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....
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The best and worst thing about hosting paying guests is that you never know who is going to walk through the front door. Someone very unsuspecting can have the most amazing stories to tell and it always fills me with joy when they are willing to share them. I've been very fortunate to have had such special memories and so many characters come to stay, as I would never have met them otherwise.
In the early 2000's two brothers from America came to stay, as the son of the younger of the two men lived around the corner but had no space to put them up. This was the first stage of a road trip the two of them had planned to take together after many years of debating when, where and how.
They squabbled like all brothers do, but they were very witty and both of them took a shine to Pat (my handyman). Each evening on their return they'd all sit in the garden with their pipes and a bottle of Tullamore Due discussing life.
It was during one of these sessions that the older of the brothers told Pat and me about his first trip to England. He was a pilot during the second World War and his squadron was deployed to the UK for two weeks and included in that group was a man who went on to become a very famous singer/songwriter – Elvis Presley! I was so excited to talk to someone who had met and spent time with him - it was a magical moment for me and one that kept me from sleep that night. When I was younger I had missed seeing Elvis in Vegas by two days, so in my mind this made up for it a little bit!
After leaving us, they then went to Ireland for a few days to continue their road trip. They had difficulty hiring a car, so started ranting that this was because of their age and the car hire company eventually caved in. The brothers proceeded to get very lost and finally one of them managed to put a huge dent in the car door. All in all not a successful road trip but they said they had a great time despite all of it.
They decided to cut their trip short as it wasn't proving to be quite the road trip they had envisaged. Needless to say, they were back at outdoor a few days later and were welcomed with open arms!
