The first thing that struck me when I first entered the hotel after six months, was the overwhelming smell of dirty frying oil! So the first thing I did the next day after breakfast, was to see if there were any cans of oil, but there were none, and I went looking for Tony, as I was not doing any chips or anything else in that smelly fryers. he was quite taken aback, told me that the I am mistaken in my believe that the fryers should be cleaned, and the oil changed at least once a week if it wasn't busy, and twice during the summer. He told me to just do as they were doing so far!
So I told him that I was not going to chance people's health, and if that is how he wanted me to run the kitchen, I was leaving as in immediately! I had another job offer, and thinking back now, I know that I was silly not to take it, as it was a clean, well run hotel that offered me the job! But I am the world's biggest fool, and as loyalty is about first on my list after keeping promises, I come second a lot of times. Tony was shocked, looked at me with bewildered eyes, his small, thin body seeming to crumple in front of me, and my bally soft heart crumbled, and I said okay, I won't leave, but I wanted clean oil, pronto!
The poor wee man, who was thin when they first arrived, was now like a pencil stripe, as between him and Theresa they had done everything during the winter. There was almost no tourists during winter, and the kitchen was closed during the week, but in order to keep the inn running, the bar had to be kept open till the early hours of the morning. And over week-ends the two of them had shared the kitchen duties.
I had one humongous shock when, after brakfast, I took my own breakfast into the library where I used to always have it. But there was no library anymore, the beautiful leather couches had been removed, and a lot of small tables had replaced them, with the ugliest chairs around this tables, and cheap paper tablecloths, somewhat worse for wear covering said tables.
But what really threw me was the fact that all the books were gone, the walls empty of the wall racks housing them. And to top it all, the beautiful brown paint that gave so much atmosphere were now painted a stark white. I reeled with shock, as the library was used by quite a lot of the villagers, and guests, as they could sit there with a coffee or tea, and read for as long as they wanted! Now it was a very badly decorated, cold and miserable room.
I stormed out, so upset that I forgot that it was Tony's hotel now, to ask him why the heck they had made such a bally mess of the place, but had a further shock on seeing the bar! What used to be the most cosy, happy place, was now also a cold, unfriendly space, the walls also painted white, and all the beautiful prints off the walls! In place of the prints were now a few badly and cheaply framed notices, and my shocked nerves just overrun my senses, and I really went beserk when I found Tony. He and Theresa was busy doing the rooms, and from the conversation I learned that Theresa was actually the one behind all the changes, as she had convinced Tony that the library was a waste, and they could seat such a lot more people when it got busy! I kind of yelled at them, telling them that they had made the once tastefully decorated hotel into a cheap and ugly space! I was actually crying on and off all the rest of the day, until I went up to my room for a rest, where I stuck my head in the pillow, and screamed away my disgust!But, as I reminded myself, it was not my hotel, and if I wanted to enjoy my lovely Scotland, I just had to close my eyes against this atrocities, and do my work!
The thought of my next outing, this time to Loch Etive, lifted my shattered spirits a wee bit, and I was quite calm when I went down to do dinner!