A reluctant landlady leaves feedback for the travellers who stay in her home. This week: No, I won’t shine your shoes
I was back home very late. The guests were in bed, so I tiptoed past their door on my way to the bathroom, and tripped over two pairs of shoes. How sweet, I thought as I brushed my teeth; they’ve taken their muddy shoes off, thinking to save the carpet. Then it occurred to me as I was climbing into my PJs: maybe they had left their shoes out for me to clean? I lay awake, hiccupping gently (it had been a birthday party involving champagne), tussling over this. There was no way I was going to clean them – this was not a five-star hotel, or even a family-run B&B; it was just me and a spare room. Supposing I was mistaken anyway? Maybe they had just innocently abandoned them by the door? I turned over and pondered the whole idea of what was acceptable (to me) to make guests feel at home, and what wasn’t.
The line is drawn in shades of grey. But then the whole concept of staying in someone’s spare room is a grey area. Why do they do it? Why not go to a hotel? Of course, everyone loves a bargain, but hotel rooms can be bagged for very little nowadays. I have learned that most people who stay here welcome the idea of not being stranded in an anonymous corporate room, and enjoy pitching in with whatever is going on in my home during their stay. I had a lovely afternoon with Ellen from York, who abandoned her idea of going shopping to stay at home with me making damson jam and sloe gin. In addition, people are nosy and, if you’re that way inclined, what could be nicer than rootling around somebody else’s home? Everyone always, always checks out the bookshelves and the pictures.
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