Over the weekend, I was at "The Manor" for a while each day, door open for people to walk in. And I'm delighted to say that people know that we're a hotel, they do walk up, and they do walk in. Gone is the forbidding 8 foot wall which used to block the property in. And I delight in the variety of people we meet.
On Saturday, a young gentleman came by ... he's getting married in a couple of months in the town, and was looking for a room "with a fourposter" for the night before he and his bride head off on honeymoon. He had a look around and decided that, although there's not a fourposter in the place, one of our more romantic rooms is ideal.
On Sunday, a chap dropped in looking for casual work. I've nothing to offer, but had a good chat with him - I thought he looked familiar and indeed he was telling me that he used to be homeless in Bath but now had a place in Melksham. Been through some tough times, as described to me, but now fighting and clawing his was back up life's ladder putting demons such as drink behind him.
I don't share some of the views of "Bob" (shall we call him that?) - religion isn't my thing, and nor can I comprehend the gift of healing he says that he has. And there's a strong chance of the odd downward step again as he climbs the ladder - so even if we had something available, it would need to be offered very carefully. But I am impressed with his determination to step back up, his open-ness on the issues he faces, and I wish him well.
(written 2007-03-13, updated 2008-12-26)
Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles
Z700 - People [207] Canteen Dragon - (2005-02-09)
[388] BBQ Season - (2005-07-24)
[392] No Smoking - (2005-07-27)
[423] A Victorian Lady - (2005-08-23)
[530] Perl course during the week, getting married at the weekend - (2005-12-16)
[543] The world didn't stop for Christmas - (2005-12-26)
[584] Loosing breath with Gerald - (2006-01-31)
[601] A fond memory of Sir Freddie - (2006-02-11)
[611] Look out for the motor cyclist - (2006-02-17)
[650] A person of few words - (2006-03-18)
[704] Erin Brent - rest in peace - (2006-04-29)
[763] Much more that the world cup - (2006-06-15)
[771] From cat breeder to Cobol to Perl - (2006-06-21)
[794] Perl delegate - much more than just a delegate - (2006-07-06)
[820] Robert and William Whitworth - (2006-08-01)
[1064] Light and shadows at Beach - (2007-02-04)
[1065] Graham Ellis - an Introduction - (2007-02-05)
[1119] The Last Word on the road - (2007-03-26)
[1151] Gordon Dodge, R.I.P. - (2007-04-16)
[1197] Back off home with our best wishes - (2007-05-21)
[1238] The kind spirit of Melksham - (2007-06-21)
[1279] The Gdansk fireball - (2007-07-27)
[1303] Heading Upstate New York - (2007-08-14)
[1385] Delegates of all shapes and sizes - (2007-10-09)
[1522] Paging Martin Noke, who petitions for more trains from Trowbridge to Swindon - (2008-01-28)
[1570] London Midland ... Merrymaker ... Percy Danks - (2008-03-10)
[1627] Amazing family members - (2008-05-02)
[1916] Why I remember East Grafton - (2008-12-02)
[1980] Michelle - (2009-01-06)
[1988] Melksham, Wiltshire. Town Crier Competition, 2009 - (2009-01-11)
[2078] A lot has changed - but the memory lingers on - (2009-03-12)
[2100] Visiting Family - (2009-03-23)
[2132] Learning about Lurchers - (2009-04-18)
[2503] Melksham manslaughter case concludes - sort of - (2009-11-14)
[2795] Simon says - (2010-06-05)
[2846] Catching up with an old friend - (2010-07-01)
[2886] Congratulations, Kimberly - (2010-07-25)
[3008] Dulwich College Preparatory, and Sevenoaks, Schools - (2010-10-21)
[3034] Birth Notice - Aeryn Cassandra Ellis - (2010-11-07)
[3055] Zyliana Kyrei Cox - (2010-11-16)
[3125] The family is defunct. Long live the family. - (2011-01-09)
[3184] Visiting relatives - (2011-02-26)
[3268] Baby Pictures - (2011-04-27)
[3297] A long day, a long journey, and families and similarities the world over - (2011-05-22)
[3298] Quiet Monday in - (2011-05-23)
[3355] Family Pictures - (2011-07-12)
[3466] Passing of Steve Jobs - R.I.P. - (2011-10-06)
[3512] A colleague and friend who changed my life - (2011-11-07)
[3775] Alan Turing - 1912 to 1954 - (2012-06-23)
[3905] How should we choose our Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner? - (2012-10-27)
[3981] Melksham - a town of some remarkable people - (2013-01-19)
[4193] Using our non-found page to help look for missing persons - (2013-10-18)
[4349] When I am old, what will worry me? - (2014-12-11)
[4482] People in New York - (2015-05-02)
[4646] Sometimes you wonder about people. And perhaps you should not. - (2016-02-13)
[4728] Visiting Los Alamitos Bay Yacht Club - (2016-11-23)
[4736] Our changing world - (2017-04-17)
Some other Articles
Training in LuaPython - two different splitsFalse imprisonment - a contrast from the newsExpress serviceWeekend VisitorsSpring PicturesA week is a long time in the life of a conference centreDrawing dynamic graphs in PHPDilton MarshA Reference