STRIKING BALANCE

As a member of Unite, the large union which includes the Association of Professional Tourist Guides amongst its member organisations, I suppose I am bound by trade union rules. How far these apply to freelance tourist guides is a moot point, however.

I was thinking about this when I heard that Unite was going to help the striking BA workers financially in their dispute with a management anxious to cut costs to ward off competition from cheaper airlines. Some of that money will come out of my subscription which is paid by direct debit so I have no choice in the matter and will probably grin and bear it. Thuis is despite the fact that most BA cabin crew have beter incomes and a lower level of qualification than guides.

We have been here before in the travel business - tour companies trying to pay guides/tour directors less to reduce prices. I have mixed feelings about the issue seeing it from both sides (typical Guardian reading fence sitter, moi) but ultimately you cannot argue with financial pressures. What did Maggie Thatcher say? You can't buck the markets.

Well, no-one is more market vulnerable than a tourist guide facing plenty of competition for bookings, downward pressure on fees and a market that seems to shrink all the time as people arrive to service it (another load of new guides have passed their blue badge exams recently).

Trade union solidarity is all very well but, if one of those well-groomed glamorous BA picket lines was at Heathrow or Gatwick when I arrived to pick up a group of jet-lagged tourists anxious to get to their hotel, would I cross it? Of course I would. Doing otherwise would be professional and financial suicide because it would result in me being classed as a guide who accepted a job and then failed to turn up. The phone would stop ringing and I would be out of work and pcoket. Would those same BA strikers then pay my mortgage and support my family? I doubt it.

Call me a scab if you like, but I (and every other tourist guide worth his or her salt) would always put their own professionalism above support for a strike no matter what their views were. Trade unionism may have protected our fee system but loyalty has its limits...

OLYMPIC GOLD?

First two Olympic tours last week and I have not felt so relieved for a long time that they both went well. Coach tour on Wednesday with group from U3A (university of third age) Watford. 55 in a school coach with driver who did not know East End but we managed fine with a bit of help from AtoZ and a recce on Tuesday when I met Victoria Herriot who helped out. My pal Steve drove me around only to find that his brakes went just outside Dome - North Greenwich Arena in Olympic speak, rather than old name Dome or new name O2 arena (O2 not Olym sponsors).

Victoria was also there at walking tour on Friday, which was a mixed blessing as she knows the Olympics history, site and stories so well I am bound to look ignorant in comparison with her. However, sometimes a pared down version is better, depending on audience. I had nine in my small group while she had a pre-booked party of about twenty. I set off after her to pick up any stragglers and by the time I reached the first stop at Three Mills ten minutes later I expected her to be finished but she was still merrily talking. After I had exhausted my repertoire I just walked past and took up position at the vieqwpoint overlooking Canary wharf in one direction and sewage works in the other and ploughed on. I extended the walk farther than I orginally thought I would to take up the time and we finished on about and hour and fifty minutes, which was plenty. The group gave modest clap and seemed reasonably pleased, having asked and answered plenty of question.

On both tours I threw in a quiz for people to bring in stories of past Olympics which is where most of the interest lies for people, particularly British ones. Could maybe do with some more information on buildings and architectural devlopments but these are less interesting than triumph against the odds tales.

Incidentally, tried on Thursday to walk all the way around the site - impossible as trail dies out at North end when you come up to motorway. Exhausting anyway. Walking tours hard work and not as lucrative as invoiced coach work as you only earn from each person who shows up.

Olympics touring not exactly a gold mine but could be a useful extra source of cash until 2012. Walk leaves from Bromley by Bow tube station daily, £8 (£5 concessions). See you there...