Posts by user "landlady" [Posts: 20 Total up-votes: 0 Page: 1 of 1]¶

I have spent the early afternoon reading this wonderful thread. Thank you to all you guys, it has brought back so much that I had forgotten.

I was a stewardess on The Beautiful Bird for a few years, and I know first-hand the love that we all had for our beloved 'Connie'.

I started my flying carreer with Freddie Laker in the early 70's, and was on the inaugral SkyTrain to JFK on July 4th 1976.

I am still flying for BA,and over the years I have been honoured to fly with some amazing crew, and like others on here, I count myself truely lucky to have been part of the Concorde Family.

Thank you again for sharing your amazing knowledge.

LL

Thank you for allowing me, a non-techy, to participate in your lovely thread!

Just a short story about the adorable, charming and all-round fantastic bloke, Capt. John Cook.

During an exceptionally busy flight (MPs, press with cameras and sound booms on board - cc trying to negotiate the aisle with mayhem abounding) - John came out of the F/D and was standing in the forward galley looking bewildered.

"What can I do for you, skip?" I asked as I rushed in to replenish a drinks tray.

"Oh Landlady, thank goodness.... I'd love a coffee but I can't work the boiler............"

This from a training captain par excellence, with a twinkle in his eye who knew every inch of that machine - (and in the days before bev makers), who just wanted to save me a job!

I hope the angels are making your coffee now, John.

But that's what everyone was like....we certainly were a team which, I'm sorry to say, isn't always the case these days.

Now boys, I will leave you to get back to your sprockets and widgets.

Hello again all,

M2dude is quite right about the galleys being small. The crew on jets these days have far more space than we ever had, and the only galley smaller than Concorde in my opinion was that on the BAC1-ll.

As far as the service was concerned, there were actually three galleys involved. One at the front, (devilishly hot!!) one in the midships which was 'constructed' by means of fixing a table top between the bulkheads after the seat belt sign had been switched off, and of course, there was the rear galley. This could also prove to be a very hot place, especially on AF which we used to call the 'greenhouse' effect. (It was also the noisiest crew positions for the two at the back, especially on take-off, as you can imagine.)

The mid galley would be used simply as a replenishing station....a designated crew member would set it up at the begining of service with extra ice, water, glasses, lemon, wine, champagne etc., so the crew on the trolleys wouldn't have to waste precious time by going back to the galleys for these items during the meal service.

The crew member who took the forward galley position would be barricaded in by means of another table top at the begining of service, and stay there until the meal service was completed. They would have the responsibility of making up drinks orders, cooking the meals, (including F/D, cc meals and any pre-ordered special meals.) The galley person at the rear would be doing the same, but without having to be barricaded in as there was enough galley space there to work un-hindered. Unlike today, there would be no chance of the CSD or rear purser overseeing the service...they were on the trolleys!

That takes care of two crew members. The other four would be two at the front and two at the back, each having a side of the aircraft to look after. They would have memorised the names of each of thier pax, on a full flight that would be twenty-five each. (Not difficult as most of them would be familiar faces in one way or another!)(If not royalty, celebities , mps then regulars.) Because there were more pax in the rear cabin, the two crew in the forward cabin would take the first two rows in the rear cabin. (There was no row 13.)

We did have meals put on for us, but generally not the same as the pax. The F/D would have three different meals in case of food poisoning. (I have never known a case of F/D food poisoning in over 35 years of flying, but I do know it has happened.) We didn't have much time to eat, but we did throw a mouthful down, generally standing up in the galley! (How can you tell a cc member at a party? they are the ones wiping thier hands on the curtains.)

Pax meals were amazing: caviare boats, pate du fois gras, quails eggs were amongst favourite canapes; lobster curry another favourite main, a delicious pudding tray (served on a half tray after the mains tray had been cleared) and a selection of English cheeses served from the trolley, served with celery and fruit accompanied by claret and port. (The wines were exceptional - such as Krug, Chateu Talbot and Meursault.) The trays always looked exquisite with a pink carnation and a white box sporting the speedird livery containing two Thornton's chocolates.

By the time all this had been cleared in, imigration forms handed out and coats delivered back to their owners, it was seat-belts time again! Level flight was a rarity as we were climbing until half-way accross the pond and then on our way down, so the trolleys were hardly ever level.

It has been lovely remembering all these little details again. Every crew member knew their roles inside out, which created reassuringly calm atmosphere from the passengers point of view. If the system was followed to the letter, we always had time for a cup of tea before checking belts and securing the cabin!

I feel honoured to be regailing you all with these snippets of life on the Concorde fleet, especially as this thread is really concerned with the mechanics of the lady. There arn't too many crew left flying now, (it's just that I started when I was two!!!) I will try and persuade others, (retired), to help me jog my memory.

Kind regards.
Landlady.

ChristiaanJ

Yes, we all did our fair share of 'round the bays' which were, as you say, about 90 mins in duration and manic! It was a matter of pushing each pax into the F/D and hanging on to the bottom of thier jackets to be be able to pull them out again a minute later! Such a shame that flight deck visits are no longer allowed. It was a fabulous perk to be able to offer the pax a glimpse.
The nicest 'round the bays' were on mother's day, when along with all the mothers and grandmothers on board who had been treated to a 'flight of fantasy' by their families, those among the crew who were mothers got a special day too! (We were able to do the flight and then go back to our own celebrations at home!) (Of course, it worked for the chaps on father's day, too!)

Galaxy Flyer

We were licenced to fly three aircraft, all short-haul, as Concorde was designated a short-haul aircraft. (Although not in her early days of BOAC.) We were all specially selected to fly Concorde and had to pass the training course 100%. We were all, (250 of us), flying on Concorde, B757s and B737s. If we did an airport stand-by, they would generally keep us for the Concorde trips as there were more than enough crew to cover the other aircraft types.
We worked a six day on, three day off pattern, and usually there was the late JFK on your first and second days, any other short haul trip/nightstop on your third and fourth days, then maybe the early JFK on your last two days. However, there were special charters, (I did one round-the-world), Washington-Miami trips year-round and BGI in the winter. (Lovely to spend a week there in January!)

Those were the days!

So nice to come back to find this thread is still running!

The various charters we had the pleasure of crewing were great fun; it certainly didn't feel as though one was at work!

The 'Father Christmas' trips were full of very happy children, (and even happier parents!) We would take Connie to Lapland and the passengers would have a fully organised day ahead of them, meeting Santa Claus etc, with a very early start and a late finish. (It was a day trip.) As crew we would nightstop and be entertained royally at the hotel...on one occasion I remember us all sitting down in uniform to dinner, I can't remember why, and something like 20 courses (16 of them herring!) being served to us. I was fortunate to be able to do a few of these trips, each one absolutely great fun for all involved.(Fortunately, I am quite partial to herring.) With the help of a Harley owning steward, I was even taught how to drive a snowmobile! We had sleigh rides which were pulled along by reindeer, gluwien in hand, and the best bit of all was always standing on the tarmac, (which, of course was covered in snow), watching Connie arrive from London - on touch-down a great plume of snow cascading behind her. All our cameras froze, but thankfully, there was a professional photographer taking shots which we were all given copies of. (Some of our cold weather civvies were a bit suspect. Having never skii-ed, I was lacking in the warm clothing department....I'm a beach girl through and through. I remember my wardrobe consisting of various pieces borrowed from all over the place, none of it matching and some just too big. Bang went the designer-bitch-from-the-Concorde-fleet reputation. )

We went to Moscow quite often to take the passengers to see the Bolshoi Ballet, and of course we accompanied them, resplendent in our evening wear. (Some of those F/D chappies certainly scrubbed up well.)(The gloss wore off the next morning when, on one such trip the water system on board froze on the ground and then provided us with a spectacular galley flood on thawing out.....causing a six hour delay if I recall.)(No need to chill down the fizz on that occasion.)

We were also part of the round trip that was the Venice -Simplon Orient Express, and we would either take pax to Venice where they would join the train, or bring them home after they had journey to Venice on the train. (I have done that trip as a passenger. Very nice too.) I also went on Concorde to Washington with my new husband on the day we were married, almost 30 years ago. To say the crew spoiled us would be somewhat of an understatement! (Even a wedding cake was provided on board!) Must have done something right, as Mr Landlady is still around to tell the tale. He has done some great trips accompanying me, usually most of the time spent on the F/D jumpseat, completely enthralled.

I haven't time right now to go into the spectacular Round-The -World aircruises, but I promise I will be back if you are still interested. I used to do some public speaking about Concorde on behalf of BA,(we were called ambassadors in those days),so I will try to dig out some catering facts and figures, which are quite interesting.

Thanks as always for your kind messages.

Landlady.

nomorcatering: I for one would be very unhappy if any of my posts are cut and pasted into a book. This would be plagerism. I have a publisher intersted in a book which I have already started, and when I finally hang up my wings, I will spend some time completing.

To the moderators : I guess it's me you referring to with my non-techy posts. I won't be posting on here again, as I have said from the start, I am not technical but my recollections of events on Concorde have interested some.

What a shame, this was the best thread on pprune for years.

Maybe Jetblast is the place to be!

Warm regards,

Landlady. (Supersonic tea-bag squeezer to the stars.)

Thanks for clearing that one up!

I wondered if perhaps I was posting in the wrong place. Maybe there should be another thread for anyone who has memories that they would like to share, or links with Concorde which aren\x92t spanner related\x85..however, I do have a little story for today.


This concerns the type of traveller that we have all met\x85the ones who like to practise a little \x91one up-manship\x92.


It was a pea-souper of a day at LHR, and we were trying to get away on the early JFK, but our delay-due-fog was getting longer and longer. A businessman was getting himself into a right old state about the fog, and summoned me to his side. (This was taking place in the rear cabin, as a matter of interest.) He told me in no uncertain terms that this was Concorde, (full marks there for observation for a start), and not only could she fly in a bit of fog, but also in zero visibility. Furthermore, he would be having lunch with Lord King a week on Thursday, and have no doubt about it, he would be having words. (Lord King was our Life President for those who don\x92t know, and what a gentleman!) Now, would I please run along to the flight deck and tell the captain to stop b*ggering about and get the show on the road. I informed him that nothing would please me more, and went forward, but before I got to the flight deck I thought I would have a little chat with the passenger sitting at 1A. Lord King.

I told him that there was a passenger down the back who would be having lunch with him on Thursday of next week, and I felt it only fair to warn Lord King that his dining partner was not a happy chap. The lovely John King put his half-moon specs on the end of his nose and fished out his pocket diary, telling me that on Thursday week it would be his wife\x92s birthday, and there would be a family party. He stood up and asked me to take him to the gentleman in question, giving me a little wink.

We arrived at the seat of our disgruntled passenger, who was more than a little surprised to see Lord King standing in front of him. He began by saying how embarrassed he was that he had no mention in his diary of the impending lunch date, and slipped the gentleman his card, saying he should contact his P.A to re-arrange. As he began to walk back to his seat he paused, turned around and said,\x92 by the way, what is your name?\x92 at which several of the nearby passengers actually laughed out loud. Red-faced businessman troubled us no more.


Of course, not all SLF are problematic, but blimey, the ones that are cause us no end of grief!

Warm regards,

Landlady. (Supersonic tea-bag squeezer to the stars.)

Thanks, ChristaanJ, it wasn't so much that the businessman was right for all the reasons you say, it was just his attitude which made us all just a bit pleased that he was put in his place by the top man!

Book title a secret. If I told you I would have to kill you, and then where would we be then with no input from you and my posts being written from my prison cell!

Warm regards.
LL x

On landing in Toronto after a very gusty approach, the skipper put her down a bit sharpish.

A senior royal gentleman to the skipper on leaving the aircraft,"Wonderful flight, thank you. And if the company want to know where the undercarriage is, it's up my a**e."

True to form. (Touches nose. No names. )

Remembering back to the day I operated my first flight on Concorde, (it was know as a supernumery.... anyone on their first trip was in fact an extra crew member.) I had been flying for over 10 years by the time I was selected for this amazing fleet, and of course as we ladies like to think, I knew everything there was to know. (Including men and the universe, but I digress.)

Two memorable things happened on this flight. (Apart from the obvious first take off, sitting in the back row pinned to the seat and whoosh! Blimey, nothing like it and I never tired of experiencing that feeling of really going somewhere. Fast. Made the Trident 1 look a little slow in comparison. Not the Trident 2 though, as that was a little quick over the ground, too.)

The lovely John Cleese was to be mine to take care of during the crossing, and I asked him (before departure) what drink he would like after take off. Poised with my pad and pencil, back came the reply, "I'll have my usual cocktail, please."
I scurried back to the galley to ask the hairy a**ed old galley steward (she wasn't too good looking , either,) what Mr. Cleese' usual drink was."How the bl@@dy h@ll do I know? I've never carried him before. Go and ask him."
Undaunted, I asked a couple of the other, nicer crew, (or so I thought), if they knew what John Cleese' usual drink was.
"Nope." "Go and ask him. It's the only way you'll find out".
How unprofessional would that be? We were supposed to second-guess what everyone wanted before they even knew themselves. So, cap in hand, I went back to Mr. Cleese, who by now had his head buried in a script, and asked him what his usual cocktail actually was.
The reaction was classic Basil Fawlty. He stood up, a huge 6ft 8 or something, stooping as the ceiling hit his head, and began an almighty rant.
"I've been travelling on this aircraft for God only knows how long, and every time I ask for my usual cocktail, no-one knows what it is. Bl@@dy typical! Can't you get anything right....." on and on...all the passengers around him staring in amazement. I was fronting it up, red-faced and shaking in my shoes and wishing I was anywhere else.

Eventually, he sat down and beckoned me to come close to him as he whispered in my ear, "I'm tee-total, which your collegues know very well, having asked me to participate in this little practical joke when I got on board. There is no usual," he winked at me and added, "now get on with your first flight and take the 'L' plate of your back." (I did indeed have an 'L' plate stuck to the back of my jacket, and had it there since checking in.....)

On my arrival in the rear galley, I was greeted by three crew who were literally crying with laughter, who turned out to be the nicest people I could have worked with on my first trip. It was a stroke of luck that John cleese was travelling that day, as it isn't every passenger who would have participated in such a thing. (I did it myself a few years later with a new stewardess with the help of Sir David frost, who was just as brilliant.) ( I carried my 'L' plate in my crew bag in case of emegencies. A couple of pilots and F/Es have had the pleasure of wearing it, too.)

I looked after John Cleese many times after that, and he always gave me a wry smile when I never asked him what he wanted, just delivered his sparkling water.

Part two of this later...the dog has his legs crossed....

Warm regards,
LL x

As far as the cabin was concerned on state visits etc, it would be the main party (HRH ,PP, any other royals. PMs would have secretaries, PAs etc) and the rest of the entourage in the rear.

Royal flights always left from the Spellthorne Suite, not the main terminal! (You can imagine..."did you pack your bag yourself, ma'am?.."!)

Catering very different, with special meals/requests etc.

Security was very tight, dogs on board before boarding, (sniffer, not corgis!) armed police everywhere. Plain clothes chaps queing for cups of tea in the galley before the parties arrived... but everyone very professional and with a specific job to do. Just as you would expect, really.
LL x

One of my other first flight memories was looking out of one of the windows in the rear cabin as we approached LHR on the return sector, and seeing nothing but low cloud. Being a supernumerary I was occupying a passenger seat.


I remarked to one of the passengers how low the cloud was, considering by now we were all strapped in and fairly close to the ground.


The passenger, obviously a regular, looked at me and said,
"That\x92s the wing."


What a fool I felt!! I was so used to looking out of the window at the rear on a normal jet and seeing the ground, I had completely forgotten that these were delta wings and so nothing to be seen but an expanse of white as you looked directly below. Doh!


I am happy to report that quite a few passengers have made this mistake, (it wasn\x92t just me, and no, I\x92m not blonde!). It sounds stupid but the mind plays strange tricks when it sees something it doesn\x92t expect to see!


I loved M2dude\x92s recollection of when he fell in love with Concorde. It happened to me around 1972 when I saw her in the sky, (believe it or not, over Blackpool!), for the first time. She looked beautiful, elegant, and serene and I knew then that not only did I want to fly for a living, but I wanted fly on Concorde. Later that year I was flying for Freddie Laker. So I suppose you could say that seeing her in the sky that day changed my life.


And no M2dude, you are not old. We have lived through, and had hands on experience of something that no other generation will have in the foreseeable future, so I\x92m pleased to be the age I am for it was being in the right place at the right time which gave me my chance.


Warm regards,

LL x

October 1st 1969 - Concorde's first supersonic flight.

Happy Birthday to a lovely lady, provider of wonderful memories.

On one occasion, the lady occupying 1A was causing some consternation amongst the crew. She was wearing a threadbare camel coat, really scruffy shoes and wore a headscarf on her head, probably to disguise her somewhat bedraggled appearance. She was clutching a shopping basket and seemed totally out of place \x96 she just had an air of bewilderment about her. (I realise that this may sound a little class-ist, but 99.9% of our lovely passengers would pull out all the stops when it came to dressing for the journey.) Even the flight deck were known to polish their shoes. (Honestly, I\x92m not exaggerating at all.)
We knew that this lady couldn\x92t have boarded without the correct checks to her boarding card, (although it has been known\x85.), and according to the manifest, 1A should have been unoccupied. This obviously needed to be sorted before the door was closed.
It was down to me to find out if she had taken the wrong turning somewhere and had ended taking a seat on Concorde by mistake\x85\x85. an aircraft door is just that when approached from the finger.
I asked her for her boarding card, and then I asked her if I could take her coat\x85(we kept the boarding cards with the coats for obvious reasons.) She was, in fact, sitting in the wrong seat, but this lady was actually the mother of a very, VERY , famous celebrity and was used to travelling in 1A and had, out of habit, just taken her usual seat instead of 10A which she had been allocated this time.
I have never judged a book by its cover since! (I did actually mention the name of the celebrity at one point in this paragraph, but I doubt if they would want their mother to be portrayed as \x91down at heel\x92!!)

Another time, Elizabeth Taylor was travelling with us to JFK and I couldn\x92t take my eyes off her, she was just jaw-droppingly beautiful. She came to the front door to ask me for a glass of champagne, (no ringing the call bell, quite happy to stretch her legs and come to the galley). As I poured it for her I said how much I had admired her from being a small girl, and, as I handed her to drink to her, I commented on her fabulous diamond ring. (The Richard Burton ring\x85ENORMOUS!!!!!) She put her glass down on the galley top, took the ring off and handed it to me to try on!!!! In all my life I am sure that I will never come as close to a diamond that big again. I was truly honoured and she spent another ten minutes or so chatting with me in the forward galley. She was just one of the girls, really enjoying a joke with the crew, and I was star-struck. Of all the hundreds of famous names that I have had the privilege of looking after, she is in my top three for all-round gorgeousness.

On another occasion, on the evening departure out of JFK we were ready to go but missing one passenger. She was, (and still is), a very famous American film star and with the help of several ground crew eventually made her way down the finger to the aircraft, in a wheelchair, a little worse for wear after what must have been a very good lunch indeed. We helped her to her seat and she apologised profusely, explaining that she was \x91over emotional\x92 due to being pregnant.
"Gosh," says I, wondering about the wisdom of having a little drink or two when expecting a baby but saying nothing of the sort, "how far along are you?"
"About 20 minutes," came the reply in a low southern drawl.
I have reflected upon this episode a few times since then.
It must have been a truely earth-moving experience, requiring the assistance of a wheelchair afterwards.

Warm regards,
LL x

I think that episode has been well documented, and I for one I have a very funny story about it all. However, here is not the place to lambast anyone, especially as they might be lurking within our numbers . If the gentleman himself would like to contribute, well....that would be a different matter! As I recall, he was always polite and curteous to the cabin crews, and I've had many a drink with him when he has been a very interesting and funny raconteur. My story will be told one day, but I will seek permission from BW first!

I am just about to throw my weary body onto a sun kissed Caribbean beach, and I intend to drink copious quantities of rum punch, so talk amongst yourselves until I return.

Warm regards,

LL x

Hello again chaps and chapesses,

Having consumed enough rum punch to ensure that the guys at the Mount Gay distillery in Barbados stay in business for a long while yet, I was very pleased to return from holiday to see the thread still going and of course, still very interesting.

The photos from pax-man, (thank you!), brought back my own memories of AC, for that was the Concorde on which I did a round-the-world trip in 1988 with the lovely Captain Jeremy Rendell at the controls.

They also reminded me - since she is at Manchester - of taking her up to Ringway a few times when BA would surprise shuttle pax by putting a Concorde on the route as a last minute a/c change.... sheer delight and 100 Concorde grins every time! I sat on the f/d a couple of times going in to Manchester as I am a northern lass and began my flying career there, so the place holds a lot of fond memories for me. On the approach, you could see cars parked everywhere, all the roads and motorways jammed with spectators. It seemed like the whole of the north of England were there to welcome her in.

I realise that I did promise - a while ago now - a bit more information with regard to the RTW trips, so I am off to dig out some old diaries in the hope that I can relate some yarns for you all.

Whilst in BGI I was offered the opportunity to see Connie in the special hangar which they have for her over there, but I simply didn't have time this trip. Maybe I am putting it off... I know that it will be a very emotional experience to touch the galley tops again.... I am back in Barbados again next March, so I will go then..... although I know I will be crying when I have to say goodbye to her.

Happy to be back on line (I don't go in for all this keeping up with forums/facebook/e-mails whilst on holiday!) and happy to answer any cabin-related questions you may have.

Warm regards,
LL x

Hello again, chaps and chapesses, and a belated HNY to all.

I was prompted to post again by a fellow forumite..... I haven't really been in the mood to write after I fell over on the ice (well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it...) damaging a few bones, and then caught 'flu (woman 'flu, not man 'flu,) so I'm hoping that after a shaky start, 2011 will brighten up a bit now!

This is the year I will retire ..... I really don't know how I feel about that....but if anyone knows a kindly book publisher, perhaps it's time I thought about how to subsidise the pension, and keep Mr LL (or the Landlord, as he likes to be known), in gin and golf balls.

In reply to Shaggy's question with regard to the table top which was put into place after take-off at D2R, it didn't divide the cabins .... it was put accross the actual doorway to make an extra work-space during service. (Rather like a side-board in your dining room. Posh or what!) The fwd crew would take everything that could be needed during service from the front to the mid...wine, fizz, ice, lemon, water, etc., which would help the cabin crew (as opposed to the galley crew) to quickly replenish anything they needed without having to return to the galleys and more importantly, disturb the smooth running of the service...trolleys may be in the cabin and no-one wants to ask the crew on the trolleys to get more wine/water/whatever when they were busy. Of course, you could never second-guess what would be needed, and most probably someone would ask for a drink which you wouldn't have at the mid, but the things we needed all the time were there. The table top remained in place until the seat-belt sign came on for landing, and it was really handy. (Probably designed by a woman!) It was also a place for a couple of pax to stand and have a drink and a chat after the meal service was completed, if they fancied stretching their legs or were waiting for the loo.

Dude, your pic of pushback in IAD is fabulous! Just look what we were missing by being on-board!

With warm regards,
LL x

It is with great sadness that I have to tell you that Barbara passed away earlier this week.

Lovely lady, great pilot and always very supportive of her crew.

Before the Spice Girls even thought of it, Barbara was the very essence of Girl Power!

Rest In Peace, Barbara x

Hi guys,
I have been asked by someone who knows John if anyone on here remembers him.

Thanks,

Landlady xzxx

I'm off to BGI on Sunday for a little hol, and this time I'm going to have a look round Connie at Grantley Adams.

Lots of memories and if I have too many rum punches before I go I'll no doubt be an emotional wreck!

I will give her a hug from you all xx

LL