TRUE STORIES FROM A BED & BREAKFAST HOST. I grew up in a B&B since the age of 4, after 20 plus years of having a constant stream of strangers come through the front door. You pick up a story or two....
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
This story goes back over 17 years. I had taken a last minute booking via an agency for an English man who was coming to London for business. He was an IT Developer and would not be checking in until midnight - apart from his name I had no other info. It was late November and the weather had been foul, he arrived drenched at the door clutching his computer bags and a small backpack.
He had come from Russia and was en-route to the Middle East where he had a new contract. He lead quite the nomadic life and when chatting to him it evolved during the conversation that he picked up a language semi-fluently within roughly 12 weeks.
I have met many linguists over the years that have stayed with me or through mutual friends, but never one spoke that many languages or picked them up as quickly. He was a mathematical genius as well as an accomplished pianist. I suppose now he would be best described as a bit of a geek.
He only stayed for a few days before heading off for his next assignment but he left a blue cotton shirt and no forwarding address. I washed it and put it in the cupboard where I stored 'the left behind stuff'.
It was several years later (and sods law I suppose) that I was away for a week in Wales when my assistant rang me in a panic saying that she had a man at the door asking for his blue shirt. It took me a few minutes to recall who it might be and when she described him that I realised who it was.
I had only done a clear out a few weeks earlier of all the clothes that had been left behind, donating them to a local charity shop. He was not amused, but six years is a long time to expect anyone to hold onto a forgotten item!
