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Original poster

Anyone remember taking B&B owners children out for the day?

28 replies

esterwin · 13/06/2021 00:14

My parents who are in their late seventies say that when they went on holiday as children and stayed in a B&B, their parents, and other families would take the child of the B&B owners for the day. They say this was common as B&Bs then were full board i.e. provided three meals a day, so visiting families recognised it was a hard life for the owners and they rarely had any time to take their own children out for the day. So the children would be taken out by friendly families who were paying guests.
Anyone else remember this? Of course it would never happen now.

OP posts:
HoppSuisse · 13/06/2021 00:19

My parents did B&B in the early 80s when I was about 9-12, and this never happened with us! We occasionally played with guests kids in the garden but that was the height of our interaction.

AC2022 · 13/06/2021 00:19

Yes! My Mum and Dad went on their honeymoon in the early seventies (Shropshire somewhere) and spent the week looking after the B&B owners child. They kept in touch for years and I remember going to visit them once. I’m pretty sure they were still sending Christmas cards until a few years ago.

FATEdestiny · 13/06/2021 00:22

My parents are late 70s, we never did thus as kids.

Occasionally we would meet/play with the owners children. But they wouldn't accompany us. Even in the 1970s and 1980s, thus would be odd.

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Original poster
esterwin · 13/06/2021 00:34

I am talking about sixties, maybe fifties, not seventies and eighties.

@ac2022 That was generous of them to do that on their honeymoon.

OP posts:
Original poster
esterwin · 13/06/2021 13:39

Anyone else?

OP posts:
Bugbeau · 13/06/2021 13:45

Not quite the same, but we used to go on holiday to the same house in France for years. The children were similar ages to me & my sister and we played with them most days. We also used to sometimes take them out to the beach with us. My mum is still in touch with the family now and we went back to visit them as adults.

Bugbeau · 13/06/2021 13:45

Just to add this was in the 90s.

osbertthesyrianhamster · 13/06/2021 13:47

That's very generous of people to have done that but imagine letting your kids go off with strangers.

underneaththeash · 13/06/2021 13:52

They were called boarding houses (rather than B&Bs), my grandmother's Aunt used to own one in a place called Porthcawl in Wales. Children had more freedom then anyway, so would probably just have tagged along.

MargaretThursday · 13/06/2021 14:03

Similar though not quite the same we were staying with my aunt and the day she was working, dm decided to take us down to the beach. As we got out of the car, this dog joined us. It stayed with us all day, and we loved it.
At the end of the day dm was a bit concerned because she didn't want to just leave it, but couldn't really take it back, so she took it up to the village shop.
Apparently the dog used to hang around the car park until it saw someone with a likely looking picnic and join them for the day, returning for the evening.

Original poster
esterwin · 13/06/2021 14:25

@osbertthesyrianhamster I know you would never do that now.

@MargaretThursday that is funny about the dog and I can totally imagine that being just seen as a quirk back then. Clever dog though.

This is all based on the idea that a decent seeming family was going to be safe.

OP posts:
DelurkingAJ · 13/06/2021 14:29

We were on a walking holiday in France in the 90s and a farm dog joined us one day. We were following the grand randonee and he clearly knew the route. When we got to our hotel my DParents were worried but the hotel rang the farm we’d be passing as he joined us and they laughed and said he did it all the time, to give him water but not feed him and he’d find his own way home.

Ickythefirebobby · 13/06/2021 14:57

The last thing I’d want to do on holiday would be to entertain other peoples’ children for the day.

Londonmummy66 · 13/06/2021 15:17

Not quite the same but one year at Guide camp the children living on the farm where we were camping came and joined us for most of the week. It was probably a good idea as there was a massive storm predicted for the last night so the farmer allowed us to strike camp a night early and all sleep under cover in a massive garage.

Imissmoominmama · 13/06/2021 15:20

@MargaretThursday- clever dog! Grin

Sniffingtheair · 13/06/2021 15:20

Yep this happened with us - would have been late 80s. Still remember the B&B owners’ son was called Spencer. He came to the Tropicana pool in Weston-Super-Mare with us.

PaperMonster · 13/06/2021 15:47

Never happened to me. Just had to make sure I locked my door cos a couple of times drunken blokes got the wrong room.

Merryhobnobs · 13/06/2021 15:50

I grew up in a guest house, as did my mum. The only time she was taken out would have been with guests who had been coming for years who had become friends. I certainly never got taken out.

IamEarthymama · 13/06/2021 15:51

Presumably the parents let the children just play together while overseeing their safety.
It would not have been the thing to provide lots if entertainment apart from buckets and spades, bar and ball, some food.
Maybe a hand of cricket or rounders!

We were benignly neglected back in the day!!

whatdoidonowffs · 13/06/2021 15:52

Yes my family had a small (9 rooms) hotel in Cornwall I used to do bag carrying and waiting on tables from the age of eight it was very common for guests with single children to take me out with them for the day I saw most of the tourist attractions in Cornwall this way 😂
I suppose it gave the children someone their own age to play with

NotDavidTennant · 13/06/2021 15:54

I remember this happening crica 1990 on a holiday in Whitely Bay. My sister and I befriened the B&B owners daugther and I distinctly remember my family taking her out with us for tea with us one evening.

MrsCrosbyNRTB · 13/06/2021 16:14

Not a B&B but one year - would have been around 1990 we stayed on a remote farm in Cornwall. It was miles from anywhere. The owners daughter was the same age as me (11) and latched onto is for the week. She was lovely and my parents were delighted as it stopped me pestering them constantly Grin.

Her patents were pleased too as they were flat out with a working farm and the holiday let. She hated the summer holidays as she was an only child miles from anywhere. I bet she lives in Clapham or something now.

TheNarwhalBalloon · 13/06/2021 16:29

How bizarre but also oddly lovely.

I went camping in the 90s in a rural location and the owners of the little post office / village stores would ask us to take their dog for a walk when we popped in for supplies. Fair enough as they got to know us over the course of a week I guess, but the first time they asked was literally the first time they'd met us!

partyatthepalace · 13/06/2021 16:50

I imagine it was just your parents thought it might be nice for you to have company and nice for B and B kids to go out. I can imagine some sociable families would do this now if they thought they were nice kids. I doubt it was a particular thing about B and B owners though.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 13/06/2021 16:54

Ds had a great summer holiday with the owners child of a cottage we rented, she was a joy to have and meant ds had conpanySmile This was 11 years ago.

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