Surprise me.

Monday 18th July 2011

A busy weekend at the 50+ Show at Olympia in London. Great fun being on the Gardener's Question Time panel with Sir Roddy Llewellyn http://www.roddyllewellyn.co.uk/profile.htm

and John Negus http://www.johnnegus.co.uk/ two charming horticulturalists who made my life much easier than I was expecting.

Back at the 'coal-face' to some wonderful feedback from some recent tours.

Coll and Tiree ' Best Brightwater tour we've done to date, Pauline (Corrigan, our Tour Manager) was so caring and well informed - lovely to meet up with Charles (driver) again.

Another from Coll and Tiree said 'Coll Hotel brilliant - best ever! http://www.collhotel.com/

Another Hebridean Questionnaire said that ' The Port Askaig Hotel on Islay served excellent food, lovely clean linen (as you'd expect) and friendly staff. http://www.portaskaig.co.uk/

The Scottish Rock Garden Club's tour 'Wild Flowers of the Dolomites' brought plenty of praise for Julia Cordon our guide who bases herself at the Plant Collector's Garden in Pitlochry http://www.srgc.org.uk/feature/Plant%20Collectors%20Garden/collectorsgarden.html

on reading Juila's report it had a plant list of 356 different species identified on the week long holiday. Well spotted Julia!

Our tour to the Private Gardens of Angus and Deeside was a bit hit with Joan Valente who singled out the Gallery Garden in Montrose as outstanding http://www.gardensofscotland.org/garden.aspx?id=eeeac71b-4703-4e24-8916-9f0f00bead2c

Gardens of Dorset brought the wonderful comment that 'We can never improve on Michael Gill as a Tour Manager (he will be blushing Mrs Gale) but Mrs Gale went on to point out that she would prefer fewer garden visits and more time at each one (point taken Mrs Gale).

We had a really appreciative letter from a couple who missed the steam train when it left Mallaig without them.

'We mistook the time of the train departure through our own stupid fault and found ourselves stranded in Mallaig. After contacting Brightwater Holidays we were advised to get a train to Dunbarton Central, then bus to our hotel in Drymen. We eventually arrived at Dunbarton where we were met by Ian our Courier and a girl from the hotel with a car. Never were we so glad to be met! This was more than could be expected - the whole holiday was so much to enjoy.

Thank you all at Brightwater'

We always like to see how our clients reply to the question on our Holiday Questionnaire which asks 'Is there any destination you would like us to consider for a future holiday promotion?'

Mrs Lappin who had just returned from an 'Excellent Holiday' at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show http://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/hampton-court-palace-flower-show/2011 simply said 'Surprise me!'

Will do our best Mrs Lappin.

London Calling

Wednesday 13th July 2011

I have been in London a couple of times recently, once last Friday for my annual 'grilling' by our Insurance underwriters and to sort out our Bonding requirements for the Civil Aviation Authority's ATOL http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=27 and ABTOT http://www.abtot.com/. I think that they like to see the whites of my eyes and check I have a reasonable pulse at least once a year. Anyway when ever I travel to London it usually involves a mad early dash to Bristol Parkway railway station, curse at the parking ticket machine (because it takes so long to issue a ticket) dash to the train ticket office, nearly faint at the price (because I have not been organised enough to buy an advanced ticket - £174 quid it cost yesterday!!) Decide not to kill myself by rushing to catch the 0730 which I miss by one minute and settle down to a coffee and the Daily Telegraph. Catch the 0800 train and prepare for my meetings watching Wiltshire whiz by. I am very disappointed if I don't see a Red Kite between Swindon and Reading (I saw 4 on Friday)http://www.wiltshirebirds.co.uk/ .

At Paddington I fight through the crowds to the Circle Line and squeeze into the Tube to enjoy the sweaty aroma of someones arm-pit inches from my face. Surface for air at Liverpool Street and phone the office for update (Evelyn off sick, Jenni off sick and Douglas back in Hospital - Damn!)

Right where an I? Where's Old Broad Street? - I am in the heart of 'The City' surrounded by skyscrapers and feeling a little lost - there it is - Tower 42 - can't miss it as it is one of the biggest buildings in London .http://www.tower42.com/

Enter (trying not to think of the Towering Inferno or 9/11) to be met by the Concierge

'Which way to Insurance company?'

'Up stairs and ask one of the girls at Reception'

Up stairs - 'Sorry we're for restaurant bookings only - those girls might be able to help you'

'Yes sir, through Security, turn to your left, follow the signs of the lifts, Orange lift, first floor'

Security - 'Jacket off, briefcase through the x-ray - do I need to take my belt off? Shoes off too?'

No

'Was it right or Left?'

What colour of lift? - can't remember - Orange! it was definitely Orange!

All the lift doors are orange?!

Which one?

Any one, just go to the first floor! I could have jogged up the one floor from the Concierge desk in 30 seconds, I seem to have been in the building for half an hour and I am still pressing the bloody button at the orange lift!

I remain calm as I am ushered into the Insurance company's meeting room - I am ten minutes late - I curse the parking ticket machine at Bristol Parkway, if it hadn't taken so long I could have got the seven-thirty train - I hate being late for meetings.

I look out over the rooftops of London and see in the middle-distance the dome of St Paul's Cathedral peeping out through the modern tower blocks http://www.stpauls.co.uk/.

My Insurance man arrives and I comment that he has a wonderful view from his office - we only have fields and trees from our office in Fife I explain - he looks at me as if I am mad....and I then talk on stop for and hour and a half without taking breath.

Yesterday I was back in London at an AITO meeting (Association of Independent Tour Operators)http://www.aito.co.uk/ A fine gathering of like-minded souls.

We all have a moan about the how the recession is tough on business. We exchange ideas and stories. One chap who runs a large Tour Operating company told me that he had recently run an advertising campaign at the cost of £35,000 and had only one traceable booking from it! (which made me feel much better!) We sat through presentations on how the Olympics will affect our business (or not?), a very long and tedious presentation about a Government consultation document about reforming the ATOL licence system (boy that was hard going!) Then a very nice lunch sitting next to a dear friend Barry who runs Sailing Holidays http://www.sailingholidays.com/ .

That's the best bit of AITO meetings - the networking.

Four thirty, and the meeting ends - decision time - do I stay for a beer or make a dash for Paddington?

Wrong answer - sadly Paddington wins, and I fight my way back from Green Park, change at Baker Street to Paddington, getting hotter and hotter. Swansea Train leaving in one minute from Platform 9 - I dive in to find the train is as packed as the Tube with no seats left, so I stand with sweat pouring out of my forehead nose to nose with a very pretty young girl in a revealing tank-top - so it could be worse - but her countenance makes it clear what she thinks of this sweaty middle-aged Tour Operator.

I stand all the way to Swindon feeling like Reggie Perrin.

At last I make it home to the bosom of my family by eight - well when I say bosom of my family, I am met by the babysitter who leaves as I walk in, and says Linsey's in bed asleep and everyone else is out. I book my online car parking for my trip to Cupar tomorrow with my dog liking my sweaty feet (nice!)

I am up at 0445 this morning to catch the 0625 Easyjet to Edinburgh for another day in the life of a Tour Operator.

The Naked Gardeners

Friday 1st July 2011

Another week over another month started.

I was down at a RHS 'do' at Wisley this time last week - always nice to visit Wisley, however any commercial benefit we get from working with the RHS goes down the plug-hole whenever I go for a meeting there as I can't keep out of their Plant Centre http://www.rhs.org.uk/Gardens/Wisley/Shopping---Eating/Plant-centre . I came away with six big beautiful agapanthus plants for my patio at home as the ones I got as a gift from my friends on Tresco sadly turned to mush in the cold frosts of winter. It was a Licensees 'do' with a mixed gathering of companies who work with the RHS, ranging from RHS diaries, RHS mugs, books, umbrellas, socks (I was cornered by the Sock-man for ages!) and of course RHS plants. Our Holiday brochure rubbed shoulders with the best of them. I also met up with the new Curator of the gardens, a really nice chap called Colin Crosbie - a young and enthusiastic fellow, full of new ideas - I hope we can tempt him to escort one of our Garden Tours some time in the future.

Yesterday I was in Malemsbury visiting the Abbey House Gardens http://www.abbeyhousegardens.co.uk/ home to the 'Naked Gardeners' The garden was looking absolutely stunning, but fortunately/unfortunately everyone had their clothes on.

I also met up with my friend Paul Leich who runs the website http://www.greatbritishgardens.co.uk/ and has promoted Brightwater Holidays for many years. His daughter Andrea is opening an office right next to the gates of Abbey House Gardens and is going to be offering advice on Garden Holiday destinations on our behalf - so if you are in Malemsbury do pop in and look her up en route to visiting the gardens.

Trying now to get as much work finished so as I can watch Andy Murray's Wimbledon semi-final without feeling too guilty! Come on Andy!