Kids! Who needs 'em? Especially on film…
Sometimes I sit for five minutes and yearn for an easier life. This happens particularly when the daily stress factors we deal with threaten to outweigh the stimulatory ones.
The time of year this yearning is strongest is during the dreaded "season". It's when the task of firing on all cylinders from early morning until late at night, day after unrelenting, backbreaking day, is made all the more difficult because of the proliferation of little people.
The little people in question are usually below 4ft tall and 12 years old. We don't usually see a lot of them but, come July, August and even September, they appear in force with innocent, curious expressions that belie the devils lurking underneath!
The worst ones are the little darlings whose parents insist that they dine with them in the restaurant at an hour when they should be in their beds. Through no fault of our own, our complaint level rises because of squirming, loud disruptions in the restaurant.
The terrace, where a nice sundowner should be enjoyed, is filled with the patter of thundering feet as they careen round the tables, threatening to destabilise the waiting staff and scaring the seagulls into making even more mess.
Fortunately for us, assistant manager Tracy is expecting her first child, so I will delegate supervision to her on the basis that it will be good practice.
On the group front, we have just added a fifth hotel to our little Richardson portfolio - the Metropole hotel in Padstow, home of seafood guru Rick Stein, so we are in good company. It will be nice to have an excuse to visit the west coast for some brainstorming.
Two-, even three-centre breaks are now a marketing reality and no doubt we'll be getting our group heads together shortly to explore all the possibilities.
In spite of some pre-season nerves (in anticipation of the little people), June is proving to be a good month and we are on target for 90%-plus occupancy, which should see us reach budget, a feat we narrowly missed in May as the weather let us down.
A BBC film crew has all but moved in with us this month while they film a new series to be shown in September. It's a bit of excitement even though they can be quite demanding - oops, I mean challenging!
Add the recent James Bond film, also featuring Cornish landscapes, and last year's Saving Grace, and you might believe that Cornwall is becoming de rigueur on any film location calendar. Perhaps, if we get too overrun with little people and our very sanity is at risk, we could throw in the towel and get jobs as extras. n
Yvonne Scott is general manager of the Idle Rocks hotel, in St Mawes, Cornwall, a privately owned, 27-bedroom property. She has been there just over a year.
Next diary from Yvonne Scott: 1 August
