Black Friday at Weigh Inn Hotel

By GRAHAM POPLE

Manager

 

Friday the 13^th August, 2010, certainly seemed to be aptly named on this most recent occasion.

 Self living at the Weigh Inn Hotel, Konedobu, where I was then Manager.  

Invariably awake at 0400 or thereabouts and have time to have a cup of tea and take my tablet before beginning work at 0500.  

On this occasion had to forego both the tablet and the cup of tea as I slept in till just after 5am.

 A quick shower and shave and dressed and down to the front desk by about 5.15 where once again the Post-Courier had failed to fulfil the order of two copies of the paper.  

Tried to fax complaint through but unable to connect. 

 Eventually sent by email which I had also done the day before and received an assurance that everything had been fixed.  

Friday proved that it hadn’t.

 Opened up the office and storeroom and began counting the floats and mild trouble again and had to re-count both of them but eventually got it right.   

 Sub-conscious helping me to create mistakes??

 Muddled through most of the day with only the usual mild hiccups.

 Friday is our busiest evening as we have a raffle, a patron draw, and a key draw prize for those members who belong to the Jig Saw Club.  

 Patron draw is that everyone attending in the bar is invited to put their name into a hat and then one name is drawn out at 7.30pm and that patron is then given K100 – hopefully to spend here and not take home.

The TV had been turned on in anticipation of everyone wanting to watch the match between the Broncos and the Eels.  

 Just before 7pm. John Young drew my attention to the ceiling over the entrance to the Marsden room where it was getting very damp.

 Raced upstairs to Room 22 where greeted by Paul Kipau whose wife was busy mopping up the floor which had been flooded.  

Paul apologised and explained that their young son had, without their noticing, turned on the tap over the hand basin, which was partially blocked and the water had spilled over onto the floor.

 Back downstairs to find out that, in my absence, the water had flooded into the control room behind the TV and spilled onto the four-socket extension lead, causing everything to short out.

About the same time, Toddy and Doug Booker had turned up and I appealed to them and they came to the rescue.

Eventually managed after a couple of mistakes to find a substitute four-socket extension lead which Toddy and Doug took control of and bingo,  TV and the rugby league match were back in operation.

 However there was further strife as Doug and Toddy told me that water was still leaking down so back to Room 22.   

Here it was noticed that the toilet cistern had jammed and water was spilling out of the cistern.  

Inlet tap closed and Paul advised that when he wanted to use the toilet to turn on the tap again and let the cistern fill and then turn tap off again.

Half an hour or so of very high stress and then the usual raffle, patron and key draw had to be done.  

This was successfully carried out with Geoff Balfour’s name being drawn as the winner of K1, 300 but he had left a couple of days before and you have to be present to win the prize.

 All was not lost, however, as yours truly won a leg of ham in the raffle draw which Kata is supposed to pick up today and use for his family.

 The remainder of the evening was uneventful, everyone enjoying a sing along after the other bad happening which was that Broncos lost to the Eels.

 Fearful of more trouble I decamped to my room at 9pm and managed the rest of the night without further ills.

 Thought you might get some enjoyment out of reading about my troubles.   

After all – ALL IS WELL THAT ENDS WELL.

 I have just noticed that in 2011 there will be another August Friday 13^th.  

Will be wary!!!