When my Trinc comes in

In 2006-07, as all three restaurants “ran themselves”, I tried to fill my spare time with pleasurable pursuits. 

For my physical wellbeing, I joined the old Springs gym. On my first visit, after ten minutes on the machines, fifteen in the sauna and at least twenty lengths in the communal showers, I went down to the cafeteria and treated myself to a full English. Not a wise idea, I was told. My short workout had lost me no more than 200 calories while my breakfast contained five times as many. I carried on using the gym while avoiding the cafeteria. For breakfast, I opted for a bowlful of Fruit and Fibre in the office at Portofino. Our friend, Didier and I also met at the Millhouse for a game of squash once or twice a week. One day, he got a black refuse sack out of his bag, cut a few holes in it and then wore it under his t-shirt. “We used to do this in rugby training back in Carcassonne.” By the end of the game, he was dripping with sweat. We played for a few months until our knees gave up on us.  

For my mental wellbeing, I became involved with HMS Trincomalee Board as a trustee. The Trinc, as we call the iconic ship, was moored right next door to Portofino on the Historic Quay. I often told a white lie to our junior diners. “That’s my yacht, you know!” when they looked out of the windows to admire the majestic vessel. By the smiling look in their eyes, I knew that none of them was that easily fooled. 

During board meetings, all the other trustees, most of whom were retired naval officers, lawyers, and other professionals, knew what they were talking about, while I sat there just nodding or shaking my head. I only came to life when tourism or marketing was mentioned. Nowadays, a few years later, the Historic Quay is under the helm of the National Museum of the Royal Navy along with over a dozen other naval attractions in the UK including HMS Victory in Portsmouth.

For a few years starting from 1997, I was part of a small group, Passport to Hartlepool run by the Council to promote the town both inside and outside the borough. The members, who comprised representatives of local businesses, sports clubs and council officers, met every couple of months to discuss ways to improve the tourism offer in the town. Anyone involved with tourism, be it a restaurant, a hotel and even a taxi firm was offered advice, free marketing or PR courses among other things  to help raise the standard of service in town. We also helped launch a restaurant guide which ran for several years. I have always believed in Hartlepool’s enormous tourism potential, and it was reinforced to me later in August 2010 when the Tall Ships visited the town. 

In 2007, I was invited to join Tees Valley Tourism Board. It represented the five local boroughs of Middlesbrough, Darlington, Stockton, Redcar and Hartlepool. Again, I just went with the flow and just listened only participating in discussions when the subject turned to hospitality or marketing. It was great to work with and learn from professionals. Hartlepool was recognised as a major player in tourism terms, and the Marina was considered a jewel in the Tees Valley crown.

There was a buzz about the area as most businesses seemed to be thriving, but that was just before the credit crunch hit the World and sent many projects to the shelves of history.