After a
busy year, full of little changes, it was time to tackle one of the larger
tasks on Heidi’s list. We seized the opportunity of the Christmas holidays to
give the Café space the spruce up and T.L.C. it deserved.
Weeks of decision making had culminated
in simple changes which would hopefully further enhance the Café as a separate
space to the reception of The Clifton Hotel. So on the last day of opening for
the Café and Hotel, we turned the Café space into a mess easily comparable to a
building site for the day. Our five-strong team consisted of myself, Heidi, and
borrowed labourers in the form of Jaime-Leigh, manager of the hotel, her fiancé
(Matt), as well as Sarah, girlfriend of the assistant manager of the hotel.
The day started well with spirits
running high until the novelty wore off and our mumbles over doubts of the
colour grew louder. Despite uncertainty in the ranks, Heidi remained in
positive spirits over the questionably uneven, dark, yet translucent, first
coat of the shutters.
When the first shutter was completed
by Matt, whose D.I.Y. skills are enviable I might add, it was clear Heidi was
not as wanting in creativity as we had begun to believe. Although it was
becoming evident that a zealous use of masking tape would be necessary as despite
the rest of the work force being far neater than myself, and we understood why
masking tape was considered a key tool in any redecorators kit.
The highlight of the day consisted
of several large pizzas for lunch, which were devoured in record time by the
famished group, which at this point grew noticeably larger in the form of Andy
joining us for pizza and Heidi’s boyfriend popping along upon hearing about
free pizza.
By six o’clock the Café’s mini
transformation was complete, we stood back after everything was returned to as
right a place as it could, and relished in the satisfaction that can only come
from eight hours of imitating Mr. Miyagi. Overall the day was a success, both
in the finished result and team bonding. A special thanks to Matt, who without
his efforts, we are in no doubt the task that would have been far more arduous.
I would also like to air my apologies to Heidi for ever doubting your choice of
colour for the shutters.
So we invite you to pop by and have
a look at our hard work, please feel free to ask for tips for redecorating your
own house.
Camilla
