Leaving on a jet plane
Christmas – it’s fight or flight time. Yes, that happy time of year when family gatherings so often end in tears.
It’s either the drunken, sincere ones shed by members of the family who are grateful they haven’t had to cook Christmas dinner for 14, or the ones who erupt spontaneously when nobody compliments the hostess on her culinary skills but everyone complains about the crackers and the bread sauce.
And then there are those that come as a result of the pasting Uncle Jim has been promising cousin Warren since he let down his tyres on Boxing Day last year…
Small wonder then, that so many choose the flight option, seeking separation at the furthest possible distance from their nearest and dearest. We’ve been doing quite a trade in sending clients to warmer climes this season, but the most intriguing request to leave these shores before Christmas came from an Australian chap.
Having met a Dorset lass while Down Under, the couple had returned to live in Dorset. However, after just 11 days in the UK, the Dorset lass decided that he didn’t fit in with the familiar landscape of home. The relationship that had blossomed in the sunny Outback of Australia withered in the damp depths of Dorset…
Utterly ‘gutted’ (his word) he decided to book a flight home as soon as possible. We all agreed it was best to find out sooner rather than later (after all, there’s still lots of the Australian summer to be had) and, as one rather mercenary colleague put it, he still has time to take the Christmas presents back for a refund…
Mistletoe and whine
On the subject of Christmas presents, we’ve already witnessed at first hand the disagreement they can cause.
In November, a woman popped into the shop to purchase a surprise gift for her husband and 10-year-old son in the form of a trip to Lapland to see Santa Claus.
She was so smug and proud of herself that she couldn’t keep the secret and told them when they were going. Instead of watching their faces overcome with joy, neither of them looked especially happy at the news. The husband wasn’t keen as he’s not a fan of cold places and the son questioned the existence of Santa in the first place (they grow up so quickly these days.)
Throughout the booking process, the woman had queried the paperwork and, having picked up the tickets, she came back to the shop to complain that there was no ‘Santa’s gift voucher’ in her pack.
Rick rang Canterbury Travel who explained that the invoice shows a child’s £15 discount and the accompanying paperwork explains the idea is that the parent buys a gift to the value of £15 which the man in the red suit then gives the child thus ensuring the child ends up with the gift of his choice.
This strikes me as a good idea. How many times do children visit Santa in his many grottos at the supermarket, the toy store and the Christmas fare, only to end up disappointed not only by the nylon quality of his beard and the moth-eaten nature of his suit, but by the utter inappropriateness of the present.
Boys receiving My Little Pony models and girls walking out in tears with Action Man (mind you, I know plenty of girls who’d be more than happy to be stepping out with an Action Man). But back to our unhappy client.
“If I’m buying the present, doesn’t that make me Mother Christmas?” she shrieked. “What is the point of them flying all that way to queue up for hours for Santa to give him the present I’ve bought?”
With that, she flounced out of the shop. Rick was heard to mutter, ‘Bah, humbug’.
That’s the spirit
Another unwelcome Christmas surprise came in the form of a flight cancellation for clients due to travel out to Gran Canaria in February with First Choice.
The Bristol flight had been cancelled and the family was offered an alternative from Gatwick. However, as they live in Dorset the family was unhappy at the greater distance they’d be required to travel. I hit the phones.
After a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, trying other operators and so on, I went back to Danielle at First Choice who had found some flights from Exeter. The holiday was more expensive but First Choice agreed to waive the flight supplements. However, this gesture was not sufficient for the client who suggested they should also pay for her car parking as her father would have driven her to Bristol but would not drive her to Exeter.
By the time I got back to First Choice with the client’s final response, Danielle had left for the day but Christine took over admirably. She could see how many times I’d rung and how many alternatives had been offered. I commented that, after the day I’d had, I was looking forward to sitting down with a large glass of wine.
Christine said she’d raise a glass to me that evening as she was playing the role of rugby widow, her partner being at a festive rugby do (I remember those; opening the front door to find half the pack rucking and mauling in the drive while the others practised a line out with the neighbour’s cat.)
We agreed on which special offer supermarket wine it would be (Christine proved to be even more clued up than me) and by then, the booking was confirmed.
I wished her and her team a very Merry Christmas, and I’d like to take this opportunity to extend the same good wishes to you… Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year.
