An alarming tale
It was worth the two-and-a-half hours train journey from Dorset to London to attend the Association of Women Travel Executives Christmas lunch at the Grosvenor House Hotel. The company was great. I was a guest of Richard English of Retraining who had also brought along my old friend Chris Grant, giving us a welcome chance to catch up with each other.
Over pre-lunch drinks, Chris and I stood with Paula Hickey of Page and Moy training department and chatted. By way of giving Paula the lowdown on Chris, I mentioned that fire, or the prospect of one, seems to follow her around and recounted the episode which had Chris leading students away from a hotel fire in an involuntary drill.
Just as I finished, the fire alarm at the Grosvenor House Hotel sounded and cut short our conversation. We all looked at Chris in expectation of some instructions as to what to do next, her being used to such situations.
We were all ready to wrap our heads in a wet towel but she continued to sip her champagne with nonchalance so we assumed it was a false alarm. Thankfully she was right, and there were no flames at which to throw our drinks!
Lunch was the traditional Christmas fare with good wine to accompany it and it was with comfortably full bellies we listened to our first speaker, Janet Anderson MP.
Janet has always maintained a special interest in women’s issues ranging from health and home affairs to employment rights and protection and is currently under secretary of state for tourism and film for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
Belonging to what has been perhaps the most exclusive men’s club, namely the House of Commons, Janet felt fully qualified to speak to us and expressed her understanding of the need for a women’s club in the travel industry.
A few home truths
Our second speaker was the stand up comedienne, Jenny Eclair, whose one-woman show, Mrs Nosey Parker was a sell-out.
Jenny’s observations on life were acute and pithy and she touched on aspects familiar to us all. She came rather too close for comfort however when she explained why she doesn’t drink at lunchtime.
With glasses in our hands we laughed as she cautioned that women who drink over lunch head home in a state of inebriation, get side-tracked by the shops and buy something yellow and expensive.
In the sober aftermath they are obliged to lie to their partners and claim it was a bargain, the last in the shop, before putting it in the wardrobe never to take it out again. Many a female hand declined the extra glass from the wine waiter after that
Going, going, gone
As always, the AWTE held an auction and raffle which, this year, was in aid of the children’s charity Barnardo’s. Actor Christopher Timothy conducted the auction and Sarah Kennedy the raffle. Between the two of them, they managed to raise more than £20,000.
Sadly, lunch was over all too soon. Paper hats were discarded and the remaining crackers pulled and it was time to head home. My thanks to all for a super event.
That’s torn it
It’s not often that I find myself in agreement with Anne Robinson but I have to admit that I have felt differently about the woman since my recent luggage debacle. Ms Robinson tells us that clients treatment depends entirely upon which check-in person you get and she is right.
When I checked in at Cairns Airport for the ABTA Convention, my suitcase was two kilos overweight. Two other ladies checked in suitcases heavier than mine with no problems but clearly I arrived at the counter manned by the jobs-worth member of staff.
I offered to pay the excess baggage fee but this was refused and I was ordered instead to remove the offending two kilos from my case. By way of placating me, I was told that this would be less embarrassing if I hopped over the conveyor belt and unpacked where I would only be in partial view.
So it was that in a grotesque parody of The Generation Game, I removed items amounting to two kilos in total. These were then placed in a plastic bag and a label affixed after which it disappeared into the cavern beyond the belt.
I simply couldn’t understand the logic; whether in one bag or two, the luggage weighed the same. I was told that it was a health-and-safety issue: baggage handlers can lift only a certain amount. ‘It’s all in the knees,’ I cried as I demonstrated how a feeble woman can lift a heavy case.
At Heathrow we waited for our baggage with trepidation. Sue Huntingford from Ickenham Travel discovered to her dismay that her brand new suitcase was torn.
I commiserated with her only to look up and spot
my own case whizz past in an equally sorry state. My plastic bag also appeared but with the zip broken, leaving a serious question in my mind about security.
Rest assured I have been on to British Airways to express my views on all these matters. They clearly have problems in this area as they told me there is a six-eight week backlog in dealing with claims!
A case for Santa
So, I can expect some compensation sometime in the new millennium. I had hoped that Father Christmas might have resolved the dispute before the festive season so that I could buy a new suitcase – how else does a woman get her Christmas shopping back on the train? Never mind, perhaps a passing reindeer will give me a lift. Meanwhile, may I wish you all a merry Christmas and health and prosperity for the new year. Let’s hope the millennium celebrations live up to their hype!
An alarming tale
It was worth the two-and-a-half hours train journey from Dorset to London to attend the Association of Women Travel Executives Christmas lunch at the Grosvenor House Hotel. The company was great. I was a guest of Richard English of Retraining who had also brought along my old friend Chris Grant, giving us a welcome chance to catch up with each other.
Over pre-lunch drinks, Chris and I stood with Paula Hickey of Page and Moy training department and chatted. By way of giving Paula the lowdown on Chris, I mentioned that fire, or the prospect of one, seems to follow her around and recounted the episode which had Chris leading students away from a hotel fire in an involuntary drill.
Just as I finished, the fire alarm at the Grosvenor House Hotel sounded and cut short our conversation. We all looked at Chris in expectation of some instructions as to what to do next, her being used to such situations.
We were all ready to wrap our heads in a wet towel but she continued to sip her champagne with nonchalance so we assumed it was a false alarm. Thankfully she was right, and there were no flames at which to throw our drinks!
Lunch was the traditional Christmas fare with good wine to accompany it and it was with comfortably full bellies we listened to our first speaker, Janet Anderson MP.
Janet has always maintained a special interest in women’s issues ranging from health and home affairs to employment rights and protection and is currently under secretary of state for tourism and film for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
Belonging to what has been perhaps the most exclusive men’s club, namely the House of Commons, Janet felt fully qualified to speak to us and expressed her understanding of the need for a women’s club in the travel industry.
A few home truths
Our second speaker was the stand up comedienne, Jenny Eclair, whose one-woman show, Mrs Nosey Parker was a sell-out.
Jenny’s observations on life were acute and pithy and she touched on aspects familiar to us all. She came rather too close for comfort however when she explained why she doesn’t drink at lunchtime.
With glasses in our hands we laughed as she cautioned that women who drink over lunch head home in a state of inebriation, get side-tracked by the shops and buy something yellow and expensive.
In the sober aftermath they are obliged to lie to their partners and claim it was a bargain, the last in the shop, before putting it in the wardrobe never to take it out again. Many a female hand declined the extra glass from the wine waiter after that
Going, going, gone
As always, the AWTE held an auction and raffle which, this year, was in aid of the children’s charity Barnardo’s. Actor Christopher Timothy conducted the auction and Sarah Kennedy the raffle. Between the two of them, they managed to raise more than £20,000.
Sadly, lunch was over all too soon. Paper hats were discarded and the remaining crackers pulled and it was time to head home. My thanks to all for a super event.
That’s torn it
It’s not often that I find myself in agreement with Anne Robinson but I have to admit that I have felt differently about the woman since my recent luggage debacle. Ms Robinson tells us that clients treatment depends entirely upon which check-in person you get and she is right.
When I checked in at Cairns Airport for the ABTA Convention, my suitcase was two kilos overweight. Two other ladies checked in suitcases heavier than mine with no problems but clearly I arrived at the counter manned by the jobs-worth member of staff.
I offered to pay the excess baggage fee but this was refused and I was ordered instead to remove the offending two kilos from my case. By way of placating me, I was told that this would be less embarrassing if I hopped over the conveyor belt and unpacked where I would only be in partial view.
So it was that in a grotesque parody of The Generation Game, I removed items amounting to two kilos in total. These were then placed in a plastic bag and a label affixed after which it disappeared into the cavern beyond the belt.
I simply couldn’t understand the logic; whether in one bag or two, the luggage weighed the same. I was told that it was a health-and-safety issue: baggage handlers can lift only a certain amount. ‘It’s all in the knees,’ I cried as I demonstrated how a feeble woman can lift a heavy case.
At Heathrow we waited for our baggage with trepidation. Sue Huntingford from Ickenham Travel discovered to her dismay that her brand new suitcase was torn.
I commiserated with her only to look up and spot
my own case whizz past in an equally sorry state. My plastic bag also appeared but with the zip broken, leaving a serious question in my mind about security.
Rest assured I have been on to British Airways to express my views on all these matters. They clearly have problems in this area as they told me there is a six-eight week backlog in dealing with claims!
A case for Santa
So, I can expect some compensation sometime in the new millennium. I had hoped that Father Christmas might have resolved the dispute before the festive season so that I could buy a new suitcase – how else does a woman get her Christmas shopping back on the train? Never mind, perhaps a passing reindeer will give me a lift. Meanwhile, may I wish you all a merry Christmas and health and prosperity for the new year. Let’s hope the millennium celebrations live up to their hype!