Tales of Our Holiday Lets. Or … Was it Really Worth it? Or … Tales of the Unexpected

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Well, yes it was worth it – we loved it,  now we don’t let anymore it’s good to look back. Even though there were a lot of unexpected occasions.

Having a holiday apartment attached to our house has brought us many friends; visitors who return year after year in the summer to enjoy the lovely Pembrokeshire coastline and all the other attractions this part of West Wales offers. We love seeing them again. And we are fortunate to meet many new people as well.

But there have been downsides. Or should I say, occasions that made us think again about sharing our home.

I’ll start with the  vicar, his wife.

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They arrived two hours early. But I’d finished the cleaning …

 

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it was pouring down and there was no reason not to let them go in and settle into the apartment.

Within minutes there was a knock on the house door. Did we mind if they rang their daughter to tell them they’d arrived and to come and see where they were. Not at all we said. What they didn’t say was that the daughter was on holiday with two other couples – and five children. They came and stayed for the rest of the day. Okay, we thought, we’re not insured to have thirteen people in our one bedroomed apartment but it was still raining. And we felt sorry for them. And they’ll be gone soon. 

We found out the following day, they were camping in tents in a local farmer’s field. With no showers or cooking facilities.Alarm bells started to ring. Loudly!

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Weren’t we the mugs!

The daughter, friends, kids arrived the next day, and the next, and the next – and the next. They stayed indoors when it rained and, when it didn’t the children ran riot over the garden until they were all ready to go to the beach. In the evening they came back to cook their meals and to bath the kids. What happened to the children after that we never found out but the adults always appeared to be having a party until the early hours ‘ I thought we had a vicar staying?’ Husband said with gritted teeth as we lay in bed at one in the morning listening to the gales of laughter and crashing of doors. He was, it has to be said, slightly narked because he’d had to have a cold shower earlier because all the hot water had been used up. (the house and apartment run on the same heating, electricity  and water supply).

The crunch  (the last straw, the one that broke the camel’s -er husband’s temper– to coin a mixed cliché) came later in the night – three in the morning to be exact. We were woken by a loud bang. One of the friends had backed into Husband’s car. Well, as far as he was concerned, enough was enough! I should add at this point, he’s usually pretty easy going. But a trampled garden and a dent in his car was the tipping point.

They had to leave!

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Easier said than done.  The vicar and his wife refused to budge; there was some very un-vicar -like language bandied about, the wife turned into a screaming fishwife, my husband turned a worrying shade of crimson and  I knew we were out of our depth.

We called the letting agent. ‘Come and sort it out,’ Husband demanded, ‘or I will.’ Worrying; in all the years we’ve been married  I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen his ‘sorting out’ . It wasn’t a reassuring thought.

In the meantime the daughter, friends and kids turned up for another day of fun and frolics. Unfortunately it was a fine day and the kids decided to play football – mostly amongst the flower beds. And this time they had two dogs with them. ‘Where did they come from?’ Husband appeared from his shed with plastic bag in hand, pushing it at one of the men and pointing to defecating pooch Apparently they were usually left in the tents. ‘Not much of a holiday for them, then,’ was Husband’s  comment.

The agent arrived. He went into the apartment and came out looking slightly apprehensive. They followed him outside. There was lots of finger pointing. He wasn’t getting anywhere with them. Surrounded by shouting people I did feel sorry for him. But all I wanted was them all to leave and to have a husband go back to his usual colour and with less teeth gritting.

It took the agent three hours to persuade them to go.  And another two for them to pack up. Husband stood guard on the drive, glaring at mad dogs and kid. I went indoors (always the coward!)

Which poor souls got them after that we never found out. I breathed a sigh of relief. Until I went into the apartment. It took me ten hours to clean. I won’t go into further detail.

Husband put a ban on vicars.

****

And then there was the Football Man …

i-cant-keep-calm-im-a-football-fan

And the Hippies …

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And the couple with the heavily pregnant wife – who wasn’t – when  the three of them left. Worked it out?

Oh, and the couple who insisted Husband was growing his vegetables all wrong and decided to give us a surprise. Husband went only slightly crimson that time.

And the …

 And the …

All stories for another time …

Here we are:

http://saddleworth-house.co.uk/

 And I’m here:

https://judithbarrowblog.com/

http://www.judithbarrow.co.uk/

35 thoughts on “Tales of Our Holiday Lets. Or … Was it Really Worth it? Or … Tales of the Unexpected”

  4. Maybe draw up a contract stating specific rules and regulations? They can sign or leave; and criminal charges for damages to apartment, vehicles and yard. As you stated, “Enough is enough.” If questioned, let them know of the “bad apples” who ruined it for the rest of the bunches.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • You’re probably right. Trouble is, I’m not one for rules myself and I trust people to do the right thing. And we have only been caught out a few times over ten years. most people are lovely. And I can always kill the ‘bad’ ones of in my books/stories – it has been known!! perhaps I could tell them that on arrival?

      Liked by 1 person

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  6. OMG, I can’t believe that all really happened. That’s movie material! I would have gone ballistic. I can’t believe how inconsiderate people can be with other people’s property! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Holiday letting can be a roller coaster, Debs. Human nature is odd sometimes. It felt worse that he was a vicar. One of the things he said to me when I asked that his family didn’t all descend on us every day, was that he was disappointed in me; that I should be more tolerant! Think my jaw dropped at that. But there are still lovely people out there. And thankfully we get more of them than the other kind. Movie material? Hmm, you’ve given me the idea for a play.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

    • Thanks Sally. You are so right, it’s not an easy option but boy does it lend itself to a glimpse of the human foibles. Been away a couple of days, now back to the fun!!.Thanks for your support. J x

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  10. This is hilarious now that’s it’s over, but who would have expected so many headaches when a vicar and his wife let you place. Appearances are deceiving, aren’t they, in more ways then one? 😀 😀 😀 Yes, more please. ❤ ❤ ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • We’ve dined out on many of these times! They do make good stories, I suppose, and they’re always better in retrospect. Needless to say we now know who to refuse when requests come through to let out holiday apartment!!Thanks for the read and the comment.

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  13. Pingback: Coffee with Barb & @judithabarrow: The Holiday Let. Fluffy slippers optional #SundayBlogShare | Barb Taub

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