INVITED AFTER ALL!

I have just had first allocations for spring/summer and it seems I am going to the barbecue after all. Plenty of good tours with small spaces in between. I had said that if i could not get better ratings I would quite with the idea of going back to guiding but it is an uncertain world and the outpayments on overheads have to go whatever the incomings are.

Many years ago I left the civil service which gave a guaranteed income and entetred the commerical world which did not. You can pretend that guiding is an intellectual pursuit but frankly it is a business so you have to adapt to the ways of the customer.

So if charm and simplicity are needed rather than challenging ideas and sarcasm (my weakeness) so be it. New season resolution to keep up the smile quotient and cut out the cleverness...

No longer going to the barbecue?

The Americans talk about the barbecue effect in politics - people often vote for the person they would most like to have at their weeekend barbecue rather than the one necessarily best qualified for office - this explains why George W Bush got elected twice. I have always said that the same applies to tour guides - or possibly tour directors, who tend to be judged on feelgood qualitities rather than facts and delivery.
I have been feeling a little unloved recently because my main employer says that my personal ratings declined last year. It was not a disatrous drop but I should be doing better at what I always felt was the right profession. Looking back over the season I find that I wonder who gave the less than enthusiastic reviews and bad ratings. Often it si people who stay at the back of the coach who you do not have the chance to connect with, whomaybe sulk a bit and do not join in with the group. I have usually left them to it, but maybe I should drag themup front more.

To add insult to injury I also received an email saying that I had given out wrong information ont he Olympic Walking Tour the other tour. I enjoyed the tour and got a good response but I did recycle a half heard news item at the end when talking about the velodrome, which I said had been delayed. The item was on Today the morning of the tour and I shoudl have gone to the London2012.com site to check but misheard it and reproduced worng information, particularly embarassing as the velodrome opened that very afternoon! Oh, Eddie - neither a smooth talker nor a smart fact-checker. Must do better...