That being said, many people go to a B&B expecting it to be like a hotel – it’s not. We’ve stayed in quite a few B&B’s in our time and we’ve heard owners lament that some of their guests are sometimes the worst part of running a B&B.

So, in an effort to bridge cultural understanding, here’s a code of standards of sort for people planning on staying in a Bed & Breakfast in the UK (or even Europe). Some of these tips may sound like something any child should know, but all of these are things that B&B owners have brought up with us, so they are real problems.

1. You Are Staying in Someone’s Home

Most B&B’s are family run businesses and more than often, the family actually lives there. While it’s a business, it is also someone’s home. So, provide respect accordingly as if you were a guest in someone else’s home.

2. This is often a part-time job

Many people run B&B’s on the side in addition to having full-time jobs or other businesses. So, don’t expect them to always be around to cater to your every whim.

3. It’s not a hotel. Don’t expect Hotel level service

B&B’s are not a hotel, so don’t expect to be treated like you’re in one. And certainly don’t treat the B&B’s owners like hotel clerk.

4. Respect Check-in/ Check out times

B&B owners usually operate on a tight schedule. They have to serve breakfast at set times in the mornings, facilitate checkouts and then turn the rooms over for the next evening. This means that if they’ve set a time for you to arrive, you would do well to arrive after that time or else they won’t be ready to receive you. If you’re going to be later than the time you’ve agreed on, call ahead to let them know so they’re not waiting around for you.

5. Eating and Drinking

A B&B owner has given the following advice:

“Tea is at 4pm. Supper at a pub or restaurant is generally between 7-9pm and breakfast 8 or 9 am. Seems obvious to us Brits but I frequently get bemused guests from across the pond who come back from the village pub at 5.30 complaining that it is shut and they aren’t serving food. Or when offered a cup of tea on arrival say “no thanks I’d rather have a beer” !”

6. No outside food

Bringing outside hot food into your B&B room is a bit of a slap in the face for B&B owners (especially if you bring in your own breakfast!). Most rooms are not equipped to handle food waste, which can lead to smells that permeate the whole place. Most B&B’s have a no outside food rule and that applies to everyone, including you.

7. Don’t stay out too late

To reiterate my first point, this is someone’s home. Do not stay out too late at night as you’re bound to make noise when you come in for the evening and wake up the owners or other guests. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been woken up in the night by drunken revelers coming in a little too late. You have a key to a person’s home, don’t abuse it.

8. Breakfast is great time to socialize with other guests but not always

Staying in a B&B is a great way to meet people from other countries and learn about other cultures. However, some people just want to eat their breakfast and be left alone. So, if it’s clear that someone doesn’t want to small talk, leave the poor patron alone.

9. Don’t talk politics

If you do get friendly with your fellow guests, don’t ever fall into the comfortable trap of talking about politics, especially if you’re chatting with foreigners. It’s just not worth bringing up.  

10. Be Quiet

Silence is golden, especially in a charming bed and breakfast. People come to these places to relax. Try to always use your ‘inside’ voice. Keep the volume on your TV as a reasonable level. Don’t stomp around late at night. If you’re being… intimate… keep in mind there are other guests you have to face at breakfast.

11. Leave the Young Kids at Home

We stayed in two B&B’s with our young toddler and Mrs. Anglotopia and I agreed on one thing: we would never stay at one again with young children (we’re talking under 5). It was a nightmare. Most rooms only have one bed, ours provided cots, but our toddler refused to sleep in them. We had problems with… screaming at all hours of the day. At the end of the day climbing the stairs to the top of the B&B with all our baby gear was just exhausting. We felt so bad for the B&B owners where we stayed even though they put on a brave face. We won’t stay in B&B’s again with our kids until they’re older. If you have very young children, stick to self-catering or hotels. The owners and your fellow guests will thank you (rather than look at you with derision).

12. Don’t overuse resources

Again, it’s not a hotel. Don’t just take and take because it’s not a bottomless resource. Don’t overuse the towels and ask for more. Don’t hog all the breakfast or ask for seconds.

13. Get dressed for Breakfast

This really bothers us when we stay in a B&B. When you come down for breakfast, show some respect for your fellow guests and the owners by putting on some clothes. Despite staying in someone’s home, you’re not at home. Put some effort into your appearance and don’t look sloppy in your pajamas (or worse, lingerie!).

14. Leave Muddy Boots Outside!

I learned this lesson the hard way – if you go for a hike in the countryside, take your muddy boots off before you come in. Check to see if they have an outside hose where you can wash off the mud. Nothing will annoy the owner more than having to call the carpet cleaners as soon as you leave. One B&B owner we know recommends carrying a towel (not one of theirs!) in your pocket to wipe off mud before you return.

15. Check for rules

This isn’t an exhaustive list for all B&B’s, so be sure to check the info book in your room for any special rules that your B&B may have. This will help ensure your stay goes smoothly.

16. Be Careful with Provided Appliances

Many rooms will have a kettle for tea – resist the urge to put it on a wooden surface, this is people’s furniture, sometimes they’re heirlooms. Also, watch out for your curling iron, don’t put it on the carpet – same goes for irons too. Use these tools as if you were at home – carefully!

17. Don’t Abuse the Towels with Make-up

Another B&B owner we know kindly asks that you remove your makeup with your own special make-up removal towels – please don’t stain up their crisp white towels with your make-up!

18. Don’t Re-arrange the Furniture

According to a good friend of ours, they’ve had guests actually re-arrange the furniture in the room! Madness! And then they didn’t bother to move it back when they left.

19. Wedding Revelers

If you’ve been out to a wedding very late and REALLY enjoyed yourself, perhaps it’s best to skip the breakfast part of your stay if you’re still drunk in the morning. But at least check out on time.

20. It’s OK To Ask For Advice

B&B owners are a very useful resource for how to spend your time while you’re staying there. They will be happy to answer your questions and provide guidance. Most will have maps and brochures for local attraction. More critically, they’ll honestly tell you what’s worth visiting and what is not. Don’t be afraid to ask but do it at a convenient time for them – after breakfast or when you check-in.

21. Clean up After Yourself

Don’t leave your room a dumpster when you check-out. Do the B&B owner a favor and keep things tidy. They will appreciate it when it comes time for them to turn over your room and ensures you get treated well if you return (they’ll never forget a bad guest).

source: anglotopia

True or false?

1. Bed and breakfast places provide you all inclusive accommodation.

2. Bed and breakfast owners make a living from hosting only.

3. Silence is appreciated in bed and breakfast places.

4. Bed and breakfast places usually have tea making facilities in the room.

5. You’re welcome to have breakfast in your pajamas in a bed and breakfast.

Key

1. false

2. false

3. true

4. true

5. false

We’re all going on a summer holiday

No more working for a week or two

Fun and laughter on our summer holiday

No more worries for me or you

For a week or two

We’re going where the sun shines brightly

We’re going where the sea is blue

We’ve seen it in the movies

Now let’s see if it’s true

Everybody has a summer holiday

Doing things they always wanted to

So we’re going on a summer holiday

To make our dreams come true

For me and you

We’re going where the sun shines brightly

We’re going where the sea is blue

We’ve seen it in the movies

Now let’s see if it’s true

Everybody has a summer holiday

Doing things they always wanted to

So we’re going on a summer holiday

To make our dreams come true

For me and you

Mmm, mmm

Mmm, mmm

Mmm, mmm

Nice dreams, aren’t they?

Can  you complete the sentences from the lyrics?

1. We’re going (a.)…………………………..

                               (b.)………………………….

(c.)………………………..

2. No more        (d.)…………………….

                               (e.)……………………..

Key:

1. We’re going
 

(a.) where the sun shines brightly

(b.)  where the sea is blue

(c.) on a summer holiday

2. No more     

(d.) working for a week or two

(e.)worries for me or you              

A grade school teacher in Italy assigned his students a list of 15 tasks to complete over the summer, but instead of the usual academic assignments, they involved personal enrichment activities such as dancing, watching the sunrise, and reading for fun.

A translation of the document into English reveals that he wants them to walk by the sea, thinking about beloved things and feeling happy. 

He also asks his students to write about feelings of turmoil, find the strength to pursue dreams, and fully embrace the dance that is summer. 

Learning is still an important part of the vacation, as he tells them to read because they want to be inspired and to use the vocabulary learned in class that year. 

According to him, “The more things you can say, the more things you can think; and the more things you can think, the freer you are.” 

Responses on Facebook have been overwhelmingly positive, with many commenting that they wished they had a teacher like him.

His list of assignments:

1. Sometimes, in the morning, go take a walk along the seashore completely alone: look at the way sunlight is reflected on the water and think about the things you love the most in your life; be happy.

2. Try to use some of the new words we learned together this year: the more things you manage to say, the more things you’ll manage to think; and the more things you think, the freer you’ll be.

3. Read as much as you possibly can. But not because you have to. Read because summers inspire adventures and dreams, and when you read you’ll feel like swallows in flight. Read because it’s the best form of rebellion you have (for advice on what to read, come see me).

4. Avoid things, situations and people who make you feel negative or empty: seek out stimulating situations and the companionship of friends who enrich you, who understand you and appreciate you for who you are.

5. If you feel sad or afraid, don’t worry: summer, like every marvelous thing in life, can throw the soul into confusion. Try keeping a diary as a way to talk about how you feel (in September, if you’d like, we’ll read it together).

6. Dance, shamelessly. On a dance floor near your house, or alone in your room. Summer is dance, and it’s foolish not to take part.

7. At least once, watch the sunrise. Stay silent and breathe. Close your eyes, be thankful.

8. Play a lot of sports.

9. If you meet someone you find enchanting, tell him or her as sincerely and gracefully as you can. It doesn’t matter if she or he doesn’t understand. If they don’t, she or he wasn’t meant to be; otherwise, summer 2015 will be a golden time together (if this doesn’t work out, go back to point number 8).

10. Review your notes from our class: Compare the things we read and learned to the things that happen to you.

11. Be as happy as sunlight, as untamable as the sea.

12. Don’t swear. Always be well-mannered and kind.

13. Watch films with heartbreaking dialogue (in English if you can), in order to improve your language skills and your ability to dream. Don’t let the movie end with the final credits: live it again while you’re living and experiencing your summer.

14. In sparkling sunlight or hot summer nights, dream about how your life could and should be. During the summer, always do everything you can to avoid giving up, and everything you can to pursue your dream.

15. Be good.

Can you match the two parts of the expressions?

Key:

1. e.

2. a.

3. d.

4. b.

5. c.

6. j.

7. f.

8. i.

9. g.

10. h.

11. m.

12. k.

13. o.

14. l.

15. n.

It’s commonly believed that school kids started taking summers off in the 19th century so they’d have time to work on the farm. Nice as that story is, it isn’t true. Summer vacation has little to do with tilling fields and more to do with sweaty, rich city kids playing hooky and their sweaty, rich parents.

Before the Civil War, farm kids never had summers off. They went to school during the hottest and coldest months and stayed home during the spring and fall, when crops needed to be planted and harvested. Meanwhile, city kids hit the books all year long – summers included. In 1842, Detroit’s academic year lasted 260 days!

But as cities got denser, they got hotter. Endless lanes of brick and concrete transformed urban blocks into kilns, thanks to the “urban heat island effect.” That’s when America’s swelling middle and upper class families started hightailing it to the cooler countryside. And that caused a problem. School attendance wasn’tmandatory back then, and classrooms were being left half-empty each summer. Something had to be done.

Legislators, in one of those if-you-can’t-beat-‘em-join-‘em moments, started arguing that kids should get summers off anyway. It helped that, culturally, leisure time was becoming more important. With the dawn of labor unions and the eight-hour workday, working adults were getting more time to themselves than ever before. Advocates for vacation time also argued (incorrectly) that the brain was a muscle, and like any muscle, it could suffer injuries if overused. From there, they argued that students shouldn’t go to school year-round because it could strain their brains. To top it off, air conditioning was decades away, and city schools during summertime were miserable, half-empty ovens.

So by the turn of the century, urban districts had managed to cut about 60 schooldays from the most sweltering part of the year. Rural schools soon adopted the same pattern so they wouldn’t fall behind. Business folks obviously saw an opportunity here. The summer vacation biz soon ballooned into what is now one of the country’s largest billion-dollar industries.

source: mentalfloss

Hallgasd meg a szöveget és próbálj válaszolni a kérdésekre, mielőtt még elolvasnád az írott változatát!

1. Mi az elterjedt hiedelem a nyári vakáció eredetéről?

2. Mikor volt szünet a gyerekeknek az Amerikai Polgárháború előtt?

3. Mi történt az osztálytermekkel, ahogy a városok növekedésnek indultak és miért?

4. Milyen hibás érveket hoztak fel a nyári szünet mellett?

5. Milyen változás történt a századforduló környékén?

Válaszok:

1. Azért vezették be, hogy a gyerekek nyáron dolgozhassanak a farmokon.

2. A vidéki gyerekek tavasszal és ősszel, a városi gyerekek viszont egész évben tanultak.

3. Nyáron félig üresek voltak, mert a jómódúak vidékre mentek, ahol hűvösebb volt.

4. Azt, hogy az agy is olyan, mint az izmok, megsérül, ha túl sokat használják, erőltetik.

5. Kb. 60 nappal rövidebb lett a tanév.