Chaos At Christmas – Episode 11
Chaos At Christmas by Ewan Smith
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- 11. Chaos At Christmas – Episode 11
- 12. Chaos At Christmas – Episode 12
Along with the artificial snow which the wind was blowing all over the place; not to mention a crate of very alarming looking hi-tech water guns which had been delivered to the hotel half an hour earlier. The sight of them had prompted Kaspar from the exercise suite to utter a volley of rapid and horrified German, the meaning of which had been fairly clear, even though Erik hadn’t recognised some of the more specialised words. It was about then that the tiny forehead hammer had first put in its appearance.
“I didn’t feel very much of your Christmas spirit last night,” the guest retorted. “I came here expecting to have a relaxing time. Not to be kept awake all night listening to a bunch of yacketting birds.”
“We do have a wide selection of sleep headphones available for the use of guests,” Erik suggested. “Perhaps they would help cut down the noise.”
There shouldn’t be any noise, the guest snapped. This is supposed to be a five-star hotel. The sound-proofing in your suites ought to be more effective.
“Perhaps a change of rooms is the answer,” Erik murmured in his calming voice. His fingers flicked over the keyboard. “As it happens, there is a room available at the rear of the hotel looking out over the sensory garden. You shouldn’t be disturbed by the sound of the penguins from there.”
“When could I move?”
“Straight away, Madam. I will send a member of the housekeeping staff to pack up your things and have them transferred to your new room immediately.” Erik could see that the guest wasn’t completely convinced. “And, of course, you will find one of our luxury Welcome Packs containing a selection of fruit and chocolates waiting there to make up for your inconvenience.”
She frowned. “No drinks?”
“As well as a bottle of Fosbury Manor Pinot Noir,” Erik added smoothly. “Would you prefer red or white?”
Her eyes looked suddenly greedy. “I drink both.”
“Of course, Madam. I shall organise it at once.” The guest moved away with a triumphant smile, clearly feeling that she had won a great victory.
Ferelith appeared from the security room behind the reception desk. “More problems, Erik?”
He sighed. “Nothing too serious, Miss Ferelith. Just another guest complaining about the noise.”
Ferelith smiled sympathetically. “When you went into the hotel business all those years ago, I don’t suppose you ever thought that, one day, you would be having to deal with raucous penguins.”
“That’s certainly true. Let’s just hope that things go a bit more smoothly for the rest of the day.”
The very person. I have a bone to pick with you!
A burly man was approaching the desk and he didn’t look happy. Erik recognised him as one of the hotel’s neighbours. “Mr Hussain, I hope there’s not a problem?”
“There certainly is. Last night, the wind blew that artificial snow of yours all over my garden – and I don’t like it!”
Erik stifled a groan and the tiny hammer resumed its work.
Ferelith made her way out of the hotel. An eager group of guests had gathered round the penguin enclosure. Cameras were hard at work as some of the children were allowed to help with the morning feed. However, it was Geraint whom she was looking for. She found him with a couple of his staff raking the artificial snow on the lawn. “You shouldn’t be doing that, Geraint. It’s hardly your responsibility.”
But he just smiled. “If we’re going to have artificial snow covering the grounds then at least it should look effective.” The wind the previous night had blown the tiny paper spirals into numerous drifts and piles. Patches of the green lawn could be seen through the white and the ground staff were doing their best to cover them up again.
“It was actually the artificial snow that I wanted to talk to you about. There has been a complaint from one of the neighbours.”
“It’s not Mr Hussain, is it? I noticed him coming up the drive earlier.” Ferelith nodded and Geraint frowned. “He wouldn’t complain unless he had reason to. We’ve always had a good relationship with him.”
Ferelith explained about the artificial snow ending up in his garden during the night. Geraint grimaced. “I thought that might be an issue. The bits of paper don’t stick together; they blow around much more easily than real snow. I suspect that me and the guys are going to have a lot of raking to do over the next week or so.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Ferelith sighed. “It’s not really fair that you’re having to deal with the artificial snow. It’s made your job a lot more difficult.”
He shrugged. “It’s not a problem. And if it makes the guests get more into the Christmas spirit then it will be worth it. They were certainly pleased about it yesterday, especially the younger ones. And the penguins have gone down a treat as well.” The two of them turned. The feeding seemed to be over but now guests were being allowed into the enclosure, a few at a time, to get up close to the penguins. Any number of selfies were being taken. Geraint laughed. “It’s different, this Christmas.”
“That’s for sure,” Ferelith murmured in agreement.
“And don’t worry about Mr Hussain’s garden. I’ll go and sort that out now while the guys finish with the raking. I’ll take round one of our garden vacuums and tidy things up for him.”
Not for the first time, Ferelith was impressed by the way he didn’t grumble or complain about problems; he simply dealt with them. “Thanks, Geraint. You’re a star.” But then she had a sudden thought. “Maybe I’ll come with you. I could take round a little something to make up for their trouble. Do you know if there’s a Mrs Hussain?”
These chocolates are so delicious. They’re like…like…heaven in your mouth.
Ferelith couldn’t help but smile. The small boxes of Fosbury Manor chocolates were prepared for the hotel by a specialist chocolatier and were usually only available for guests to buy at an eye-watering price. But Mrs Hussain’s delight in them was irresistible. Even Mr Hussain had relented enough to try a couple. “You must have one,” Mrs Hussain said, holding the box out to her.
Ferelith shook her head. “No, they’re for you to enjoy as an apology from us. We pride ourselves on our good relationships with our neighbours. I’m just glad that we’ve been able to sort out this little problem.”
Mrs Hussain frowned at her husband. “I don’t know why Idris made such a fuss. It was only a few bits of paper on our lawn.”
Mr Hussain’s cheeks began to flush and Ferelith hurriedly interposed. “Not at all. You were quite right to contact us, Mr Hussain. Your garden is important to you and we had no business to allow the artificial snow to drift into it. But Geraint is vacuuming it all up now and he’s going to erect a temporary fence to make sure that no more finds its way into your garden.”
“Why have you got pretend snow all over the grounds anyway?” Mr Hussain asked gruffly. “It seems a bit vulgar for the Manor, really.”
To be continued…
