Trouble at Mill

You know when you’re anxious about something & the monkeys keep chattering in your head. They tell you your worst case scenario and your logic tells you that it’s going to be OK, and it will never be that bad, but the monkeys keep chattering.

Friday arrived. We were expecting two Polish staff members to arrive, Sophie & Maria. Sophie is the very, very capable head housekeeper, (potentially a Goddess in my eyes – I mean, anyone who can keep a hotel going in the cleaning department demands Goddess status.) Why the head monkeys were having a field day was due to the fact that Sophie’s living arrangement had changed from last year for a number of valid reasons and it was left up to me to tell her that she was now in a teenie, tiny room and not the luxury she was expecting, ie, my room. Ma’am had conveniently hot-footed it to Guernsey to avoid the situation.I spent two days preparing Sophie’s and Maria’s rooms, and their bathroom. Fresh flowers in each room, clean windows, crisp hotel sheets and jars of nice soaps for Africa.

But the chattering monkeys were getting louder as the arrival time got nearer.

My logic was wrong and the monkeys, this time were right! I heard them arrive and my instinct was to literally (go for a) run, but I braced myself and went to greet them despite the very loud Polish screeching from downstairs.

I introduced myself and gave them a big kiwi hug each. But. That didn’t cut it with Sophie. I could decipher only a few words, which were Crazy woman……Not my room…. I followed her up to my room…, more Polish. This is my room, my pillows, my television, is this your coat? as she was throwing my things around, Crazy woman. Maria could speak no English but was able to indicate that her room was too small and she was not going to sleep there.

So the monkeys had their day. They were right. Needless to say that things settled, rooms were changed, but I stood my ground and still have my beloved room, my sanctuary.We are friends, the three of us, despite the language difficulties, because we are all trying. I’m trying to learn some Polish and I can see that they are trying to include this kiwi into their world. We have things in common, children, food, and a genuine willingness to support each other on Planet Sark. We are building threads that will connect us over the coming months.

Highlights from the last few weeks:

• Dining with Sark royalty & cycling home at 3.00am, falling off my bike twice. Well that’s not quite true, the first time, I drove into the bank. In my defence, we don’t have street lights & my head torch was just a wee bit better than useless.
• I’m now chief cook for the staff until chef arrives – poor people.
• Helping in the kitchen of the Tea Gardens – best of fun
• OMG! Nearly forgot – a day in Guernsey and a haircut! Travelling back to Sark on the ferry reminded me of how lonely I felt when I was on the ferry 2 months ago. It made me realise how quickly I have adjusted to Sark life and how I no longer feel a stranger. I was going home.

Weather update:

Thermals are still necessary.

Hotel update:

It’s all hands on deck preparing for our opening on 25th. The Tea Gardens is now open so we have people coming and going, more new staff will be arriving over the next few weeks, and the place is starting to look spic & span. Sophie & Maria come in exhausted every evening and we all sit around eating toast & jam with a cuppa, too tired to try to communicate so I just sit and listen to their Polish chatter and we understand that it’s ok not to involve me because frankly it’s hard when you’re tired.

So Sark life has become my life, for how long, who knows but it’s just fine for now.

Rover volunteering to show the way on the Sark triathlon.Cream tea anyone? Real cream from our cows.Is the grass really greener?Bluebells bringing back memories.