slovaks are here

Tired of battling with indeginous staff who dont seem to have the remotest idea of work, discpline, professionalism- we decided last year to look at the Central Europeans. First there was the Polish entourage- hardworking, disciplined- but so full of dogma and such internalised paternalism that our liberal attitudes faced a whacking challenge.They were too Black & White whereas we had several distinct shades of grey. They required very clear formal and tight structure for anything they did and we had a free flowing, organic form for in-house staff. Whatever it was, it was difficult for us to gell.

So for now have a team of Slovaks. Professional, work as hard as we do, are caring and seem to carry a lot less baggage.

I hear, through the local grapevine, that several Hotels, Inns and Pubs have international staff. How wonderful, I think, to have small gobal communities everywhere. The big cities have this already but the English Countryside is now experiencing this wonderful "melting pot". About time., I think.

I wonder about the impact of this on English culture and society, as surely most of those who migrate from Europe may stay here. I wonder about their understanding of blackness within society and ponder about the work done for decades by the people of Britain to understand discrimination and black issues. I wonder how this influx of peoples who have never been exposed to the struggles of black culture or colonialism would impact on British people. The issues are so complex, experiences so diverse. A few of the Slovaks who are here have never spoken to black or Asian people before!!!

But for now, we are comfortable with the staff we have. They have integrity, humour and work like F.... So it is Slovakians, for now.

renovating burnout

Step by step, we said. Unhurriedly, we thought. But the gallop of demands from guests spurred us into speed renovation. Without a breath - we moved on from plumbing, painting, wood work, boxing, ceilings, roof, interior to rooms.

The chaos, the choosing of colours, fabric, uphoslstery was a long process. The odd quip from my family "she is not working, just looking at websites". Yes, but which ones ? I poured through websites of Riba, Fired earth, Dulux Heritage, Interior design books, historical books - hoping to glean some idea of colours. I was not content with a colour scheme from the past so I chose a new look- that was a fusion of Indian and English. The paints are RIBA and all the heritage colours highlight the beauty of the architecture. It is elegant and colourful. We took some surprised guests who had stayed in some of the rooms before the renovation. Hah. Their gasps of awe were satisfying.

Then the Cottage - we broke down walls - built a self sufficient house for us - away from the frenetic pace of the hotel.
The geographical separation matters- oh, yes. If not the public would become private and vice versa. A nightmare in hell!!
We often wonder how people who manage B&B's survive. The lack of privacy - no "usness''. To us this is a principle part of our unity - what makes us one family, it is the space that enables us to relax, fight, argue, love, teach and to be.

The chaos from disrupting living accomodation is hell. I feel fragmented, all the bits of myself in boxes.Dust everywhere, fine and thin- covering the silks, towels, sliding inside the cracks of the wardrobes- all soft toys clammy with dust and moisture. And it is the beginning of the tourist season, at the same time.

In the midst of the chaos are guests who enrgise us. Their insight, their appreciation, their understanding of our values, the reasons for doing what we do, their constant motivation- keeps us afloat. If it were not for these wonderful people who stay with us, full of appreciation for the standards we set, we would have seen a burn out.