My First Tour Briefing …

Excitedly anticipating my very first tour briefing, I sipped my coffee and read my tour notes. This was truly the calm before the storm!

The chairs were all lined up, the ‘whispers’ and my business cards were all placed, strategically’ on them…. and I was ready to meet my first tour group, a Rick Steves Tour Group. This was going to be fun. I had already decided on what I was going to say and how I was going to introduce myself… easy stuff. But what I was looking forward to was meeting them. How would it go? Would they mind that this was my first solo tour? What questions would they have and would I be able to answer them?

All these things raced through my mind as I sat there.

There was a knock on the door…. whoever this was, they were 12 minutes early…. Those twelve minutes were intended to be for me to calm down and prepare, however, over the next few seasons, I realised that some tour members just want to be the first to meet the guide. All of a sudden I was in demand.

It was a single gentleman with white hair and a genuinely infectious smile. ‘Hello’ he said, ‘My name is Tom’. He walked awkwardly.!

I looked down at his leg and he was nursing a plaster cast on his lower leg……..

Oh dear!

We exchanged pleasantries as he sat down, wincing. I opened the door and my mind was already racing. My first tour member couldn’t walk properly. How was I going to deal with this? …. when could I sideline Tom and have a chat with him?

More tour members arrived. Their faces were alive and bright. Some were very tired, but their eyes were all shining (I’m an eye person). The volume of noise in the little breakfast room increased as people steadily arrived and made their own introductions. I loved this moment…. I have done ever since. Human beings coming into contact with each other for the first time but with the same urgently anticipated mission….. travel…. (with me tagging along).

I sat everyone down and explained a few simple things regarding, health (Tom!), safety, and courtesy AND I explained to them my style of travel. I had been hired because of whom I was and my life experiences, all of which I would bring to the table over the next two weeks. It was all going well. I then asked them to stand up and introduce themselves…..more importantly, I asked them to tell the group, honestly, why they had come to England. This was wonderful as it gave me a chance to get to know a little more about the people that I was going to be traveling with…. It also helped me (in those early days) to understand why people wanted to visit this little country on the edge of Northern Europe as part of a tour group.

The whole meeting went really well and I finished it off by arranging to meet them all in front of the hotel in sixty minutes, so that I could walk with them to dinner.

I was buzzed……. and Tom was still sitting there as everyone left.

I. sat next to him as we addressed his damaged leg and the plaster cast. First thing that he did was apologise, AND then he said that he hadn’t wanted to cancel his trip of a lifetime even though he had torn cartilages in his knee. I asked him when the cast could come off and his response blew me away. He said it should have come off a week before!

He explained that he knew the National Health care Services would remove it free of charge and that he needed information on how to achieve this. This was the first but not the last such incident.

Things have changed since then, but he was right, we would take care of him. I took my phone out of my bag and called a taxi. I gave him simple instructions and the address of our restaurant and said that he could rejoin us for dinner, as I walked with him to the paved area in front of the hotel. The taxi arrived and off he went.

I hurriedly went to my room and ‘freshened’ up…. NO, I didn’t… I went for a quick pee…(I promised to be honest) It was a reward for completing my first tour briefing successfully…lol

So with my first ‘casualty’ headed to the hospital, I walked into Bath with my remaining tour members.

I had chosen a lively restaurant in the centre of Bath and it was going to be a chance for everyone to get to know each other. I sat with three lovely ladies…sisters… and we had a fascinating chat about Florida. They lived there, but, because I had lived there for a number of years I could contribute to the lively discussion, as well.

Dinner went very well, and, just as dessert…. yes (I’m rolling my eyes) sticky toffee pudding was my choice that evening… was being served, Tom walked in.

A small cheer went up and I was thrilled. He proudly stood in front of the tour group and told everyone of his experience at hospital. He was very animated, as it had been a great experience. I’m sure he tells the story to this day. I was proud of him and of our healthcare services.

As the tables were cleared, I explained that I would like to lead a nighttime walking tour of the city and that anyone could join me if they wished. Knowing how tired some were, I was very surprised when every hand shot into the sky….. even Toms. Then I explained that anyone could peel off when they were ready to return to the hotel, and off we went!

I don’t always lead a nighttime tour in Bath. These days I mix it up a little and sometimes offer night tours in York or even London. But that evening I realised how much I could contribute to my new ‘friends’ travel experience, by just extending myself a little bit more than was required. Ive loved what I do ever since.

In my next blog I’ll talk about the nighttime tour and elaborate into Day 2 of this tour.

(All names used are fictional although the events and places are accurate)