When tank enthusiasts from abroad, wish to visit the Bovington tank Museum in Dorset, they should take certain care what Hotels they intend to stay in. This is a fair warning of where not to stay. On our last trip to England, we had booked at the Avonmouth Hotel in Mudeford ( now called Christchurch Harbour Hotel) which is in Dorset about 2 miles from Christchurch. Although it is fairly convenient to get to Bovington, that is where any form of convenience ends.

Initially we have booked at that hotel for 6 days. However, after 48 hours we had found that it was not only dirty, and the food was terrible, but the management was oblivious to the residents. On one occasion there was a wedding held at the hotel. The management advised all residents that for that day no food would be served either for lunch or dinner.

Apart of that fiasco, restaurant cutlery was filthy and very poorly washed, as were the water glasses. It is doubtful if they had seen hot water. Any form of complaints were completely ignored by the "manager". As the result several guests including ourselves booked out of that flea pit. The rooms were expensive for what they offered. ( at that times Pound Sterling 90.00 per night- which is about $ 175.00 per night). We paid for one night only, and refused to pay for room cancellation. Recently we have found that the hotel, had changed it's name to Christchurch Harbour Hotel.
We can not say what the food is like because Menu is not available on line. However, the internal decor has changed dramatically. We also do not know how guests are treated and how good is the service. As painful as it may sound, we hope that the present management and re-decoration is for the better.

As for the medical help in emergency, you can forget any form of Western World standards. We have had private insurances and expected medical assistance accordingly. My wife had twisted her back. The pain was excruciating and my wife needed immediate medical attention. It had taken 8 hours for the doctor to show up, and the visit was as good as if the doctor had not showed up at all. On the following morning I drove my wife to the clinic in Highcliffe. There my wife was examined by some upstart female doctor, ( a Locum) who insisted that my wife should do vigorous exercises by long walks to strengthen her back. We insisted on x-rays, and private examination by a "real" doctor. We were advised in no uncertain terms, that " we were in England and thus did not have to see any private doctors".

The end result was that we had to terminate our stay in England and flew back to Canada. My wife could not sit in the designated seat, and although there was a space where she could sit, the air crew was most illiterate and oblivious of any pains which my wife had. Not only had we had a bum treatment in the land of Hope and Glory, but the Canadian National Carrier, the 'World famous Air Canada', turned out to be an embarrassing shamble, comparable only to a 3rd World Country Air Line.

However, once we had landed, the ground crew and staff could not do enough to make my wife comfortable. We found out upon getting back to Canada, that my wife had osteoporosis and two fractured vertebrae.

I have contacted British medical Association and reported the Medical Clinic in Highcliffe. Eventually, the Medical Board, sent a tongue in cheek apology.

As for the pathetic state of Hotels in England, the response we had received from the British Tourism Board, was ...."We are aware of the situation, but can do very little about such cases".

When we asked why was it, that when we landed at Heathrow (London) and booked at the Hotel International the staff spoke poor English, and on another occasion other hotels had staff that hardly spoke any English, we never got a reply. I must stress here that the hotels were **** and ***** star hotels.

My friendly warning to any visitor to that part of England is to be careful where they intend staying. It is a shame that such a very beautiful country has so many shoddy hotels have very poor customer service and treatment of visitors.

Of course, there are exceptions and you could stay at Chewton Glen Hotel, ***** establishment, where you are spoiled and pampered. But the price is very high. We did stay there for a while, and despite the cost it was well worth it. At least one could still feel some semblance of the old traditional service.

Since our last trip to England, my wife has no wish to go there again, even though she is British. Prices are outrageous, average hotels take you for a ride, food is not so great and gasoline prices are out of this world. Lastly remember the Medical Service for visitors.
If you want to suffer , then go ahead and stay at Avonmouth Hotel in Mudeford, now called Christchurch Harbour Hotel . If you want cheap pomp and circumstances but no backup to it, then eat at Lord Bute in Highcliffe. However, if you want a nightmare food and service then you must stay at the Glenn Eagle in Harpenden Herts. Words fail to describe appalling food and sub standard service.

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On the subject of services in England , here is the latest joke. Our relatives are moving from Devon, to Bedfordshire. The British telecom had cut off the line in Devon 1 week before being asked, and so a member of the family had to call the telephone service from a neighbours' house to ask for the status of their Bedfordshire number. The British Telecom representative was far from being helpful, to the point of rudeness and advised our honorable relative that he was not listening to her, and if he continued questioning, she could cut him off at any time she wanted. When asked if he could speak to the supervisor, he was told that the supervisor was at the meeting for an hour and half, and would the caller like to hold......So much for the Customer service. At the present time they are still without a phone. ( Date 29 October 2008). Not much has changed since we left England in 1981.

Update on British Telecom Customer Service. ( Tuesday November 11th 2008)

Telephone connected, but different phone number. If the family wants their original number, they must get it now from a pool, provided that number is available. How does the brain work over there ? If a person already has a number, why make idiotic obstacles. It is no wonder that the British Telecom is downsizing. Perhaps if that organization gave good service, they would have no need to downsize.

How clean is London 2008

On one of our trips to England, as usual we landed at Heathrow and booked into a reputable hotel. Like Bombay (Today Mumbay to you) is a Gateway to India, so Heathrow is the Gateway to England.....or so it should be.
Following day we foolishly took a subway to Tottenham Court Road. To start with, the subway station was filthy, resembling a war time shelter, in drab grey and dirty floors. Once we arrived at our destination, we could not believe the sight that confronted us. The Tottenham Court Road crosses Oxford Street. The place looked like Blitzed zone, with black wooden blocks road surface, and on top of it all the smell. This part of London has not changed since the year 0. Oxford Street itself looked dirty and seedy. What has happened to the slogans Keep Britain Tidy ?