If you've always wanted to learn how to polish silver, fold linens, or serve a six-course dinner to spoiled rich kids, here's your chance.
The City of West Palm Beach is offering free, totally unironic classes on "How to Work in a Wealthy Home." You too can scrub the bathtub and serve British tea, just like the hard-working hotties on Downton Abbey.
For two hours every Thursday, the city-funded Vickers House holds classes on vital subjects such as "Duties in the House or Estate," "Answering the Phone," "The Household Directory," "Greeting Guests," and "Polishing Sterling." Tomorrow's class, which will be the sixth week of the nine-week course, covers items such as "China Care" and "The Everyday Table Setting."
It may sound like London circa 1912, but this is Palm Beach, and Downton Abbey is alive and well here. The mansions on Billionaire's Row can't operate without good hired help.
Vickers House, a division of the mayor's office, offers free services to the poor: help with résumé and tax preparation, HIV testing, English as a Second Language classes, and Greyhound tickets for homeless people to rejoin their families in other parts of the country. The classes on how to be a maid, butler, or housekeeper are part of the agency's job-training services. About ten to 18 clients attend the classes, which are offered about four times a year, Jordan says.
