06 Mar 2024
We ask a different figure from the local community to choose 10 questions to answer from a list of 50. This week: Richard Marrett, former general manager of St Michael’s Manor Hotel and now general manager of The Maltings Shopping Centre.
Where do you walk when you want to think?
The long walk at Windsor Great Park, a place filled with many happy memories and real British tradition. I grew up in Berkshire and have spent many afternoons walking through Windsor Great Park over the years. There always seems to be an air of happiness throughout and gives you the opportunity to while the day away in beautiful surroundings.
What TV did you watch as a child?
Lovejoy is by far my favourite classic TV programme. Having spent 10 years at boarding school, it was often the last programme we would watch as a family on a Sunday evening before going back to school. I would like to think that I have a bit of Lovejoy’s character in me and also enjoy antiques.
Do you have any phobias?
A few, but none of the standard phobias. Bubble wrap and balloons cause big issues in my life, along with squirrels and a slightly more normal phobia of needles.
What’s your favourite meal?
This has to be a Full English breakfast, omitting the mushroom and tomato, as I can be a bit fussy sometimes! They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day,
advice which I do not always follow, but nothing better starts the day than a plate of slightly naughty decadence. Black pudding and fried bread are an absolute must have.
Have you ever had a nickname?
Well there is the obvious nickname, given my first name, however if I were to choose a nickname that I have been known as it would be Tricky. In reference to a previous question, it adds an air of Lovejoy to my character. Life isn’t always straightforward and sometimes you do need to push fate a little to succeed.
Which three people, living or dead, would be your ideal dinner party guests? Tom Hanks, John Candy, Steve Martin. I love to laugh, life is easier when you are laughing. These three comedy geniuses have had me in stitches since the ‘80s and I often find myself replicating their different mannerisms in conversation. Don’t ask me to select my favourite movie from one of these three, that is an impossible question to answer.
What was your first job?
My first job was a catering assistant in a staff restaurant at Heathrow Terminal 4 but also at the same time I worked as a butler for the Saudi Arabian Royal Family at their private residence in Mayfair. This was incredibly daunting as an 18 year old but a fantastic experience nonetheless.
What’s your favourite place to have breakfast in St Albans?
Toast on Waddington Road is an absolute winner every time. I was a big fan of Waddington Road Café previously and very pleased when it stayed as a restaurant. The menu typifies St Albans and the atmosphere is great, it is always so important to support local businesses.
Most inspirational St Albans person – living or dead?
Alasdair McMillin, managing partner at Sherrards Solicitors (pictured below left). I met Alasdair very soon after moving to the city in 2011 and very quickly realised he is ‘Sir St Albans’. As the leader of one of the most successful firms in the district, he has the respect of many people and I am yet to meet someone with a bad word against him. He has always supported me over the years for which I am very grateful. A true gentleman.
If you could have a conversation with someone who had died who would it be?
My grandfather, Rex Marrett. As an anaesthetist and engineer, he went ashore on D-Day with the RAMC and subsequently developed anaesthetic apparatus to be used in the field during the war. I recently visited the Association of Anaesthetists to view his work and regret not discussing this in more detail with him whilst he was alive.
