What's Floating Around Cloud 9? 24 March 2014

Welcome to another week and if its not yet in your diary, then don't forget this coming weekend is Mothers Day.We are all getting geared up here at Cloud 9 towers so this week we thought we'd prompt you to make this Mothers Day the most special one yet!

Mother's Day is not the same day all over the world, and the actual date varies from year to year too, just to confuse things. In the United States, and a large number of other countries, Mothers Day is the second Sunday in May whilst here in the UK, its always the fourth Sunday of Lent.

Usually on Mothers Day its a good excuse to treat your Mum to flowers, chocolates or a nice Sunday lunch in a local restaurant or pub. However getting a table can be tricky and these things are often overpriced, so just what are the alternatives to show your Mum you love her?

You could try a gift experience to do together. Maybe afternoon tea at a posh hotel or a wine tasting session (which we know our collective Mums would enjoy!) or even a chocolate making workshop. For the more adventurous Mums, a Hot Air Balloon ride or Racing Car experience might work.

Tickets to a show, a concert or even a sporting event are also always popular and if you buy the tickets you can maybe make a day of it with lunch or a couple of drinks out.

Green fingered Mums will always like a plant and at least they last longer than flowers but

if this is too safe an option and is getting a little traditional and boring, then you could try something a little more personal, like a personalised photo present where you take an image and make into a mug, a mouse mat, a keyring or whatever. The options are endless!

One of the nicest ideas is a trip down memory lane. Revive some of those memories, maybe of your mother's childhood, or when you were young. Good ideas including taking her out for a meal to an old restaurant or cafe from her past, buy an old film or TV series that she enjoyed many years before, or pick up a bargain on Ebay from when she was younger. 

A facial, massage or spa day are always a great idea and any form of pampering is normally very welcome, especially if your Mum is usually surrounded by lots of washing and ironing - whisk her away from it all! 

Even the least talented chefs around will appreciate this, but if you cook her a meal - she probably cooked you hundreds, even thousands of meals, and maybe still does - then she will probably appreciate the thought even if your skills in the kitchen leave a lot to be desire. With so many supermarket deals around, it shouldn't be that hard to stick some thing tasty in the oven! And don't let you Mum wash up irrespective of how many dishes you create! 

Finally, tell your mother how important she is to you and how grateful you are for all she has done for you over the years. There is probably no better present that this!

On another note this week, there is just a week left now to enter the Midlands Media Awards 2014 so make sure you get your entries in toot suite to the team here at Cloud 9. 

The categories. criteria and full details are all on the Midlands Media Awards website so as its free, don't miss the deadline!

Lastly this week, we thought we would share with you a few tales about our visitors book that Carol was most insistent was needed when we moved in to our new offices just prior to Christmas, even though it took  us until February to actually get round to buying one!

No sooner has some unsuspecting hotel or venue representative sat down, and before they have even managed to sip their tea, she pounces with pen in hand to make sure no one escapes from signing the book! Luckily we don't have any room for comments in our book, but we do love some of the great stories from visitor books, especially those left by tourists.

Complaints about the level of frog noise and possessed hotel rooms are among some of the most bizarre comments people have left behind in Australian guest books. When most travellers leave a message behind in a visitor’s book, it’s usually a comment of appreciation or a practical suggestion for improvement. But not everyone sees it this way.

Some tourists use the opportunity to have a last laugh, while others are perhaps unaware of just how much is under the control of their hosts. One visitor staying on a property located on 32 acres of bushland had trouble getting to sleep and left a comment behind to express his frustration.

“I like the sound of the frogs but they are only on one side of the building and it was very difficult to sleep when I could only hear them out of one ear," they wrote on lastminute.com.au. “I really would have appreciated someone moving some of the frogs to the other side of the building so they are even on both sides of the bed."
Another complained the room was a little overcrowded: “I didn’t sleep a wink all night due to the demon in my room.” and one customer was clearly unimpressed, saying she’d seen and done it all before - in a previous life.

Meanwhile, another was unhappy with his fellow lodgers, complaining of hearing an “adult photo shoot” in a nearby room.
But despite the odd messages, some travellers did leave behind quite logical suggestions including “We suggest you put the bath towels & soap in the bathroom - not on the bed!”

Some of our other favourites from "down under" include “Love the white cabinet with mirror in our room! We were thinking of a way to take it back home with us but thought that would be too obvious, plus we have no space due to buying lots of wine.” 

We also like, “We had to check out early as there was a ghost in the hotel that didn’t want us here.” and “Provide shorter flight times from Scotland”.


It's clear that there is just no pleasing people in some hotels! 

So that's it for this week, enjoy!