Wedding Preparation Mode

With the summer wedding season over, we now enter our autumn season with our first wedding this weekend. You would think that after many weddings this year already we might have lost some of the excitement for weddings, but this is certainly not the case.

The week before the wedding I have completed a pre-run of the route to make sure I know where in Calne it is that we pick up the bride and father, as well as checking for roadworks and potential hazards along the way. It is also a good time to check that the sat nav has the correct locations to avoid any awkward moments on the day!

The next route is to where the ceremony is to take place, so on this occasion, I drove to Chippenham and went to the location and while I was there paid a visit to a really good bridal shop, Amare Bridalwear, when we could catch up and see how we are both doing.

This is one of the great things about being self employed, is that I can put in some detours to do some networking, which helps both ways.

Next stop was to go to the reception venue in the little village of Goatacre. 

Goatacre has a very special place in our hearts as a family, as a number of our parents and grand parents were resident at Goatacre Manor Care Centre in their latter days, so it was nice to drive through the village once again. 

Before we approach the wedding day itself, the chosen wedding car, our silver Jaguar XFS is washed and waxed once again and the leathers go through the cleaning and conditioning treatment as well as carpets and all the interior spruced up once again for the brides special day. 

Thankfully, our cars are always cleaned and washed very regularly so this is not a very labour intensive task for each wedding, but they are all given that special treatment. In go the interior flowers colour co-ordinated to the brides colour scheme.

Finally on the day, the car is dressed with the chosen colour for bows and ribbons. For this particular wedding as it is a local wedding, we can do this at our base. For weddings further afield, I will make that a subject of another blog.

On the day, whether myself or one of my 4 reserve chauffeurs, dress in a black suit, white shirt and colour co-ordinated bow tie - a special touch we like to provide along with the chauffeur’s cap.

As we prepare to go to the bride’s house, we arrive close to that spot and then check that the car is still immaculate and clean any marks off the car before we arrive at the bride’s home 15 minutes before the agreed time.

It is essential that when the bride enters the car, that it is spotless so there is no risk of any dirt arriving on her beautiful dress as a result of contact with the car.

Once she is on board we progress to help make her day go as smoothly and stress free as we can on the journey, driving at advanced standard, keeping the car smooth and comfortable. 

Another happy couple begin their journey of life together and we wish them every happiness and a long wonderful life together!

Day in the Life of a Chauffeur

Being a professional chauffeur means that most days are completely different. This keeps an excitement to the role and also keeps me on my toes, as I have the opportunity to meet many different people.

I thought I would write a short blog on the typical (or is there one?) day of a chauffeur.

Today started at 00:30, yes half past midnight. That is when my alarm went off and after getting ready I was out of the door at 01:45 on my way to the Grange City Hotel to pick up my clients, who needed transport to London Heathrow. I was required to collect them at 06:00, so why, do I hear you ask did I leave so early?

To answer, let me say what happened. On the journey I stopped at the last services before London, Heston, on the M4 to have a much needed coffee and short break before I arrived in Central London.

The services were empty except for one other customer in Costa and the barista. It was good to relax and once again, check the flight number and see that it was still on schedule. This is the first piece of information I give my client after I greet them.

I then set off again and made my way to a carpark near the clients hotel, where I arrived at around 04:30. This, is to wipe the car down with waterless wax detailing spray - the same product that I have described in earlier blogs when talking about detailing.

This means the whole exterior of the car is cleaned and waxed, including the wheels and inside the doors. It is important that my clients receive an immaculate vehicle as I give every client the VIP treatment, every time.

Then, time for a short walk and to catch a few night time photographs around the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and The Shard.

Time came for me to arrive at the hotel, when I parked just outside at around 05:30. There were other drivers waiting their clients. I am getting used to being the only chauffeur who wears a 3 piece suit and the chauffeurs cap - it is quite interesting some of the responses I get, especially in Arrivals at airports - subject to another blog some time. I believe it adds to the occasion for my clients and treats them with the respect they deserve.

My client came outside and I was able to greet them on time. Arriving in the area early makes sure that any hold ups like traffic or otherwise, can be adjusted for making sure I arrive on time.

After loading their suitcases we left for LHR. After setting off, I checked with my clients if the air con was set for their comfort and that the person sat behind me had enough leg room. I offered them cooled bottled water, along with the snack bars, and reminding them of the mints and tissues in the door pockets.

On board are the quality magazines, but on this occasion, no daily newspaper as we travelling before they were able to be purchased.

Traffic through London around 06:00 was not too much trouble and we arrived at the airport around 06:45, in good time for their flight.

Having delivered them safely to the airport, I then headed back a further 71 miles back to our base, with a detour at the next services Reading, to have my sandwiches that my wife prepared with another fresh Costa.

Then home, and once I took Clover our German Shepherd dog out for a walk, I went to bed to catch some sleep.

Tomorrow I am up early again, but this time for a networking breakfast - it is important to keep building contacts when a family business is in start-up mode.

Fit to Drive?

As you will have noticed from my first few blogs, I grew up in the garage business and although I was always surrounded by cars, I only started driving when I was 17 - the legal age in the UK. Thankfully, with lots of driving practise between driving lessons, I passed first time within a few months. I did have an incentive, in that I was courting the young lady who became my wife, with whom I share my life with still.

So, before I get all sentimental, fast forward a few decades to 2008 through to 2014.

Those were our most difficult years during which time both sets of parents died following individual long periods of ill health. We were traumatised as so many people are when they loose loved ones.

Within that period in early 2011, when my mother became seriously ill and around the time when she sadly died in March 2011, and the following months, after many years of accident free motoring, I had numerous minor accidents.

My confidence in driving was at an all time low, and I was seriously doubting my ability to gain another good insurance ‘no claims’ record again. The incidents even included a misfuelling into our S Type when I filled her up with unleaded and drove for a mile until she died. This resulted amazingly in the insurance company accepting the claim with the heavy excess charge that I paid, but the cost to the insurance company was £5,000. You can imagine with no ‘no claims bonus' being granted, what that did to our premiums for many years.

Time had come to take action, and it was then in Autumn 2012, that I decided to take the advanced driving test with IAM RoadSmart. After all, the last time I took a driving test was when I was 17. I discovered that my driving ability had dropped significantly and as I expected, bad habits had crept in.

Thankfully, after incredible support from the Swindon Group for IAM RoadSmart, I passed first time on 7th February 2013. Dad was so pleased and proud!

Since then, I have made driving for me an art form, and I pride myself on being the best driver my passengers including my family, ever experience.

I am not satisfied to leave it there, so I am now working on their Masters Advanced course, and hope to have a date soon when the test will be taken - hopefully I can then announce more good news not only for me, but also for my family, friends and clients.

The IAM Advanced qualification is also very good news for insurance companies as a lot of them acknowledge the advanced qualification and award discounts. Unfortunately, however, not for a business client like myself.

With more advanced drivers on the road, driving standards are massively improved and thereby road safety. I wholeheartedly recommend the IAM RoadSmart Advanced course. I wish you all well.

Off Roading

Earlier this summer, I did another wedding in the Cotswolds area and my memories were being refreshed on the drive back in Wales that I mentioned some weeks ago that we called ‘Top Gear Challenge’.

I am so glad that before we arrive on the wedding day, we always perform what we call a pre-run of the route we will be taking. Typically, this would be from our base at Royal Wootton Bassett to the brides parents house, then with the bride and father to the church or ceremony venue, and then finally to the reception venue.

So, the week before the wedding I did that in our 3 year old Jaguar XFS, and the Sat Nav said the infamous ‘you have arrived at your destination’, I arrived, but the cottage and road was not visible anywhere. Thankfully a postman arrived at that point, so I asked and he put me right. Sorted! Everything else on the pre-run trip went fine, so we were all set for the wedding.

The day came, so I started the S Type, the chosen Jaguar for the wedding, with my wife and myself to go to the ‘pre-location’ venue, where, having done the distance to the area we are picking up the bride, we then clean the car again and dressed it with bows and ribbons. This makes sure the bride has a pristine car even though we travel a distance to her.

Before we set off, I put the post code into the Sat Nav for the ceremony venue which was also the reception venue, but the Sat Nav did not recognise the code. 

Thankfully, with my wife looking after my phone, we used ‘Maps’ and set off to the venue and when there, I added the location as a ‘Favourite’. We were all set.

While I was doing the actual journey to the venue with the bride and father, who were delightful, they mentioned to me about going up a hill on a track parallel to the venue, so they could have some photos taken there after the ceremony with the bride and groom. Knowing the venue, I was aware of track, but hadn’t been on it before. When I arrived at the venue, the track was in the distance, and it didn’t look too much of a challenge, so I agreed.

The time came when the bride and groom as well as the maid of honour were in the car and I drove along the track and up the hill. However, the track had grass growing in the middle meaning that my car was scrapping on the mud and grass! As the incline got steeper, I was hoping and praying all the time that my wheels did not spin, especially as the guests were present! Thankfully, we arrived at the top of the hill and the bridal party had their photos taken.

Then, to come down again, this meant that I had to take it even more carefully and balance my wheels on the central grass ‘track’ and the verge to avoid scraping my under carriage again. My wheels began to slip but I carefully guided the car down and we were safe again.

Another satisfied bride and groom having once again gone the extra mile. I think I may be more careful about accepting these unofficial ‘Top Gear Challenges’ in future though!

Using DoDo for Claying

This is the final part of the mini series on how I prepare our cars for weddings and executive travel and specifically steps 5, 8 & 9 I mentioned in the first blog on the series a few weeks ago. 

• Use a clay cloth with juice to remove the deeper road grime

• Apply deep polish to remove swirls etc and polish off with clean microfibre cloth

• Apply deep carnauba wax to lock in the shine and give further protection and buff up with clean microfibre cloth

Initially, it is all about preparing the surfaces ready for polish, which is done with the clay cloth. Some people use a clay bar or clay mitt and which ever you use is all about personal preference. Although I am not sponsored by them, I have been giving a shout out to the supplier I buy all my detailing products from and this edition is no exception, so once again The Clay Cloth Company (CCC) have all these products online and I fully recommend them and their service, and a lot of the detail descriptions I have been giving of these products is taken from their website.

So what is a clay cloth used for and why? It is an effective method of removing bonded contaminants from the surface of exterior automotive finishes and glass. Decontamination of the paint surface is critical in order to take correct care of automotive paintwork for a multitude of reasons. For exceptional results using clay car cleaning products, the removal of contaminates before polishing provides a clean canvas, preventing  dragging particles across the panel during the polishing stage which will actually produce a marring effect, resulting in a duller finish. Marring can only be corrected by machine polishing with compound, to restore the lustre; this process can be both time consuming and expensive even for the professional and  is not without risk either. Poor skill levels when machine  polishing can produce burn through, which will require a  visit to the body shop. Other potential hazards include leaving swirl marks or compound trapped in awkward areas, which look unsightly. 

Having mentioned the above, currently I do not use a machine polisher, and that is one of my next acquisitions, so at the moment I polish and wax by hand.

To assist the clay cloth process, I also use Dodo Juice from the CCC, which applied with shampoo and water, help keep the clay cloth moist and working most effectively.

Once the surfaces have ben fully clayed, rinsed and dried off the next stage is applying the polish.

Currently, I use ‘A Grade Refinishing Glaze’, which is a very easy on and easy off polish that can be worked into the surface, providing a good base upon which to apply the wax.

I use Killerwaxx Carnauba Paste Wax which again is very easy on and easy off, which includes Grade #1 Brazilian Carnauba Wax which is 100% pure. It's the strongest you're going to find on the market and will provide valuable protection for 6 months. In my experience, the shine is like no other. 

It has been said in the detailing trade that it is difficult to get a deep long lasting shine on silver cars, and as you will know by now our Jaguar XFS is silver and we make sure that our clients travel in a clean and shiny vehicle to all their destinations.

Finally to answer the question about how frequently to I wash and clean the cars - this depends on the frequency of the weddings and executive travel jobs we do. 

Our commitment is to ensure that our cars are in a pristine condition inside and out every time we present them to our clients, so although they may leave our base in that condition, when we travel to pick up a client, we stop a short distance away and check the cars over and if necessary, wipe them down with a microfibre towel, applying water if necessary and sometimes apply more detailing carnauba wax. 

You will also notice when I remember that I use detailing gloves - recommended if you are planning to use any products on a very frequent basis.

Thank you for taking the time to read this series which is not an attempt to provide a tutorial, but just a guide to what we do to prepare our cars.

Its All About Timing

My initial plan this afternoon was to snow foam 2 cars, shampoo, rinse and dry off. This is following a family pick up from Heathrow T5 with loads of luggage in the silver XFS and take back to Gloucestershire. The weather early this morning was wet, so the car became very mucky.

However, as I applied all the snow foam as discussed in my last blog, to both cars, it was raining a little, and as so often happens in our country, the rain turned into what can be loosely called a mini monsoon. Snow foam now off with no soaking effect - its all about timing!

Some times my timing is better, but I have to admit other times I get it completely wrong and in this instance that is the situation. Timings for weddings and executive travel are meticulously checked and learnings can always be made, so I never become complacent. So, this afternoon, it is blogging time.

Enough about timings, so picking up from last week, I would like to talk briefly about alloy and tyre treatments and exhaust pipes.

There are a myriad of different products on the market, that can do the job, so it is a matter of own individual preference on what to use. That said, I am happy to recommend the ones I use and the reasons why.

Alloy treatment - if alloy wheels have been left unattended to for years, then it is inappropriate to expect cleaning them will bring them totally back to their former ‘new’ glory, so it may mean having them refurbished, where most dents and scratches and brake dust contamination can be removed, and the alloys recoated.

This is a professional skill and I have used a local supplier Platinum Alloys for this who always do a sterling job.

When I jet wash the car, I also do the same to the wheels, and with them still wet, I currently use Devil’s Mist Fallout Remover and Wheel Cleaner, from The Clay Cloth Company mentioned in last weeks blog. 

Brake dust contains high levels of iron and once in contact with your valuable alloy wheels, it can start to corrode the surface if there are small pin holes in the clear coat. Devil's Mist will turn red due to the chemical reaction during use which will indicate contamination! Once dry, the alloys can then be washed again using shampoo which brings the shiny alloy back.

Also on wheel preparation is tyre treatment, for which I use Killerwaxx Tyre Gel from the same supplier. This is a very simple wipe on to the wall of the tyres which then transforms them into a shiny black surface, that soon dries.

Lastly exhaust pipes. All the exhaust pipes on our cars are stainless steel, but they still need to be cleaned to retain their gleaming brightness. Currently, I use the same paint surface polishes, which will be discussed in the final blog on this mini series next week.

It's Snowing in Summer!

Continuing the mini series on preparing our cars for either weddings or our executive travel services, one of my favourite stages is applying the snow foam.

So why do I use snow foam as the initial step and is this done every time and what is it? 

I snow foam only when the car is really filthy as a pre-wash stage.

A pre-wash, utilising snow foam is extremely effective as softening damaging particles, traffic film, bugs and bird droppings before you carry out a hand wash and it works by drawing these away from the paint surface, wheels and any area where snow foam is applied. 

The ValetPro snow foam I use, is essential to prevent swirl marks, scratches and any other damage being created from these damaging particles which can easily occur during conventional washes without a pre-wash. The key is remove as much dirt as possible without actually touching the paint surface!

At this stage, it would be helpful to let you know where I purchased most if not all, of my cleaning supplies from, which is The Clay Cloth Company (CCC). Quick ‘shout out’ to them as they have been most helpful and are always available should I have any queries on the ‘how to’ for any task.

Snow foam is applied with a jet wash, but by attaching a snow foam lance which the water goes through with the soap foam solution being mixed with the water at predetermined levels. Snow foam provides a layer of white foam which completely covers your vehicle and this is left to work its wonder, usually for approx 10-15 minutes.

Then, the car is jet washed as normal, leaving much less dirt on it than before.

Afterwards, I use cherry snow foam, as a shampoo supplied as above with a lambswool wash mitt and dry off with microfibre drying towels.

I used to use a sponge and leather chamois which I had being doing since I first washed my cars back in the 70’s, but changed to a mitt and drying towel when we went professional last year, with much better results.

You may have heard people talk about using a clay cloth or clay bar, indeed I mentioned this process last week. I will leave this however, to a later time when I will explain the extra processes needed when performing a deep polish and wax on the vehicle.

Once the surfaces are totally dry, the shine can be enhanced by using detailing spray, which applies carnauba wax to the paint surfaces. The product I use now is CCC’s own Detailing Spray Waterless Valet, which is applied by a spray bottle and worked in with a softest and most scratch resistant microfibre cloth available on the market - or so I am led to believe! This requires very little effort - honest!

The finish is amazing, but is fully dependant upon the work done before and that includes the deep polish and waxing I mentioned but have not yet explained. 

Finally, for windows I use Killerwaxx Extreme Window Cleaner (no spelling mistake there!!), again with a Microfibre Professional Glass Cloth. The results are again incredible and I have never failed to have a smear free windscreen or windows. Fully recommended!

Still to come, is wheel and alloy treatment as well as exhaust pipes, how to prepare the inside of the car, and also clay cloth, polish and waxes. As you are beginning to appreciate, cleaning a car is not just about splashing on some shampoo and drying off - preparation is key to the way we present ourselves to clients whether for awedding or corporate travel, airport transfers, events or special occasions. We aim to provide an immaculate car to every client, every time whatever the weather.

So, I have 2 weddings and an airport transfer coming up this weekend, so I’m off to clean a car. Bye for now!

Washing Day Again!

I mentioned at the end of last week’s blog since our family holidays in our blue S Type, that she has been given a deep clean and now that she is only used for weddings. This leads me to answer what many have asked me since we turned professional - how often do you clean your cars as they are always pristine?

Well, to state the obvious, they do get very dirty on our country roads especially when it is raining. Having said that, the S Type is only taken out when the roads are dry unless we are doing a wedding in her when the weather is bad. Although she is very reliable she is still an old lady and needs to be respected to preserve her!

Needless to say I do enjoy bringing both our ‘working’ cars back to their normal glory when they have got messy.

Before each wedding the car that is being used, is cleaned immaculately and new fresh wax is applied. Additionally, we clean and condition the leathers in the car and give the whole inside a full clean, including inside the doors around the hinges as well, to ensure that the passengers who enter the car need not fear about any dirt getting on their clothes, especially the brides beautiful dress!

For the silver XFS, not only is she cleaned for weddings, but also before any executive travel journeys I do in her for clients, like airport transfers, events, special occasions, or taking clients to other parts of the country for a long weekend, when driving the long distance is just too much for them.

Additionally, when we have to travel a distance either before we pick up the bride or client for executive travel, the car becomes dirty to varying degrees from the road grime on the journey to the client. This means that we set off much earlier to ensure that we have the chance to clean the car again before we meet our client. 

Our intention, is that whenever we meet a client, the car is presented in a totally clean state when they enter the car. Not only is the car cleaned from any dirt when we arrive close to the pick up point for our client, but more detailing wax is applied - subject to when it is not actually raining at that time. Should it be raining, we ensure the car is clean in any case as much as is possible.

So you see, cleaning our cars is done frequently.

So very briefly, to pull this week’s edition to a close, when a car is extremely dirty, we follow the below steps, with the twice yearly additional deeper cleansing as indicated:

1. Apply snow foam with a snow lance attached to a jet wash

2. Leave to soak for 10 minutes

3. Jet wash the car

4. Wash the shampoo and a woollen mitt

5. Use a clay cloth with juice to remove the deeper road grime (twice yearly)

6. Jet wash the car

7. Dry with microfibre drying towels

8. Apply deep polish to remove swirls etc and polish off with clean microfibre cloth (twice yearly)

9. Apply deep carnauba wax to lock in the shine and give further protection and buff up with clean microfibre cloth (twice yearly)

10. Apply detailing carnauba wax to all surfaces except windows to add more shine and protection, including the stainless steel exhaust pipes

11. Apply special window cleaner and buff with clean microfibre cloth

12. Wheels are also cleaned with using specialised fluids and dried before applying tyre gloss and then finally adding the rim coating to protect from further dirt build up

I will leave to another blog describing the types of materials I use inside the car and outside, why and also where I resource them from to a later blog. I hope you find the above helpful and interesting.

Why Jaguar?

On my travels and at the networking meetings I attend, I am often asked why I chose Jaguars. When I purchased our first Jaguar 11 years ago, I was working within a global corporate company and previously owned a Vauxhall Omega.

At the time when we needed to change our family car, which was also used to travel for work, Vauxhall no longer manufactured Omegas and didn’t produce anything near the size that we had become used to. So, having driven Vauxhalls for many years, I had to go on the search and test drive many different cars.

When I was being chauffeur driven for the corporate job I was often in BMW or Mercedes Benz, and although they are the normal chauffeur cars, they were not quite what I was looking for.

We first tried Volvo, Ford, VW, Audi and Jaguar. To be honest although the most comfortable we drove was the Jaguar X Type, we thought that there was just no way we could either afford one or would feel too embarrassed owning one being that Jaguars, were usually regarded as for the super rich when I was growing up!

We also test drove a Saab, but even that was not comfortable enough for us - we were beginning to run out of options and really, my heart was set on buying a British car.

So we went back to the garage to see what deals could be done, and Grange Jaguar at Swindon did not disappoint! We soon surprised ourselves in buying the 2005 Jaguar X Type 2.0 V6 SE in deep Pacific Blue.

The day we brought the X Type back with our faithful Omega besides

Now, the timing of this purchase was critical not only for us, but also a couple who we were due to provide a wedding car for. They expected to be using the Omega when they asked us. 

I placed the order for the X Type and while at the garage, I made a phone call to them saying something like this…. ‘Hello, it’s Dave. You know we are providing your wedding car, well we have just sold it and we no longer have it……….. instead we will be picking up a Jaguar X Type the week before your wedding - would you like that instead??’

The answer was just as we hoped for, but even better… it went something like this…. ‘That is just amazing, what an incredible treat and surprise, my fiancé has always dreamt of having a Jaguar for his wedding. Thank you so much Dave’

Our Jaguar prepared for the first big cat wedding!

One of the biggest pleasures was not only doing several weddings, as well as for our 2 oldest daughters’ weddings, but also taking my father out for a drive. He had always loved the Jaguar brand but was never able to own one even though he owned with his brother, my Uncle Gordon, a garage that sold new British cars and used cars for many brands.

That car served us well as a family car as well as for business and weddings until we part exchanged it in May 2009 for another big cat. Our long term relationship with Jaguar as a brand was developing! 

Presenting.....

During the corporate jobs over the past 15-20 years, I was required to do many presentations, stand up and address varying people of different levels in the companies. As I've mentioned in past blogs, travel was a big part of my previous job. I was required to go Milan, Italy a few times to do some training and presentations, although there is one trip I will not forget. 

The day I was travelling I was required to go to the company HQ at Slough. Following the meetings I had there, I was whisked away to the airport by the corporate chauffeur. He took me swiftly to Terminal 3 where I paid up, got out of the car and made my way to the nearest departures board - the plane was on time. All going to plan… Or so I thought!

My laptop bag seemed rather light. I checked it and found that my laptop was not inside, it was still on my desk in Slough! I definitely would need it in Milan as I was doing some training at the office. All of my information was on the computer.

I rang the office who gave me the phone number of the corporate chauffeur. I then rang and he agreed to go back to the office, collect my laptop and bring it to the airport. He made it just in time for me to get through Security in time to board the plane. Thank goodness for the kindness of the chauffeur!

The experience of giving many presentations in different environments has put me in good stead as I now need to present in networking meetings but also to key individuals in companies and hotels. Except now it is on a subject that I really can say I am passionate about. 

After planning what to write for this blog, I was presenting at a networking meeting from my laptop. When I arrived at the venue I proceeded to set up my TV screen that I was using, got out the cables to connect it to the laptop, reached in my bag for the laptop… It had happened again! Except this time the laptop on my desk at home and I was the chauffeur, so I couldn't nip back and get it in time for my presentation. I managed to improvised by using my iPad. My opening line was ‘I’ll just connect my iPad to the screen’, at which point I placed the iPad on the top of the TV screen which thankfully caused quite a few laughs. Many people congratulated me on the presentation, so no harm done!

Turkish Delight...?

Last week’s blog mentioned about seeds being sown for the chauffeur business, although, at that stage I had no plans to change my career any time soon. The global company I worked for gave me plenty of opportunities to travel abroad, which I loved for many years. More often than not when I was overseas, the business trip was very much like this: taxi from the airport to the hotel, the next morning, taxi from the hotel to the office and at the end of the working day, taxi back to the hotel, change clothes and then taxi to the evening meal somewhere other than the hotel if we were lucky, then taxi back to the hotel and repeat.

So, you can see being sat in the back seat allowed me time to experience the varying standards of driving in many different countries. One of the worst I have ever experienced was in Istanbul Our team were being taken back to the hotel late at night by two taxis. The drivers drove at an unsafe speed, braked erratically, cornered sharply with the result that we were literally being thrown about. We were fearing for our lives when, for some reason, it seemed they stopped in the middle of the road and refused to go any further. We had to pay and get out - I have no idea to this day why and all I can think of is that perhaps we hit a time limit for those particular drivers shift.

So perhaps it was a blessing that our taxi driver threw us out! The drama didn’t stop there though as when our team tried to find our way back to the hotel, the rest of the team decided to go to a night club, which I didn’t want to do, so I was left on my own to find my way back. There was no way I was going to attempt to find another taxi and potentially risk my life again!

Thank goodness for 3G and an iPhone - I turned on Maps and entered the name of the hotel, which it found immediately and I proceeded to walk the 3.5 miles back. However, it was a race against time as my battery was getting low. At least it was quite hot weather in the middle of the night and not raining. 

I took the shortest distance to the hotel, walking past a group a people when I couldn’t fail to notice some poor person was on the floor being kicked and beaten - something inside me was being torn to help him, but I decided the best thing to do was to keep looking straight ahead and walk through the crowd literally praying as I did.

Thankfully the same time my iPhone battery died, I could see the neon lights of the hotel high above all other buildings. I finally arrived at my room, safe and thankful.

I did however, find the people in that city very welcoming and their turkish delight was the best I ever tasted - the family enjoyed them too!

Enter Mr Bean!

During my time working for a company that was in Swindon, I was given the opportunity for overseas travel, visiting a number of countries including regular trips to Copenhagen. My three daughters and I had made an unspoken deal in the family that each time I went overseas I would bring a gift I could only get from that country. Some times it was special Danish cakes and other times wafer thin chocolate that I thought was only available in Denmark. Years later my eldest daughter found that exact type of chocolate had been available in a nearby supermarket! I tried!

About 6 years ago the Swindon office was closed and most of the employees were either made redundant or were moved to the offices in Hull or Slough. I thankfully managed to negotiate a ‘work from home’ contract which required me to go to the global head office in Slough for meetings only 2-3 times per week to start with. When friends and family asked me where I was working I would innocently reply the ‘Home Office’. Most cottoned on to the joke, but one of my sisters genuinely believed I meant the Home Office in Westminster! We played that joke for quite a while, until she eventually realised!

Being home based with the need to travel to Slough frequently, meant I was often driving to Slough during the rush hour and naturally got used to driving through those difficult conditions. Then when I had to go abroad, I used to leave my car in the relative safety of the head office car park, and catch a corporate chauffeur driven vehicle to Heathrow. This gave me lots of experience of the good, not so good and quite honestly, the painful times being chauffeur driven by other people. The seeds for creating my own executive travel company were being sown.

Whilst waiting for a meeting to start at the head office, I was sat in their reception area enjoying a coffee. Unfortunately, I was blissfully unaware that every time I reached forward to pick up my drink from the low coffee table, my tie was being dunked in my mug! I only realised something was wrong when the coffee had seeped through my shirt and trousers. Thankfully I was quite early for my meeting, so I rushed to the toilets and attempted to dry my clothes using the hand dryer, very much like the famous sketch by Mr Bean!

Aconite Mini and Floppy disks

In last weeks blog, I mentioned about producing the month end accounts and managing the forecourt at my father’s garage business. This was a time of my life when I first started to learn about hard work and making sacrifices for the family business.

Customer care was paramount when I was serving behind the till and was also required when going out to help the customer with checking the tyres, filling up with oil and fuel. I also had to deal with enquiries directly from customers related to products that we sold out of the small shop. Those were the days when we were taught that the ‘customer was always right’, and I believe this attitude has continued with me to this day.

Sometimes it was a struggle to remain polite, especially with some customers, who had never got used to the fact that automation and self service was here to stay. Often with them, it was a case of going the extra mile to meet their demands, but customer satisfaction was key to the success of the business.

Back then, I learnt to deal with cash and to give the correct change worked out manually, my strength in maths was helpful for this! That was until more and more people were starting to use credit cards, which meant we were then using a machine similar to the one below - much bigger that the machines we use today!

Around this time of our lives, just before myself and my wife were married ourselves, we often attended weddings for friends. I can remember my first duty as a wedding car provider for a friend, I had no idea that I would one day actually be a professional chauffeur! Believe it or not, I was dressed in a bright green suit and used my Mini shown below, to transport 3 bridesmaids. We had an impossible deadline to get through the city of Bath, but we got there and so my first wedding chauffeur experience was done. You may even be able to notice my green waistcoat and my fiancé by my side, who I had to leave at the church whilst I went off to collect the bridesmaids.

The same Mini was originally green but when I took it over I did some small modifications and painted it an aconite colour, using the facilities of the Paint Shop in the garage. I can remember taking that car on many trips to Cheddar, Somerset and have to admit I was not as diligent on keeping the speed limits as I have now been for many years. Guess that made me a boy racer in my youth!

Thinking again about my ‘garage’ days, the time had come to consider computerising the accounts and after much persuasion and investigation, I managed to convince my father and uncle that they needed a computer. Eventually they invested in an Apricot Computer much like the library picture below found on this link:

After many long days and nights, I finally transitioned all the accounts and management reports to the computer. The 3 1/2 " floppy disk was an incredible invention, it stored so much information… Or did it?

Anyway, thats it for this week folks.