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The twins had gone to the club, and the adults were happily installed on loungers by the infinity pool with nice cold glasses of Pepsi Max for the ladies and a Doom Bar for Paolo. It was always easier to get a lounger on port days when huge numbers went ashore, and Barcelona seemed to be a very popular port of call, as there were fewer people about than on most port days. Jinnie was still pondering an upmarket chain of French restaurants but couldn’t be bothered to do the calculations to prove its viability or otherwise until she was in the office. There was no rush; it was a long-time project, but the more she thought about it, the more she fancied the idea. She had already settled on a name; it would be Bistro Jumeaux in honour of her children.
Jinnie was dragged from her thoughts by her mobile ringing and grabbed it, answering on the third ring without looking at who was calling. The voice in her ear said, “Hello, Boss, I’m just reporting in.” Brooke continued, “Sorry I haven’t been in touch; it’s been a bit hectic setting up Bearcat Contract Catering (UK). We worked all weekend and we have a basic company up and running with a small team. Things are a bit of a lash-up, but it’s all coming together. Belinda dragged in a huge team and decorated and carpeted about a third of the floor. Nige has got the under-floor cabling sorted, and we have a dozen people on the team with desks and computers.”
“Gosh, that’s quick,” said Jinnie, “but can I take a step back—did you hire Chris Jones?” “Oh, I forgot to tell you,” replied Brooke, “We had a lovely dinner, and I reckoned he was perfect to run the British part of the business with someone to refer up to. I offered him the job, and he hummed and haaed a bit about working in Potters Bar as he currently works in the City of London, in one of those huge towers, and wasn’t sure about working out of town. I explained we run the whole group from Potters Bar, and we have all modern conveniences there. I talked about commuting round the M25 and he talked about his old car not being up to it. So, I shot back with the company car, and I could see he was coming round. So, I added in paying for a move if he didn’t want to commute, estate agents’ fees, all costs included—solicitor, mover, new carpets and curtains and any fees redeeming his current mortgage and setting up a new one. I could see him doing the calculation in his head.”
“So did he say yes?” asked Jinnie. “Not immediately,” answered Brooke, “he said he would have to discuss it with his wife, but I could see he wanted to take the job. It was going to pay him a big wage increase, and he could get a car and a house upgrade. But he has young children and a wife to consider. So, he went away to think about it. It took a day, but he said yes, and has handed in his notice on Friday and started with us on Monday. Legal are talking to his old employers, but he had three weeks’ holiday due and only a month’s notice to give, so it’s not expensive to buy out the week if they are awkward.”
“Excellent,” said Jinnie, “so it’s all going well.” “Yes, apart from poor Seb,” replied Brooke. “He has already learned not to try to keep pace with Sir Nigel. He looked a bit worse for wear on Saturday. Apparently Sir Nigel had ordered in a big meal on Friday evening and paired wines with all three courses and brandy with the coffee. I asked if it was a special celebration, and Seb said, ‘No, it was Nigel’s usual Friday order: prawn cocktail, halibut and lemon tart with cream.’ He said the meal was delicious, but he would have settled for cod and chips and a bottle of beer.”
“That sounds like the Nigel I know,” said Jinnie. “He loves his food and drink. But what about an office for you at Potters Bar?” “Well, Belinda, Alberto and Brian have decided that they want me on the executive floor. Brian said I am a divisional director after all, but there is currently no space, so the answer seems to be to move travel up to the new floor and create an office for me with the other directors. But it will leave a bit more space for a new director if one is appointed.”
“However,” continued Brooke, “travel won’t be moving until the final third of the new floor is complete. Everyone considers getting Bearcat Contract Catering sorted out the most important thing. With the second third of the office done, we will have space to add a lot more Bearcat employees. Most of the other companies want their people back when the tender is in, so we have a decision to make. Do we hire permanent staff now so we are ready to go with an order and maybe have staff we can’t use, or do we wait and hire staff once the order is placed?”
“If you want my opinion, hire a base team now so the others can go back to their companies. If we don’t win the contract, we can absorb them into other jobs or we can retain them as a bidding team for whatever comes up. It’s not going to cost us a fortune as we are already throwing the kitchen sink at this one. Now tell me, how did Belinda do in Hull?”
“She saw a lot of offices, and I think she is recommending a space in a building in a street called Ferensway,” said Brooke. “It is right next to the railway station and the bus station, on the edge of the city centre and easy to get to from the suburbs. She says it has a shared reception, is in good decorative order, but needs new carpets, a couple of offices, and an entry system. Nigel says it has a raised floor for cabling, and the local telecoms, KCOM, have been really helpful. They are sorting out high-speed internet, telephones, and connections to SAP via their own data centre. She also spoke to several of the subcontractors working with the current contractor, and they were more than happy to talk to us. It seems the incumbent is a bit slow paying their invoices.”
“So, things are looking good,” said Jinnie, “you don’t really need me.” “I wouldn’t say that, boss,” replied Brooke, “you made all the decisions about bidding and setting up a Bearcat team.” “But you would have done exactly the same,” said Jinnie, “you didn’t really need me. Now, have we submitted the qualification documents yet? I don’t want to waste a lot of time and money only not to be qualified to bid.” “Yes, we submitted them a couple of days ago. Leah and Seb confirmed that the documents were almost the same as they successfully submitted. The only difference is that we were able to say we already have two contracts with them. Leah says her contacts say there are no problems with the qualifications.”
“Anything else you need my help with, or can I get back to my sunbathing?” asked Jinnie. “I think we are OK,” replied Brooke, “we have started putting the tender together. We have another month before it is due in. They asked for sample menus and we have created some, but we have submitted several questions about favourite menu items. Obviously steak, chops and chips feature heavily. But surprisingly, at least to me, it is pancakes, maple syrup, crispy bacon and eggs on the breakfast menu. I suppose it is because they employ a lot of Americans.”
***
The twins were on the balcony watching the preparations for sailing and laughing as a coach arrived back very late and the passengers were rushed through the terminal building. Izzy told them that they were known as ‘pier runners’ by the crew. Eventually the ship sailed about 30 minutes late and Izzy told the twins, “We are on our way back to Southampton now, only one more port day, Cadiz, then it’s a few days at sea and back to England.”
Willie asked, “Where’s Cadiz?” “It’s right at the very south of Spain,” replied Izzy, “It’s very near where Admiral Nelson’s fleet beat a combined fleet of Spanish and French.” “Was that in the War of Liberation?” asked Millie. “No, it was in 1805 when we were fighting Emperor Napoleon of France. In those days the navy had wooden sailing ships and cannons,” explained Izzy. “You mean like pirates?” asked Willie. “That’s right,” answered Izzy. “We thought pirates and sailing ships were made up,” said Millie. “Well, some of the stories are, like ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’ but there were also real pirates, though it was a long time ago.”
“Mummy asked if we wanted to go to somewhere called Seville or to the beach,” said Willie, “She said we could walk to the beach through the town, but as we walk slowly it might be better to get a taxi, or go on a coach to see Seville.” “Mummy is right,” said Izzy, “the ship docks right in town and there is a park really close. You can walk to the beach through the town, but that bit of the beach gets really crowded when a big ship like ours is in port. It’s much better to get a taxi and go further down the beach where fewer people go, but there are still cafés and restaurants. Did you choose to go to Seville or the beach?” Willie looked at Izzy in amazement before saying, “We chose the beach, of course.”
***
After a day at sea, the ship headed back south and through the straits of Gibraltar early the next morning, before docking in Cadiz. After breakfast, the family headed ashore, but not before collecting a pile of ship’s swimming towels at the top of the gangway. As usual, Millie got the giggles when the mechanical voice said ‘Goodbye’ as she checked out of the ship. They found the taxi queue and sorted out the return trip to a section of beach that wasn’t so busy. The twins listened intently to their mother negotiating with the taxi driver in his broken English, and when they had been dropped on a much less crowded section of the promenade they announced, “We are going to learn Spanish, so we can talk to the people when we come back next year.” Jinnie said, “So you have decided, we are coming back next year.” “Of course,” said Millie.
The taxi dropped them a long way down the prom and arranged to pick them up at 4 o’clock, which gave them plenty of time to get back to the ship before the 5:30 all aboard time. The twins stood on the prom and looked around. They approved the sun was warm, the sand looked good, the beach wasn’t crowded, and the sea looked inviting. But it was the British café on the other side of the road that delighted Willie. “Mummy, please can we go there for lunch?” he asked. “Yes please,” added Millie, “they do Heinz beans on toast.”
The family hired loungers and umbrellas, and the twins set off to dig their usual ‘swimming pool’. They were quickly joined by more children and soon half a dozen kids were busy digging in the damp sand near the water. A channel was dug to the sea and soon half a dozen happy children were splashing in the pool.
Willie wandered up the beach and announced, “Izzy, I’m hungry, is it time for lunch yet?” Jinnie said, “Surely not. You only had breakfast a few minutes ago.” But she looked at her watch and, finding it was nearly 12:15, said, “OK, get your sister and we can go and get your beans.” The twins had their beans on toast, which disappeared very quickly. Paolo had an all-day breakfast, and the girls both had sausage baps with HP Sauce.
Jinnie said, “I really enjoyed that. My bap was just how I like it, soft and fluffy and with loads of butter, and the sausages were good. I wonder where they get them from.” “I agree,” said Izzy, “it was good and made a nice change from a cheeseburger.” “Well, I had a sausage with my fry-up,” said Paolo, “and I would swear it was a proper British banger.”
“Are we going back to the beach?” asked Millie. “Of course,” replied Jinnie, and led them back to their loungers. The twins were immediately back in their ‘swimming pool,’ making it deeper. About 2 o’clock Izzy appeared and asked them if they wanted an ice cream, as she was going to get them for the adults. The twins didn’t have to be asked twice and decided on chocolate and vanilla Cornettos. Izzy returned with the ice creams and Willie wanted to know why it said ‘Frigo’ on the wrapper. Izzy explained that in Britain they were made by Walls, but in other countries they were made by different companies like Frigo in Spain and Algida in Italy, although they were all owned by one big company called Unilever.
Half an hour before the taxi was due, Izzy and Jinnie got the twins out of their sandy swimming costumes and into shorts and T-shirts. Millie wanted to know if mummy was going to pack their spade in a bag that was going to Barbados. Jinnie said, “No, don’t you remember we left buckets and spades in the house there, together with swimming costumes and snorkelling stuff?” “Not really,” said Millie, “it is nearly a year since we were there.”
***
The twins had a wonderful last few days of the cruise at the club, eating burgers for lunch one day, sandwiches the next, and hot dogs the final day. They were delighted when Jinnie told them she had booked to eat one evening in the Epicurean. The twins remembered eating there before and how good it had been. This time they had soup, which came in their own individual jugs, giant Indonesian prawns, which Daddy said were nearly as big as lobsters, and best of all, crêpes Suzette for dessert that was flamed at the table and served with vanilla ice cream.
As they walked back to the cabin after dinner, Millie said, “That was the best dinner ever. It was better than Uncle Alberto’s.” “You’re only saying that because of the crêpes,” replied Jinnie. “They were yummy,” said Willie, “Why doesn’t Uncle Alberto have them?” “I think it’s because they are French and Trattoria Trevi is Italian,” answered Jinnie, “but the Continental in Bridgetown is an ‘international’ restaurant. Perhaps they will do some for you; they made banana splits for you.” “Can we go there twice?” asked Millie, “then we can have both.”
***
The twins were up early to watch Arvia come up the last bit of the Solent and into its berth at the Ocean Cruise Terminal. As the ship eased to the berth they were joined by the adults to watch the heaving line being thrown and the big mooring lines being pulled onto the bollards. They all watched for a few minutes before Paolo said, “Come on kids, it’s time for breakfast. Then we have to disembark and find the shuttle to the hotel and pick up the car.”
Jinnie and Izzy stood to one side of the luggage hall with luggage trolleys while Paolo and the twins went on a suitcase hunt. Jinnie and Izzy had tied bright green ribbons on the handles so they were easy to find. Willie was first to find one and Paolo lifted it out of the row of cases and dropped it on Jinnie’s trolley. It didn’t take long to find all seven cases, and they were soon through the customs hall and out in the pick-up and drop-off zone, where Paolo was first to spot the Ennios shuttle bus driver.
As they pulled away from the terminal the driver asked, “Are you staying at the hotel overnight, madam, or should I radio for your car to be brought up?” Jinnie answered, “Call for the car please. We are staying at an Ennios tonight, but not this one. We are flying to Barbados tomorrow morning, so we are at the Heathrow Ennios tonight.” “OK, I’ll call for your car, but I expect we will be there before it arrives.”
The Lexus arrived while the luggage was being unloaded from the shuttle bus, so the two drivers and Paolo loaded the suitcases, and the twins and Izzy slipped into the back. Jinnie got in the driver’s seat and said to the twins, “Do you think I can remember how to drive?” which made them giggle. Paolo tipped the drivers and climbed into the front passenger seat, and they were off through the busy streets of Southampton. The M3 was busy but mainly with traffic heading towards Southampton. As they drove along, suddenly Willie said, “Are we going home?” “No,” replied Izzy. “We are going to the Ennios Heathrow.” “But that sign said ‘London 32 miles,’” said Willie. Jinnie chuckled before saying, “That’s because Heathrow Airport is on the outskirts of West London and the Ennios is close to it, so travellers can stay there.”
Eventually the Lexus arrived in the Ennios car park, and Millie cried, “There’s Uncle Nigel’s car and I can see Freddie and Uncle Nigel.” Jinnie parked alongside the Bentley and the cruise cases were swapped for the Caribbean cases. Jinnie drove to the hotel entrance and, much to the twins’ amusement, the cases were taken out by a bellboy and loaded on a luggage trolley. The bellboy and trolley accompanied the family to reception, where Jinnie checked in. The receptionist said, “Good morning, Dame Jinnie, welcome to the Ennios Heathrow Airport. You have been upgraded to the executive floor,” and handed over the keycards to three rooms. “Will you be dining in the hotel this evening?” she added.
Jinnie turned to Sir Nigel and Freddie, who were checking in next to them, and asked, “Would you and Freddie like to join us for dinner this evening? It will be early because of the twins.” “You don’t have to ask me twice when good food is concerned,” replied Sir Nigel. “Can we have a table for seven at 6:30, please? Sir Nigel and his chauffeur will be joining us.” The receptionist said, “Of course, Dame Jinnie. I have noted that you are to have the best table. It’s not often we have two main board directors staying with us.”
Izzy had only just finished sorting out the twins’ overnight things when Willie said, “I’m hungry, is it lunchtime yet?” Izzy replied, “You’re always hungry, I think you’ve got hollow legs.” But 15 minutes later everyone was gathered in the snack bar and a few minutes later the twins were tucking into poached eggs on toast, while everyone else had toasties. After lunch, Paolo suggested that they retire to the Panorama Bar on the top floor of the hotel, where there was an excellent view over the north runway and the twins could watch the planes taking off and landing. The twins were amazed at how busy the runway was, with never fewer than three or four planes visible in the air, queuing up to land.
The twins had to be dragged away to get ready for dinner, grumbling all the way. But once in the restaurant they settled down to looking at the extensive menu. They had a whispered conversation and Willie said, “We have decided it’s leek and potato soup, rack of lamb and ice cream.” “I thought you two liked tomato soup,” said Jinnie. “We do,” replied Millie, “but we liked leek and potato when we had it in the Epicurean on the ship.” “Well, it’s nice to see you trying new things,” said Paolo. “Well, I for one think you have made excellent choices,” said Uncle Nigel, “in fact I’m going to join you in the rack of lamb, it’s one of my favourites. But I’m not going to have a starter as I want to leave room for sticky toffee pudding and custard.”
Millie finished her mixed ice cream, put her spoon in the bowl, wiped her mouth with the serviette and said, “That was good.” Willie joined her by saying, “I agree, it was good, especially the lamb.” Uncle Nigel added, “Yes, Willie, the lamb was really good, but my pudding was fantastic. The custard was perfect, not a single lump.” “School custard is always lumpy,” replied Willie.
***
Paolo was supervising the luggage being loaded onto the hotel’s airport shuttle bus. Izzy was ensuring the twins had their rucksacks, had got their seat belts on, and were moaning about it being very early and that they hadn’t had any breakfast. Jinnie went to reception to settle the bill and to ensure the Lexus was okay parked where it was for the duration of the holiday. The receptionist saw Jinnie get out her black Visa debit card and TT SuperBurger staff card for her staff discount and said, “Good morning, Dame Jinnie. I’m happy to tell you that there is no charge on your account. We don’t charge main board directors for accommodation, food, or drink. In addition, I understand you are leaving your car with us for the duration of your trip to the Caribbean. If you would like to give me the keys, I will have John move it to our secure compound while you are on holiday.”
Jinnie sat down next to Paolo, who said, “Why the smirk?” “Well, apparently Rick has introduced a free-stay directive for main board directors, so our stay, food and parking were on the house.” “If I’d known, I would have had the surf n’ turf instead of the ribeye steak,” said Paolo. “Mind you, the ribeye was pretty good.” “What’s surf n’ turf?” asked Millie. Jinnie answered, “The surf bit is usually seafood of some sort, and the turf is usually a steak because cattle live on grass. But daddy was saying that because in the restaurant last night it was a lobster tail and fillet steak, and it was the most expensive thing on the menu.” Millie and Willie were quiet for a bit, then Willie said, “When we are restaurant critics, we’ll come back and try that.”
They were dropped off at Terminal 3 and were quickly through check-in, and as usual upgraded to Upper Class and dispatched through the express security channel to the No. 1 Club Lounge. As soon as they entered, Jinnie said, “Gosh, this is much more upmarket than the clubhouse we are usually entitled to use with Upper Class.” The ground staff girl on the door who had checked their boarding cards heard her and replied, “This is our frequent Upper Class traveller and VIP lounge, Dame Jinnie. If you would like to take a seat, the waiter will be over shortly with the breakfast menu.”
The twins had perked up at the thought of breakfast and were only a little disappointed that boiled eggs weren’t on the menu. Instead, they decided on scrambled eggs and bacon and pancakes with toffee and Devon cream drizzle, which they declared to be scrummy. They were busy watching the planes taxiing from the observation windows when the flight was called for Upper Class passengers with children, and so they were some of the first to board and were settled in with glasses of orange juice when the rest of the Upper Class passengers arrived.
The twins made a habit of ingratiating themselves with the cabin crew, as they had flown so many times now, they knew that being nice got them extras, and both got packets of savoury biscuits with their drinks and the promise of kids’ travel packs as soon as they were in the air. The plane taxied out to join a queue at the easterly end of the northern runway (27R), where they had watched planes landing the day before. Paolo explained that the airport had two parallel runways and used one for take-offs and one for landings, but switched them over at 3pm every day so as to make it less noisy for people under the flight paths.
The plane taxied onto the runway, paused for a moment as the engines spooled up, and then raced down the runway and soared into the air. The noise of the wheels coming up didn’t worry the twins, who were already deep into watching The Little Mermaid for the umpteenth time. As they passed over Windsor Castle, Millie glanced out of the window and said, “I recognise that, it’s one of the king’s homes. I wonder if George is there today.” Izzy leant forward and said, “He is at Sandringham until he flies out to join us in a couple of weeks.”
***
The plane banked over Bridgetown and the captain announced, “For those of you joining a cruise ship here, if you are seated on the port side of the aircraft you can see three ships in the cruise port.” Willie said loudly, “Not this time,” and the adults chuckled. The plane thumped onto the runway, the engines roared as reverse thrust was engaged, and the Airbus slowed quickly before turning off the runway and coming to a halt outside the main terminal building.
As Upper Class passengers they were first off and had their suitcases before all the economy passengers were in the baggage hall. The family were quickly through customs and out into the Caribbean heat. As usual, Paolo went to get the hire car while the others waited in the shade. Jinnie looked at her watch; it was only just after 2 in the afternoon. Turning to Izzy, she said, “I don’t think we have ever got here this early before.” Izzy replied, “Well, the flight was very early out of Heathrow.” Jinnie said, “I haven’t told the children yet, but we are flying Virgin for the Christmas cruise.” “You mean we are flying scheduled instead of the usual P&O charter?” replied Izzy. “No,” said Jinnie, “it’s a charter, but P&O have taken a Virgin plane from Heathrow and, of course, it comes with all the usual classes at a supplement, so we are all in Upper Class.” “The twins will love that,” said Izzy. “So will Mum and Dad,” replied Jinnie.
In Chapter 19: More ideas
© WorthingGooner 2026
