1Good morning, Clare House Hotel.
2Andrew speaking.
3I'm the Events Manager.
4Good morning, Andrew.
5My name's Samantha.
6I'm arranging a party for my parents' fiftieth wedding anniversary,
7and I'm ringing to ask about hiring a room some time next September.
8Also my parents and several of the guests will need accommodation.
9OK, I'm sure we can help you with that.
10Will you be having a sit-down meal or a buffet?
11Probably a sit-down.
12And do you know how many people there'll be?
13Around eighty, I think.
14Well we have two rooms that can hold that number.
15One is the Adelphi Room.
16That can seat 85, or hold over a hundred if people are standing for a buffet.
17Right.
18If you have live music, there's room for four or five musicians in the gallery overlooking the room.
19Our guests usually appreciate the fact that the music can be loud enough for dancing,
20but not too loud for conversation.
21Yes, I really don't like it when you can't talk.
22Exactly.
23Now the Adelphi Room is at the back of the hotel,
24and there are French windows leading out onto the terrace.
25This has a beautiful display of pots of roses at that time of the year.
26Which direction does it face?
27Southwest,
28so that side of the hotel gets the sun in the afternoon and early evening.
29Very nice.
30From the terrace you can see the area of trees within the grounds of the hotel,
31or you can stroll through there to the river - that's on the far side,
32so it isn't visible from the hotel.
33OK.
34Then another option is the Carlton Room.
35This is a bit bigger - it can hold up to 110 people
36and it has the advantage of a stage, which is useful if you have any entertainment,
37or indeed a small band can fit onto it.
38And can you go outside from the room?
39No, the Carlton Room is on the first floor,
40but on one side the windows look out onto the lake.
41Lovely.
42I think either of those rooms would be suitable.
43Can I tell you about some of the options we offer in addition?
44Please do.
45As well as a meal, you can have an MC, a Master of Ceremonies,
46who'll be with you throughout the party.
47What exactly is the MC's function?
48I suppose they make a speech during the meal if we need one, do they?
49That's right.
50All our MCs are trained as public speakers,
51so they can easily get people's attention -
52many guests are glad to have someone who can make themselves heard above the chatter!
53And they're also your support -
54if anything goes wrong, the MC will deal with it, so you can relax.
55Great!
56I'll need to ask you about food,
57but something else that's important is accommodation.
58You obviously have rooms in the hotel,
59but do you also have any other accommodation, like cabins, for example?
60Yes, there are five in the grounds, all self-contained.
61They each sleep two to four people and have their own living room, bathroom and small kitchen.
62That sounds perfect for what we'll need.
63Now you have various facilities, don't you?
64Are they all included in the price of hiring the room?
65The pool, for instance.
66Normally you'd be able to use it,
67but it'll be closed throughout September for refurbishment, I'm afraid.
68The gym will be available, though, at no extra charge.
69That's open all day, from six in the morning until midnight.
70Right.
71And the tennis courts, but there is a small additional payment for those.
72We have four courts, and it's worth booking in advance if you possibly can,
73as there can be quite a long waiting list for them!
74Right.
75Now could we discuss the food?
76This would be dinner, around seven o'clock...