A KNIGHT IN THE RAIN

Gracious Readers;

You will recall, from my last posting, that I was given a new assignment last week. I have moved from my post at 145 Germain Street to a new posting at 2 Mecklenburg Street.

I would be dreadfully remiss if I did not comment on the surroundings of my new assignment. The building is simply stunning.

It reminds me of several of the grand houses in the courts of my youth, most located in the counties closest to London.

The foyer and vestibule have amazing floors, walls, ceilings and stained glass windows. The largest of the stained glass windows (there are nearly two DOZEN stained glass windows in the house) is located halfway up the grand staircase.

It is made of multiple stained glass window panels, abutted together. It presents

a very grand effect indeed.

I have been told that several brides have had their pictures taken whilst standing on the wide windowsill under this window. It would be a beautiful sight, especially at the time of the day when the sun is coming in, and all of the colours would be reflected on her gown……

I digress, though. It is a very rainy day today, and the rain is coming down in sheets. Fortunately, the scope of my employment does not involve my being

outdoors. As you might well imagine, water is the arch enemy of a suit of armour!

So much drying and polishing must be done, after one has been out in a rainstorm, to prevent rusting. It is one of the more serious (non-combat) issues of knighthood.

I understand that the election campaign for “Common Council” is progressing well for The Lady Susan. I am not seeing much of her these days, but I hear that she is going “door-to-door” within her area of the kingdom, speaking with all manner of people concerning the issues at hand here in Saint John.

The election is on May the fourteenth. Alas, not being a Canadian Citizen, I am not able to vote!

I trust that those of you who are residing at 2 Mecklenburg Street are pleased with my presence in your midst, and for my friends at 145 Germain Street, I bid you leave to visit me at my new location, should you choose to do so.

Yours in Knighthood

Sir Sydman Orion Gerburg of Princliff

AKA Sir Syd.

Moving Knight

Gracious Readers;

I have heard the saying “Spring is Sprung, The Grass is Riz, I Wonder Where the Flowers Is”…….

Obviously this is the epitome of poor English, however, there is some truth to it, as I ponder on the state of things just now……

People outside have shed their heavy winter clothes, and boots, and are now very much looking “spring-ish”…..

As I peer thru the doors here at 145 Germain Street, I can easily see the “boulevard strip” (the grass patch between the street and the sidewalk). The grass is anything but green, however, there are a few buds breaking out here and there.

The ladies and gentlemen employed here with me at Chipman Hill Suites take great pride in “Curb Appeal” and this means sweeping the sidewalks outside the various Chipman Hill Suites properties, raking dead grass off the boulevard strips to encourage the new grass, pulling weeds out of the area where the foundations of the buildings meet the sidewalks and so on and so forth.

I have been informed that my job assignment here at 145 Germain Street is complete, for the time being, and that I am being moved, forthwith, to another property at 2 Mecklenburg Street. This blog posting is very brief, as I am about to be carried out the door, put onto a truck, and relocated.

It is an exciting experience, but somewhat undignified, to tell the truth.

I will post from my new location next Monday, and in the meanwhile, I will hope NOT to be caught by the camera as I am being moved……

Yours in Knighthood

Sir Syd

A BUSY KNIGHT

Gracious Readers;

After the quietness of last weekend, I am now so busy I can hardly keep up!

There is some work going on in the house here, Sir Gordon and Sir Keith are busy at work, occasionally assisted by a young page boy named Jeffrey.

It seems that there are some changes being made, and there is paint being carried in, and carpets being carried out, and so on and so forth.

It is my job to keep track of the materials and supplies, and to ensure that everything is well put away at the end of the work day so that none of the in-house guests are disturbed by building supplies etc.

I very much enjoy creeping into the work areas once everyone is asleep to see what has happened during the day.

I have heard some of the guests talking about a recent news broadcast giving commentary on the “War of 1812”. This was, apparently, a war between Canada and the United States, exactly two hundred years ago. The was was really not correctly named as it went on from 1812 until 1814, and the Saint John locals actually did not become involved until January of 1813 when they marched, on foot, over about a two month period, from Fredericton to Quebec City to join in the fighting.

I do recall knowing about this war during the time that it was going on, so, this makes me at least 200 years old. Interesting to know!

Regardless, Canada and the US patched things up, each claiming victory, apparently, and have been fast friends ever since. This is good to know.

Speaking of the US, I have heard that the Lady Susan and her husband the Lord Edward are in some way connected with former US President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and will be away in Boston for something to do with this. The former President has been deceased for well over half a century, and I cannot quite work out exactly what this is all about. I will inform you, dear readers, if I am able to work it out.

With all of this being said, I will close for this evening in order to go and inspect the work accomplished this day, and to ensure that all my guests have locked their doors and turned off their lights!

Yours in Knighthood

Sir Syd.

A KNIGHT ON HIS OWN

Gracious Readers;

This has been a very quiet weekend. A lot of my guests have gone on a weekend away, some, I would imagine, have gone home, but others, I would wager, are far too far away from their homes to have gone back for a weekend, so I would guess that perhaps they have gone to Halifax or perhaps even to “The Boston States” (as the older folks called New England back in the 1920’s and 30’s when there was a mass exodus from the Maritimes and Quebec to the jobs in the US.)

I happened to overhear the Lady Susan as was telling the Lady Kim that her paternal great grandparents went to Hartford, CT in the early years of the 20^th century, and then her paternal grandparents went to Boston in the late 1920’s, and her grandmother’s sisters also. Many of “the girls” worked as nurses…..The Lady Susan’s late father was born in 1929 in Waltham, Mass., and apparently went back to work in the US a couple of times in his late teens and then again in his early 30’s……

The relationship between the New England States and the Canadian Maritime Provinces seems to have been far more friendly than, for instance, a similar geographical situation with which I am much more familiar, being the England/Scotland relationship. This was fraught with ill will and ill feelings for such a long time, when I was a young knight, more than a century ago…….or perhaps two or three centuries……

To tell the truth, dear readers, I cannot really work out exactly how old I am.

Some of my memories are so vivid, but others have faded over the decades and perhaps the centuries….

Yours in Knighthood

Sir Syd.

A SNOWY KNIGHT

Gracious Readers;

If you are reading this today, you will be well aware of why this blog entry is titled “A Snowy Knight”. I simply cannot believe how much snow there is about!

The street outside, which I can just see thru two sets of authentic Victorian glass topped doors, is simply piled with snow. People are wading thru the snow banks which were, if you were unaware, heaped up

during the night and early this morning by great noisy vehicles which, I have learned, are called snow plows.

During my years in London, of course, I saw some snow, but not nearly as much, and the procedure for getting rid of it was basically to wait and it would soon melt off, aided by thousands of tramping feet as the people, as well as horses walked along.

I did have a short stay with one of my masters in Switzerland. It was summer though, and other than when we were travelling thru the Alps (where there were snowbanks on both sides, although it was high summer), I do not recall seeing any other snowfalls of this magnitude until this past night.

The guests here at Germain Street seem to be taking the snow in stride. Some of them apparently come from other areas where there is much more snow as a rule. Others are from snowless areas, but were

well prepared for coming to New Brunswick, it seems. (In some cases, significantly over-prepared!)

There has been talk by some of them, though, of going to eating establishments nearby.

Apparently, guests of Chipman Hill Suites may have their noon meal at the exclusive member’s only

Union Club, located almost next door! Seemingly, if they call on the telephone, they are entitled to make a luncheon reservation due to their status as Chipman Hill Suites guests. They do not have to join the Union Club to be able to dine there. It seems like a very nice arrangement for the guests!

I will be looking into this a bit more and will inform you, gracious readers, as to what else I have learned about this.

Have a good week and I hope you have no undue difficulty with the snow.

In Knighthood,

Sir Syd

A KNIGHT BELOW STAIRS

Gracious Readers;

In thinking over my earlier postings here at Chipman Hill Suites, it appears that I have been “a knight below stairs” most of the time. In most of my stations, my positioning has been immediately at the foot of the stairs. This normally gives me an excellent vantage point over the door and all who enter, and I can keep a wary eye out for doors left unlocked, sleepwalking guests and the like.

Now that I have been resident at 145 Germain for a fortnight, I feel that I have settled in nicely. I find that a number of my guests are from far away, although they do not seem unfamiliar with snow and cold weather. I am hoping to become friends with them, and I also hope that, like many of my former guests, they will wish to have their picture taken with me to send home to their friends and relatives.

There was a gentleman here today who spent a lot of time on the floor on his knees with some sort of instrument of measurement.  For a short while, I thought he had dropped to his knees to pray, but I was soon disabused of that notion when he took out a notebook and began to write down measurements. Apparently, we are to have new flooring installed.

He was speaking into a silver rectangle in his hand, and he mentioned The Lady Marilyn and her desire for a similar flooring pattern to that at one of my previous stations, this being 1 Chipman Hill. I recall it as a very attractive design, a light crème colour, almost but not quite white, with contrasting darker diamond shapes in the middle of each four slabs of marble.

His last words before he pocketed the rectangle were “Thank you, Marilyn”. I have yet to sort out what type of communication this was and/or how it took place. I have so much to learn in this new century, it is already twelve years into it, but truly, I am far behind. I hope someone will explain things to me….

The housekeeper in charge of this building is Lady Giselle, I like her. She, apparently, is from Virginia in the Colonies. Her manner of speaking is somewhat different from the other staff. I must try to work this out. She is not difficult to understand, however, and she works along diligently. The house managers at some of the stately homes in which I worked when I was living in the UK were stern taskmasters, however, The Lady Kim who is apparently the manager over all the cleaning and related duties, runs a tight ship without being overly stern. That is nice. I like her, too.

I still think about “The Girl” from 5 Chipman Hill, though……and remember how she played the piano…Will I ever see her again?

I will close now, gracious readers, and bid you all a fond good night.

Yours in Knighthood,

Sir Syd

A KNIGHT ON GERMAIN



 Gracious Readers;

Well, it has happened again!

I have been moved!

After months happily ensconced at 71 Sydney Street, I have been summarily plopped into a vehicle and moved some four blocks distant.

I am now living/working at/guarding our Chipman Hill Suites guests at 145 Germain Street. It is an entirely different outlook, in all regards, to my previous station at 71 Sydney Street.

For a start, this is a “townhouse” format, much more in keeping with the houses of the lesser nobility in central London. As for the guests, they are a nice group of people, every suite is occupied, and unlike 71 Sydney Street, these people are all here to work (no holiday-makers), and they are all seemingly here for protracted periods of times. (Months rather than nights..)

Some of them have looked at me oddly when they came in after work and saw me for the first time. Iam asked to hold a VERY undignified notice, for their information, saying “HELLO, I AM SIR SYDMAN ORION GERBURG OF PRINCLIFF, MASCOT AND PROTECTOR OF CHIPMAN HILL SUITES. PLEASE READ MY BLOG AT WWW.CHIPMANHILL.COM”

I find this very undignified and the only saving grace in this whole situation is that I will meet some new people, learn their stories, and I must only wear the notice for a week.

I am sure you will understand that it will take me a few days to adjust to my new work situation and location, and I hope you will forgive me for the brevity of this posting.

Yours in Knighthood

Sir Syd