Went right to work with Kat again this morning. We made
an almost immediate bond - worked well together (‘plays with other well,’ as
used to be written in my kindergarten report card). I really enjoyed our
partnership, as we serviced almost every room in the hotel – in other words,
tidied the rooms of stay-over guests, as opposed to complete change-overs. She
admitted that the reason she works is NOT because she needs the money, like
most other women I’ve come across (her husband has a very good job in railroad
management), but rather because she wants to be out doing something – having
her finger in the pie, as it were– of her own choosing, every day. PLUS it brings
in a little extra money (‘for the kids’ – similar reasoning most moms claim to
do it. Also, in this type of work, the hours are flexible, so she can do it
while her kids are at school. (Megan 15, and Rhis, 13: she told me a little
about them and it sounds like they are pretty great kids – working hard,
involved in a number of extracurricular activities. In fact, Megan is already
doing a little chambermaiding of her own.)
But the thing that really drew me to Kat is that
she can see the irony in the craziness of what is going on all around us. The antics
and incongruity of the coo family who runs the hotel: Loraine – full of fun but
alternately with her wild demands and vociferous lectures, her sons’ roller
coaster ride between incompetency and creativity, Charlotte’s incredible skills
in some areas of hoteling and downright inability in others, Andy’s coming and
goings and how it affects Loraine. Then there is the ‘held together with
chewing gum’ ancient hotel structure itself and all those associated contingencies.
But best of all are the guests and the verity of situations they have presented
– what daft things she is going to come across: what they do, or don’t do, what
they leave behind and how they’ve done it. (Just today she was pointing out a
pair of dentures on a bedside table.) It’s going to be a wild ride - there
should be plenty to keep you in stitches! (Kat indicated that the delight of
the unpredictability is a big part of what keeps her coming back. What crazy
shenanigans will she encounter next?! She obviously can stand outside of any
tense moments that occasionally occur and see them as a temporary part of the
ongoing eccentricities of life at the Richmoor.)
Brrr, one degree above freezing here this
afternoon – sounds pretty awful until you compare it to Provo with 0 degrees,
when I last checked at 6:45am, their time. (Of course, then there’s that little
Fahrenheit to Celsius conversion thing that must be taken into consideration . . .)
The Ayles always seem to follow me about
(room-wise anyway), like bees to a picnic. Wherever my room is, there’s seems
to be somewhere close by. (Said tongue-in-cheek as this is just a silly coincidental
observation.) In fact, just heard Brother Ayles’ homey, incessant humming
coming closer, down my hallway – made me realize that in all my room moves I
have ALWAYS been located on the first floor. I think I shall have to try for
the second or the third floor the next time I feel up to a temporary,
short-termed move.
Loraine is one fun-loving person, a trait to which
I can positively attest – readily apparent to me, almost immediately, when I showed
up for the Singles Convention at the hotel, back in November. It is one of
those characteristics that attracts people to her – because everyone likes fun!
(Just realized that’s why she’s always doing those silly quizzes!) Themes are a
good structure around which to fabricate fun. That first time I came it had been
Christmas as the focal point – went really well with the decorations she had
put up good and early in November. (This next convention in February will be
centered around crime, mystery, murder and mayhem; a perfect theme for
Valentine’s Day – don’t you agree?!)
Today was NO exception. Loraine, who likes to do
‘wild and crazy’ things, had devised a plan, and ordered the supplies, to turn the
guests’ morning and evening dining experiences into Richmoor Hotel’s own
version of Fawlty Towers. ‘Course she didn’t bother giving any of her patsies forewarning,
or hardly any choice, for that matter. She and Andy were Mr and Mrs Fawlty,
Ricky was Manuel, but no Polly, as not one of the other young women was willing
to stick their neck out. As for me, I merely said, ‘what the heck, I’ll do it –
I’m game!’
Fawlty Towers was a low-budget British sitcom produced by the
BBC, first broadcast in 1972 and 1979. (How time flies – that suddenly seems
like such a LONG time ago!) The show was written by
John Cleese and his then wife
Connie Booth, both of whom also starred in the show, and was made up of
two-years worth of six episodes each. The series is
set in Fawlty Towers, a fictional hotel in the seaside town of Torquay, on the ‘English
Riviera.’ (The young man playing the character of ‘Jack’ in the recent pantomime
production of Jack in the Beanstalk, and his visiting colleagues, were from all
from Torquay {pronounced like ‘key’}, a coastal town located about 50 miles as
the crow flies, 80 miles by land a couple hors due south and west, as you
follow the outline of the coast around.) The plots centred around tense, rude
and put-upon owner Basil Fawlty (Cleese), his bossy wife Sybil,
a comparatively normal chambermaid Polly (Booth), and hapless Spanish waiter
Manuel and their attempts to run the hotel amidst farcical
situations and an array of demanding and eccentric guests.
From that seemingly inauspicious beginning – taking into
account the limited number of seasons it ran (by today’s standards), as well as
how long it’s been since it first ran, Fawlty Towers was voted best British
television series of all time by industry professionals. It used to be a part
of KUED’s the British Comedies lineup, and I never paid much attention. Now am I sorry! ‘Cause, we ARE FawltyTowers!
(Knowing what I know about what goes on behind the scenes, I’m a little surprised
Loraine wanted to inch that close to an obvious comparison . . .)
For the antics today, both Andy and Ricky were wearing silly
moustaches and teeny black bowties; me in a little white apron. (Andy, who is very witty, in and of himself,
was MADE for the part of Mr Fawlty. Whereas Ricky as the Spanish waiter seemed
to hate every minute of it, was very uncomfortable – you could tell – and was
having a hard time getting outside his box. I did my best to play the part of a
‘fairly normal chambermaid,’ but, alas, knew very little about what was
supposed to be going on, so was not as winning as I could have been – alas, untapped
talent.) Some pretty hilarious things went on in the dining room – some
involving the most real-looking rat I think I’ve ever seen.
Loraine had even persuaded her older son, Junior, and his pregnant partner, Lisa, to drive down several hours to participate in this evening’s dinner ‘entertainment.’ They sat incognito at a table, planted there as they pretended to be pushed, prodded, and duly insulted by Mr. Fawlty – all the while, Mrs. Fawlty attempting to keep her husband in tow. There were several uncomfortable scenes – for the uninitiated, until they caught on to what was going on. Eventually, after several courses and scripted lines of shenanigans, the ‘couple’ stood up, pushed themselves away from the table and stormed out. The whole thing was pretty hilarious. ‘Fawlty Towers’ went off and on throughout the entire length of both meals.
Loraine had even persuaded her older son, Junior, and his pregnant partner, Lisa, to drive down several hours to participate in this evening’s dinner ‘entertainment.’ They sat incognito at a table, planted there as they pretended to be pushed, prodded, and duly insulted by Mr. Fawlty – all the while, Mrs. Fawlty attempting to keep her husband in tow. There were several uncomfortable scenes – for the uninitiated, until they caught on to what was going on. Eventually, after several courses and scripted lines of shenanigans, the ‘couple’ stood up, pushed themselves away from the table and stormed out. The whole thing was pretty hilarious. ‘Fawlty Towers’ went off and on throughout the entire length of both meals.
(The Ayles and their niece vising from Worchester (Wooster) –
very close to Birmingham, (daughter to David’s sister with Alzheimer’s) had
arranged to have dinner in the restaurant this evening. I took it upon myself
to explain the situation to Lynn beforehand. She said she was very glad that I
had – otherwise she might have mistakenly thought the whole operation had gone
bonkers!) Fun stuff!
Taking into account the number of hours I’m
putting in, compared to what I’m taking out in terms of food and lodging, pretty
sure my daughter thinks I’m getting the short end of the stick. But, then, this
is how I look at it: Loraine is affording me an EXPERIENCE – one that no amount
of money could buy. Honestly, I feel like I should be paying HER!
Photos_
1- Fawlty Towers scenario at the Richmoor
Hotel. (The jerkiness of this photo attests to the speed with which everything operates
around here. As I was trying to set up the shot, Loraine was saying, ‘not right
now – we’re in the middle of dinner service!’ But I knew if it didn’t happen ‘right
now!’ it wouldn’t happen at all.’ Tom snapped it and, to please his mom,
hurried!
2- Connie Booth, John Cleese, Andrew Sachs and Prunella Scales
2- Connie Booth, John Cleese, Andrew Sachs and Prunella Scales
3- David Ayles – 79 and never missed a lick in
his life! (That's his Sherlock hat that he grabbed as he went out the door today - he said sometimes he likes to wear it sideways just to get a rise.)
