The docent at St, John's was Mia. There is no fee for the tour but a tip is appreciated. Contact Dana Settles, Education Coordinator, at 212-932-7347, [email protected].

Btw, we had a great docent at The Breakers. And at Lincoln's Cottage in DC. And at Mount Vernon. And no, I did not independently verify all the facts I was told.

Icuy- I am so glad the story is true. I thought the story about how they got one piece back was amazing! I never thought it may be embellished until I read this thread.

I don't think this thread was meant to be negative. Just something interesting to ponder.

Imdonehere- Thank you.

Was lucky enough to see Lettice and Lovage with Maggie Smith, late Eighties in London.

Me too. Twice, both in London and New York. It was wonderful. And it was with the two Maggies -- also Maggie Tyzak, who was equally wonderful.

On Monday, June 13 there will be a staged reading of Lettice and Lovage at Hunter College in NYC. It stars Angela Lansbury and the wonderful Dana Ivey. One night only!

Cjar

You are welcome.

I also have a friend who is a long time NYC guide but as a professional her services come with a charges. She specializes in Central Park. Let me know if you want to speak to her.

I know this is the US Board but probably the best known guide in Europe is the thoroughly cantankerous but incredibly knowledgeable Malcom Miller who knows each piece of stained glass at the Cathedral at Chartres.

I read where he is still giving the occasional tour.

"On Monday, June 13 there will be a staged reading of Lettice and Lovage at Hunter College in NYC. It stars Angela Lansbury and the wonderful Dana Ivey. One night only!"

Wish I could go but I'll be in Ireland, which is some consolation . . .

Hmmm. I'll be in New Jersey which is NO consolation. LOL


But can't quite see getting into the city that evening for it.

Thankyou Lcuy for restoring MichelleY's trust in docents. I'm not surprised that Iolani Palace is strict with its rich history. I hope to someday visit as I have read a bit about the history and poor Queen Lili's house arrest - or should I say Palace arrest. This particular place in these islands does not leave room for embellishments.

NewB - there is nothing mean spirited about this thread then you. Truth is, sometimes docents lie. That does not mean that they do it with malice. That doesn't mean that most don't lie. I was simply trying to start a fun thread on when people have caught docents making stuff up on the fly.

Deb - I appreciate that you use comment cards. Sounds like a good system. Because really, how could a docent have all the answers for all those animals.

My wife is a tour guide/docent who leads 2 different tours in San Francisco. I asked for her thoughts on this post. Like Deb's organization, the non-profit which sponsors my wife's tours (San Francisco City Guides) provides extensive training and reference materials before a guide ever does a tour. But there seem to be no limits to the variety of questions that come up during a tour. City Guides tells them not to 'make up' answers or information and to be honest in saying that they don't know something if that's the truth. My wife says that there are some stories that she shares with guests that she calls "anecdotal", meaning that there is lore to suggest it's true (San Francisco has lots of 'lore'), but not with 100% certainty. And she is honest about that. The other consideration is that there is always the possibility that there are errors in reference materials that guides have used to develop their tour content; that can inadvertently perpetuate mis-information. (City Guides have a lot of liberty in customizing their tour detail to emphasize themes that they find particularly interesting within the framework of the basic tour subject and they rely on a wealth of sources to do this). By the way, Deb's idea about the post card solution to unknown answers sounds like a great one! My wife says that she'll mention that to her group.

Stu Dudley

"Truth is, sometimes docents lie. That does not mean that they do it with malice. That doesn't mean that most don't lie. I was simply trying to start a fun thread on when people have caught docents making stuff up on the fly."

You may not be a native speaker of English, so you may not understand that there is a huge difference between "making stuff up on the fly" and telling a lie.

Remember the Western movie cliché: "Smile when you say that, Stranger"?

If you are a man, calling someone a liar may get you punched (or shot in some parts of the country). If you are a woman, it may get your blonde hair pulled out by its dark roots. So to speak.

It is just not done, and if you have further "fun threads" please post them in the Lounge.

Imdonehere- that wouldn't happen to be SueNYC ,would it? I had an earlier post about Shakepseare in the park which I have given up on ( unfortunately just not a good use of vacation time for a family of four) that she was very helpful with.

Well, the mansions in Newport (mentioned in the original post) have "fixed" this. No more docents, just audio tours. (Personally I'd rather follow even a "creative" living, breathing body.)

Thank you, Ackis. You expressed my thoughts exactly. If there's something "fun" in accusing anyone of being a liar, I don't see it.

Please change to title of this thread to "When docents make up $hit."

Well in hindsight, perhaps I should have quietly pulled the docent aside and explained what the marks were. I would never embarrass the entertaining retired volunteer in a group. I will miss them in Newport.

That would be worse then calling out a docent at the Vatican in regards to legendary Secret Missing Penis Room. While singing 'where have all the penises gone? long time passing...."

ACK, very awkward of you. No English isn't my second language. What is a 'native speaker of English?" Did you ask that with malice? And BTW the lounge has been in lockdown for years. But I am sure you are quite familiar with closed clubs.

A decent docent doesn't dissemble.

Are we considering the possibility that the docent is just misinformed and not lying or intentionally making up stories?