The cost of a good nights sleep

Hello. I've just been thinking about the differences between a £35 a night in a Farmhouse B & B, and £70 + in a Premier Inn. This is where I slept last Thursday night, I have no idea how much it was, I didn't pay for it, but the price for this Thursday is £71.  

Me ready to leave, dressed up for filming.

I arrived at 6.30pm, and checked in. There is no car park so I had to park five minutes walk away on the sixth floor of Sainsbury's multistory car park. At the farm in Yorkshire I parked right outside my room.

I was given a plastic card which unlocked the door to the room, and operated the lift. It failed to work twice, and I had to return to reception to get it re programmed. I had to use the stairs because I couldn't operate the lift without it. When I got in the room I tried to switch the lights on, they didn't work. Then I spotted a plastic box near the door with a slot in it. This is for the card, which then allows you to turn the lights on. At the farm B & B I was given a door key, and the lights worked fine.

Before going to bed I had a bath. No sign of any toiletries. I hadn't taken much because I thought there would be some nice smellies to use. Nope, just a soap dispenser on the wall, push for a squirt. At the farm there was a choice of several bottles of shower gel, bath foam, and shampoo. I had a long soak.

I had an evening meal at the Premier Inn, all paid for. I met a lovely couple who invited me to share their table and we all had vegetarian food, which was very tasty, even though we had to wait ages for it to be served. The restaurant was quite busy and there wasn't enough staff to cope with it.

I had to laugh, I asked at the bar for a half of cider. She said they only had bottles and they were big bottles. I said, ok, I'll have half of Guinness. She said we only have large cans of Guinness. I said oh, I only want a half pint. She said I can do you a shandy, I said ok, that's fine. She poured it and put it in front of me, then said, it's buy one get one free. I said, ok, can I have the other half later. She said no she has to pour it now, so I was about to end up with two half pint glasses. I said, you might as well put them both in a pint glass. I had to laugh. One pint of shandy for £2.

I was down for breakfast early because I knew it was going to be busy. I was right. It was lovely, cereals yogurt, toast, and a hot cooked breakfast, followed by a pancake with honey. The morning staff were very friendly and worked hard to get the tables cleared for the next lot of guests to arrive. The breakfast at the farm B & B was just as nice, freshly cooked and served by Mrs farmer.

I suppose these chain hotels have their place in city centres, and the price reflects their expensive overheads, but I love a small, friendly, owner run B & B. A clean basic room with a nice en suite bathroom, television, and drinks making facilities suits me fine. There is a need for all types of accommodation, but the times I've had to pay more for a hotel room than I would have liked, I felt ripped off.

Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon.  Toodle pip.

PS. Just a quick note. People have shown an interest in buying my artwork. I said I might sell one day, but sorry to disappoint, it won't be any time soon, maybe not even for a year or two. I want to build up a collection, I don't want to let them go yet. I have a couple on the wall here, the others are wrapped up to keep them clean. They take such a long time to make and have masses of stitching in them, they are quite precious to me. Maybe one day, but not yet.