Its been three weeks and a few days since I started working at The Coaching Halt and since I started I've been meaning to post something here to let you all know its going, but due to the busyness of working at a restaurant with shift hours that I'm not used to has left me too tired to do all the things I've wanted to do.
I'm working as a server and bartender in a typical English pub, called The Coaching Halt. Going to the pub is a big part of English culture. They normally have a bar area and will also have seated areas. Each pub will have its own style and way of service. There are also different companies that own a chain of pubs and taverns. Weatherspoon's is a popular restaurant/pub chain. The Coaching Halt belongs to one such company, called Marston's and is a relatively new pub, having been open only four years.
One of the things I love about the The Coaching Halt is how close it is to home (I'll get to that in a moment). Its only about fifteen to twenty minutes away by foot, so I'll normally walk to work on my own, and Andy will normally collect me when I'm done. Since I usually work evening shifts and usually leave at closing time, I'm never sure what time I'll be finished. So there's been two or three times I've had to get an Uber home (if you don't know what Uber is, its a taxi company that allows normal drivers to use their cars as a taxi service through the app) and send Andy the driver's name and information, just in case.
Working as a server is a lot more fulfilling than I thought it would be. I can't explain it properly, but I do love my job and the satisfaction it brings. Given I never thought I'd end up enjoying working as a server and bartender. This means that my job is to take food and drink orders, put them through to the kitchen, pour drinks (well, the ones I know how to) and bring the drinks to the tables. Sometimes I'll also have to run food out. This means that when the kitchen calls for 'service' one of the servers need to go to the kitchen and take the food to the table on the ticket. It can be a bit tricky sometimes because the plates can be hot (thus I'll usually grab a tea towel) or the orders might have been put through wrong.
Another thing about working in a pub is that each week the rota for everyone's shifts will change. This means that I will normally know what days I'll be working on for roughly the next ten days to two weeks. So it can be tricky arranging to see people well in advance, but since I generally work the evening shift (5pm until closing time), I'll arrange to see people during the day, and make sure I have enough time to get ready to get to work. My salary also comes in once a week rather than once a month. Its a satisfying feeling knowing that I'm earning the money coming into my bank account.
I've also managed to post some photos of the time Andy and I spent in South Africa on my Flickr account. Now that I'm working, I'm not sure how often I'll be posting on here, however, please do take a few moments to fill in this questionnaire for me! It'll be most helpful!
Until next time!