Langton House Blog

Even as I write we are having a new solar water heating system installed for the B&B.

So far this has meant a new cold water main being installed, 2 new hot water cylinders, new electrics and as soon as the scaffolding is put up we will have the solar panels installed.

Over the years researching the various renewable energy options available, this system is the only one that has a decent payback period of about 5 years, along with a system lifespan of over double that. The plumber installing said he had put a system in last year and the client turned off his boiler for 3 months during the 2008 summer!

I expect and hope for a similar result, but whatever I am doing my bit to reduce my costs and become a little bit greener!

Well today Gordon Brown announces a review into this hot topic. If, and I think it is a BIG if, this ever went ahead then it would be the starting place for a move to scrapping the final salary schemes for all the public sector workers.

The current salary scheme is a rope around the neck of this country and until it is removed I can not see the end to the dire finances of this country.

We, the private sector, contribute to the overall economy of this country, the public sector spend the money we make. If the private sector have had their pensions knocked, what right have the public sector (who work for us) to keep theirs?

I look forward to seeing if Gordon Brown ever gets this through and past his own members – who generally like to line their own pockets as we have seen all too often. Whether this is just political spin will become all too apparent in the future, but I live in hope!

I was on a flight recently flying in to Canada on a Canadian airline.

The flight had been a little rough, but nothing to really make a mention of, but when we landed (and not a difficult landing at all), the plane erupted in applause for the flight crew.

I had to laugh, lucky for me the flight deck had accomplished their job and got us down in one piece. How many of those clapping would have booed them if we had crashed! I for one would had sat there in the flames and booed my head off!

There was a parade for the 2nd Batallion of the Coldstream Guards after there recent return from operational duties in Afganistan.

It was a fantastic event with some great support from the locals in Windsor lining the parade route. By the time they had marched up to the castle there were thousands of people cheering our boys! I was very proud to be British and see the support the Army were being given.

Whatever anyone thinks of the reasons for our troops being in Iraqi or  Afghanistan, it has nothing to do with the fact that we should support our troops and the job they  are doing. It is the politicians who have put them there and they have no choice in the matter. If anyone disagrees with them being there they should take it out on the people who put them there, not the guys themselves.

Well Done to all the Army and well done to the people of Windsor for showing their support.

I recently took a quick trip abroad travelling from Stansted Airport. Because of the time of the flight my friend and I decided to stay in a (very) cheap local hotel, why I”m not too sure as it”s the sort of place I normally RUN from, but my friend suggested it and I went along with it.

We actually arrived at  Stansted by coach from Windsor, although cheaper than the train it took hours due to the time we were on the road – Friday evening traffic – it reminded me why I don”t bother driving into London!

From the airport we booked a cab to the hotel from their taxi reservation desk, which was very efficient. We also booked our return to the airport for a 5.15 am pickup…. ho hum!

So we walked out, jumped into our cab and off we went. On the way we were discussing whether we should actually get a slightly earlier cab so as we were getting out at the hotel we asked our driver if he could change our pickup time.

His reply just made me burst out laughing, he said “No, because it won”t do me any favours!” I could not believe it, he worked for an organisation where they were all in contact with the booking system, they had logo”d up cars and although he was obviously self employed, he was in no mood to do the slightest thing to help us unless he had some personal gain in it!

My instant reply to him was “yes, I agree with you, it will not help you but it would help us”, he mumbled something and drove off.  We rebooked our cab ourselves!

Let”s just hope our taxi friend had a better end to his day as I”m guessing it must have been a rough day up to that point. Personally I just loved his reply, short, to the point and totally truthful.

Ahh, another year dawns and its a brief respite here at the B&B before we are off and fully running again. The December and January months are the quietest for us and it gives me a chance to do a bit of painting and fixing.

This also gives me a chance to thank all of our guests in 2007, we have enjoyed your company and  in fact there were a remarkable number who I really enjoyed having a chat with over breakfast or at check in.

Remember, if you have an interesting job or pastime, why not TELL me about it, don”t wait for me to find out, after all, I can”t interrogate ALL my guests to find  out what makes them tick!

Lets hope 2008 is a good year for everyone. In particular I hope that there is major progress in Iraq and Afghanistan,  that the current problems in Kenya resolves itself peacefully and we can find a more peaceful resolution within ALL the religions of the worlds. Not too much to ask for I know, but I”m a realist and like to look at the positive things in life.

All the best to everyone in 2008

Paul

I have just had a fascinating talk with Rita Dunne, who was trying to book up to stay with us (unfortunately we were full) because her grandmother was born in Langton House! She tells me that her grandmother was born in 1881 and in those days the house was called The Ferns (few houses had numbers at that time). At this time it was a private house.

I am hoping that when Rita stays in Windsor she will call in as she has some old photos of the house as well as helping me fill in a few more details.

Well in due course Rita did in fact call in. She had discovered a few more facts, unfortunately her grandmother was not born here but she did live her. She gave me a few copies of pictures taken outside the front of the house with her grandmother and her mother as a baby.

The front wall had iron railings which have long since disappeared. This in itself is an interesting story as during the war all the railings across England were removed as part of the war effort to use the raw materials for bombs – in fact most of the iron was unusable and was just dumped, but thats why as you walk around the streets in most towns you see low walls with no railings!

We recently had Mr Dunscombe come to stay with us at Langton House. As he was checking in he informed me that he was actually BORN in Langton House! Although he can”t actually remember the event (!) he is reliably informed that in 1946 he was born here. He lived around the corner in his formative years and remembers much about the local area. It was an honor to meet him and I was just so glad that he stayed here and at least let us know a tiny bit more about the history of Langton House.

I, Paul, had a call from a lady asking me if we had a room on a certain date – We had.

She asked how far it was to the church in the High Street – I said about 10 minutes walk.

She asked if it would take longer in high heels – I said the last time I did it in heels it took allot longer! I had to laugh, I mean, I don”t even own any high heels!

I wonder if she will call back to book the room ……

Well its been a long old summer season, and by looking at the weather its not over yet. October and the temperature is well above seasonal norm, about 3 degrees over normal for this time of year and it looks like it may be the warmest October since records began, that’s over 350 years ago (but don”t quote me on that)!

We are generally back to pre 2001 levels of tourism in the UK, because as most people forget, in 2001 we had foot and mouth and that was followed by 9/11 which finished off an extremely hard year and put paid to any sort of recovery till now, in effect.

So we are all grateful that that part of our lives is behind us and we can look forward to many more good years ahead.

With the business slowing down now its time to take a break from all the mad work of all hours and 7 days a week work, that is until Christmas when everyone starts booking up for Christmas parties and office meals in Windsor. That reminds me I”m hungry and its time to go eat! Bye for now.