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I'd put in for four
days off in the 'off' book. Had some business to take care of in the
North. I asked one of the office managers if it would be ok, and he
said it would be, slightly hurriedly and dismissively, but, he assured me it would be ok, so I thought
it would be ok.
It wasn't easy, what
happened in the North, and I won't go into it all here. But I arrived
back in work, Sunday morning, tired and emotional and sort of broken
inside. Hauling my self as you do when your body's like a dead weight, into the sad canteen, I sat down and confided in one of my
new Polish friends.
She's a divorcee and mother of one in her early 40s; a veteran of the European hotel industry. Thin and shrewd with large, attentive eyes, she hears me out and then shakes her head sympathetically. 'It's better' she says, 'Trust me. You'll have peace, holy peace'. I nod and sip my tea
tearfully.
Would this motivate you?...
When I get downstairs
to the basement I'm told 'They're looking for you'. 'They' meaning the
Management.
'Where were you on
Wednesday?', says the main office manager, an Indian woman in her late 40s who I've never seen smile.
She barely looks up from her paperwork. One of the supervisors, Leva from Latvia, is standing beside her staring directly at me, wide-eyed and riled.
She barely looks up from her paperwork. One of the supervisors, Leva from Latvia, is standing beside her staring directly at me, wide-eyed and riled.
'I'd put in the off
book that I'm taking a few days off'.
'You don't just write
in the book what you want and you get what you want! Do you think
that everyone who writes what they want gets what they want? You
cannot all have the days off that you want'.
St-ress.
I mean, they guarantee
me just four hours per week in my contract, I'm virtually bogus self
employed, what do I really owe them? I feel like I'm freelance.
'But I asked the
supervisor here and...'
Barked interruption:
'You were supposed to work and you were not here and it created many
problems for us'.
'But why didn't you
call me?
I might as well have
asked them for a warm buttered croissant brought to me on a silver
tray.
'CALL YOU? We don't
call you, you call US!'
Because I don't like
being yelled at, and I'm feeling bad enough as it is, I don't
respond. I slink off and wait to sign in at the window.
When it comes to doling
out our allocation sheets, rape alarms and master keys, I'm left
waiting.
The girls scramble to
sign in, grab their sheets, and scan them intently. How many super-suites, how many departure rooms? How hard is the day going to be? Often there'll be
rueful groans and sighs. Sundays are the worst. So many departures
meaning a much more intense clean and monitoring by the supervisors.
They take their trays
and cloths and get going to the lift. I’m last. My name is on the
rota and list, and I've signed in, but there is no number of rooms by my
name.
'I don't have any rooms
allocated' I say once everyone has gone save for one of the office
helpers who also cleans the public areas. She's standing next to me.
The office manager
shouts from her desk: 'Yes, you have no rooms because we didn't know
if you were going to turn up or not'.
'But you knew I was
coming, I was on the rota!'.
The response is for
both her and the supervisor to start shouting at me at the same time.
I can't make out what they're saying. They're just outraged that I'm
talking back to them, questioning them even.
'I can't hear you when
you're both shouting at me?', I say firmly, 'Can you stop shouting at
me? This is abusive behaviour'.
Well that goes down
like a bomb.....
Thankyou for writing this blog. It's always a really interesting read. The amount of times I've used hotel room in the past and not really thought about what goes on behind the scenes shames me. Thanks again.
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ReplyDelete"She's a divorcee and mother of one in her early 40s; a veteran of the European hotel industry. Thin and shrewd with large, attentive eyes, she hears me out and then shakes her head sympathetically. 'It's better' she says, 'Trust me. You'll have peace, holy peace'. I nod and sip my tea tearfully. " Well Anthem Veterans Memorial has a lot to say about this!
ReplyDelete"It wasn't easy, what happened in the North, and I won't go into it all here. But I arrived back in work, Sunday morning, tired and emotional and sort of broken inside. Hauling my self as you do when your body's like a dead weight, into the sad canteen, I sat down and confided in one of my new Polish friends."
ReplyDeleteI hear Libby's sister is looking for mates. Maybe you could help her out?
In the late 18th century the harvesting of kelp became a significant activity,[94] but from 1822 onward cheap imports led to a collapse of this industry throughout the Hebrides.[95] During the 19th century, the inhabitants of Skye were also devastated by famine and Clearances. Thirty thousand people were evicted between 1840 and 1880 alone, many of them forced to emigrate to the New World.[2][96] The "Battle of the Braes" involved a demonstration against a lack of access to land and the serving of eviction notices. The incident involved numerous crofters and about 50 police officers. This event was instrumental in the creation of the Napier Commission, which reported in 1884 on the situation in the Highlands. Disturbances continued until the passing of the 1886 Crofters' Act and on one occasion 400 marines were deployed on Skye to maintain order.[97] The ruins of cleared villages can still be seen at Lorgill, Boreraig and Suisnish in Strath Swordale,[98][99] and Tusdale on Minginish.[93][100]
ReplyDeleteSkye has a rich heritage of ancient monuments from this period. Dunvegan Castle has been the seat of Clan MacLeod since the 13th century. It contains the Fairy Flag and is reputed to have been inhabited by a single family for longer than any other house in Scotland.[89] The 18th-century Armadale Castle, once the home of Clan Donald of Sleat, was abandoned as a residence in 1925, but now hosts the Clan Donald Centre.[90] Nearby are the ruins of two more MacDonald strongholds, Knock Castle, and Dunscaith Castle (called "Fortress of Shadows"), the legendary home of warrior woman, martial arts instructor (and, according to some sources, Queen) Scáthach.[18][91] Caisteal Maol, a fortress built in the late 15th century near Kyleakin and once a seat of Clan MacKinnon, is another ruin.[72]
ReplyDeleteIn July 1933, O'Duffy announced plans for a parade by the Blueshirts in Dublin to commemorate Michael Collins, Arthur Griffith, and Kevin O'Higgins. An annual march to Leinster Lawn to commemorate the three pro-Treaty nationalists had been held until Fianna Fáil came to power in 1932.[2] De Valera feared a similar coup d'état as seen in Italy and the Special Branch raided the houses of prominent people aligned with Cumann na nGaedheal to seize their firearms.[50] On 11 August, de Valera reinstated the Constitution (Amendment No. 17) Act 1931, banned the parade and placed Gardaí outside of key locations.[51] 48 hours before the planned march, 200 men were recruited into an auxiliary special branch of the police soon nicknamed the Broy Harriers.[2]
ReplyDeleteFine Gael meetings were often attacked by IRA members and O'Duffy's touring of rural towns resulted in tensions and violence.[59] On 6 October 1933 O'Duffy was involved in disturbances in Tralee during which he was hit with a hammer on the head and had his car torched as he attempted to attend a Fine Gael convention.[60] De Valera used the violence to justify a crackdown on Blueshirt activities. A raid on the Young Ireland Association found evidence that it was the National Guard under another name, and the organisation was once again banned.[61] O'Duffy responded with a speech in Ballyshannon where referred to himself as a republican and declared that "whenever Mr de Valera runs away from the Republic and arrests you Republicans, and puts you on board beds in Mountjoy, he is entitled to the fate he gave Mick Collins and Kevin O’Higgins".[62] O'Duffy was arrested by the Gardaí several days later.[63] He was initially released on appeal but was summoned to appear before the Military Tribunal two days later and charged with membership of an illegal organisation and incitement to murder the president of the executive council, however, they were unable to convict him of either charge.[64]
ReplyDelete