.00 until 16.00 then back on through to 20.00. As soon as it was 12.00 I said to Gregor that if he had no more work for me I was off. “Be back at 16.00.” was all he said. I had some lunch and made my way back to my room via the laundry. I wanted to know about getting my clothes cleaned and sheets and towels changed when needed. The bedding was easy, just bring my used stuff across and it will be replaced like for like. For my own clothes, I learned that we could use the laundry after all the hotel stuff was done, usually about three in the afternoon. Later, I discovered that if I went across about 14.00 and there was a machine empty, they would do it for me.
Washed and changed, I decided to walk down to the loch. It was about half a mile from the hotel to the edge of loch where a few weeks before, Graham and I had sat eating the night of the party. I headed towards the jetty and looked around, There was a wooden building similar to a small bungalow, door in the middle and a window on either side under a pitched roof. Laying on two canvas sunbeds were Mick and Danny, there was a radio on in the open doorway into the building. Between the two sunbeds was a table with a full ashtray and two packets of cigarettes. Both of them were now only wearing shorts their “T” shirts draped over the back of the sunbeds. Tied up to the jetty were two wooden speed boats. I said “hello” and they both opened their eyes and looked up at me. “I saw you in the hotel this morning as you walked through, I’m Ken the new porter.” “I’m Mick and he’s Danny” was my introduction. I asked them what they did, “We teach people how to water-ski, and if they can ski then we can help them improve.” “How much does it cost, “ I asked. “It depends, hotel residents and ski club members get a cheaper rate”. “Is it difficult”, I asked. “Not if you are taught properly, do you want to learn.” I said there was no way I could afford it. “We can teach you for free, we have to give the boats a run out every day to make sure they are working OK, we can teach you then. We take the boats out each day from around 12.00 through to 13.00. If you are here at 12.00 then you have an hour.” I said I would love to try and we agreed that on my day off I would be there at 12.00. “But not Friday, Saturday or Sunday those days we are very busy and Monday and Tuesday are our days off. So it was agreed that on Thursday I would be there at 12.00 for a lesson.
As I walked back to the hotel, I picked up cigarettes, chocolate and a bottle of lemonade from the little shop that looked like it sold everything. The staff room in the day looked a depressing place. Daylight showed up just how old and worn out the furniture was and the carpet was threadbare. It was dark inside. I went back to my room and lay on the bed. I set the alarm for 15.45, just in case I fell asleep. I made a mental note to keep a newspaper from the ones that were left behind in the lounges. I didn’t sleep and at 15.45 I got changed back into my work clothes and headed back across to the hotel. Gregor was standing where I last saw him in his spot across from reception and I joined him. Whether he had moved in the last four hours, I couldn’t tell. Monica had been replaced by Sheila. Gregor said to keep an eye on the lounges and to clear away anything left by the guests. Judging by the state of the lounges I suspected he hadn’t done much. At 16.00 on the dot he was gone, “See you later laddie” he said as he headed out the front door. I checked round the lounges and cleared up all the glasses and tea trays. Cleaned the ashtrays and gave the tables a quick polish. I said to Sheila that I had been down to the loch and seen the Ski club. I asked her which one was her boyfriend, “Danny” she replied. I asked her if she and Monica could water-ski. She said that neither of them could, they enjoyed the parties that were held frequently down at the club though. I said I was going to the stillroom and did she want anything, “Coffee, milk and two sugars please”. The stillroom for once was quiet. There was no one there. I quickly made the drinks and took them back. I put mine in the spot I had found earlier and Sheila put hers just inside the office door. There were about ten new arrivals that afternoon and early evening. Enough in tips to buy a pint or two if I fancied a drink later. I had my own evening meal at 18.00.
Dinner was served from 19.00. There was a “forward kitchen” just behind the dining room. The food was prepared in the main kitchen and then brought up to the forward kitchen just before service began. One of the chefs was stationed there to serve the food. Between 19.00 and 20.00 I was to help bring food up as required and to take orders back to the kitchen for “A la Carte” dishes. Between this, keeping the lounges tidy and luggage up to the rooms the time flew by. Gregor returned at 20.00. “Anything to report laddie”, “nothing” I replied. “You’re on your own tomorrow, no sitting about drinking tea”. I left walking back through the stillroom, I made myself a cup of coffee and made went over to the staffroom. I had decided not to go to the bar and sat with some of the girls watching TV. They asked how I was settling in, I said I wasn’t sure. “I’m not sure that Gregor likes me” I said. They tried to re-assure me by saying that he is like that with everyone. Unconvinced I said goodnight and headed for bed.
On Wednesday morning, I was up and ready by 06.45 and made my way over to the hotel picking up a cup of coffee on my way. Sheila was back on reception this morning, Monica and Sheila were on reception most of the time with Miss Brown the manageress filing in on days off and at break times. I left my coffee in its hiding place and returned to the stillroom and made one for Sheila. She thanked me for the coffee and passed me the key for the front door. Doors opened, I returned the key and got the broom from the lodge and gave the doorstep and entrance a quick sweep to clear all the dust that had blown in overnight. Up the stairs for the shoe collection and then the papers, all done by 07.45. I finished my coffee and took both cups back to the stillroom. They had started making toast for early breakfast takers and I asked if I could have a slice. “Help yourself” said Vivian. She had jet black hair, bluey green eyes and was about the same age as me. She passed me two plates, one with a huge pat of butter and the other for me to spread my toast on. Quickly eating, it took the edge of my hunger. Wiping the crumbs from around my mouth I headed back to reception and picked up the list of the rooms leaving. Twelve rooms were going today, some of them were rooms where I had carried up the luggage the previous afternoon. It took until nearly 09.30 to get all the cases down and stored near reception. I said to Sheila that I was off for breakfast and did she want another coffee. “No, when Miss Brown comes in I will be going to get my breakfast. I take a pot of coffee over to the caravan and wake everyone else up and have my breakfast there.” When I returned, Sheila was gone and Miss Brown was behind reception. It was the first time I had seen her since I arrived. She asked me how I was settling in. “OK” I replied perhaps not very convincingly. “Gregor can be a difficult person to work with” she said, “he knows what he wants and he expects you to work to his standards.” After a couple of days working with him I didn’t think he was difficult, I thought he was a lazy b*stard who was going to get his assistant, me, to do all the heavy work. Some guests were now checking out and it was suitcases into cars time. “Let’s see how much in tips come my way” I thought. I won’t be able to do the same sweet talk that Gregor had but I’d have a go.
First lot of cases stowed in the boot I asked if they had enjoyed their stay. With a positive reply I wished them a safe onward journey as I had heard Gregor say. Nothing. Next one was better, they had been in the hotel for two nights and enjoyed their stay. 10p, bingo, with a pint costing around 20p that was half a pint. By the time I had cleared the lobby of all the cases I had 50p in my pocket. Gregor’s days off would be quite lucrative.
Lounges checked and cleaned, I took a newspaper I found and put it in the lodge to take back to my room later. I said to Sheila that I was going out to clean the windowsills so she would know where I was if needed. That done I was back in the lodge waiting for 12.00 to arrive. I decided that my own shoes could do with a clean so for the next ten minutes I sat in the armchair shining my shoes. Bang on 12.00 I said to Sheila that I was off now and would be in my room or the staff room this afternoon if needed. Lunch was lamb cutlets, short on meat and what there was, was chewy. Apple pie with custard for pudding. Water milk and tea in the middle of the table. Vivian came and sat next to me, we chatted away until Maggie called her back to work. I had to stay ready for work but took my tie off and loosened the collar of my shirt. The waistcoat came off as well. In the staffroom I looked for the lightest most comfortable chair and found one with a padded seat. I took this outside and sat by the door to the staffroom in the sunshine reading the newspaper I retrieved earlier. For a while I just sat there with my eyes closed nearly nodding off. Having sat for a while, I thought that now would be an ideal time to sort out some laundry, I couldn’t go off site so I thought I might as well do something useful. I sorted out a couple of white shirts, socks, underwear and “T” shirts. Stuffing them in a carrier bag I went to the laundry and asked if they had a free machine I could put my stuff in. The woman in charge, Colleen, looked at one of her assistants and nodded towards a machine that was still running. The girl said to leave the bag by the machine and come back later. “What time” I asked, “Later” was all I got as a reply.
It was now around 15.00 and I headed back into the hotel and ended up in the stillroom. It was like the hub of the hotel, all routes led back here. People came and went all day long. Just now it was quiet, there was no one about, only me. I made a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. The first person to appear was Monica, it was reception shift change and she made a drink to take with her when she took over from Sheila. I said to her that I was on duty if required. Looking through the window down into the kitchen there was nothing happening there either, a large stock pan full of bones and vegetables simmering away was all that was cooking. The chefs and Eck had all finished for now and wouldn’t return before 17.30. There was hardly a sound. The door from the front of house swung open and it was Sheila this time, she dumped a couple of cups in the sink, said “cheerio” and disappeared off to her caravan. The only people who were working in the hotel were the receptionist, Miss Brown and myself. Finishing my coffee I wandered down to the forward kitchen and into the dining room. The place was deserted, the tables were laid up ready for dinner this evening, it was eerily quiet. Back through the forward kitchen the only noise I could hear was the sound of a freezer. On further investigation, it was full of tubs of ice cream. There was vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, raspberry ripple and one I had not heard of before, praline. I wondered what flavour it was and found a teaspoon to taste it. It was a mixture of vanilla, toffee and nuts and tasted delicious. I found a dish and got a bigger spoon to get more out the tub. I was careful to wash up the dish and spoons and to return the tub to where I found it leaving no evidence of my visit. Just before 16.00 I was in the lodge putting my tie and waistcoat back on when the bell for reception rang. There were suitcases in reception but no guests. I looked at the cases and then at Monica. “They’ve already gone up to their room” she said. She gave me the room number and off I went with the cases. There was a steady trickle of guests arriving and between times I checked the lounges to make sure they were tidy and clean. During dinner I was again back and forth between the two kitchens and checking on the lounges. With dinner over I asked Monica what I was to do for the rest of the evening. “Gregor usually hangs about reception or the main lounge chatting and answering any questions from the guests.” At one end of the lounge was a bar counter. It backed on to the public bar so that one person could serve the public on one side and the hotel on the other side. I went round the lounge clearing glasses, saying hello and smiling at anyone who looked my way. Any question I was asked, if I didn’t know the answer I assured them that Monica on reception would know the answer. At around 21.30 Miss Brown came out from the office and said she would lock the main door tonight and I could now finish. I didn’t need telling twice and headed straight out the front door and round into the bar. By the time I got there my tie and waistcoat were off. I ordered a pint which went down quickly. I ordered another and looked round to see who else might be in. I had already seen Eck sitting at the bar. The chefs now in normal clothes were playing darts. I went across hoping I could join them. It was decided that we would each play each other with the third person doing the scores. The darts were the pub darts with plastic flights that had long past their best. None of us were brilliant but we had a good laugh. We stayed until closing time, walking back I suddenly realised that I hadn’t picked up my washing from the laundry. “I’ll get it in the morning” I thought and headed to bed.
Next time: A day off, my try at water-skiing and a lock in.
© 10210ken 2023
