Pat’s plate runneth over
I caught up with my old pal Pat Waterton of Langley Travel recently.
Regular readers may remember that Pat suffered an injury to her ankle at the Elite conference some weeks ago (something about dancing in the shower – don’t ask) and ended up confined to a wheelchair for a time.
As she now comments to her clients, there are no lengths to which she will not go to research every possible area of her products, including wheelchair access.
Thankfully, although not yet back at work, Pat is now well on the road to recovery and is up on her feet again, though she has had to ditch her glamorous heels in favour of flat slip-ons as there is still some swelling to her lower leg.
I suggested that a glass of wine might help the circulation, but Pat declared she’d given up drink in spite of having a special birthday in the offing.
This has happened before. The last time she gave up, she told me it was the worst two hours of her life, so I remained to be convinced. However, this time around, the stakes were far higher.
She was asked by her pregnant daughter, Janet, to be a birthing partner. Janet emphasised that Pat should remain alert and in control at all times as she herself was planning on losing control totally.
In the event, she was given very little notice. Janet’s labour proved to be a very 21st century affair. Her husband had invested in a helpful labour timing device which measured the frequency and duration of contractions before alerting the couple to set off for the hospital. Don’t you just love men? Any excuse to purchase a gadget. I wonder if she’d have preferred a massage and a ham sandwich.
In no time the flags on the device had gone green and Pat had the call to dash to the delivery room. There, without Pat passing out or hijacking the gas and air, baby Harry was born, weighing 8lb 5oz.
As if a new baby grandson and a big birthday were not enough to be getting on with, Pat then had a call from her son who was flying out to Japan to take up a teaching post. He wanted her to rescue him. The threat he faced? An excess baggage charge for his snowboards. She’s desperate to get back to work. So much easier than dealing with the family!
It doesn’t register
Staying on the domestic front, I hear that Peltours sales and marketing director Darren Panto was in a spin following a phone message taken by a colleague.
‘Call Louise from Barnet Register Office’ read the slip of paper on his desk.
Darren’s mind raced.
Barnet Register Office had been the backdrop of numerous personal events; he and wife Gabi had applied for their marriage licence there, Gabi had given birth to Emily and, more recently, baby Alexander at Barnet General and he’d registered the births there.
Or had he?
Doubts began to creep in. Alex is now 10 months old. The prospect of Gabi discovering that his birth hadn’t been registered filled Darren with the kind of dread that every husband who has been a bit rubbish at personal admin will recognise.
Hot and cold, he rang the register office to find out whether he could expect a warm embrace or the cold shoulder when he got home.
“What is it regarding?” came the voice at the switchboard.
“I don’t know,” said Darren, “but whatever it is, don’t tell my wife.”
He was connected to the mysterious Louise. She asked him if he was aware of the number of people passing through the register office and would he like to advertise on their new video screen?
The relief that surged through him would have been enough to power that video screen for a month, but he wasn’t persuaded to take her up on the offer…
A festive flop
The Lapland New Forest Christmas catastrophe has been a big story locally and I feel sorry that so many good people have lost money to the cynical and exploitative operation.
In the past I have had to deal with the frustrated expectations of families who have travelled all the way to the real Lapland where sometimes it is muddy rather than snowy and buses rather than sleds are used to transport folk to Santa.
Disappointment was inevitable in the New Forest, I’m afraid – the clue was in the title.
Maureen Hill works at Travel Angels, Gillingham, Dorset
