Activities are booming – with a twist
Yesterday, we organised one of our corporate activity days with a Scottish twist - a mini Highland Games.
Setting a date mid-February in Scotland was ambitious and optimistic. However, the weather did its best, with bright blue skies all day - perfect for tossing the caber, throwing the hammer, hurling the haggis, and more.
We have found these mini Highland Games to be very popular, particularly with groups from outside Scotland. Once again, playing the bagpipes has its merits, and I get called on as resident piper.
To add to our corporate leisure activities, which have shown massive growth year-on-year, we have just ordered a further seven quad bikes, so we will have 14, as well as Land Rovers, Jeeps and grass karts.
We are also in negotiation with a local aircraft modeller to instruct our corporate guests either to learn to fly radio-controlled aeroplanes or, instead of clay-pigeon shooting, radio-controlled model plane shooting, which should be fun.
In respect of our building developments, we have been hindered by the weather as far as roughcasting goes. It seems 4¼C or above is the required temperature and we have managed only one-and-a-half days of this in the past 40.
But all five of our new self-catering lodges have been reserved as of the completion date of 31 March. The dexterity of our engineering services manager, Joe Carmouche, will ensure that they open in time.
The two main projects which the board have ratified for the coming year are significant spends on what we now call the Victorian Pool (built in 1900), which will become an adults-only spa, and an extension to our current nine-hole golf course to make 18 holes, within two years.
As we embark on next year's plan, our heads of department, all 32 of them, have presented their objectives for the coming year. Given that, for a few of them, this was their first time, it was really very encouraging.
By the time of my next Reader Diary, I will have spent time in Paris and Florence at an international hoteliers' round-table meeting. Although for much of the time I feel like an office junior, as Anne Leaver, our human resources manager, reminds me, it's all about personal and professional development. So watch this space.
STEPHEN LECKIE is managing director of the Crieff Hydro leisure hotel in Crieff, Perthshire
Next diary from Stephen Leckie: 5 April