Luggage Labelling

Whilst at Gatwick Airport I was amazed to see how many people advertise their names, addresses and telephone numbers on their luggage.

With some people I suspect it is a habit acquired many years ago when we were less security conscious.

By all means have a destination label giving the hotel and your surname, but put your own details INSIDE the suitcase or bag.  As we can no longer lock our luggage when flying, an outer label with this information isn’t necessary.

Obviously with so many identical suitcases I know some people are asking, "How will I recognize my luggage?”  Tie something colourful to the handle and use a label with your own private code. 

Pack carefully, travel safely, and have fun knowing that you aren’t telling undesirable characters where you live.

A Fantastic Miniature Circus in Sarasota

One of several circus costumes.

The name on the building - The Tibbals Learning Center - isn’t exactly riveting but inside is the largest hand made miniature circus you have probably ever seen.  The building is a part of The Ringling Museums.  The Ringling family began to winter their circus in Sarasota in the 1920s and John and Mable Ringling had a fantastic house built there.  That house, an art gallery and various museums now comprise The Ringling Museums.

Howard Tibbal’s miniature circus covers 3,800 sq. ft., has 55 railroad cars, 8 main tents, 152 circus wagons, more than 700 circus animals, 1,500 individual performers and workers, and 7,000 folding chairs (that actually fold and stow into five circus wagons). 

The display begins with a train yard where men are offloading the trains.  In the field others are setting up the circus encampment with the cookhouse, the mess tent and the commissary.  There are performers getting ready, a coach containing a beautiful “princess” and jugglers practicing.  In the stock tent are show horses and cages with the wild animals.  The Big Top itself is 4 ft. high and has three rings and two stages.

As a boy Tibbals loved it when the circus visited his home town in West Virginia.  As he grew older he haunted the circus, not just the Big Top, but behind the scenes, taking photographs of everything – the animals, people rehearsing, the cookhouse – and measured the wagons. 

In 1952 he read an article about circuses which was published in ‘Popular Mechanics’.  It described a 79-car circus train and the layout of the circus grounds.  A later edition of the magazine gave the dimensions for a model, which is when the young Tibbals started taking notes so that his model is completely accurate.  To learn about the historical items, as well as reading about the circuses he also watched over 100,000 ft. of films. 

This retired owner of a Tennessee wood-flooring company spent much of his spare time carving and sewing to create his dream.  Amazingly, every piece of carving is individual, even down to the food on the plates in the commissary.  

Also in the Tibbals museum is a display of circus posters and, upstairs, other circus memorabilia, including sparkly costumes.

John Ringling House

Sunken Garden surrounded by Art Gallery

As you can easily spend a day exploring the museums and gardens it is as well that there is also a handy cafe!

The Ringling Museums

Sarasota Tourism

The Tour Escort

A fabulous ice sculpture.

I worked - off and on - for many years in tourism under many guises.  Hotel Rep, Tour Guide, Tour Leader etc but the best one was Escort.  Okay for a man but.....  Thank goodness it was for American tourists and not British.  (For those not in the know, in the UK a female Escort is a euphemism for a high class prostitute - and that I definitely was not). 

The first job I did for the American tour company was to bring a group of tourists from the States to London for a few days, then on a transatlantic cruise back to Florida.

The problems began at Heathrow Airport.  The norm is for meeters and greeters to stand somewhere near to where their guests will be exiting and, of course, holding a big noticeboard.  I’m sure you’ve all seen them.  In this instance, no obvious meeter and greeter (M&G).  I asked my group to stay together while I went on a search.  Information pointed out that there was a special area for Ms&Gs - and small area away from the exit with a miniscule sign in the ceiling.  Yeah, right.  I eventually found the gentleman I was looking for - more by accident than design.  Instead of a prominent notice with the name of our agency on it, he had a small sign with the name of HIS agency - which we didn’t know.

I took him to the group where he explained that he would now go to find the coaches.  Coaches?  Apparently one for us and one for the luggage.  Don’t ask.  Of course at least one lady was loud in declaiming that she would not be separated from her luggage.  Anyway, he trotted off.  And we waited and waited and waited.

Eventually I led them outside to the pavement on the basis that the coach would turn up at some point.  After about fifteen minutes I went in search of a telephone to call my ‘emergency’ number.  Good job I speak Spanish - I got through to someone in Spain.  Obviously not the ‘emergency’ number. 

After about half-an-hour the coach arrived.  It had not been in the coach park but had been circling the airport roads.  Apparently the driver hadn’t known she was supposed to go into the coach park.

With great relief we piled into the coach - together with our luggage.  No, there wasn’t a second coach.  We were all so relieved at this stage that we were able to turn the whole thing into a joke.

Would you be surprised if I told you that neither the driver not the M&G chap knew the exactly location of the hotel.  They had a vague idea - we found it after a small circular tour.

As the worker bee I was allocated the most miniscule room I have ever been in - honestly.  As a single traveller I’ve had quite a few of those.  A loo and wash basin, no wardrobe and barely room for my suitcase and hand baggage.  Single bed, six inches, 12 inch wide table.  That was the width of the room!  Thank goodness I wasn’t planning to do anything other than sleep in it but it would have been nice to hang up my dresses.

My problems didn’t end there.  On my return to the reception area panic reigned.  One gentleman with breathing problems was missing a piece of his equipment.  All of it kept in a special case which they had used as hand baggage.  I discovered two telephone numbers on their instructions sheet.  One in England and the other in America.  Mrs. insisted on telephoning the American number on the basis that they would know what she was talking about.  It didn’t matter that, even though I explained it to her, the US company would probably contact the UK company.  The replacement part arrived a few days later as we were waiting to board the coach to take us to the cruise ship.  Everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

Where we all had an enjoyable cruise.

I was especially glad to get on board where for the length of the cruise I could relax and enjoy myself.  All I had to worry about on arrival in Florida was getting them onto their coach.

Did I enjoy myself?  Of course I did.  Who wouldn’t enjoy a free cruise?  Mind you I am addicted to them, having once worked on Royal Caribbean ships.

TIPS:

Midnight Buffet

If you have any medical equipment double and triple check to make sure you have every piece, and if it is unpacked at Security, double check that everything is back in the case/bag.  And, if you do leave anything behind - call the telephone number for the country you are in!  The replacement part will reach you much more quickly.

Medications:  make sure you have them and your prescription in your hand luggage.