Important message 2 February 2009

[Brendan Martin]

An important message regarding today's weather

MONDAY 2 FEBRUARY 2009

9.50am
Due to today's exceptional weather conditions, there is a limited number of Mantilla staff available. There are currently no buses running in London and train and tube services have been affected. Consequently, many staff have not been able to reach the Square. The Help Desk is open. At 9.00am there were two security staff on duty.

The two gardeners are clearing and gritting pathways and the DSTA has asked that they do all the paths in the garden and the carraigeways. Please take extra care when moving around the Square.

Today's Lunch Club at Goya is cancelled.

The DSTA website (http://www.dsta.co.uk) is being updated as the day progresses

[nick]

This is an absolute disgrace.

I have it on good authority that in the good old days, the "Trust" ensured that it never snowed on Dolphin Square and the Trustees undertook to personally carry tenants over any pesky snow that slipped through, to avoid them damaging their carpet slippers.

I always said that the sale of the Square would end in tears.

What will the next deplorable consequence of the sale be, I wonder? Children building snowmen on the lawns I suppose.

My oh my, how standards have slipped under Westbrook.

[Brendan Martin]

1.00pm UPDATE
The gardeners are performing sterling work clearing some of the pathways in the garden. But the exceptional weather is continuing and we urge everytone to take care when walking in the garden.

New tenants may not realise that a passage in the basement connects all house with the shopping arcade.

[brendan]

Nick is wrong to say that the practice of carrying tenants across the snow ended with the sale of the Square to Westbrook.

It is true that Dolphin Square Trustees carried tenants over the snow to avoid damage to their carpet slippers. The practice continued for several months after Mantilla took over the management of the Square.

While some tenants will claim never to have seen Mantilla's senior managers carrying tenants across the snow, the practice was still in place until last October. The reason why no one ever saw Mantilla staff carrying tenants is because it hasn't snowed this heavily since the sale.

But a plan was put in place after a high-level meeting between Westbrook, Mantilla, Westminster City Council, Dolphin Square 2005, and the Metropolitan Police.

However, the plan, known as the Snow Plan, was abandoned last October when officials from the Health and Safety Executive told Mantilla that carrying tenants across snow was a breach of existing legislation.

Apparently should a member of Mantilla staff slip while carrying a heavy tenant, they could sustain serious injury to the themselves and the tenant. While injury sustained while carrying a lighter tenant would not be as bad, the HSE officials said it would discrimination to carry only light tenants.

Sadly the ban on pets in the Square means that the DSTA's own plan to have three St Bernards roam the garden with brandy barrels around their necks, for anyone found trapped in the snow, has had to be abandoned.

[Brendan Martin]

3.15pm UPDATE
The Help Desk will close early today to allow staff to get home. Help Desk manager Preeti Guda, says the service will close around 8.00pm. But the switchboard will remain open as always.

Many Mantilla staff made it into work today and some are staying overnight rather than go home so as to be available for duty tomorrow. There has been a spirit of cooperation between staff at all levels today with managers joining in the clearing of snow from outside Dolphin House.

Tenants have also been very understanding of the situation said Preeti.

Meanwhile Fineways Supermarket in the shopping arcade has seen a greater number of people come into the shop today as tenants buy locally.

[billg]

Feb 2, 2009 15:27:06 GMT Brendan Martin said:

3.15pm UPDATE
Meanwhile Fineways Supermarket in the shopping arcade has seen a greater number of people come into the shop today as tenants buy locally.

And Fineways informs us that they will stay open until 9pm tonight for anyone who gets home too late to do their shopping.

[virore]

Thank you for putting the dolphins on the home page- it's nice to be reminded how the fountain looked when it was working