You know, there are times that I get great ideas for blog posts, usually when I am nowhere near a computer! Today, I wake up at 6 and had this one. So here I am sitting up in bed having rushed down to get my Toshiba laptop in case I forgot what I had in mind to write!
I was listening to Radio 5 Live the other night and they interviewed the comedian Jim Davidson. I met him a few years ago when he stayed at the Empire Hotel when I was employed as the Bars Manager there. He was doing a pantomine at the theatre in Llandudno, and I remember him sitting in the lounge with a tall blonde by his side, possibly Penny Lancaster, who I believe was in the panto with him. He was there a week, so one night I was behind the bar when he came up for a drink. He was wearing an 80's type kakhi parker jacket and ordered a soft drink. The hotel had been quiet that week, and on this night there seemed to be more people about (possibly the weekend influx of residents). As I was serving him he said to me ' who are all these people staying at my hotel?' I don't remember what I replied, probably just laughed at his comment unable to come up with a witty retort. I probably should have said 'Haven't you heard, Jim, there's a Jim Davidson convention in town, they're all here to see you!' Or 'the blokes are all the husbands of the women you've shagged in the last few years, and they've come to meet you!'

Another very famous face to grace the Empire was Tom Jones. Llandudno was on his way to his destination and the Empire Hotel just happened to be classy enough for him to stay. He stayed one night which included dinner, then brandy and cigars in the elegant furnished lounge. Guess who had to serve him the brandy and cigars? A sudden nervous tension developed when it finally sunk in that I would take the tray to him. Being face to face with the famous is nerve racking, believe me! When these chances come up you don't want to fuck it up! I could see it now. Tom Jones on some chat show being asked , 'Tom, what was the most embarassing moment in a hotel?' Well, David, there was this night I stayed at this Welsh hotel when the waiter spilled...' Thankfully, Mr. Jones did not get brandy all over his kegs that night, but I did get an autograph for my father-in-law.

'Your father-in-law? he said with a chuckle. What's his name?'. I'm sure he was wondering why I wasn't getting one, but, sorry, not my scene, man.

Later on in my shift, patrolling the lounge making sure every think was hunky dory, it was great to see him and his entourage chatting with guests.
The following morning I was cleaning the beer pipes when I saw Tom Jones come into the bar area, wearing his leathers, and it appeared that he was thinking of staying for lunch. Then he changed his mind stating that it was too hot. How many times did the staff complain that the heating was up way to high in the hotel? Loads, but Mrs Maddocks would not listen to us minions. It took a superstar to tell her the truth, and she drove him away because of her stuborness. I could not resist a wry smile to myself as I was cleaning behind the bar.

Another memorable night at the Empire was when a couple of Hollywood stars dropped by, in the middle of filming in Conwy. I had been asked to work that night and for once I was glad I did. Patrick Bergin and Theresa Russell were the two famous actors, later joined by young Welsh actors and actresses, who had parts in the film called The Proposition (1997). I seem to recall it had something to with drovers. Patrick Bergin has appeared in many big Hollywood films such as 'Sleeping with the Enemy' and 'Patriot Games'. Theresa Russell recently played Flint Marko, aka The Sandman's wife Emma, in Spiderman 3, but I remember her in a film called 'Insignificance' (1983). It was probably the most enjoyable night I worked there as the banter was great to eavesdrop on. It's amazing really but any local could have come in for a drink that night and enjoyed the company of two Hollywood stars. As I recall I don't think any did, which was a pity. Patrick Bergen was a really a polite gentleman, and recited Irish poems to us all night, and Miss Russell a bit more Hollywoody but not over the top. She liked her white wine, I seem to remember, and bought 2 that night. I had not realised it but by the time she decided to go to her room, she was plastered! This was about 1 o'clock in the morning and I was checking other actors in at the time. While I was at the main desk sorting out the new arrivals, I heard the lift door open and who staggered out was Theresa Russell - unable to find her room!
'Excuse me, young man, but could you PLEASE help me find my room!' she slurred. She must have been up there for about 10 to 15 minutes trying to find her room! So, I took her up in the lift and directed her to her room.

I was at the Empire for about 18 months and to be truthful glad I got out, though the owners did show their appreciation by giving me a £100 leaving bonus and an anniversary dinner on the house with champagne for my wife and I. I was also told that I had kept a good bar, so I knew that I had done a good job there. But there were times... maybe another time!

The joy of work!

Being forced to give up work through difficult circumstances has been a tough adjustment. Having worked non stop since 1988, and most of those years with a second job as well, it was bound to be a strange experience. The motivation is of course money and the hope that progression will follow to a higher level and earn even more money. This never happened to me, sorry to say, so I don't know what it feels like to get a promotion. The second thing you hope for is good environment to work in and that you don't have to work with assholes. Unfortunately, I have worked with prize assholes and it is a shame that promotion does not come your way through the suffering! So, at this moment in time I have mixed feelings about returning to work again, which will I'm sure happen quite soon. When you have had a period out of work the one thing you do have is the time to reflect on your experiences, which has good points and bad. On the negative side, there are doubts that creep in now and again at whether you can cut it again, whether you can fit in to a completely new group of people, and of course the ultimate worry, can you get a decent job. Well I never was in a 'decent' job, so the only way is up! On the plus side, there are organisations out there who do want to help you get back, and I don't mean the Job Centre! They just want to push you to ANY job just to get you off their books. There is such an organisation here called Cam Ymlaen (Welsh for Step Ahead) who will support you in obtaining the confidence to go back to work. I will be starting an 8 week course this Friday at Colwyn Bay and I am hoping that it will help me get back on track. Furthermore, they will assess my strengths and help me get what I want to do. In a strange way, the unfortunate turn of events that we have endured in the last 2 years may be a blessing in disguise, and I am determined to forge something positive from this. I have already signed up for a course in basic counselling skills which will start in January and I intend to carry on this path afterwards.

Talking about work environments has made me think of the best one I ever had. This is easy. From 1988 to 1990 I worked for Essex County Council, with their Historic Buildings Section, a part of the Planning Department. If circumstances had been different I would have stayed here a lot longer. I was 25 years old just received my degree that summer and this was my first proper job since leaving University. I had been working for the Post Office in Ipswich just before and was only there for about 6 weeks. I remember going for the interview for the Essex job whilst I was on strike instigated by the Post Office union, and accepted the job while still stiking. So it was sort of a relief that I was leaving that place. I digress, the job at Essex was, how should I put it, flexible, easy going, fun. I have so many happy memories there, the only down side was my salary. I started on less than £7,000 per annum, hardly enough to get married on! I had my own desk! I had my own drawing board! And I could claim expenses whenever I went on site! I started at the same time as another graduate, Nicola Mawer, we were the junior members of the section but we were always included, even attended planning meetings. It was a nice feeling belonging to this group and we were surrounded by very knowledgable conservationists. In fact these people were the original conservationists in terms of preserving historic buildings and conservation areas as this section was the first one to be set up in the local council framework. They were consultants and were called in to assist planning applications received by the district councils of Essex. Therefore, for instance, our section head had the Rochford, Southend districts, and Judy Enticknap, the grants officer, had Saffron Walden. Nicola and I would go along with these officers and it was wonderful to experience the Essex country settings and witness some truly historic buildings. I can remember going with Dave Stenning (in charge of Colchester area) and visiting the Red Lion hotel which was being renovated. Every time the place was undergoing work, there was the chance to look at a Roman mosaic underneath the foundations. It was very rare to see this and I was just lucky to be there at this time. The site visits were great, and always included a visit to some pub. Don't get the wrong idea here, we did get the job done. There was just this easy going attitude that went with the job. the building we were based at was called Globe House, an old ball bearing factory converted into offices. On our floor, there was also other sections, such as Forward Planning and archaeology, and...a social club! Yes we had a pub down the corridor! Many a time was spent there having lunch, enjoying a pint (or two) or playing darts, pool and a couple of snooker tables. One time my boss, Peter, asked me if I wanted a game. Yeah, why not, I said. We were there till 3 o'clock, drinking pints and sinking snooker balls! We should have been backat least 2 pm, but what the hell I was with the boss, so...! There was another time when some of us went to watch a football international on the telly. Game did not finish till 4pm! So, you get the idea how relaxing it was working there. I doubt that there will be anywhere like this around now. A couple of days before I left, a collegue of mine suggested we go down the pub, so we went out at 11am and didn't come back till 5pm! To this day I think it was a liberty step too far and feel a bit ashamed for treating my colleagues with a bit of disrespect, but that was the mood I was in and I was leaving anyway. I still feel bad about it though. Still the memories of working and being involved with Essex County Council are happy ones for me and my only regret is that I left when I did. My next post was supposed to feel like a promotion but in hindsight was a big let down...