Saturday 7 November 2009

A wet day in Cape Town

16.00

The weather is foul today- gale-force winds, cool and torrential rain. Despite the weather I would like to have had a swim in the hotel pool, but it was shut down yesterday after developing a leak. The maintenance men were working on it yesterday, but not today, presumably as it is the weekend! The sign says ‘sorry for the inconvenience and thankyou for your understanding’.

Not good enough though. We arrived yesterday to find that internet access in the bedrooms is unavailable at the moment; vouchers are provided for wireless access in the lounge area but this is not a convenient place to work for any reasonable period. From tomorrow, we have around 50% of the conference delegates staying at the hotel, and they are paying for, and expecting, 4-star facilities. With no internet in their rooms, and no pool to relax in after the sessions, this is something they will not be getting, and they would have every right to seek compensation from the hotel if nothing is resolved.

18.15

Amanda and Jon finally arrived- late as plane from Dubai delayed due to fog! They weren’t exactly singing the praises of Emirates’ customer services! After a quick shower they joined us in the bar, then for an excellent meal in the hotel’s The Square Restaurant with Martyn and Christine Hay, and Dean Eastbury. Martyn’s company is Eurus Mineral Consultants, South Africa, and Dean is the Elsevier publishing manager for Minerals Engineering.

In the photo from bottom, clockwise, Barbara, Amanda, Christine, me, Dean, Jon, Martyn.

No comments:

Post a Comment

If you have difficulty posting a comment, please email the comment to bwills@min-eng.com and I will submit on your behalf