"What Ho Jeeves!"
Perhaps your view of the quintessential British Butler has been slightly skewered by P.G. Wodehouse's books or the subsequent television series. Then of course there was Batman's butler Alfred, Antony Hopkins in 'The remains of the day' and too many others to mention here - good, bad or just plain snooty.
Maybe, too, you have read about strange 'below stairs' goings-on in royal palaces around the world - it sometimes seems that the ony time Butlers are mentioned in the press is when they've 'gone bad' or inherited (or stolen!) their deceased employers wealth - very suspicious because, as we all know, the Butler did it!
The reality of domestic service as a career change is far removed from all this nonsense. It is not just about doddering old retainers working for ageing Earls in decrepit country piles. Todays Butler or Valet can be a well paid jet-setting personal assistant to a wealthy family or individual, controlling all aspects of multiple homes (or boats for that matter) around the world. His or her remit could include personal protection issues, event organisation and more, no two jobs are the same.
An Estate Manager running a large estate with extensive forestry, gamekeeping and building upkeep duties. A Domestic couple working on a small country estate with their own live-in cottage in the grounds - one partner being in charge of the housekeeping and cooking aspect and the other contributing as a driver, handyperson, gardener. The list goes on and on - Personal Chefs, Bodyguards, Housekeepers all fall under the domestic service banner.
Here's a fact: There are more wealthy people in the world today than ever. Annoying but true.
These people need more time than you and I. Why? So much money so little time to spend it essentially - why spend an hour picking up the dry cleaning when someone else can do it for you? If your time is worth £300 per hour then it makes sense to pay someone else £30 an hour to do all the mundane stuff.
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