Bad Backs and Bouncing Babies

I've been suffering from back ache for a while. I blame it on the lugging of heavy suitcases up and down stairs for guests.

Fortunately for me, I'm married to a yoga teacher, and he has shown me a good yoga position for bad backs, so I've spent many a time recently kneeling down, leant forward with my head touching the floor. It works really well. Although I wouldn't recommend doing it at work, as you do get funny looks from visitors. Someone thought I was Muslim and was praying to Mecca.

On a happier note, we had an exciting day last Tuesday. We have a family staying with us - the Orlov family, from Russia - Mr and Mrs Orlov, and their four children. One of my work colleagues came rushing down to inform us that Mrs Orlov was about to give birth. Really? We didn't even know she was pregnant. She certainly hid it well.

So, we dashed up the stairs, and by the time we reached their room, Mrs Orlov had already given birth. To twins. All the other children were fussing over them, but Mr Orlov was nowhere to be seen. We eventually found him outside, at the pool bar, having a beer and a cigarette. He said that Mrs Orlov always gets cranky after having a baby, so he's got into the habit of staying out of her way for a few days. so, we graciously found him a single room to stay in until it was safe to move back in with her.

That's about it. It's half term now, so we have more guests, so hopefully I'll have some more tales for you soon.

Dealing with the Sick

People have been unwell this week.

Many of the staff are still suffering from winter lurgi. Poor young Nerys - a lovely Welsh girl I work with - has been suffering very badly. She keeps coming in to work, then being sent home sick.

I've had to deal with a few sick guests this week. The first was a South American woman. Her name is Sauna (great name!). She and her husband, Bonito, are regulars here. They're a lovely couple. Sauna was taken ill, and the hotel doctor came round to see her. The doctor actually perfomed a medical procedure in her room (women's problems. I didn't want to pry). I was asked to help with the initial stage. Sauna was made comfy in her bed, and the doctor injected her. I sat with her as the anaesthetic started to work. It was kind of funny to watch Sauna nod off, and then wake up again sharply, then fall slowly back to sleep, then wake up again.

She's fine now, and roaming around with her husband as if nothing had happened.

One of the staff also noticed drops of blood in one of the public areas a few days ago. Curious, we followed the trail, and it led to another of our regular guests - a man from Turkey called Noah. He is here with a friend called Moses. Both are fun guys to be with. Neither are very bright, though, and they seem to be motivated by food (they're always the first at the dining room when it's lunch time).

Noah and Moses

Anyway. We followed the blood trail to Noah, who seemed to be unaware he was bleeding. We saw that the blood was coming from his left foot. On closer inspection, he somehow seemed to have ripped out one of his toenails. It wasn't very nice to see.

So, I sat with Noah, keeping his foot up, with a tissue pressed to his toe, while my colleague went to fetch the hotel doctor. When he arrived, he quickly stopped the blood and bandaged him up. However, that wasn't the last of it. Noah was told that he couldn't put any weight on his foot for a while, otherwise it would start bleeding again. So, I became a human crutch. Noah was quite happy, and blissfully unaware of how heavy he is. But we managed. He's still the first in line at the breakfast buffet.

On a side note, we had a young couple book in this week. They are from Malaysia. Most of the staff think they are twin guys. But I have my suspicions. I'm sure one of them is a girl. Both dress the same and have the same haircuts. Hmmm. I'll let you know on that one.

So that's it from The Grand this week. Hopefully the weather will pick up and we'll have more visitors soon. It's not long now until half term, so we'll have our usual rush of families in. Hopefully, they'll be well and healthy...