I write this as usual at Caherconnoll enjoying a cup of good Irish tea – if only we could beer that was as good as our tea in Ireland but I digress! I seem to have been here a bit this week but it has given me chance to work on my preliminary notes for my book. Thinking back to the early days of our company has been unexpectedly therapeutic and is really helping me focus on our future plans – it is easy to forget the hardship we endured to get to this point in our lives! I suppose hardship is and emotive word but it really was tough for a couple of years and many was the month we never saw a wage from Barratt Tours!
Also it made me ponder the long nights me and Chris spent together in the garage repairing a bus for the following days’ tour, one occasion particularly sticks in my mind when I got what is known as “arc eye” in other words getting blinded by a weld flash and ended up in hospital until 3 in the morning, I made my normal miraculous recovery and was heading to Killarney on tour with the bus the following day! Oh, and the exhaust was welded, not sure I could do that now mind!
If this is beginning to sound a bit like that classic Monty Python sketch when they are discussing how hard they had it growing up “that’s nothing we lived in a hole in the ground etc etc” then my apologies, all this is leading to is the thought that we have worked too hard to get this far so we are going to ride this current storm out and as you may have gathered we are gaining strength from the injustice and corruption that is blighting our industry at the moment, even though the field of play is nowhere near level there is always the second half - so look out!
Not much time for reading at the moment what with my literary endeavours but I’am still finding time for music with the band Doves being my music of choice at this time, suitably dark and melodic to just suit my mood at this time of year and to remind me of some trips to England this winter, it just occurred to me that the season is over half way through!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Richards Blog 09.07.09 – It’s a cheap price that we pay for existence!
I have been in deeply reflective mood this week hence the Bob Geldof quote from “Thinking Voyager 2 type things” – check it out it has to be one of the ultimate meaning of life songs! My mood has been due to the loss of a good friend of Barratt Tours Mr Noel O’Connor from Doolin Co.Clare, Noel ran a taxi business in Doolin and was a great friend and help to all of us involved in running day tours – he died in his sleep on Sunday evening and he will be much missed, our thoughts are with all his family and friends at this difficult time.
I have been reflective as I had my lunch with Noel on Saturday in O’Connors while on tour and we had a great chat about holidays etc and whilst we both agreed times were hard in the business at present it surely will come right for next year, it really has made me think about our short time on this planet.
My thoughts are not bitter about the business but I do feel it is time for us to turn over a new leaf and stop being so nice in our battles with our competitors, we are never going to deviate from our strongly held belief that the honest will survive long term in business. By honest I mean that we try to sell our tours on merit and value, we don’t offer huge agents commission and incentives, this is how our tours are such good value after all, I heard of one operator in our sector that is actually paying more in commission than they get paid for a tour! I don’t believe this is sustainable and with information being so freely available online, I cannot believe people will be conned forever, I have said it before but we are lean and green also you can be sure we are here for the long haul maybe the saying “The bigger they are – the harder they fall” could be true here. I would love to hear your thoughts on this and sometimes I feel like spilling the beans and explaining exactly where the money that is paid to some larger operators goes – its not all Shamrocks, Sheep and Leprechauns as they might have you believe! So please get in touch and tell me that you think we are on the right track with our strategy. Or better still book one of our tours and to quote from The Commitments – Support Irelands’ hardest working tour company!
We had a great night to beat the blues on Thursday, we went to an old haunt of ours – The Trinity Rooms in Limerickwhich to be honest we felt we had outgrown as they do cater for the younger crowd, I quite like some dance music but much of it I couldn’t stick all night! When we first started going they had a separate room and dj who used to play a lot of indie stuff and it was just my kind of thing but sadly it seemed to become a victim of the “r’ word! However they have just started offering some alternative entertainment with a ska band called Skazz and they were superb, as well as playing some predictable 2 tone classics they played some real old Jamaican ska – including some infectious toe tappers, combine this with a drinks promotion and a good night was had – if you are in Limerick any Thursday in July check it out – highly recommended!
I have been reflective as I had my lunch with Noel on Saturday in O’Connors while on tour and we had a great chat about holidays etc and whilst we both agreed times were hard in the business at present it surely will come right for next year, it really has made me think about our short time on this planet.
My thoughts are not bitter about the business but I do feel it is time for us to turn over a new leaf and stop being so nice in our battles with our competitors, we are never going to deviate from our strongly held belief that the honest will survive long term in business. By honest I mean that we try to sell our tours on merit and value, we don’t offer huge agents commission and incentives, this is how our tours are such good value after all, I heard of one operator in our sector that is actually paying more in commission than they get paid for a tour! I don’t believe this is sustainable and with information being so freely available online, I cannot believe people will be conned forever, I have said it before but we are lean and green also you can be sure we are here for the long haul maybe the saying “The bigger they are – the harder they fall” could be true here. I would love to hear your thoughts on this and sometimes I feel like spilling the beans and explaining exactly where the money that is paid to some larger operators goes – its not all Shamrocks, Sheep and Leprechauns as they might have you believe! So please get in touch and tell me that you think we are on the right track with our strategy. Or better still book one of our tours and to quote from The Commitments – Support Irelands’ hardest working tour company!
We had a great night to beat the blues on Thursday, we went to an old haunt of ours – The Trinity Rooms in Limerickwhich to be honest we felt we had outgrown as they do cater for the younger crowd, I quite like some dance music but much of it I couldn’t stick all night! When we first started going they had a separate room and dj who used to play a lot of indie stuff and it was just my kind of thing but sadly it seemed to become a victim of the “r’ word! However they have just started offering some alternative entertainment with a ska band called Skazz and they were superb, as well as playing some predictable 2 tone classics they played some real old Jamaican ska – including some infectious toe tappers, combine this with a drinks promotion and a good night was had – if you are in Limerick any Thursday in July check it out – highly recommended!
Richards Blog 04.07.09 – Crowds and Hookers!
It has been a very mixed week with fairly poor loadings on our tours, indeed on Thursday we had nobody for either of our tours so we took the decision to have a break and headed up to Galway for the night, the break really brought back some happy memories and helped to remind us a little about what made us get us into all this! We often used to visit Galway when we still lived in England on our holidays and it is a place I still really like there really is a real buzz about the place, we had a great meal then a few drinks around town, the visit was made even happier for me as I got a chance to sample a new beer called Galway Hooker (www.galwayhooker.ie) it is a traditional pale ale with a superb smack of hops to its taste – I thought it was absolutely great, it was lovely to taste proper beer again! My usual tipple here is Guinness or if it is well kept I much prefer Beamish, I don’t know if my taste buds are bored but Guinness seems to be getting blander with little of the roasted malt bite it used to have – let me know if any you beer tasters agree! Indeed blandness is a feature of Irish beer now with the increasing promotion of bland worldwide lager brands and ‘light’ beers, it seems to me that it is seen as an advantage if beer no longer tastes of beer – it is then said to be smooth and easy drinking but then again so is water!
Anyhow beer rant over I’am back at the wheel today driving a thankfully well loaded Cliffs tour with my new coach so I’am in a happy frame of mind after our impromptu break, Chris is having a day off as sadly we have not needed 2 coaches on a Saturday for sometime now but hopefully that will change, it is little consolation but tourism numbers in general do seem to be in decline indeed I’am finishing this blog at The Cliffs and I’am the only coach here at 4.45 on a July Saturday afternoon! I remember about 6 years ago I was at the Cliffs one Sunday in August and there were 53 coaches all vying for parking spaces!
If you think this paints a depressing prospect to potential visitors – think again prices are tumbling, the welcome is warmer than ever and the crowds are not here so if you are thinking of booking one of our tours do it today and support a genuine small company – the big guys can look after themselves! come and enjoy! I might even show you where you can find a Galway Hooker! (you have a dirty mind, hooker was a name given to the typical Galway fishing boat!)
Anyhow beer rant over I’am back at the wheel today driving a thankfully well loaded Cliffs tour with my new coach so I’am in a happy frame of mind after our impromptu break, Chris is having a day off as sadly we have not needed 2 coaches on a Saturday for sometime now but hopefully that will change, it is little consolation but tourism numbers in general do seem to be in decline indeed I’am finishing this blog at The Cliffs and I’am the only coach here at 4.45 on a July Saturday afternoon! I remember about 6 years ago I was at the Cliffs one Sunday in August and there were 53 coaches all vying for parking spaces!
If you think this paints a depressing prospect to potential visitors – think again prices are tumbling, the welcome is warmer than ever and the crowds are not here so if you are thinking of booking one of our tours do it today and support a genuine small company – the big guys can look after themselves! come and enjoy! I might even show you where you can find a Galway Hooker! (you have a dirty mind, hooker was a name given to the typical Galway fishing boat!)
Richards Blog 20.06.09 – Chapter 1 – erm…..!
I have finally taken the decision to write the full story of Barratt Tours, people have often said to me that I should write a book and do you know, I think I will! Our story is a fairly unique and I think a very entertaining one but I have to be honest in that I don’t have a clue where to start, I think I will start writing prompts that I can weave into the story as it takes shape, we fortunately documented quite a lot of our early days and Chris has been secretly writing notes for a few years so maybe something might come to fruition, I have written a very concise history in my blogs last year but I think it is time for a warts and all account, you honestly wouldn’t believe what we have had to contend with behind the scenes over the last 12 years – it will be a good read!
Let me know what you think about the idea, I think it might be quite fun but please get back to me, I don’t get much feedback and especially get in touch if you know a “tame” publisher that likes a challenge and could give me a few tips!
It has been another mixed week for numbers and whilst our Cliffs tours have been OK loadings have been disappointing for Galway and Killarney, I think it’s a pity as they are both really nice tours and I do look forward to driving either of those, highlights for me are the magnificent walks at Muckross House and Galway City but I must admit my greatest pleasure is the cruise on the Corrib Princess. On a fine day I love to hide away outside at the bow and listen to some suitably chilled music on my I pod while the scenery goes by – this job is often not too bad at all! So why not join us for a really relaxing day and try one of our other tours!
We had a good night out on Thursday and saw a great band called Aftershock at Smyths, I had been getting a bit bored of some of the bands there lately – no fault of there own but a lot of the covers are the same week after week. Aftershock were a bit different and did some quite clever and more contemporary stuff probably my favorite track was “Where’s me jumper?” by The Sultans of Ping F.C – obscure stuff but regulars will know my strange tastes!
Let me know what you think about the idea, I think it might be quite fun but please get back to me, I don’t get much feedback and especially get in touch if you know a “tame” publisher that likes a challenge and could give me a few tips!
It has been another mixed week for numbers and whilst our Cliffs tours have been OK loadings have been disappointing for Galway and Killarney, I think it’s a pity as they are both really nice tours and I do look forward to driving either of those, highlights for me are the magnificent walks at Muckross House and Galway City but I must admit my greatest pleasure is the cruise on the Corrib Princess. On a fine day I love to hide away outside at the bow and listen to some suitably chilled music on my I pod while the scenery goes by – this job is often not too bad at all! So why not join us for a really relaxing day and try one of our other tours!
We had a good night out on Thursday and saw a great band called Aftershock at Smyths, I had been getting a bit bored of some of the bands there lately – no fault of there own but a lot of the covers are the same week after week. Aftershock were a bit different and did some quite clever and more contemporary stuff probably my favorite track was “Where’s me jumper?” by The Sultans of Ping F.C – obscure stuff but regulars will know my strange tastes!
Richards Blog 16.06.09 – A little piece of Liberty!
It has been quite a mixed week business wise this week, we seem to be really busy one day then really quiet the next but overall we are keeping our heads above water, I have been busy in the garage as well replacing a seemingly unbreakable suspension component which smashed on Saturday, thanks to our wonderful (or woeful!) road network, I had to drive to Portlaoise in the car yesterday for parts then spent the afternoon fitting them to my coach, also I had to prepare the small coach for test tomorrow so I’am quite happy to be working today, it really is a break to be touring today!
Our life is pretty hectic at the moment with behind the scenes plans coming to fruition for our new product and a new micro website that is coming together nicely now, it is all taking far longer than we anticipated but then that is a familiar story! I don’t know if we are doing more now or (perish the thought!) we are getting older but this season is really taking it out of us, at the moment I’am as tired as I normally am in August but I think our disrupted winter and getting the new coach ready is to blame, normally we find a routine by this time but it is taking a little bit of doing this year! I heard a great saying the other day which I think applies to us at the moment:
“I try to take life one day at a time but lately several have ganged up on me at once”
Now talk of one of my only recreations at the moment – music, I downloaded the new Madness album the other week “The Liberty of Norton Folgate” and whilst I have always loved the unique blend of ska and reggae that Madness create I honestly believe this to be one of their finest works, it really is a concept album which seems a mad idea for the “nutty boys’ but it really does work on all levels, it tells the story of an area of London which I never knew existed called Norton Folgate and up until the early 1900 s was outside the laws of the land and was a magnet for artists, poets and mad people – sounds great! I really must have a look round that area next time we hit “the big smoke” I have always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with London, I used to work there regularly after I left school and never really liked the place but since the death of Chris’ brother who lived in there just over a year ago we have become friends with some of his friends and I have mellowed a little in my attitude – our last visit was great so I’am now looking forward to our next visit and I will find my own little piece of liberty!
Our life is pretty hectic at the moment with behind the scenes plans coming to fruition for our new product and a new micro website that is coming together nicely now, it is all taking far longer than we anticipated but then that is a familiar story! I don’t know if we are doing more now or (perish the thought!) we are getting older but this season is really taking it out of us, at the moment I’am as tired as I normally am in August but I think our disrupted winter and getting the new coach ready is to blame, normally we find a routine by this time but it is taking a little bit of doing this year! I heard a great saying the other day which I think applies to us at the moment:
“I try to take life one day at a time but lately several have ganged up on me at once”
Now talk of one of my only recreations at the moment – music, I downloaded the new Madness album the other week “The Liberty of Norton Folgate” and whilst I have always loved the unique blend of ska and reggae that Madness create I honestly believe this to be one of their finest works, it really is a concept album which seems a mad idea for the “nutty boys’ but it really does work on all levels, it tells the story of an area of London which I never knew existed called Norton Folgate and up until the early 1900 s was outside the laws of the land and was a magnet for artists, poets and mad people – sounds great! I really must have a look round that area next time we hit “the big smoke” I have always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with London, I used to work there regularly after I left school and never really liked the place but since the death of Chris’ brother who lived in there just over a year ago we have become friends with some of his friends and I have mellowed a little in my attitude – our last visit was great so I’am now looking forward to our next visit and I will find my own little piece of liberty!
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