Some time ago, my son and I were informed that the Members Room at Sandown Park Race Court was being closed due to the need to refurnish and re-modernise is and we were being ‘rehomed’ for as long as this project took. Then there seemed to be some confusion as to whether or not we would be going back to our ‘old’ room or staying in the ‘new’ room but did it matter in the long room. Not really until we saw the ‘new’ room which was a bit of a shock to my son and I bearing in mind that Membership is a bit steep but you could look at it the other way, and say we have duel membership with Kempton Park, and then there’s another thing that one gave up free tea and coffee for the whole meeting and one gave us a better lunch, but I could go on and it becomes a who’s better than who discussion and and loyalties becomes divided.
Anyway, the rain was like a monsoon when we got there. My son parks his car and we ‘try’ to find our new room, bearing in my no-one was really sure where it was only that it was near ‘the man who sells the hats’ What was a shock was that it wasn’t actually a ‘room’. It was like a ‘summerhouse’ or oversized greenhouse. So in we go and find a table. It was like a freezer so you think. Great – no heating. Look for the t.v.s to watch the racing because a lot of people like me tend to stay inside and watch on the t.v.s. Where are they? Right, that like twelve or fifteen inch thing on the wall in the corner that you can’t even see let alone seen watch the racing.
Then from behind us comes a ladies voice to the what I assume is a Manager. This room is completely useless for Disabled People. Well she had that right. Other people who we knew from Kempton were talking to us and saying how they disliked it.
Then this – whatever she was, who didn’t actually tell us what she was had the cheek to say, well you can go and sit in the old room. All the facilities are still there and open to you.
Hang on – riot in the air. So you have told us all to move rooms due to renovations to a cold Greenhouse that King Henry VIII wouldn’t have stuck Anne Bolyn in, just to look us in the face and tell us that we can go back to the old room because renovations haven’t yet started. To quote a past Prime Minister – which one is it.
We did find out that renovations will start. Just not when, but when they do the Members won’t have any toilets ! Yee Hah! We will have to use these Porta Cabin things! Or walk a mile with a smile as they say to find a proper toilet. Maybe they’ll give us a map!!!!! Alright I know I sound like a misery here, but as Members we do pay quite a high price for membership and I don’t expect to have to use a porta cabin every time I want to have a wee so to speak. Now we hear all these things about Gender Neutral Toilets….. Well how they will deal with this problem will be interesting.
Now you see the problem with going from this new room to our old room isn’t as easy as it sounds. Why? I can hear you saying? Because our new room God love it is on the ground floor, (near the man who sells the hats). So if you want the new room, you have to go up the escalator, along a very long corridor, into our room, but – boy was it comfortable when you got there. Armchairs, sofas, a perfect view of the track from the seats. This room. Hard chairs, the a view of – ummm – a concrete slope – and dozes of people coming from somewhere or other. Jack did go out and had to tell me what the results were.
The day did have one good thing about it. Lunch. We bought our lunch there. Very basic. Steak and Onion Pie. Mash potato and peas with gravy but it was gorgeous. Piping hot and when the waiter came to collect our plates I made a point of asking him to tell the chef how lovely it was.
So the afternoon got worse and this was when I really got annoyed and to be honest Jack backed me. Around came the I assume Manager and said I hope you have enjoyed such a wonderful day and I said No to be honest you do need to review things and change things like the size of the t.v.s. For one thing I haven’t been able to watch one single race.
Well she said you could have gone back to the old room. As I pointed out, in a e mail we were told to use the new room. The old room was no longer available. Don’t you dare threaten me she suddenly yelled.
Threaten you? I laughed. I just said we were told in an e mail from Sandown Race Course that we couldn’t use the old room because it was being re-furbished. Now don’t be silly. I never threatened you”
Apparantly however, and please listen and learn. If you use the words Don’t be Silly to someone which I apparantly used. Those three words are now considered – a threat – and she says I threatened her and her staff. Which I saw the funny side off because I never spoke to any of her staff except the lovely young man who served our lunch because tea and coffee is self service.
So Jack and I are now thinking about whether or not we stay with Sandown. We’ll definitely stay with Kempton Park because we have so many friends there and it’s so welcoming but Sandown. We’re really not sure.
I’ll give all my blogger friends one piece of advice though. Be very careful when you use the words Don’t be silly. You might well end up in Court accused of threatening behaviour ! lol
Carol Yeomanson Books 