The Modern Butlers’ Journal volume 10, issue 6
International Institute of Modern Butlers
Message from the Chairman
One of the traditional duties of the butler, which has fallen by the wayside for the simple reason that it is no longer required in our age of digital communications and improved technology, is the ironing of newspapers. Two reasons are typically given for why this was done in the first place, neither of them correct. If you send in the real reason, we’ll pick out of a bowler hat one name from all correct responses received and send the winner a free copy of his or her choice of either Butlers and Household Managers, 21st Century Professionals (in English, Spanish, Italian, or Russian) or Hotel Butlers, The Great Service Differentiators (in either Spanish or English).
But I digress: the reason I am discussing newspapers is to suggest that we all have enough challenges in our lives running households in today’s society, or seeing to guest/passenger needs for butlers operating in hotels, resorts, airplanes, yachts etc., without taking on the burdens of the world as forced upon us by, and reported in, newspapers, TV and online news channels, etc.
In the old days, newspapers were the only way in which news was reported, and you might be pleasantly surprised to know that mayhem and murders were reported simply as brief facts in a couple of short lines on the back page. Until Mr. Hearst introduced the dubious practice of “yellow journalism” to America and the world about 120 years ago, news was focused on a measured relay of the facts. I don’t have to paint the picture of the various news media today, but suffice to say, if you invited a person to your home who behaved like the ravingly bombastic and agenda-ridden news media does today, we would ask them to leave rather promptly! Yet in this day and age, we do invite them in, often many times a day, day after day.
So my suggestion is: try cutting out all bad news bearers, using whatever medium, from your life for a week, and write down how doing so impacted your life and outlook. Then watch and read the news again for a week and note down how that impacted your life. Compare the two sets of notes, and go with what you feel most benefitted you personally and your performance on the job and in life.
What brought this on? Simply a list that someone compiled of newspaper headlines that, while being recognizably ridiculous, nevertheless betray the same regard that almost almost all media outlets and their owners demonstrably hold for the intelligence of their readership/viewers. Plus the fact that most discussed a negative take on life events. Bear in mind, the average size of font used for the actual headlines was 244, not the 12 point of this Journal.
“DIANA WAS STILL ALIVE HOURS BEFORE SHE DIED”
“BUGS FLYING AROUND WITH WINGS ARE FLYING BUGS”
“STATISTICS SHOW THAT TEEN PREGNANCY DROPS OFF SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER AGE 25”
“FEDERAL AGENTS RAID GUN SHOP, FIND WEAPONS”
“MARIJUANA ISSUE SENT TO A JOINT COMMITTEE”
“HOMELESS SURVIVE WINTER. NOW WHAT?”
“HOMICIDE VICTIMS RARELY TALK TO POLICE”
“17 REMAIN DEAD IN MORGUE SHOOTING SPREE”
“WORKER SUFFERS LEG PAIN AFTER CRANE DROPS 800-POUND BALL ON HIS HEAD”
“BRIDGES HELP PEOPLE CROSS RIVERS”
“CITY UNSURE WHY THE SEWER SMELLS”
“STUDY SHOWS FREQUENT SEX ENHANCES PREGNANCY CHANCES”
“MEETING ON OPEN MEETINGS IS CLOSED”
“MAN ACCUSED OF KILLING LAWYER RECEIVES A NEW ATTORNEY”
“BARBERSHOP SINGERS BRING JOY TO SCHOOL FOR DEAF”
“HOSPITAL RESORTS TO HIRING DOCTORS—PHYSICIAN SHORTAGE PROMPTING MOVE, ADMINISTRATORS SAY”
“MAN WITH 8 DUIs (Driving under the influence [of Alcohol]) BLAMES DRINKING PROBLEM”
“NEW SICK POLICY REQUIRES 2-DAY NOTICE”
“PARENTS KEEP KIDS HOME TO PROTEST SCHOOL CLOSURE”
“STARVATION CAN LEAD TO HEALTH HAZARDS”
“TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE WILL BE BROADCAST LIVE ON PUBLIC RADIO”
“RANGERS GET WHIFF OF COLON” (A baseball player)
“MIRACLE CURE KILLS FIFTH PATIENT”
I’d be interested in the result of your little experiment, if you’d care to share.
Butlers in the Media
Finally, commercial airlines are bringing the expected level of luxury to the skies with the launch of three-cabin suites offering butler service. Thank you Etihad! The Institute has been beating the drum about this for over five years.
A very interesting article on how Starwood has approached serving those we typically service.
Paul Burrell continues to make himself right via the media for breaking the unwritten (and written) code of the butler. Sad business: he was wrongly accused initially, but instead of taking the high road and restoring his situation financially by all the opportunities that providence throws our way by doing so, he decided to break the golden rule as the best solution for himself and his family: Ethics is those decisions and actions one takes that most benefit the majority of the individuals impacted by the situation and one’s planned actions to be taken. The situation Mr. Burrell found himself in involved many more players than just himself and his family, no matter how important they indeed are. One other point: Mr. Burrell claims that those objecting to his book have not even read it and so are not qualified to judge (a point that normally is valid), for they are missing the fact that he writes about them with “love.” In this, he is missing the point: to state the obvious, nobody should be reading about their private affairs in the media when that information has been collected by somebody who had been brought into the sanctity of the home to serve those being reported on; for the understanding upon which they were invited in includes a trust that their confidences would not be betrayed. Private Service 101/Basics, Mr. Burrell.
Hazards of the profession, it seems—a fellow employee going postal.
A Reuters article on butlers in Italy quotes a gentleman who looks down his nose at other butlers because they did not, as he did, learn the trade by working his way up. He has a point, in that some aspiring butlers may be a few bricks shy of a load when it comes to making the grade; they may lack the necessary apprenticeship to make it via a butler school; and certainly, the butler profession is a lifelong learning experience, as there is so much to discover and improve upon in all the different areas of expertise upon which our profession touches, that rare indeed is the man or woman who can say, “I have now arrived as a fully fledged and competent butler.” But to out-of-hand dismiss anyone wanting to join the profession by attending a school and jumping in the deep end, is to dismiss the practical way that anyone learns any profession today; and also, to dismiss hundreds of potentially intelligent and effective butlers who are quite capable of serving others well. Maybe they would fall on their faces when trying to service those who are well used to experienced butlers, but why assign them such positions straight out of the gate? Let them work up to it after years of experience—a concept the gentleman in question no doubt can agree with. I understand the desire to maintain standards, but this old “pecking order” game of self-importance based on some imagined edge (such as one’s employer’s high title meaning one sits above those serving those of lower rank at the servant’s table at meals) is just a little bit old.
Yet again the butler is drawn upon as the quintessential role when it comes to superb service; and once again, it is in reference to the up and coming skillsets of robots serving hominids.
Executive Protection & Security
by Baron James Shortt
“Sorry About That, Boss”
This is the last thing you say before you are out of work. This is also about the only thing that could be said by those at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas and Prince Harry’ s personal security teams (after Prince Harry was photographed in his suite in a compromising situation)–”Sorry.”
Most of our clients have more money and more power than they know what to do with—and that is fine by me. It is our job not only to protect their lives and skin, but also their reputations and wallets, so they can keep their money and their power and continue to employ us.
Who took the photos? Why was a cell phone camera anywhere near this man? All guests could easily have been searched as they entered—it is not like they were wearing much, and their bags could have been searched, too—not just by hand but also with a simple wand. Didn’t bring a metal detection wand? Borrow one from a local agency or buy one at WAL-MART—they only cost $90-$250!
What else is the same size as a cell phone camera? A .22 Derringer, up to 3 shots; a .45 Liberator, 1 shot; a .45 Intimidator from puzzle pieces; knives of all sorts, including titanium ones that most metal detectors miss; a grenade disguised as a cell phone; street drugs and poisons; a pack of genuine Marlboro’s and other deadly things.
This was a red-cheeked moment for a young man, but two big black eyes for the his personal security team and the Wynn security team.
What to do in similar situations?
1. Assemble some gear
• A Faraday Bag, safety pins and tags: Bag all of the cell phones and cameras in a Faraday Bag and give guests a safety pin with a number corresponding to their items. Cost for Faraday Bags between $50 and $200; safety pins and numbers, deminimus.
• Hand wand, top of the line, $250.00
• Spy camera finder, which also finds sniper scopes, $80.00
2. Set up the safety zone and perimeter and search those entering and exiting. Also set up a mobile perimeter: grey men and women in appropriate attire mixing with the crowd. Yep, in swimsuits and having fun all while still watching those around your charge.
3. Pack up lots of good manners and rehearse how to intervene to stop all of the situations that can occur and how to stop offenders—even if they mean no malice.
4. Clear cameras and goodies as people leave.
I am sure the person who had a picture of Harry in the pink made a small fortune by selling the rights to the picture. Even those who had no malice aforethought can be tempted to sell pictures or information when the price is high enough. We are all human and subject to the pressures of economics.
Mr. Baron Shortt is the Executive Director of the IBA
Let’s Talk about Spirits, Part 4
by Amer Vargas
Ouzo
Today we are in Greece enjoying one of its characteristic spirits, Ouzo.
Ouzo is a clear-as-water transparent drink with more than two centuries of history, thought to have its origins in the tsipouro drink first made by monks in a monastery on Mount Athos, located about one hundred kilometers from Thessaliniki, during the 14th century. These monks wanted to make use of pomace (the residue left after grapes are pressed) instead of discarding it. Thus, they left the mass of pomace to ferment for a few days and then proceeded to distill it several times. The resulting drink had a 40 to 45% average alcohol content.
Following in this tradition, Nikolaos Katsaros opened a distillery in the 19th Century that still produces the famous Tyrnavou Ouzo.
The word “Ouzo” has a peculiar possible origin, coming from the Italian “Uso Massalia” (“for use in Marseille”), which was stamped on the best silkworm cocoons that were being exported from Thessaly to the French city during the 19th century. One day, the Ottoman Greek consulate physician Anastas Bey, impressed by the wonderful taste of local tsipouro, exclaimed: “This is uso Massalia, my Friends”—meaning it was of superior quality. Over time, this anecdote spread until that sort of tsipouro gradually became referred to as “iso” or “ouzo”. Another possible origin of the word hails from neighbouring Turkey, where grapes were called uzum in medieval times.
Nowadays, ouzo is produced out of 96% alcohol rectified spirit either from pomace or from wine. Flavorings (which include anethole, anise, cinnamon, coriander, cloves and star anise) are added to the copper still before distillation and help to produce ouzo of 96% alcohol by volume that receives the name of Ouzo Yeast. This brew is then distilled one more time before finally being diluted with either distilled or spring water (for the finest quality Ouzo), or with rectified spirit to finish the production of the drink, leaving it at the typical 40% alcohol content.
Of Butlers and Roses, Part 2 of 20
First Plantings – Preparing to Welcome your New Plant
by GJ dePillis
Choose The Spot
Decide on where to plant the rose bush. If replacing a bush that is to be retired because of disease, either replace the soil or plant the new one elsewhere.
Ordering the Plant
Support local nurseries where they offer high-quality stock and the required variety. If ordering a bare-root rose, ask the breeder when the best time would be to plant for your area. If ordering container roses, of course, planting at any time of the year should be possible.
Preparing the Soil
Prepare the soil before the arrival of the roses by digging a hole about 1 ft (30 cm) deep. Break up the sub-soil to ensure good drainage. Add well-decomposed compost (or rose planting soil from your local nursery) and mix with the top soil.
Planting Day
I like to fill the hole with water before placing the rose into it. If planting container roses, roll the pot on the ground to loosen the sides. With gloved hands, carefully shake the plant out of the pot. Shake off excess dirt from the pot and place into the water-filled hole, then add the soil.
Plant bare root roses by spreading out the roots and covering up the main stem in soil.
Establish the Roots
Deep watering the roses may be necessary once a week for a couple months until fresh leaves can be seen to grow. Once this occurs, the plant can be placed on a regular watering regime.
Refrain from pruning freshly planted roses for about a year, instead allowing the roots to establish themselves.
In our next section, we will cover the different types of roses. Until next time, happy planting!
Ms. dePillis is a freelance contributor to the Journal who is based on the West Coast of the United States. She can be reached via depillis at gmail.com
Consulting the Silver Expert
by Jeffrey Herman
Q: How should I go about insuring my employer’s silver when I need to ship it for repair?
A: Your employer’s homeowner’s insurance may state the value of the piece and whether it is covered off premises. If the policy is not that specific, try the following:
- Identify the object: Coffee pot, sardine server, caviar server, etc. ;
- Identify the country in which it was created;
- Identify the maker: Gorham, Tiffany, Georg Jensen, Arthur J. Stone, Paul Storr, etc.;
- If you cannot identify the maker, go here;
- Identify the metal standard: Sterling, .925, coin, standard, 800, 840, EPNS (Electro Plated Nickel Silver), etc. ;
- Type the above information into your browser’s search window and see if your piece is found.
Mr. Herman continues to offer his services to our readers, for any questions you may have about the care of silver. Either call him at (800) 339-0417 (USA) or email jeff at hermansilver.com
