I was aimlessly searching Facebook, as you do and somehow managed to become embroiled in a discussion about the Midland Hotel in Morecambe. There is a distinct divide between those who knew the hotel before the Inn Collection took over and those who seem to have been encouraged to frequent the establishment after the arrival of the new owners. The following was my last comment on the matter when I thought it might be interesting to hear the views of others who have stayed at the iconic Midland Hotel.
The building is fabulous, it’s the standard of service that lets it down, especially as they are still charging the same sort of money now as they did when they had sufficient staff and did the job properly. I looked back at the reviews and they seem to have removed all the critical ones from the ‘forties’ crowd who were sad to see the standards slipping. Getting a table number from a table with no table cloth and having to walk to the bar to order your food and the lack of waiting staff doesn’t quite fit when you have dressed for dinner in top hat and tails with ladies in evening gowns. I’m sure the ordinary dinner guests enjoyed the added ambience from a room full of properly dressed ladies and gentlemen. To quote quite a few of the old reviews who have said, The Midland Hotel is not an Inn, it was one of the most iconic Art Deco buildings this country has to offer and it would be nice if the Inn Collection were to run it accordinly. We live in hopes!
We stuck it out until 2024 when we could no longer bear to see the old girl treated so badly and finally threw in the towel, vowing never to return until normal service is resumed. Trying to keep our peckers up in difficult circumstances, we left with a cheery wave!
I am a retired actor, although to be honest I only retired because I wasn't getting any work due to losing my agent when I became a full time carer to my mother who had dementia. and the option of becoming an unemployed actor/waiter at my age was ludicrous, especially as my waiting skills are non-existent.
Having said I’m retired, I don’t think there really is such a thing as a retired actor for I am still available for work, I just don’t have an agent or any connections with regards to obtaining any worthwhile work.
I have over the years done student films when there is nothing else available, always low paid (if at all) the only incentive was always the promised copy of the finished film for your show reel which nine times out of ten always failed to materialise.
I spent many years looking after my aged mother and shortly after her death I was lucky enough to run into an ex-girlfriend of many years ago and our romance blossomed once again, resulting in us getting married in 2013.
My move to the countryside inspired me to write The Diary of a Country Bumpkin which tells of my continuing dilemmas in dealing with the rigors of the countryside from the unexpectedly large number of pollens, fungal moulds and hay products waiting to attack the unsuspecting townie.
I enjoy writing, see my play Dulce Et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori on The Wireless Theatre Company, The Plays Wot I Wrote and The Battle of Barking Creek both available on Amazon.co.uk and am very fond of classic cars so my ideal occupation would be acting in a film I had written set in the 1930s/40s, we live in hopes.
I am delighted to say that since venturing to the countryside where space is not quite the premium it is in town, I have due to the availability of two double garages acquired more classic cars to form a small collection the pride of which are a 1947 Bentley Mk VI and a 2000 Bentley Arnage.
My various blogs and websites are continually evolving and I’m sure that by following the appropriate links you will find something which will edify or amuse.
I have written a number of different books all available on Amazon, so don't be shy should you feel the urge to purchase. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mr-Joe-Wells/e/B06XKWFQHT/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
The Diary of a Country Bumpkin 