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Amazingly, two more people have now completed every single one of our cycling tours. Aidan Challen and Damaris O’Hanlon recently cycled round Umbria with me, and in both cases the Umbria tour completed the set.
Damaris having dinner in Cortona
Damaris has been on some of our tours twice, she’s a one-woman Chain Gang promotion agency, and probably our biggest fan. Obviously anybody who’s done all seven of our tours will tend to be lovely company, and it was certainly true of Aidan and Damaris.
Aidan in familiar pose
I wonder if I can explain the feeling when people who have cycled with us decide to cycle with us again? It feels so flattering. Of course we try to put on fabulous tours, and to provide excellent value, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that people do actually enjoy our holidays. And we get tons of customers returning to cycle with us again and again, but when I recognise a name, the feeling is marvellous.
And to return six times! I’m more grateful, and more flattered, than I can properly convey, so let me say thank you Aiden, thank you Damaris. I guess we’ll see you soon!
Ever since we started, back in 1997, the closest thing to a ‘company rule’ has been the Birthday Rule.
Whenever we see on the Booking Form that someone is going to have a birthday during their holiday with us, we try to arrange champagne and a big birthday cake. It costs us a bit, but it’s ‘nice’, and I always optimistically imagine that we’ll get it all back on the basis of the ‘what goes around comes around’ rule.
It usually works fairly smoothly, but there’s one regular gripe. It’s nice if it’s a surprise, so we’ll arrange with the hotel or restaurant in advance that champagne is poured as soon as we’re all sat down, and the guide can then explain and propose a toast to the birthday girl/boy.
This almost never happens. Invariably there is lots of faffing around, waiters coming to ask questions, our guide reminding them to put champagne glasses out, a further discussion on whether the champagne was meant to be served at the beginning of the meal, or with the cake.
I once heard somebody say that all blokes were autistic, it was just a question of degree, and as soon as I heard that it struck a chord. Anyway, I’m not very good at dealing with situations where, for example, we ask by telephone that the champagne be served immediately we’re all sat down, we then confirm that arrangement in writing, and our guides will always raise the point specifically on the night in question, and then someone comes and asks if it’s OK to start bringing out the champagne glasses, or should they serve it with the cake. I’ve learnt to treat it as the triviality that it is, but it seems so simple to me. We sit down, you pour.
Still, no sense getting worked up about it all over again. Recently we were lucky enough to have two birthdays on the same tour, Damaris O’Hanlon and Aundrea De Jonge. I’d felt compelled to go and have a slight moan at the management on Damaris’ birthday for going through the usual “shall we, shan’t we? With the cake? Later? When we receive a signal?” And then they wheeled out this beautiful cake for Damaris’ 50th, complete with correct spelling. Maybe there’s a lesson not to get worked up about things that really don’t matter at all.
On which note, another tiny, tiny gripe. The wonderfully nationalistic Italians simply won’t serve us with Champagne. Despite all our best efforts and protestations that cost is no object, they always bring out the Prosecco. Mind you, imagine trying to get served with Prosecco in France!
Happy Birthday Damaris . . .
. . . And Happy Birthday Aundrea
. . . And the cake
Anyway, Happy Birthday Damaris, Happy Birthday Aundrea, and thank you for sharing.
