As Britannia headed west across the Atlantic, the weather began to change. The wind got up a bit, and the sea got a little choppy, but Britannia was a big ship and rode it easily. The most notable thing was the temperature dropping a tiny bit every day and fewer people sat around the main pools. On board the ship there were more indoor events, with the band no longer appearing in the stage by the pool in the evening but in the atrium instead. There were, of course, a few brave souls in the pool early every morning but that wasn’t for Jinnie and Paolo. They found that with a pullover on they could easily sit on the rear part of their balcony as it was out of the wind, and the occasional shower, as they were protected by the overhang of the balcony above.
The first Celebration Night on board had been the day after they left Antigua and the first-time cruisers on their table had been impressed by the special meal. As he drained his coffee, David said, “Well, that meal was really good, the Epicurean will have to be something really special to better it.” “Don’t worry,” said Paolo, “it will.” Jinnie rather liked the Celebration Nights, and everyone dressed in their finest. Paolo’s cheap dress suit didn’t look at all cheap and looking around the Main Dining Room, she was delighted to see how few people were in business suits.
As had become normal, the table decamped to the Crow’s Nest after dinner and settled into the seats they now thought of as ‘their table’ and the waiter was quickly over, wished them good evening, and asked if they wanted a round of their normal after-dinner drinks, to which everyone said yes. While waiting for the drinks to arrive, Jinnie scanned the room and said, “This is nice to see, everyone dressed so smartly.” David replied, “I see that unless you have formal dress on, you can’t come in here this evening.” “The same applies to several of the rooms,” said Graham. “I saw someone in a white suit being refused entry to the dining room,” continued Sue, “he wasn’t very happy.” “Well, he should have known the rules,” said Elizabeth. “They are on the website, in pre-cruise paperwork and the day’s dress code is clearly stated in Horizon every day.”
“Did you see the fat man in shorts and scruffy stained tee shirt in the Buffet when we walked through?” asked Anne. “I wouldn’t let David dress like that any day.” “I wouldn’t want to dress like that,” replied David. Jinnie asked, “Did you see the pile of food in front of him, no wonder he is so fat, he could do with a trip to the gym.” Graham said, “Talking of the gym, how is your fitness regime going?” “Not bad,” answered Jinnie, “I knew it wasn’t going to be an instant improvement, but I am beginning to feel the benefits. I don’t feel so tired when I get back from a session, I climbed two flights of stairs this afternoon without getting out of breath and I am feeling much easier just walking from the dining room to here and I am always ready for my meals. When I first came out of hospital, I was not eating much, and I had to fancy it. Now I could eat a horse. Adam says I am doing better than he expected.”
***
The sea days continued to merge into one as they were all so similar. When the ship was in the Caribbean and island hopping everyday was different, you woke up on a new island with different views and places to explore. On the crossing to the Azores, it was only the two Celebration Days that were distinguishable. The second fell the day before reaching the small port of Praia da Vitoria in the Azores and Jinnie and Paolo only stayed in the Crow’s Nest for a single drink that night as they had booked their single excursion of the journey and had to be up early as the ‘Round the Island Tour’ left at eight-thirty. On port days, the Epicurean opened for breakfast at 7 am and Jinnie and Paolo were waiting outside when the doors opened. They were shown to their regular table and the waiter said, “Let me guess, you are on an excursion? Well, it looks like you have a fine day for it. Every other time I have been here it has either been foggy or raining. But today it is forecast to be sunny and mild.”
The coach was waiting for them close to the bottom of the gangway and set off in bright sunshine. The courier explained that the trip would take them around the island stopping at several places for photos. As it was only a small island, he joked it would only be a half-day trip. As they travelled through the green island, Paolo commented on how little traffic there was and how few people were about. The guide explained that the Azores were an archipelago, and the Azores was an autonomous region of Portugal. They were on one of the nine islands; Terceira, and it was one of the central islands of the group. Like the rest of the Azores, it had never been occupied by the Germans and had a large airbase that the Free British and American had built to protect it and transatlantic shipping. Although there were still Allied air force personnel and planes on the airbase, it was now also used for commercial flights with regular daily flights to both Portugal and the U.K.
As the tour progressed, they stopped at a viewpoint high above a patchwork of fields, each designated by dry stone walls. The guide explained that the flat area they were looking at was in fact a crater of an extinct volcano, a caldera, and the stones for the field walls had once been strewn across the land. Farmers had built the walls as they cleared the land. Jinnie couldn’t help noticing the large numbers of dairy cows in the fields below them and the guide explained that there were many more cows than people on the island and milk, dairy products, vegetables and fish were the major exports, and they nearly all went to Portugal.
The final stop on the excursion was in Angra do Heroísmo, the island’s biggest town and capital. A pretty town, the guide took them to the botanic gardens and then on to the cathedral before heading back to the ship. Paolo said he was pleased to be able to say he had visited the Azores, but it was not a place he would suggest for a holiday. It was just too small if you could see all the attractions in half a day. The twins would be bored by the second day of a holiday and, besides, there were no beaches on Terceira.
***
The final Formal night of the cruise coincided with the table’s visit to the Epicurean. Everyone met in the Crow’s Nest for pre-dinner drinks. Jinnie deliberately sat next to Rick and chatted to him about the hotel business. He had managed several hotels over the years, often being brought in to rejuvenate a run-down business. The hotel chain he worked for saw him as something of a specialist in revitalising struggling hotels and he complained that once the business was back on its feet, he was moved on to another hotel that needed rescuing. He expanded that what he would like to be able to do was really develop a hotel, not just turn it into a huge money-making centre for the chain. He was fed up with being able to use his skills only so far before being moved on. He wanted to be able to turn a hotel restaurant into a fine dining experience. He wanted to be able to run the hotel not just to make money for the owners but to make it somewhere people wanted to come back to regularly.
Jinnie listened to Rick and wondered if he was the man to run the enlarged TT Ennios Southampton. The current manager knew the restaurant trade but not the hotel side. Although the Ennios currently only had a few rooms, the intention was for it to have 60 or maybe more, if they could work them in. And the plan was to have a fine dining restaurant, a coffee shop, a cellar bar and possibly host events if they could get the appropriate permission. Jinnie was forming a plan in her head. Retain the existing manager to run the restaurant, find a coffee shop manager, a bar manager and an events manager, then put Rick in as general manager and let him drive the other managers. She needed to talk to him when they got back to the U.K. and see how he felt about such a plan. But she needed to discuss it with Alberto and Brian before making a move.
The party moved on to the Epicurean where they were shown to their table. Of course, Jinnie and Paolo and Graham and Elizabeth had eaten there before, but it was all new to the other four and Jinnie was amused to see the surprise on their faces when half a dozen waiters and waitresses descended on them fussing around with serviettes and menus. When the Restaurant Manager came over and said “Good evening” to them all (and then made small talk with Jinnie, saying how nice it was to have them back in the evening) Jinnie had to explain that as suite guests, they ate breakfast there every day and knew many of the staff.
Rick was busy taking in the surroundings and eventually said to Jinnie, “Now this is rather nice, the atmosphere is perfect for fine dining. The room is busy but there is plenty of space between the tables. The linen, silverware and glassware have been well chosen; they are modern but classic. So far, the service has been exceptional. Now this is the sort of thing I would want to emulate if ever I had the opportunity.” Jinnie thought, ‘I think I will give Alberto a ring tomorrow, I wonder if he could get down to Southampton on Saturday, we could interview Rick and show him the TT Ennios and our ideas.’
Menu B was every bit as good as Menu A. After an Amuse Bouche, Jinnie, as several others, started with the seasonal soup which was delicious. Then it was a tiny ice lolly as on the previous visit. This time, for her main course, Jinnie chose the Epicurean fish and chips, which consisted of battered monkfish tail, with a stack of triple-cooked chips and mushy peas. Jinnie was wondering if she dared ask for tomato sauce for her chips, when a waiter appeared at her side with a tray with sauce boats full of Tatar, tomato and brown sauce. Paolo asked what the brown sauce was, and he was told, “I believe it is HP, Sir, but if that doesn’t suit, I think we have Hammond Chop Sauce, Daddies, and OK Fruity, if you would prefer that.” Jinnie noted Rick’s look of approval.
Jinnie thought the fish and chips the best she had ever had, even when she had visited fishing ports and seaside towns. Once again, they were served a scoop of gin and tonic sorbet before the dessert menu arrived. Jinnie struggled to make up her mind on her dessert as there were so many she fancied. Eventually, she chose lemon meringue tart with whipped cream, raspberries and shortbread and found it to be superb. As usual, it was followed by coffee or tea and chocolate truffles. As Rick finished his second cup of coffee, he said to Jinnie, “Well, I am happy to say that was simply wonderful. I am so glad we decided to join you all here. I have been enjoying the food on board, particularly on Celebration Nights, but this is just another level.”
As they strolled down the passageway to the Crow’s Nest for a nightcap, Jinnie asked Rick how he and Sue had got to the airport. “We took a taxi to Gatwick on the way out,” he replied, “but, going home, we will get the train from Southampton to Bournemouth and then a taxi to the hotel.” “So, you’re in no rush to get home?” asked Jinnie. “No,” said Rick, “there are four or more trains an hour and it only takes between 30 and 45 minutes depending on the train.” “That’s handy,” replied Jinnie, “I wonder if you and Sue would like to join me for lunch at my group’s new hotel and restaurant in Southampton. I would like the opinion of another restauranteur/hotelier as to whether we are on the right course with our refurbishment. It is only a very short taxi ride from the Ocean Terminal and my children’s nanny is meeting us with my car so I will be able to drop you at the station after lunch.” “I would love that,” replied Rick.
***
The last few days were back to the established routine. But the important thing was Jinnie felt wonderful and was now able to run up several flights of stairs. On the last day at sea, Adam said to Jinnie, “Well, you are certainly much improved from the first time I saw you, but I suspect you always were pretty fit, it was only a matter of getting it back. Now I advise to make plenty of use of your neighbour’s pool and exercise machines. But I think that as you will only be keeping your fitness up you only to do one session a day.” Jinnie thanked him and having earlier established that he was a North Londoner she handed him an envelope containing a handwritten voucher for a free meal for him and his partner at the Trattoria Trevi in Potters Bar.
That evening everyone on the dinner table was dressed even more casually than normal. After the meal, they all tipped their waiter and his assistant before heading to the Crow’s Nest for one last nightcap as the Britannia ploughed her way up the channel. Over their drinks, they exchanged names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses before retiring early to put their suitcases outside their cabin doors.
Jinnie woke as the ship was headed up the Solent and called to Paolo, who was already up and on the balcony watching the scenery, “No time for coffee this morning it’s an early breakfast.” “OK,” answered Paolo, “I’m ready to go, so you need to get a move on.” Breakfast in the Epicurean was as nice as always and Jinnie handed tip envelopes to their regular breakfast teams. The Trans Restaurant Manager said, “Thank you, Dame Jinnie, but you know tips are included in the fare?” “Yes,” replied Jinnie, “but it is nice to reward individuals who have given us exquisite service.”
Jinnie and Paolo returned to their suite and picked up their hand luggage, handed another tip envelope over to Raj and headed for the ship’s atrium which was their designated meeting point for their nine o’clock disembarkation time. They had just identified seats, but not sat down, when the Tannoy announced, “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for waiting patiently, our disembarkation process seems to be running early and we now ask all those suite passengers with a nine or nine-thirty disembarkation time to come forward to the exit gangways on Deck 6. Thank you for sailing with us and have a safe onward journey.”
As they were already standing, Jinnie and Paolo quickly turned and headed for the gate to the airbridge to shore. Passing through security they used their ship’s cards to check out and a computerised voice said ‘Goodbye’. They strolled across the airbridge and down an escalator into a huge open space where the luggage was laid out under signs showing deck numbers. Paolo went to look for their bags while Jinnie grabbed a luggage trolley. With their two suitcases on the trolley they joined the short queue for the customs green channel and walked through the empty customs search area. Jinnie noticed the large wall-mounted two-way mirrors and the CCTV cameras and immediately felt guilty although she knew that the giant Toblerones for the family and the sailor bears for the twins didn’t need to be declared.
They rounded two corners and emerged into the glazed foyer of the terminal where the morning sunshine was pouring through the glass. As they followed the crowd out of the glass doors of the foyer, they were hit by the twins crying ‘Mummy’ and throwing their arms around them. People around them were laughing and smiling as Jinnie kissed the twins and urged them not to block the doorway. As they all walked over to where Izzy was waiting for them, Millie said, “Mummy, when you were asleep, we worried you weren’t coming home.” Willie continued, “But when you talked to us on Izzy’s computer, we were so happy and so was Larry, he told us to say ‘Hello’ to you.”
Izzy suggested they stay exactly where they were, outside the Ocean Terminal, while she fetched the Lexus from the short-stay car park. As Izzy nipped over the road to the car park, Jinnie asked the twins what time they had to get up to drive all the way to Southampton so early. Millie said, “We had to get up early so we could watch the ship coming in from the hotel.” With Izzy back with the car and Paolo loading the bags in the boot, Jinnie said to Izzy, “The twins say they watched the ship dock this morning.” “That’s right,” said Izzy, “I didn’t fancy getting up early this morning and rushing down the M3, so I rang the Ennios and explained what was happening. The manager suggested we come down last night after school and we are in the rooms you booked for tonight. Yours was also empty last night, so you can have it straight away. We could see the ship coming up the Solent from the rooms.”
Izzy pulled the car up outside the TT Ennios and the doorman was immediately over to open the near-side passenger doors. As Paolo climbed out of the back and Jinnie the front, the doorman called up a bell boy with a luggage trolley and asked Izzy if she wanted the car parked. When she said, “Yes, please,” he called over a man who Izzy handed the car keys to, and the car slid away. The doorman opened the temporary main door to the hotel, and stood aside holding it open, as the family walked over to the check-in desk and their luggage followed them. Paolo gave his name to the smartly suited receptionist saying, “We have a reservation.” Paolo signed the registration card and the receptionist subtly nodded to a porter who approached the desk where he was told “Room 21”, was handed a keycard and said to Jinnie and Paolo, “If you would like to follow me.” He led the family to the lift and pressed the call button.
***
The family and Izzy were in three adjoining room in a new section of the hotel, over what had been the old convenience store. Jinnie’s first impression was that it was another Belinda triumph. The large room was exactly what she would have expected, modern and luxurious. Jinnie wondered if it was the work of Andrew or Willow? Whoever it was, it was just perfect. Jinnie said to Paolo, “I don’t know who has been busy here, but the place is very different from last time I was here, and I approve.”
A few minutes later there was a discrete knock on the room door and when Paolo opened it, Belinda stood in the doorway. Jinnie said, “I didn’t expect to see you here, it’s Saturday.” Belinda replied, “I have been spending a lot of time down here for the last six weeks. As you can see, we are making excellent progress. Phase one, the convenience store and the coffee shop are done. Phase two, the new premises for the chandlers is nearly finished, we expect to start moving them on Wednesday. Then it’s on to the real work, Phase 3 the new kitchens, and 3a the new entrance and reception then onto Phase 4, further new additional bedrooms. We really need to talk about Phase 5, the cellar bar and events spaces, as we are going to have to put in for planning and after the fight I have had with the council over putting cold rooms down there, I’m thinking it is going to have to be soon.”
Jinnie relied, “Well, I love what you have done with these new rooms. And I can’t wait to see the coffee shop. But I must admit I was surprised to see you at the door, I expected to see Alberto.” “Well, he is here, but he has gone off with Brian to look at the new chandlers, if I say so myself, I think Andrew has done as really good a job on that, as Willow has done on these rooms.” “I wondered whose work these rooms were,” said Jinnie, “it’s just like Melissa’s work, if I didn’t know she was in Italy I would have thought it was her. You must be delighted with Willow.” “I am,” said Belinda. “I have just given her a big wage increase to stop one of the London big boys poaching her.”
Belinda continued, “Brian and Alberto will be delighted to see you back, they have been devoting a lot of time to this project and I think they have found making some of the decisions difficult. You have always made the big decisions and they have just gone along with you.” “Well, I think what I have seen so far is pretty good,” replied Jinnie. “I love the uniformed doorman, whose idea was that?” Belinda smiled and said, “Brian; Jack is one of his old sergeant majors who lives in Southampton and had been commuting to one of the big London hotels. Brian hired him on the same wage as he was earning in London, but he was delighted to move as he was saving his season ticket and three hours commuting a day.”
While Izzy entertained the twins by turning on the Cartoon Channel, Belinda took Jinnie on a site tour ending up in the coffee shop, where they sat down and ordered coffee. The coffee shop was not very busy, but in one corner was a counter given over to Artisan Sandwiches and the queue to be served just never got shorter. Jinnie sipped her coffee and couldn’t help saying, “It’s Jamaica Blue Mountain.” Belinda said, “That’s Alberto’s doing, he said, ‘what’s the point of an upmarket coffee shop if it doesn’t serve upmarket coffee’ and I must say I agree.”
As they chatted, Brooke bustled in the door and headed over to the group’s table. She started off saying her usual, “Hi boss, I hope you don’t mind me muscling in, reception said you’d probably be here. I need to talk to you about this coffee shop. As you can see, it’s very nice and it fits in nicely with the hotel, but I have an idea which I think would make the company a lot more money. I need to chat now before Belinda starts on the hotel reception. You see how busy the Artisan Sandwich counter is, well, let me remind you this is Saturday, you want to see the queue on a weekday, it is enormous.”
“Let me guess, you want to enlarge the sandwich outlet and reduce the coffee shop,” said Jinnie. “Yes and no,” said Brooke. “Yes, I want to enlarge the sandwich outlet, but I want the whole shop and to sell snacks like other branches. Then we move the coffee shop into the hotel reception area, selling coffee and cake to those waiting on those big plush sofas I’ve seen on Belinda’s drawings.” “Interesting,” said Jinnie. Turning to Belinda, she asked, “Can it be done and if so, how difficult would it be?” “Easily accomplished,” replied Belinda, “and not at all expensive. Brooke mentioned it to me a week or so ago and I had Andrew look at it. I reckon if we do it now, it will add only a few thousand to the overall costs, peanuts in the overall project costs.” “Let’s do it then,” said Jinnie looking at the queue for takeaway sandwiches.
In Chapter 7 – Back to work
© WorthingGooner 2024
