...nothing happens at all, and the needle returns to the start of the song and we all sing along like before." - Del Amitri
I think last night was an interesting one, but more on that at a later date. It was a quiet evening on the site, well it was when I arrived, slightly later than usual but it was all above board. The first thing I noticed was that the building alarm was sounding inside, so I had to call Alex out to reset it. It was very quiet all night with absolutely nothing to report. Well, there was one thing. . .
I noticed last night that the owls were a lot quieter than usual. I thought maybe it was due to the fact that it was rather windy and I either couldn't hear them or they had been blown off course and weren't on the site. I found out the reason at around half seven this morning, as I was doing my usual routine of walking around the grounds, I discovered an owl (deceased) lying in an awkward position, in amongst a pile of branches, under a tree. That would explain the sudden silence then!
Back in tonight, and I do believe I will be finding out what will happen to both myself and Archie now that the season has died down slightly. I shall endeavour to keep you posted.
Friday 14 September 2007
Thursday 13 September 2007
She's gone...
...and I'm a broken man. Yes, the sad news of which I spoke in the last post has finally come. She left yesterday morning and I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. I'm a broken man. Maybe it's due to the fact that I now have man-flu and I'm trying to milk it for everything it's worth.
Last night was a very quiet night compared to the weekend. The mass exodus of people have left the area and it's just the usual crowd that's in. Good news for the day shift though, I noticed, as it gives them plenty of opportunity to carry out essential pitch repairs. There are a lot of signs out asking people not to pitch in certain areas of the park.
I did have to call Alex out at just after midnight last night, I had spoken to a group who had their radio on and were talking loudly. I had to ask them to turn the radio off twice and to quieten down three times. The third time I paid them a visit, two of the males and one of the females were urinating in the trees. All season and I've had a few piss-takers, but never a female one. Luckily I was distracted talking to the male by the time I turned my attention to the person hanging around the treeline. I shone the torch on them and saw them pull up their trousers and apologise in a feminine voice. I didn't know where to look.
Alex appeared at the office door last night, just as I was about to set off on my rounds and informed me that Archie wasn't going to the annual staff night out and he practically begged me to go. Naturally I was very suspicious, I'm a night warden it's in the contract, but agreed to show face before heading off to work. Yes, they happened to plan the night out when I was on shift. Although Alex has said that he'll "make it up to me." How? Well, I didn't want to ask there and then. So we'll see what tricks he has up his sleeve.
Last night was a very quiet night compared to the weekend. The mass exodus of people have left the area and it's just the usual crowd that's in. Good news for the day shift though, I noticed, as it gives them plenty of opportunity to carry out essential pitch repairs. There are a lot of signs out asking people not to pitch in certain areas of the park.
I did have to call Alex out at just after midnight last night, I had spoken to a group who had their radio on and were talking loudly. I had to ask them to turn the radio off twice and to quieten down three times. The third time I paid them a visit, two of the males and one of the females were urinating in the trees. All season and I've had a few piss-takers, but never a female one. Luckily I was distracted talking to the male by the time I turned my attention to the person hanging around the treeline. I shone the torch on them and saw them pull up their trousers and apologise in a feminine voice. I didn't know where to look.
Alex appeared at the office door last night, just as I was about to set off on my rounds and informed me that Archie wasn't going to the annual staff night out and he practically begged me to go. Naturally I was very suspicious, I'm a night warden it's in the contract, but agreed to show face before heading off to work. Yes, they happened to plan the night out when I was on shift. Although Alex has said that he'll "make it up to me." How? Well, I didn't want to ask there and then. So we'll see what tricks he has up his sleeve.
Monday 10 September 2007
A Frantic Weekend
First of all, I'd like to apologise for not posting over the course of the weekend, but as the park has been pretty busy, I'm sure you'll understand.
When I went back in on Friday night, the chiminea gang and the bongo-toting loonies had left/been evicted from the site. I did hear from a member of the day staff that the bongo crowd were on a tour of the UK and were only staying for one night.
Friday night was the busiest of them all. Three night wardens on duty, with Billy on the gates for six hours and myself and Archie walking around the rest of the park. As you well know, the gates on the site close at eleven o'clock and after that, no one gets onto the site. By 11.30pm, the car park was pretty much full. By 11.45pm the grass area opposite the tarred car park was full and cars were still arriving back. It was mainly taxis, but three cars and a motorhome (which was already booked in on the site) came back. So, Billy became slightly flustered and asked me to help him out. I sent the cars and the motorhome further up the road where there is a secure car park and a path which takes them back onto the site. Take note; the motorhome occupants said that this was fine and they didn't mind. At 8am, they went in and complained and asked for a refund (which wasn't given) as they were refused access back onto the site.
Between the hours of midnight and four in the morning, a lot of taxis came back to the site. Most of them seemed to be on repeat journeys for the night. As the site is three miles from the nearest town, and after midnight the taxi fares are higher, these drivers must have made an absolute mint. Billy reminded them of the silence policy when they came back in and most of them adhered to it. There was one or two exceptions to that rule, but they were told by myself that if they didn't shut up, they would be leaving the site immediately.
The last taxi back on the site was at 5.40am.
On Saturday, the car park was filled, but only three vehicles were forced to park on the grass. A lot more punters went out and I finally managed to enforce the "no walking around with alcohol" policy. Fair enough, the punter was already inebriated and just looked confused when he handed over the can of lager and watched me pour it down the drain and put the empty in the bin.
Several reports went into the office and I think a few people were asked to leave. One group in particular. They arrived back around half past one and they shook Billy's hand and assured him that they would be quiet. They then proceeded to walk into the field and shout extremely loud. I hot-footed it into the field and found their tent. As I walked up to the tent, I heard one of them saying he was going to empty his bladder, so I shone the torch on him and he decided to use the toilet block instead. I spoke to one male, who was sitting behind the wheel of his vehicle, drunk. Before I managed to say anything to him, he offered me a fruit pastille. I declined his offer, and checked their ticket. They were due to be leaving in the morning, so I said to them if they didn't quieten down immediately, get in their tents and go to sleep, they would be leaving now. I had no further dealings with them, but I believe that Archie spoke to them afterwards, so I decided to put a report in anyway. They were rudely awoken at 8am and told to pack up and leave.
In the same field, there is a large tent (which has been booked in as a backpack tent, which has a smaller fee to pay) and next to it, were four small 2-3 man tents. One of which wasn't a part of the three smaller ones. If that makes sense. The teenage occupants came back after the fruit pastille mob and went to their tents and were talking loudly. I walked over and told them if they didn't quieten down immediately, they would be packing up and leaving the site. The male occupant of the tent which had pitched next to them, but wasn't a part of their group, said, "Good call mate." I guessed that he had been previously awoken by the teens.
At that point, I decided to go for a cup of coffee. I was standing outside the office with my hot cup of coffee, when a male approached me. I could see that he was tired and not a happy man. He asked me if I worked on the site, as if the fluorescent jacket wasn't a major giveaway, to which I replied with the affirmative. Once he had established where his tent was and that it was him who had said, "Good call mate" when I asked the noisy group of teens to quieten down, he told me that he was thinking about making a complaint. We spoke for around ten minutes, and when he left he said that he probably wouldn't make a complaint after all. So it came as a bit of a surprise when Alex told me that he had made a complaint and that, allegedly, it was like "world war three there." I said that it was of no such proportions, but Alex wasn't in the best of moods that morning, so there was no arguing about it.
The last taxi back on the site was at 5.55am, the sole returnee looked as though he'd been sleeping somewhere and had not long woken up. He did say 'good morning' to us though.
On Sunday, there was another party in the town. Even though the site only had around 200 tents and around 100 caravans and motorhomes, the site was reasonably quiet. Alex had mentioned to me, in passing, that a group of five teenagers were messing around in one of the sculleries and setting off the fire extinguishers. So it was Archie's job to find out their ticket details. This wasn't hard, because just after ten (before we had even started.) The group of teens were still in the scullery making a noise. Archie went over and sent them to their tents and told them if there was anymore noise from them, the manager would be called and they would be asked to pack up and leave. We found their tent shortly after that, so we knew who to keep an eye on.
Sadly though, we didn't have to speak to them again, but I think Alex went round and asked them to replace the fire extinguisher which they had set off the previous evening.
All was quiet until around two in the morning, when the pubs closed. The same group of males that were causing a disturbance the previous evening came back and we kept a very close eye on them. Two of them had decided to go and play on the swings, not the best idea at 2am. However, they were quickly sent to their tents and told if there was any further noise they would be evicted. They took a while getting into their tents and weren't happy that the park enforced a silence policy. Eventually though, they went to sleep. Another report for Alex in the morning.
The last taxi arrived back on the site at 7am. It's a new record!
Well, that's what everyone has been bracing themselves for and it's finally over. Back to normal this week, and that will shortly be followed by the end of the season.
Some sad news this week; the female receptionist, who Archie thinks has fancy for me, is leaving to go home. Alex mentioned this, in passing, but didn't say when. I guess only time will tell if we get to swap contact details before she bids this site 'Au revoir' for good.
When I went back in on Friday night, the chiminea gang and the bongo-toting loonies had left/been evicted from the site. I did hear from a member of the day staff that the bongo crowd were on a tour of the UK and were only staying for one night.
Friday night was the busiest of them all. Three night wardens on duty, with Billy on the gates for six hours and myself and Archie walking around the rest of the park. As you well know, the gates on the site close at eleven o'clock and after that, no one gets onto the site. By 11.30pm, the car park was pretty much full. By 11.45pm the grass area opposite the tarred car park was full and cars were still arriving back. It was mainly taxis, but three cars and a motorhome (which was already booked in on the site) came back. So, Billy became slightly flustered and asked me to help him out. I sent the cars and the motorhome further up the road where there is a secure car park and a path which takes them back onto the site. Take note; the motorhome occupants said that this was fine and they didn't mind. At 8am, they went in and complained and asked for a refund (which wasn't given) as they were refused access back onto the site.
Between the hours of midnight and four in the morning, a lot of taxis came back to the site. Most of them seemed to be on repeat journeys for the night. As the site is three miles from the nearest town, and after midnight the taxi fares are higher, these drivers must have made an absolute mint. Billy reminded them of the silence policy when they came back in and most of them adhered to it. There was one or two exceptions to that rule, but they were told by myself that if they didn't shut up, they would be leaving the site immediately.
The last taxi back on the site was at 5.40am.
On Saturday, the car park was filled, but only three vehicles were forced to park on the grass. A lot more punters went out and I finally managed to enforce the "no walking around with alcohol" policy. Fair enough, the punter was already inebriated and just looked confused when he handed over the can of lager and watched me pour it down the drain and put the empty in the bin.
Several reports went into the office and I think a few people were asked to leave. One group in particular. They arrived back around half past one and they shook Billy's hand and assured him that they would be quiet. They then proceeded to walk into the field and shout extremely loud. I hot-footed it into the field and found their tent. As I walked up to the tent, I heard one of them saying he was going to empty his bladder, so I shone the torch on him and he decided to use the toilet block instead. I spoke to one male, who was sitting behind the wheel of his vehicle, drunk. Before I managed to say anything to him, he offered me a fruit pastille. I declined his offer, and checked their ticket. They were due to be leaving in the morning, so I said to them if they didn't quieten down immediately, get in their tents and go to sleep, they would be leaving now. I had no further dealings with them, but I believe that Archie spoke to them afterwards, so I decided to put a report in anyway. They were rudely awoken at 8am and told to pack up and leave.
In the same field, there is a large tent (which has been booked in as a backpack tent, which has a smaller fee to pay) and next to it, were four small 2-3 man tents. One of which wasn't a part of the three smaller ones. If that makes sense. The teenage occupants came back after the fruit pastille mob and went to their tents and were talking loudly. I walked over and told them if they didn't quieten down immediately, they would be packing up and leaving the site. The male occupant of the tent which had pitched next to them, but wasn't a part of their group, said, "Good call mate." I guessed that he had been previously awoken by the teens.
At that point, I decided to go for a cup of coffee. I was standing outside the office with my hot cup of coffee, when a male approached me. I could see that he was tired and not a happy man. He asked me if I worked on the site, as if the fluorescent jacket wasn't a major giveaway, to which I replied with the affirmative. Once he had established where his tent was and that it was him who had said, "Good call mate" when I asked the noisy group of teens to quieten down, he told me that he was thinking about making a complaint. We spoke for around ten minutes, and when he left he said that he probably wouldn't make a complaint after all. So it came as a bit of a surprise when Alex told me that he had made a complaint and that, allegedly, it was like "world war three there." I said that it was of no such proportions, but Alex wasn't in the best of moods that morning, so there was no arguing about it.
The last taxi back on the site was at 5.55am, the sole returnee looked as though he'd been sleeping somewhere and had not long woken up. He did say 'good morning' to us though.
On Sunday, there was another party in the town. Even though the site only had around 200 tents and around 100 caravans and motorhomes, the site was reasonably quiet. Alex had mentioned to me, in passing, that a group of five teenagers were messing around in one of the sculleries and setting off the fire extinguishers. So it was Archie's job to find out their ticket details. This wasn't hard, because just after ten (before we had even started.) The group of teens were still in the scullery making a noise. Archie went over and sent them to their tents and told them if there was anymore noise from them, the manager would be called and they would be asked to pack up and leave. We found their tent shortly after that, so we knew who to keep an eye on.
Sadly though, we didn't have to speak to them again, but I think Alex went round and asked them to replace the fire extinguisher which they had set off the previous evening.
All was quiet until around two in the morning, when the pubs closed. The same group of males that were causing a disturbance the previous evening came back and we kept a very close eye on them. Two of them had decided to go and play on the swings, not the best idea at 2am. However, they were quickly sent to their tents and told if there was any further noise they would be evicted. They took a while getting into their tents and weren't happy that the park enforced a silence policy. Eventually though, they went to sleep. Another report for Alex in the morning.
The last taxi arrived back on the site at 7am. It's a new record!
Well, that's what everyone has been bracing themselves for and it's finally over. Back to normal this week, and that will shortly be followed by the end of the season.
Some sad news this week; the female receptionist, who Archie thinks has fancy for me, is leaving to go home. Alex mentioned this, in passing, but didn't say when. I guess only time will tell if we get to swap contact details before she bids this site 'Au revoir' for good.
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