We’re not particularly good at holidays. We’re not British enough, even me. I grew up in a Jewish family, so we never did Easter or Christmas right. As for Yeshi, everyone in Tibet was self-employed, working their own land and their own herds, so time off was a rare thing, and definitely wasn’t scheduled. Even Tibetan New Year, the one formal festival in the calendar, was celebrated when it was most convenient for the family or the village at large.
In the service industry, things get even more complicated. Sometimes people travel from far away to dine with us, and the expectation is that we’ll be working when they are not. We don’t want to disappoint anyone, so we keep the restaurant open for everyone else who is off.
Most of the time we feel like we’re out of synch with most people. Some of this is universal to our industry: we work evenings and weekends, resting only during the early part of the week, the bit that most people look forward to with dread.
Then there’s the more unique aspects of our business – the fact that we’re busiest during summertime, when everybody else is firmly out of office. At festivals the punters have all the time in the world. For us, loo breaks are often the only chance we have to take two minutes out (I’d say to sit down, but everybody knows this is not a great idea in the festival toilet).
Does hospitality turn you into an outsider or do you have to enjoy living on the fringes of society to make a life in our industry in the first place? As for formal time out, how much does it help to have holidays scheduled in for us at times of the year when the sun doesn’t shine anyway? Yeshi remembers picnics on the Plateau as the highlight of his summers in Tibet. These were always thrown together at the last minute, making them headier than any holidays he’s had since. You know it: spontaneous breaks are always better than the best-laid plans.
Thank you to everyone who send us well-wishes after our last newsletter. We’re still waiting to hear whether visas to Tibet will be forthcoming. Luckily we’re used to a haphazard approach to time out – you guys will just have to forgive us if and when it happens.
For now, we’re open all the usual hours this week, as follows:
Wednesday – Friday: 5-9.30pm (dinner only)
Saturday and Sunday: 12-3 (lunch) / 5-9.30pm (dinner)
Our menu is on the website now – check it!
Looking forward to seeing you soon,
Julie and Yeshi
Opening hours this week:
Weds – Fri: 5-9.30pm
Sat / Sun: 12-3pm 🥢 5-9.30pm
☏ 01865 499318
