Out of a total of 719 entries, John Dixon won the
'Stress Slogan' competition in the last issue of Call Sign. This is his
report of the prize - a luxury trip for two to Paris...
"After the initial shock of winning the Call Sign slogan
contest wore off, I consulted with Editor Alan Fisher and the weekend of
March 8 - 10 was booked to enjoy the wonderful prize of a two night Parisian
break in the magnificent Four Seasons George V Hotel with first-class seats
on Eurostar courtesy of Eurostar themselves.
Friday morning at 8.15 and our DaC supplied taxi arrived
punctually. Driven by the amiable Clive Atkins (K41), Louise and I arrived
at Waterloo in plenty of time for the Eurostar trip and to begin our
wonderful prize on the amazing 186mph Eurostar express.
We pulled out of Waterloo on route to Paris at 9.23 and within
minutes, the friendly Eurostaff were serving a hot breakfast accompanied by
fruit, fruit juice, roll and croissant followed by tea or coffee.
We were soon in Le Tunnel, emerging some 20 minutes later into
a sunny France. The Eurostar train arrived bang on time and a short taxi
ride later we were entering Le Four Seasons George V Hotel - and what a
hotel!
The George V is one of, if not THE best hotel in Paris. Its
marble floors, antique Louis XIV furniture and paintings set out an
atmosphere of splendour. Still getting over the beauty of the reception
area, we then arrived in our room. It was absolutely enormous - probably
bigger than our London flat! It consisted of a super king-sized bed, writing
desk, TV, video recorder, games console, en-suite bath and shower room and
toilet. The bedroom also had a veranda with a table and two chairs. The
hotel staff were friendly, helpful, attentive and all spoke perfect English,
helping to make an enjoyable, stress free stay - ironical as the competition
was about stress!
We then had two wonderful days of Parisian sightseeing,
including a magical cruise along the Seine including dinner.
Sunday morning after breakfast - just as well that it was part
of the prize at around £30 per person - saw us packing our case ready to
head back to Eurostar. Again we left dead on time but this time were served
lunch. Champagne followed by salmon and cauliflower terrine with mustard
mayonnaise, breast of chicken in Dijon mustard sauce with mushrooms and
dauphinois potatoes. For dessert there was a delicious chocolate tartlet.
Wine accompanied both courses and of course, tea or coffee. This was
"First Class" travel in every magical detail! To complete the
weekend, our DaC supplied taxi was waiting for us enabling us to bypass the
long Waterloo queue.
The whole weekend was luxurious and so enjoyable, leaving my
partner Louise wanting to know when we could do it all again! We'd like to
thank Eurostar and their professional staff, the friendly attentive staff at
The Four Seasons George V Hotel and last but not least, Call Sign Magazine
for picking up the tab! Many thanks to all...
By John Dixon (B67)
DaC driver Clive Atkins picks up the winners from their
home
First Class travel courtesy of Eurostar
The magnificent L'Hotel George V
