An old typewriter similar to the one Betty had
In 1990 I moved from my role opening new Little Chef Restaurants and Travelodge's in the UK and Ireland to a new role as Senior Training Officer, for Little Chef. Back then it was a highly successful chain of some 350 restaurants spanning the UK and with two restaurants in Ireland ( Cork and Dublin).
The Little Chef in Builth Wells where I met long term friend Gordon Kermode
As Senior Training Officer, although I lived in Worcester, my office was in Thatcham ( near London /Reading in the UK) . To get to our office we had to go through the bin area, up a fire escape and across a flat roof ( The Little Chef Restaurant below) to our offices ( which used to be a flat for the Manager) .
Our office was above the restaurant, accessible by the fire escape
I remember my first day induction ( orientation for the Pinoys and Americans). My boss, Mark Johns, introduced me to our secretary, Betty. He then said to me:
"Can you type?"
I looked a bit surprised and said "No"
I laugh now looking back, sat here in my office in Puerto Princessa typing blogs and emails, recipe books, letters and the like day in , day out . But back then we did not have laptops or smart phones, and the typing was done by our faithful secretary Betty on her old typewriter.
Mark's next words have remained with me for the rest of my life:
" Nor can I, but Betty can. So here is the deal, Betty Types, we water the plants and make the coffee and tea!"
My route to work- Mark lived in Chippenham so often we met in Swindon Happy Eater
With that Mark , Then Little Chef Training Director, asked me to hand him a watering can filled with water from the toilet ( WC, CR, Bathroom) window while he climbed on the roof and watered the plants! Then we made coffee for ourselves and Betty. Later we did the office tour ( 2 mins) and when I was about to hang my certificate on the wall I learnt another valuable lesson from Mark:
" You do not need certificates on the wall to prove how competent you are, just demonstrate it every day in your work!"
My only certificate in my office now- 10 years as Training Specialist at the Oil & Gas Academy in Bahrain
Remember this was 1990, Its now 2022, so for 32 years I have remembered these wise words and shared them with many others. Thank you Mark!
Mark, from a caricature I commissioned at the Great British Beer Festival ( GBBF)
Mark was a great boss, and I worked for him for some 20 years in THf hotels, Little Chef and Campus Veolia. He organised some great events to celebrate our teams achievements ( Cubs, Travelodge room line and Kelly's conversions ) when we went to Granada Studio Tours , Alton Towers and other places.
My Farewell to the UK in February 2010 at Hook Norton Brewery!
He organised my farewell from the UK and as usual there were tee shirts for everyone! He also introduced me to Real Ale and we attended many CAMRA Beer festivals around the UK ( we always seemed to be training in the right place at the right time - Hindhead, Sheffield, London etc.). On our nights away around the UK he would research the Good Beer Guide and the Good Pub guide and if a place appeared in both we would visit. Just down the A4 from Thatcham was the Coach and Horses where we became Suki ( regulars in Tagalog!)
The Coach and Horses Public House at Midgham.
Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories.
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