Around the sun leaving a bright trail behind. For more than
Although this poses risks which developing countries have not faced before, the benefits are more immediately
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Although this poses risks which developing countries have not faced before, the benefits are more immediately apparent. The Caribbean Tourist Association estimates that the industry now provides jobs directly or indirectly for 330,000 people in the region. Others put the figure higher. Some estimates put Third World employment in travel and tourism at more than 50 million.
11 HARRODS: A DIFFERENT WORLD Welcome to Harrods - a different world for a million reasons. Harrods is the largest store in Europe with goods displayed in 60 windows and 5.5 hectares of selling space. In one year over 14 million purchases are made in the 214 departments where you can buy anything from a pin to an elephant - if you can convince the manager of the Pet Department that you are a suitable elephant owner, that is! Harrods stocks a wide and exciting range of merchandise in every department. It is because of this policy that Harrods can give the customer a choice of goods which is unique in its variety and which no other store can match: Harrods stocks 100 different whiskies, including 57 single malts, 450 different cheeses, 8,000 dresses, 500 types of shins and 9,000 ties to go with them. Moreover, it has a staff of 4,000, rising to 6,000 at Christmas time. Harrods has a world-wide reputation due to several reasons In addition to those mentioned above. It offers a number of special services to its customers. These include a bank, an insurance department, a travel agency and a theatre ticket agency. Another reason is the range of exported goods. £40 million worth of goods are exported annually from Harrods and the Export Department can deal with any customer purchase or order and will pack and send goods to any address in the world. Recently, for example, six bread rolls were sent to New York, a handkerchief to Los Angeles, and a £5,000 chess set to Australia. It is this first-class service that has made Harrods so famous. Harrods sells 5 million different products, not all of which are actually kept in stock in the store itself. To handle this enormous range, a new computerised warehouse is being built. It will be the largest warehouse in Britain and the second largest in Europe and will deal with a wider range of goods than any other distribution centre in page 18
the world. Thanks to its modem technology, a customer will be able to order any product (for example, a dining table or a dishwasher) from any assistant in the store. The assistant will be able to check its availability immediately on a computer screen, decide with the customer on a suitable delivery date and time and then pass the order directly to the warehouse through the computer. The time of delivery will be guaranteed to within one hour.
12 WORK MATTERS Debbie Mason, 24, is a stewardess with Virgin Atlantic. She told Sue Wheeler about her life on Richard Branson's airline and what it takes to get on in this high flying job. Some time ago, I was working in an office when I saw a picture of Richard Branson and read about him starting a new airline, Virgin. I sent him a letter saying I was interested in working for him. After a successful interview, I began their four-week training course. The personnel officers say it's usually obvious at the start whether somebody has the right qualities or not. Personality is very important. You have to be flexible, attractive, and able to smile when duty calls -even if you don't feel like it. Obviously you don't need airline experience, but nursing, or other work with people, is useful. The training course is really common sense Although the practical side includes things like life-boat sessions in a swimming pool, fire fighting in a smoke-filled room and learning how to deliver a baby. In reality, though, you end up dealing mainly with travel sickness. The point is you have to be prepared for Everything. I work on flights from Gatwick to New York or Miami. Only 10% of my work involves serving people. The emphasis is on safety and that's what we're here for. Before every flight there's a briefing where the crew are asked questions on first-aid and safety. Those who claim that working in such a job makes you look much older than you really are have a point. I also think this job ages you. On flights to New York I'm on board from 2:15 in the afternoon Until nearly midnight our time. I have to drink eight pints of water per flight to prevent my body from dehydrating, but it is nearly impossible to consume that much. So my skin is probably suffering. But I think these are minor disadvantages. When we get to New York it's only 6:55 pm American time and we usually go out and have a party! I fly about four or five times in 28 days, which means I work hard for two or three days, then take time off. I get at least eight days off every month, so it doesn't feel like most other fulltime jobs. I get four weeks holiday a year, three of which have to be in the winter. But as one of the advantages of this job is being able to fly with any airline for 10% of the normal cost, I can afford to go to far away places in search of winter sun. It's a sociable job on board and off. There are only 220 crew members in total so there is a close relationship among us. This means things are very friendly and I think it's obvious to the passengers that we're having a good time, which helps them relax. When people leave Virgin to work for other airlines they often miss the intimacy of a small company and come back. But Although the social life with Virgin is fabulous, outside ft is non-existent. Friends and family know my time off is precious, but even at home I'm sometimes on standby. The job puts a strain on any romance. Happily, my boyfriend works for Virgin too, and we choose to work a 'married roster' which means we fly together all the timee It's either this or taking the chance of bumping into each other once in a while.
13 LAYING INSOMNIA TO REST When the task at hand is to get a good night's sleep, trying hard is not the way to succeed. Twisting and turning in search of a comfortable position in bed makes your body do the opposite of what it is supposed to do at night. Instead of slowing down, your heartbeat races. Instead of relaxing, your muscles twitch. You watch the clock and wonder what you're doing wrong. Ten million people in the United States alone are seeking medical help for chronic insomnia - difficulty in falling asleep or staying asleep. For years it has been called a symptom of a number of psychological problems, such as depression, that somehow alter the body's sleep pattern. Sleep specialists agree that psychological problems are a cause of insomnia, but also say bad habits can have the same effect. These include too little daytime activity and, ironically, its opposite, too much exercise. "Insomniacs usually begin losing sleep over some problem, such as a serious illness in the family," says psychiatrist Robert Watson. "But unlike other people," he adds, "they continue to have trouble sleeping - for months, even years." According to Joyce and Kales, two psychiatrists at Penn State University in Pennsylvania, insomniacs present a consistent personality profile. They take things hard, feel they haven't lived "the right kind of life," and are nervous and tense. Psychiatrists say insomniacs share another trait. Thomas Coates of the University of California says, "another characteristic common to insomniacs is that they spend an excessive amount of time thinking about sleep." Contrary to the image of bad sleepers as workaholics, Coates 's study indicates that insomniacs spend more time relaxing than others do. He thinks their relative inactivity during the day may alter the body's "clock." Instead of signalling the brain to slow down at night, the clock calls for more activity. Sleeping late on weekends can also disrupt your body's clock. This is a bad habit Robert Watson makes patients change at the Sleep Disorders Centre. He tells them to rise at the same time each day, even after a night of poor sleep. "After a while," he says, "sleep improves."
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