Ricoshay's Ramblings

Earning a bit of pocket money

What do a very upmarket public school, a pub, a racecourse, a garden centre, a country manor, the Queen’s holiday home and a kids outdoor activity centre have in common? Well, that’s probably a rubbish question and they probably have many many things in common, but one of them is their requirement for chefs and waitstaff to keep them operating, and this summer I’ve worked in them all.

Whilst Rick was sleeping a lot, and generally not feeling particularly sociable, I’ve picked up some work through a local agency. And as a result, I’ve worked in all of the above.

Its interesting, working with lots of different teams over the summer. I’ve experienced a host of leadership styles; witnessed some very good kitchen practices and some shamefully poor ones; worked with team members who are desperate to make the guest experience the best they can in what are usually very difficult circumstances; and watched managers blame their teams, their superiors, their customers and everyone else for the issues around them rather than rolling up their sleeves and doing something about it!

Mostly the businesses have agency workers because they are finding it so difficult to recruit in North Norfolk – it is incredibly difficult due to the seasonal nature of the work. Quite often there are a lot of younger workers, and they bring their own style of energy to the job. It’s surprising that many are in their first ever roles and have chosen agency work to see the thru summer before/between Uni, so they need a bit of coaching and a bit of help to understand the world of work. When bosses fail to carry out even a basic induction for their workplace, this is a really bad experience for the youngsters and they soon become disaffected with what ‘work’ means, such a shame in an industry that is desperate for new young blood.

Working as an agency chef or waitstaff is such good fun though! You can dip in and out of all manner of places – Sandringham House to a garden centre, a rosette awarded restaurant to a brewery tap – meet new people, hear of new places to visit, learn about other countries and cultures, and if you have a few weeks of not much to do, its a quick and diverse way of topping up the funds. And for me, it was a nice way to expand my skills and I’ll take all sorts of little tricks of the trade into the chalet this summer to hopefully impress the guests with.

On being a Bad Birdwatcher

I am a bad birdwatcher. Not because I do anything wrong as such, just because I’m pretty rubbish at it. But I enjoy it nevertheless. It’s fun listening out then trying to find a little bird up a tree, and its awe inspiring watching some of the big, big birds soaring up and over the mountains.

Back home, I saw my first red kites as we moved to Norfolk, and then saw them regularly as I drove to work in Peterboro and Northampton, where there are many. I would get so excited every time, these huge, majestic birds, circling over the roads as I drove along . It really is a wonder that I never crashed!

Then we moved to the Fresh Alps, and what a treat – Golden Eagles! A first for us both, and a regular sight from our balcony and from the chairlifts. But birdsong was generally subdued, and it took several weeks of leaving food out before any smaller birds graced our balcony. Because its not just the big ones that are exciting to me; after much assistance, the new bird to our balcony was identified as a Redstart, it used to visit throughout the day with the nuthatch and bluetits to finish off the cakes our guests left over. And I’m pretty sure I spied my first Blackcap too.

Coming down the mountain and hitting Spring full on, the sound of birdsong has been beautifully loud! Every walk is interrupted by a stop to listen and peer into the bushes and trees!

Today the bird books have been pulled out again, the internet trawled one more, and we’re pretty convinced the birds over Lake Como were black kites, and we’re still struggling on the various ducks ( I told you I was bad!). We’ve heard woodpeckers and cuckoos all around. A couple of days ago we watched, mesmerised, as a yellow wagtail chased and bobbed over a small lagoon in the bright sunshine, yesterday we watched swallows and martins dancing over the river to Lake Garlate, acrobatic and graceful. But certainly a treat has been watching two grebes dancing on Lake Maggiore, with a stunning romantic backdrop of mountains and blue skies – perfetto!

Cancer in a Camper Part One

Rick came up with the heading. Kinda pithy, isn’t it? And I guess, not strictly accurate, but it started out that way.

We were driving through the Italian mountains down to the Lakes when he announced there was a lump in his neck. We weren’t too concerned, assuming a bit of a bug, swollen glands, that sort of thing. But when it didn’t go down after a few days, we saw a GP in Como. Lovely chap, he spoke Italian only, his assistant spoke a little French, and between us we established that it needed a bit more investigation – and ultrasound ,in fact. Already, we are getting into scary territory, but the GP assured us that it wasn’t cancer, just something unusual.

Ultrasound completed a few days later – inconclusive. They could see swellings but couldn’t identify them; a resident oncologist at the hospital said she wasn’t concerned; the doctor said it wasn’t an emergency but we should not ignore it. Blood tests were recommended.

We headed towards France, via Stuttgart, relaxed that there was nothing too serious, and having contacted our house sit destination to see if there was a local GP we could see whilst there. But after Stuttgart and no change in the swelling, a minor sore throat developed. Now we were starting to worry, so we headed across France a bit quicker and checked in at an A&E department.

They were very kind, incredibly helpful, and ran a series of blood tests. All inconclusive again. Now the recommendation was to see ENT, and we were starting to think this could be a Bad Thing.

The long and short of it was we saw the GP at the house sit, who spotted something she wasn’t happy with in Rick’s tonsils, and made a speedy referral to the ENT. The ENT doctor was super efficient, taking bloods, a biopsy, and a booking for an MRI the following week.

And that was it. Armed with our MRI scan we returned to the ENT doc to be told it was tonsil cancer. It needed urgent treatment. We must go home soon….

The Hop Pole, Retford

November 2018

Met the kids for a farewell meal here on Wednesday night. We have visited before, and had a good visit at this quirkily decorated pub. We went prepared this time with a jumper as it was rather chilly last time, but this visit was enhanced by a cosy log fire which we snuggled round whilst ordering and enjoying a pre-dinner drink.

Our food arrived in good time, fillet steaks for the boys from the steak night menu (£30 for 2 steaks and a bottle, with supplements for fillets), spaghetti meatballs for K and cottage pie for me. The steaks were cooked beautifully, and my cottage pie was nicely seasoned with an accompaniment of seasonal veg. The spaghetti was a hit too.

We returned to the sofas for our puds, which were universally enjoyed, but the chocolate brownie gets a shout out for being the richest pudding we’ve tasted in some time.

Friendly service and the ability to stop overnight in the van on the car park contributed to an overall excellent experience.

The damage: £113 including drinks, 4 mains and 4 puds.

The Adjustment

And so there it was, finished. Our ski season complete and time to move on to a new adventure. The last couple of weeks were soooo slow. Like slower than a slow thing. Having deep cleaned our chalet, we moved up to help the others, but were then really restricted on what we were to do, which was tedious for us and caused resentment in the rest of the team. I can’t really fathom management’s decisions but it was what it was and we were glad when it was over – not the best way to end the season.

We left ADH on Friday morning, van packed but in some disarray, and headed to Italy. As we set off, we realised two things pretty quickly – one, we had to get some gas, and two, we had forgotten to buy a striped plate to affix to the bikes, which is required in Italy. Doh!

Google and Facebook groups are both an immense help in this situation, along with a friendly cashier in a garage in Briancon. Armed with a cover and plate, we headed over the snowy once again mountains into Italy.

Exilles, looking green in the spring sunshine

Our first stop was Exilles, just over the border. No plan, we saw it from the main road and decided to call in as it looked so pretty. It was nice to stretch our legs and have a little wander around, and it was bliss not to have a time restriction on our day. Then we hopped back in and started plugging in to the usual sites looking for somewhere close to stay.

Susa came up as an option and what a great one for us! There was a small charge to stay on this aire, but it was right on the town outskirts, clean, with fresh water, EHU, and several friendly campers. Chatting to the campers next door we found that they were from ADH- what are the chances!!! We enjoyed a pleasant mooch around the town, with fascinating Roman ruins such as an amphitheatre and aqueduct before eating and crashing for the night. I have never needed so much sleep! I must be readjusting to normal life patterns instead of the weird chalet hours we kept. And its a delight to eat fresh food, at the right temperature, on a plate, instead of picking at food as you cook for others, or eating your dinner, cold, at 10pm. Don’t get me wrong, I loved hosting a chalet, but a bit of normality is great too. Staying at Susa gave us a bit of security on our first night back in the van, and we enjoyed that comfort.

A short run in the morning round the outskirts revealed a lush green area, full of the joys of spring . After a winter of snow, it is so refreshing to hear bird song and garden activity, I can tell you!

We left around midday to our next stopover, via a stop at a Moho agents who were just brilliant at sorting us out for gas and a connector, so we can cook again! Next stop, Turin.

Top tips:

Carry lots of euro coins, you need them for parking meters and EHU on aires

Remember to buy your stripes plate before you go for less stress! And then put it on so you’re not doing it in 2degrees in a Franco-Italian ski resort!

Don’t plan – its more fun to find things as you go along!

Tales of the Unexpected

Saturday is always an interesting day. Exhausting, with often a 4am start and an 11pm finish, but full of peculiarities. But the exciting part of Saturdays is always about meeting the new guests. Are they one big happy family? Or several groups that you will help to become friends over the week? You know who is arriving, and roughly what time, but the first encounter is always about finding that delicate balance of welcoming them with enough information to get them off to a good start without overwhelming them; absorbing their tired irritability without letting it affect you; ensuring they have plenty of refreshments; accommodating over excited children.

Then every now and again you get a complete curve ball. Our very first guests arrived one man short. He arrived half an hour later. With his dog.

Yes, a dog. A tiny little thing that provoked lots of cooing in high pitched voices from the rest of the guests. In a ski chalet that doesn’t allow dogs. Over Christmas.

Happily we love our 4 legged friends, so pupster was made welcome and occasionally fed a few titbits and apart from it confusing the rug with grass on more than one occasion, it was fun to have around and it clearly made the family very happy too.

Or how about the extra guest? A family who had booked the entire chalet clambered out the bus, weary parents, hyper excited kiddies…1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10……11? 11? An 8 month old little boy, cute as a button – but not on our manifest! Thankfully we have a cot and high chair. The whole week was a blast, with the kids getting involved in the kitchen and the bairn being cared for by family on rotation so they could all ski.

And finally, the extra guest who comes down for dinner, then misses his bus home. A duvet and a sofa sorted the problem and all ended well.

There’s never a dull moment in this role, and you meet some lovely, warm, friendly, chatty people, and sometimes more than you think, but just when you think you’ve got all your ducks in line, another little surprise pops up to make it all the more fun!

Annecy

November 2018

What a delightful town this is to visit! I first enjoyed Annecy about a hundred years ago on a French trip with school, and this was my first return. We found an aire by the lake, not the prettiest aire but a fantastic location, and explored for a couple of days.

The shops are nestled in beautiful architecture and wind around the lake and canals, creating a romantic and picturesque town with stunning views over a crystal clear lake, mountains peaking in the background.

We simply mooched around, visited an occasional bar, enjoyed dinner in the Captain pub, and cycled a bit further along the shore. It was very chilled and we stayed on the aire for 3 nights.

On the final day, we generated some concern about the weather when we decided to practice putting on the snow chains in anticipation of the next part of our journey. Did we know something that the rest didn’t, we were asked, but I’m glad we practiced because we needed them when we hit La Plagne a week or so later!

French meanderings

12 Nov 18

Ok, so we changed the plan a bit but that’s part of the fun and appeal of this lifestyle, if you change your mind and do something different, its cool. We revised our route, feeling a little tired and woozy from a very, very rough crossing, and instead stopped in Yvetot on a free aire in the town. Caen is still very much on the to do list..

We were there with 4 other vans, which is reassuring when you’re a newbie. A little stroll revealed a charming town centre, with some older buildings that were worth a second look, a slightly odd and pink church, and a couple of pretty squares.

Next morning we mooched into the drizzle and through the Foret de Bretonne. The roads were lined with an autumnal spectacular, we were both blown away by the stunning reds, oranges, ambers and greens. So much so that the colouring stuff is to be dug out of the boot so we can try to do a very bad artists impression of what we’ve seen! I wonder how many times over the next few days we are gong to point at the trees and exclaim about the vivid hues!

Clockwise from top: The road thru the Foret; I love a bridge – this one crosses the Seine at Caudebec en Caux; Chartres; awesome painted frontage; out for a run x 2.

The road meandered pleasantly as the river Seine does, but eventually we it headed off onto a more direct route which brought us to Chartres.

Alas, our hopes of finding a campsite were dashed as the municipal site was closed, but we parked up in a free carpark on the edge of town, a site highlighted on a couple of apps for camper vans but devoid of others. A gentle cycle ride along the river and a somewhat more strenuous walk up the hill and we were able to enjoy the cathedral and the medieval quarter, which occupied our afternoon nicely. The cycle route into Chartres is really lovely, alongside the river which again was bordered by a riot of autumn colour.

The same riverside served well as a training area for some running during the evening, we are trying to keep a routine going with our fitness. When we come back in June for a few weeks, I have a 24 hour endurance race to do. I did it last year and I have score to settle with it. Some of you will have heard of or taken part in Endure24. …but it was only later that we realised we were a day out of sync with our training and it was Monday, not Tuesday! Easily done…

Training to be a Chalet Host – week 2

Dec 1st

It feels like some sort of beginning of the end today. We woke to a glorious morning, sun creeping its way over the mountain tops, blue sky, fresh snow – simply beautiful and a timely reminder of what drew us here in the first place. Quite needed, really, after another night of disrupted sleep as the night’s revellers enjoyed themselves in the room next door til the wee small hours and I was feeling a bit grumpy as a result.

Training is at a much slower pace now, with a meal to be cooked or a table to be laid from time to time, some talks on other responsibilities, and what feels like quite a bit of sitting around. Some are struggling with the timings; I am struggling with the lack of pace and I’m not great to be round when I’m bored.

On the plus, we went out and played on bumboards and sledges in the fresh, fluffy white stuff yesterday and I’m getting out for a short run every other day too, so that’s giving me a bit of headspace to re-order everything and chill me out.

Cant wait to get to ADH now and see what its like!

Our 18/19 cohort
Fresh snow in La Plagne
Bumboarding fun
Canapés
Its chilly out there!
Canapés

Training to be a Chalet Host – week 1

Nov26th 2018

One week in and several pounds heavier, we are now up in La Plagne. During our first week we have cooked, adjusted recipes, eaten, cooked, drunk beer, washed up, eaten…you get the picture!

And what a week of emotions! From walking into the room and feeling like the oldest person in the world (everyone assumed we were the trainers),to leaving the chalet at the end of the first week feeling like part of one team; to experience sheer exasperation at being asked to follow a recipe when ingredients, or an oven, aren’t available, to the delight in seeing everyone eating every last morsel of the dish you made; from the exhaustion of the first, frantic, chaotic first day to the serenity of turning out half a dozen dishes and getting the kitchen cleaned down and done in time to go for a pint; from a chilled out glass of wine to a crazy night in the pub – its been MEGA!

This week sees lectures and practice, although we nearly didn’t make it having got stuck in the snow. Snow chains deployed we wound our way up into Plagne Soleil, definitely a prudent investment.

A tout a l’heure

Bake Off contender, simply fantastic cake!
Tignes lac, beautiful
Bake Off entries (ours is in the middle….it won!)
Tignes by night, so festive