Friday saw my friend Lorraine and myself heading down to Coventry for our stay in the Holiday Inn. Yes, I know, I said never again to the one in Lancaster but I can tell you, this is a totally different hotel and they are the best staff ever. No idea who the manager is but he/she is doing a fantastic job training the staff.
As an aside I left a hot water bottle in the bed - no it wasn't cold, just my hip bothered me on Saturday night and so when I rang up they (Emma was the receptionist who dealt with me over the 'phone) said they had found it and are now sending it on to me. I offered to pay the cost but she would not hear of it. This Holiday Inn must be the BEST ever.
Lorraine dropped me at the hotel as she was off for Afternoon Tea with her sister and I went in and registered. Becca was the receptionist and she was dealing with a problem via the telephone and managed still to check people in with efficiency, courtesy and a smile.
There is one lady who works tirelessly at the Ministry of Mixology weekends, and that is Carol. She always makes sure that anyone with a disability, slight or otherwise, gets a decent seat and she is always there with the answer to any problem you might have. I could not write an account without showing you Carol. Here we are
Saturday morning saw Lorraine and I in Antonus Tzanidakis (nick-named the Greek God) workshop and we were making a box. Antonus had his girl-friend Athena with him and I became quite fond of her. We managed to converse in her limited English and my non Greek. I can say the odd word that you learn on holiday but it is limited when you can just say "good morning/afternoon/evening, please, thank-you, excuse me" in Greek. Here are the three of us (the photo is actually just before we left)
This is the box we made with Antonus
box front - (it should have had a skull inside the aperture but I put the cogs in to be different, plus the cogs on the back of the box, where they should have been, may have made it a bit wobbly when it was set down.)
Saturday night saw us al dressed up in our hats at the bar. I had found a jacket (had it a long time, didn't fit at one time, now it does) which I felt went well with the steampunk image. Rummaged for a white blouse, found some jewellery and ended up getting completely fitted out with my black jeggings on.
Lorraine had decorated the top hat I bought her last Christmas, so we both went along dressed up - in Lorraine's case, terrifically as Steampunk meets Alice. Wish I had got some photos of her hat from the back. You can see the huge green bow, well the tails cascaded down the back and she had stuck tiny playing cards on them. At the side she had a pocket watch open to show the face with the White Rabbit on it.
and below: Here I am with Athena
We all split up and joined various tutors, Di, Dee, Suze, Brenda, Hannah, Lesley, to do mini projects we had chosen. Then it was time for the raffle and in came Andy complete with his horse
I think he is giving it a "neigh" here
All too soon it was time for bed and the promise of a great day on Sunday. Andy's workshop beckoned!
This is what we made - and the doors open and close. We could choose the skull we wanted, or a heart, and I chose this one. Everyone had a different looking end product as we were given free play with the assortment of cogs, wheels and nuts and bolts. Some even went totally off piste and chose different colours to put on theirs.
Another really successful Ministry of Mixology weekend, I shouldn't say that as you might all want to book on the next one and I might miss out. Anyhow, it was soon time to say Au Revoir and I leave you with a picture of me and the great, the one and only Andy Skinner.
Till next time!
