Chris Maclean: getting to grips with sick

Last night I was faced with one of the most unpleasant tasks confronting a licensee.

Someone had thrown up in the ladies toilet.

Whatever way you put it, it is not a pleasant task. It happens in all establishments. I've worked in hotels, restaurants, bars and clubs. It happens everywhere.

What I have discovered is that it has to be dealt with immediately. Left undone it can start a catastrophic chain reaction.

Many years ago I worked in an eat-as-much-as-you-can carvery. People would stuff themselves and, from time to time, they would do the Technicolor yawn. If it wasn't dealt with immediately other diners would start feeling queasy and, before you knew it, everyone is feeling unwell.

You cannot cover it up. Putting paper down simply delays the inevitable unpleasantness and covering the smell by trying to mask it with air freshener or, worse, perfume is an absolute no-no.

There are three pieces of advice I can give you. The first is that there cannot be tasks you are not prepared to do. I am afraid you must lead by example and do it. If others volunteer do not stand in their way. But, otherwise, you must wield the mop.

The second piece of advice is more by way of preparation. Get yourself a bag of cat litter. Should an 'accident' occur it is a relatively simple task to pour on some cat litter, leave it a few minutes and then sweep it up. This has the added bonus that it is clean and easy to move and cat litter has odour eliminating additives that make it less unpleasant.

And the final piece of advice - if you have a garden, get some chickens.