cressida Posted January 20, 2011 Author Share Posted January 20, 2011 young, slim and attractive Chinese tea ladies eh? I feel a visiting professorship to Beijing coming on....... I'll notice if you go missing:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fareast Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Lord C. would have to be very discreet if he wished to nobble the noble, nubile tea ladies of China. I didn 't mention that Chinese trains seem to be packed to the gills with officialdom-----a very different kettle of fish, indeed ! Sticklers for the rules and regulations---" now, come on Lord C., only one in a bed. We warned you about hanky-panky on the outskirts of Nanking "-----they stalk up and down the aisles like eagles in blue. Strangely, Cressida, the aisles are not particularly wide and, in fact on the ' open ' side of the sleeper compartments, there are fixed tables and chairs next to the windows for people to see out of the window whilst they have a meal. Add to this, kids running and wandering around hither and thither, absolutely tons of luggage and people visiting friends and family.....and....it does lead to problems ! The trolleys usually pass each other in the space between the carriages. On top of all this, people are climbing up and down from the 3-tier bunks [ some of the men only wearing those long johns, even during the day-----now, steady on Cressida ! ], women quite cheerfully breast-feeding babies in full view and probably 2 or 3 card schools per carriage in full swing. In other words, all human life is there ! If the Health & Safety people in the U.K. saw all this, they 'd have a blue fit. The people of China would have to stay at home and watch ' Big Brother ' on t ' telly as they do in the U.K. I suppose that this type of train will eventually disappear in China too, as they gormlessly follow The West into The Brave New World of safety......plus drugs, crime, violence, sleaze, cruelty, selfishness and greed.......but if that 's their choice.......so be it ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thai Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Hi ,i am a tea lady,although i do other jobs during the day.Like a bit of cleaning,take the post,showing visitors to board room and sorting lunch for them. Have also answered phone to customers and their queries. Come to think of it ,a bit of an all rounder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppins Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Used to work for Husbands on Glossop Rd 1989-90. Can't remember a tea lady though. I have been working at Mott MacDonald for the last 10 years who took over Husbands soon after I had left. Still a lot who worked for Husbands way before I started there so they might remember her. I went to the council from Husbands in the Egg Box and they had a snacks trolley round each afternoon. Not sure if it sold tea. There was also a fantastic restaurant/cafe on the top floor which OAPs could use also. Great bacon sandwiches. Was only there a few months and then we moved to Carbrook and the egg box was demolished. Went to vending machines then, just not the same. My Mom worked there in the 60s/70s the top floor was made into a flat for us, we lived there for a few years, we had the best view of Sheffield at night Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cressida Posted January 20, 2011 Author Share Posted January 20, 2011 Lord C. would have to be very discreet if he wished to nobble the noble, nubile tea ladies of China. I didn 't mention that Chinese trains seem to be packed to the gills with officialdom-----a very different kettle of fish, indeed ! Sticklers for the rules and regulations---" now, come on Lord C., only one in a bed. We warned you about hanky-panky on the outskirts of Nanking "-----they stalk up and down the aisles like eagles in blue. Strangely, Cressida, the aisles are not particularly wide and, in fact on the ' open ' side of the sleeper compartments, there are fixed tables and chairs next to the windows for people to see out of the window whilst they have a meal. Add to this, kids running and wandering around hither and thither, absolutely tons of luggage and people visiting friends and family.....and....it does lead to problems ! The trolleys usually pass each other in the space between the carriages. On top of all this, people are climbing up and down from the 3-tier bunks [ some of the men only wearing those long johns, even during the day-----now, steady on Cressida ! ], women quite cheerfully breast-feeding babies in full view and probably 2 or 3 card schools per carriage in full swing. In other words, all human life is there ! If the Health & Safety people in the U.K. saw all this, they 'd have a blue fit. The people of China would have to stay at home and watch ' Big Brother ' on t ' telly as they do in the U.K. I suppose that this type of train will eventually disappear in China too, as they gormlessly follow The West into The Brave New World of safety......plus drugs, crime, violence, sleaze, cruelty, selfishness and greed.......but if that 's their choice.......so be it ! The Hutongs is a hustling, bustling place full of nooks and crannies (ooh) but I wouldn't have expected the trains to be so similar - do the trains run on time? Is there a first class where it's quieter - I don't think LordChaverly will travel otherwise;) I'm surprised there are women breastfeeding, never seen it on my travels. I expected a similar train service to the Japanese high speed trains but now I come to think of it the Japanese lead the way don't they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fareast Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 China is full of surprises ! Despite it being ' the People's Republic ', a communist or socialist society.....etc.....it 's possible to book 4 different ' classes ' on the trains.[ well, the old ones, anyway ]. There 's hard seats, soft seats, hard sleeper, soft sleeper. It 's also possible for those desperate enough, just to buy a ticket and stand ! I once had to travel an 8 hour journey on a hard seat-----it was a nightmare ! Very, very crowded ; the man sitting next to me eventually spread out a newspaper and slept under our seat. Getting to the toilet [ or going for a smoke ] was hazardous, too----stepping over outstretched bodies, squeezing past people-----and the lavatories weren 't very salubrious either, to say the least ! The soft sleepers are in a little compartment of four beds and the hard sleepers are ' open to the aisle ' and have 6 beds [ 3 tiers ]. Very few of the older trains have ' Western ' toilets.......and remember to take your own paper ! The worst aspect really, is booking the journey. Sometimes booking starts 10 days before the journey and if you don 't book quickly, the seats and beds are soon snapped up. Also, you have to actually visit the station to buy a ticket------and queue ! They 're pretty quickly introducing the fast, modern trains though. In fact I think the Beijing to Shanghai one has just stolen the world speed record from the Japanese. I don 't think they have sleepers on the new trains as there 's no need of them yet. I should think, Cressida, if you don 't manage to get to China in the next 5 or 10 years, the old trains might have disappeared, including men prancing about in long johns ! You 're right about the old ' steamy ', crowded hutongs-----the old trains are like hutongs on wheels. Now, are there any ex-tea ladies from the U.K. who would like a job in China ? [ uniform provided ]. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayinjapan Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 We have a tea lady, but no trolley (we have a whole room dedicated to tea and snacks ). Pauline is fab, so friendly and remembers everyone's usual orders. I really like going up of a morning and having a chat with her. I don't know why more people don't use our tea room, especially as it's subsidised so much cheaper than going out - tea and chocolate bar for 70p anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cressida Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 China is full of surprises ! Despite it being ' the People's Republic ', a communist or socialist society.....etc.....it 's possible to book 4 different ' classes ' on the trains.[ well, the old ones, anyway ]. There 's hard seats, soft seats, hard sleeper, soft sleeper. It 's also possible for those desperate enough, just to buy a ticket and stand ! I once had to travel an 8 hour journey on a hard seat-----it was a nightmare ! Very, very crowded ; the man sitting next to me eventually spread out a newspaper and slept under our seat. Getting to the toilet [ or going for a smoke ] was hazardous, too----stepping over outstretched bodies, squeezing past people-----and the lavatories weren 't very salubrious either, to say the least ! The soft sleepers are in a little compartment of four beds and the hard sleepers are ' open to the aisle ' and have 6 beds [ 3 tiers ]. Very few of the older trains have ' Western ' toilets.......and remember to take your own paper ! The worst aspect really, is booking the journey. Sometimes booking starts 10 days before the journey and if you don 't book quickly, the seats and beds are soon snapped up. Also, you have to actually visit the station to buy a ticket------and queue ! They 're pretty quickly introducing the fast, modern trains though. In fact I think the Beijing to Shanghai one has just stolen the world speed record from the Japanese. I don 't think they have sleepers on the new trains as there 's no need of them yet. I should think, Cressida, if you don 't manage to get to China in the next 5 or 10 years, the old trains might have disappeared, including men prancing about in long johns ! You 're right about the old ' steamy ', crowded hutongs-----the old trains are like hutongs on wheels. Now, are there any ex-tea ladies from the U.K. who would like a job in China ? [ uniform provided ]. I wouldn't like to share a four-bedded compartment with strangers are males and females separated? Glad more modern trains are operating, the ones you describe will probably end up in a museum. Men prancing around in longjohns - Most definitely.................NOT;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaisyBoo Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 When i worked at SWFC there was a tea lady there, she was lovely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fareast Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Another surprise, Cressida----no, the sexes are not seperated although they are tactful about it, usually. I don 't think they 'd put a young girl in with 3 young lads, for example-----but, to be honest, I don 't know how they organise things like that in their booking system ? Otherwise, as far as I can tell, it 's just ' pot luck ' most of the time. People rarely get undressed at night as most journeys are for only one night.......but, I suppose for longer journeys people can change in the toilets or ask the others to go outside the ' room ' for a few minutes. Similarly, I 've often had to book a ' top bunk ' but, being nearly a 100 years old, I 've always had some young lad or girl who will swop places. Chinese young people are generally very kind-----or maybe they 're just scared that a lump like me might tumble on them from above ?? I 'm surprised you look down on ' long johns ' ! I 've got some pink ones you might admire ? Wait till I get back to Sheffield ! Now, then WHERE are those tea-ladies ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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