The year before it was all about cycling. Cyclists came to stay at Three Park Street B&B either doing the John O’Graots to Landsend route as a challenge or for charity [we're right on the route], or as a starting off point for circumnavigating Wales or to simply tour and explore the hundreds of lanes and tracks that abound in this beautiful Herefordshire County. Last Summer it was more about river holidays. We had a few families stop off at Three Park Street en-route to Ross-on-Wye or Symmonds Yat. The nearby canoeing centre was constantly busy with groups of youngsters as they paddled downstream while I took my daily walk with the dog along it’s bank.

Peter and Sophie Webb with their 3 children, Fred, Lottie and George, began their canoeing adventure from Byford, a small village, just over 8 miles west of Hereford. It was the height of summer and the perfect time for outdoor holidaying, full of long, hot sunny days and warm balmy nights. There is nowhere as wonderful as England when the sun is shining!

What can be a better childhood holiday than paddling down a river and camping on it’s banks, by your own campfire? Surely a treasured memory to last your whole life.

They were heading for Symonds Yat and had planned several overnight stops where they could camp en-route. One stopover was not under canvas however, but here at Three Park Street. Our little bed and breakfast is but  a stone’s throw from the river as it loops around the perimeter of Bartonsham Dairy fields and the dairy itself. Thanks to this looping of the river, and possibly because it floods ocassionally there can’t be any further housing built here, providing us with a pocket sanctuary of countryside right on our doorstep , preserving our little community just as it was years ago and yet we are but a 5 minute walk to the Cathedral and the centre of the city. One side of us faces the countryside and the other faces the town! Perfect really.

It had been arranged earlier, with kind old Anthony the farmer, for overnight storage of their canoe in one of the sheds of the dairy.

The Webb’s early evening appearance was a quiet, gentle paddle in the glass calm waters of the river toward the old beach flanking the farm where I waited to greet them in the still hot sun and help with their gear. This beach was used in the olden times by the residents of the city, few of whom would have had cars in those days, to enjoy bathing in the summer months. It’s still a good place to go today.

To reach the house we had to walk through the yard of the milking shed. As luck would have it, at the  moment we were to walk across the yard some of the cows had beaten us to it and had been released from their milking duties back out into the fields. Cows doing what they do, did do all the way across our path, necessitating a massive scrubbing of shoes and sandals with buckets of water in the garden the moment we’d got to the house!

Once cleaned up, the children in their pyjamas and supper cooked up, the whole family, sitting around the garden table, ate ‘al fresco’ in the gloaming light of sunset.

In the quieter moments that bless the end of the day, I learned from Peter that this little family adventure was not the only water adventure he’d been on. He’d written a book about it too. A challenging adventure he’d undertaken in his twenties with a friend just ‘for the fun of it’, yet a very serious challenge none the less.

An extraordinary adventure, a feat of real ‘Daring Do’ that equals the classic exploring stories of the past. Rowing and a little sailing in a small row boat all the way round an arctic island a little over 15,000 square miles of ice and glaciers, deemed impossible by the locals, with it’s treacherous fogs and polar conditions, not to mention the bears!

The book’s title is Ice Bears and Kotik if anyone’s interested. It’s a highly recommended read.

After a good night’s sleep the morning sounds were of laughter and squeals of delight throughout the house as the children played and ran about and finally tumbling enthusiastically downstairs ready for a hearty breakfast. From porridge and pancakes to eggs and sausages to the traditional Full English. Rowing all day in a canoe certainly sharpens the appetite. All three children ate with gusto, not to mention the adults!!

At last, the moment arrived for saying goodbye. We had all trouped back through the Dairy’s yard – now empty of the cows – with kit and provisions back to the river bank and there I stood watching as they all piled in and pushed off for another day’s adventure. Waving and calling “Goodbye!”  I returned to the house with my little dog, wondering if indeed Peter’s next adventure idea of sailing around the world with his family would come to pass; having met him and the family it would certainly seem very possibly so.

William Boyd wrote “Every life is both ordinary and extraordinary – it is the respective proportions of those two categories that make that life appear interesting or humdrum” [Any Human Heart]. One day, whilst browsing through the registration forms of Three Park Street B & B guests on their way to be filed away from the past year, some of the names brought back a few brief memories that I felt were little treasures in their uniqueness and novelty.

Guests arrive, unpack, relax have a cuppa and begin to unwind. Then, for some, it is as though they have morphed outside of themselves and their world is on hold for a short time, resulting in reflection of that life, offering them a chance to see things in a wider picture a better perspective as if for this period they are looking in from the outside.

Have you ever met a stranger whilst on a journey when you both talk openly and honestly about your lives that you otherwise would not do at home with family or friends? In that moment of open honest rapore you may have helped yourself to see things more clearly within your own life and at the same time possibly enriched that strangers life by stating an observation others closer to home would not have? It’s a ’stranger on the train’ moment.

The Barkers from Essex are seriously devout supporters and followers of their Essex football team. They attend every away game they can, which is what brought them to Hereford. What was magical and heartwarming to witness was the sheer joy these two had in their shared purpose and their beautiful affection for each other. Their lives weren’t extraordinary, but their simple joy of lifetogether was. They loved being here commenting on all the little things with delight making me feel I had given them so much more than a simple nights stay at our Bed and Breakfast! They said they’d return to Three Park Street next time their team played Hereford and it will be very nice to see them again.

Three Canadians came for a week. Their journey seemed mammoth for just a week – a 6 hour drive to their nearest airport which was Vancouver, the long haul flight and finally the drive from Heathrow. With a cousin to one of them living here in Herefordshire it was reason enough to come and explore our beautiful part of the world. And explore they did, every day. They played cards in the evening around the oak coffee table throwing logs on the fire as the night drew in, reluctant to retire, always ready for one more hand. Up bright and sparkly the next morning. Such energy! I’d still be getting over jet-lag. They became conoisseurs of the menu, breaking down their breakfast choices into how hard , soft or runny they wanted their egg yolks, whether they were to be poached, boiled, fried or scrambled and what was to go with them. The way they entered the experience of being catered to being a huge compliment…….. one gets caught up in others’ lives I found I was creating much more than breakfasts but feasts of perfection. Luckily I enjoy cooking.

A lady came from Virginia, U.S.A, who went to the nearby records office every day to research her family tree. She had a passion for childrens’ books and stories she said. She wanted to stay longer than her few days here because of the collection of old childrens’ books we have in the library. Quietly spoken and unassuming she enjoyed every moment here delighting in the Portmeirion dishes we serve breakfast on, her freshly picked flowers in her room and seemed surprised her bed was made and room cleaned each day, she left the sweetest note of gratitude to me on the bed just before leaving, I only discovered it once she’d gone. I have printed it in my own review page on the website because it’s just a treasure to have. The discovery of her love for childrens’ books felt to me as though it was a little secret she could tell me about simply because I’m a passing stranger in her world. Not that it’s a huge secret, more that it seemed so personal and dear to her that I saw her then in a larger light, demonstrating sweet qualities of love, gentleness and serenity we don’t often have time to observe in strangers or even loved ones in our busy and hectic lives. It was like a little blessing.

A New Age Traveller going by the charming name of Mr. Flowerdew, stayed for one night. A treat to himself from time to time he said, to come in from the outdoors for a little respite and a freshen up; his world of belongings in one bag on his back. He had been travelling and wondering all over the countryside of England and was heading North during the finer weather. I know he had a huge bubble bath [because some of the bubbles escaped quietly and steadily from the overflow downstairs], soaking away the dust and grime of the roads tramped and sleeping the sleep of the untroubled. He came down with obvious relish, ready to enjoy a hearty breakfast. He fed himself his breakfast as though he was a happy old king who knew his deserved place in this world, liberally spreading his home made toasted bread with chunks of chilled unsalted Welsh butter and topping that with tablespoons [literally!]of homemade jam and maramalade. As he finished off his freshly brewed coffee so very heartily he daydreamed out loud that should he ever want to run a chain of Bed and Breakfasts he would hire us at Three Park Street Bed and Breakfast as it was the best service he’d ever experienced. With that he wiped his mouth with his crisp white napkin, picked up his bag and bade a warm and very grateful cheerio, stepping out into the sunny day, slinging his bag over his shoulder ready for many more miles and adventures. One night was all he needed and for economy reasons all we needed, but thank you very much Mr. Flowerdew and safe travels to you.

Being quite near to the hospital we often have medical staff staying, acting as locums for several days or even weeks. Mostly doctors but once a nurse came for a week. Salome* was an African British woman, a single mum of 3 children living in the south of London. The five days she spent here were actually her holiday period. She said she did this often in order to increase her income to support her family. Such long days and she was so very weary, but no word of complaint. Her last day of work involved her returning to collect her things to catch the last train homeward bound but would mean a 4 hour wait for the connecting milk train which would get her back in time for her to go straight to her normal job, my heart went out to her. Sympathising with her she rejoined that she enjoyed this week away, tiring though it was because she had a week of peace.

The absolute opposite end to that was the Greek Doctor who came for a long weekend and worked nights but then would spend blissful wind-down time breakfasting regally in the garden reading the papers finally to retire for the rest of the day whilst we spent the day tip-toing around so as not to wake him up!

As you can imagine running a Bed & Breakfast is a busy way of life – even though we are only a 2 room establishment, with the Massage Therapy work as well, for both guests and locals, this isn’t a great surprise!.

It was imagined that business would decline a little once summer was over but this proved wrong and guests kept coming right up to the new year and afterwards. Thank goodness for the log burner when the snow came in November. A live fire brings such comfy joy. Everyone is free to throw logs on as needed in the evenings and it’s always alight and blazing when the guests come down for breakfast.

By mid Febuary everything suddenly went very quiet, no phone or e mail enquiries, just complete quiet. Checking on how things were a year ago it is clear things are looking different this year.

Were the effects of the Credit Cruch finally kicking in? Very possibly. In retrospect, it seemed the constant bookings right into the Christmas holidays and early months of 2011 was a frenzied ‘get my holiday or short break in now’ before the truth for the need of belt tightening became a reality – because even if those who haven’t lost their jobs there is definitely an effect of their loss felt down every turn, not to mention the eye boggling rise in fuel costs.

For a while the peace and quiet was welcoming. There is no point in worrying. Even though the Tourist Traders were claiming, with an onslaught of e mail advertising, “this is the busiest time of year for bookings” and buy this advertising space and buy that advertising space, it didn’t feel that way here at Three Park Street. It felt they were creating an illusion, attempting to boost or generate business as in the ‘knock-on-effect’. Stocism helps plus the knowledge that things will pick up again as they inevitably do. This year feels it’s going to be quieter, well so far, bar the Festivals of course. The Hay Festival looms and we are virtually full. As this particular post for the blog is being written, however, [over a period of several days] the phone and the e mails have begun again, yet, there is an insistance within that this is still a comparatively quieter year, and really, if you look at the shock of what a major financial debacle has been going on globally, it’s not surprising. From a personal point of view this year feels more comfortable and much less stressful.

So, suddenly there was a short respite to do a bit of deep cleaning, cosmetic touch ups and DIY repairs around the house and garden. It also gave time to reflect on the past year’s business and see where things could be improved on, to look at and improve on the management side of the business also.

The Star Grading Inspector from Visit Hereford/Vistit England came to monitor the Star Rating accredited to Three Park Street Bed & Breakfast last year. And yes, we maintain the 3 Stars! Not having en-suite rooms for the 2 rooms, 3 star is as high as this Hereford B&B can go, but it is a good rating to have as it appeals to the majority of guests who enjoy the Great British Bed and Breakfast Tradition and who look for affordability and value for money. That’s us!

Feedback from recent Easter guests felt the lack of en-suites wasn’t a draw back at all, because the bathroom is only for these two rooms anyway. They said it was more like coming to stay in someone’s home without the owners, only someone there to do the cooking etc. This feeling they said comes from having the use of the lounge with it’s eclectic library of books, CDs and DVD’s etc., to themselves and having their own private front door entrance.

Being blessed with a very dry Spring this year and lots of hot sun, the blossom is pungent and almost heady at times and with a Royal Wedding due in a few days there is a feeling of relaxed happiness and of a celebration of life in the air. There is nowhere in the world as lovely as this Country, this United Kingdom, when the sun shines!

OK, the quiet’s over, time to get back to work!

Once upon a time Elizabeth Roy was a very lone harpist in Coventry. Living with health problems nearly all her life, music and singing were integral in sustaining her well-being.

Some 15 years ago it happened that Elizabeth was to attend her local Diocean Conference and planned to take along her concertina, which needed tuning and so, before going, she took it to the musical instrument repairer. When she collected it he showed her a harp which was for sale. She was delighted to be able to take it home to try it out and see what she thought of it. Needless to say, she fell in love with it instantly. There was no going back, the harp she had to play!

From harp lessons to becoming an accomplished teacher Elizabeth was inspired in wanting others to know about this beautiful instrument.

The harp is one of the oldest musical instruments of the world, dating back some 3000 years. It is said that the plucked string has a healing sound and research on the healing qualities of harp music have been well documented. Elizabeth pointed out that just  to see how the harp is held, in an embrace, in order to play is most meaningful.

Today, Harp Therapy given through proffessionally trained therapists, is used in helping those suffering from many health conditioons such as cancer, high blood pressure and post traumatic stress syndrome.

Elizabeth met Robin Huw Bowen at The Edinburgh International Harp Festival and told him of the dearth of harp players in Coventry, he simply replied she’d better get on with it then. And so she did! She enlisted the help of her good friend Jack Shuttleworth  and between them set up Small Harps for Coventry which is now also known as Harp-o-tunities [ www.harp-o-tunities.co.uk ].

Their aim was to create a “critical mass of harpers in and around Coventry..”. She applied and successfully secured a grant from the Arts Council for Creative Ambitions  which necessitated a 5 to 10 year plan of what she wanted to do with the money, providing a list of things to accomplish within this project.

It has proven to be a terrific success with off shoot harp groups sprouting up as a result, the interest in harp playing growing and growing.

Today, Elizabeth takes a back seat in the project but she is by no means idle. She still does a little teaching, plays at weddings and the last item on her list of things to do regarding the initial project is coming out this year in the form of a book, hopefully launched ready for the Edinbrugh Festival. For those interested it will be called Eburne’s Dream, and should anyone attend this years Festival look out for Glissandi, Elizabeth’s harp group who have been invited to play at the ‘Host of Harps’ there.

To have met Elizabeth and John Roy, staying here at our Hereford B&B, has been another example of the rich tapestry of life that unfolds for us at Three Park Street, and makes our lives so very interesting, we never know who we’re going to meet next!

Mr. Kawaguchi decided to have his two weeks holiday in England. He said he’d looked at pictures of the counties of England on the internet and chose Hereford. His plan was to travel around the county, go walking and compose poetry in the form of Haiku.

Having booked in for three nights, Mr Kawaguchi arrived at tea time. He was very slight and had an almost translucent skin and a truly magnificent smile. He was wearing casual summer walking clothes including a lightweight khaki jacket and a fishing hat – sans plumes. A light traveller with just a small rucksack.

His first morning at breakfast Mr. Kawaguchi appeared very happy, rising to bow as I entered the room with his cooked breakfast he said “I am simply delighted” and bowed his head in thanks. His precisness of English is due to his being “a translator of poets” and is a member of the International Hiaku Association; he took time and great care to think very carefully of the correct words to say each time before speaking.

He loved being here at Three Park Street B&B which is something that never ceases to make me happy. Originally he came for 3 days but asked to extend his stay for his full 2 week holiday! Only being able to offer days inbetween other bookings Mr. Kawaguchi took all the days available and ‘commuted’ between Three Park Street and The Green Dragon Hotel for the duration. One day, arriving for a 2 day stint he greeted me at the door with his jovial smile saying ” Hello! I’m home!”.

Before Mr. Kawaguchi left for home in Japan, I took him on a guided walk around The Mordiford Loop, one of my favourite close-to-home walks and no more than a 3 or 4 mile jaunt. The sun was shining and still very warm in the sky. There’s a spot about half way round where I usually stop for a cuppa; to sit and enjoy the uninterrupted views of forests and meadow land – not a telegraph pole, road or anything man-made in sight. If you’re lucky,and you’re out on a very early autumn morning or late evening walk here you might easily catch sight of some deer, a thrill to one’s very heart to see no matter how often, but this day there was just the sheep grazing in the sloping meadow below us in the sultry heat of the midday summer’s sun.

Mr. Kawaguchi had noticed a poem I have framed and hanging in my office, he asked me about it. I said it was a poem myself and children had adopted  as our own family poem and offered to recite it. It is a special poem called The Birthright by Eiluned Lewis and speaks of the precious fortune to be born and brought up in the countryside (…he who walks by right on the naked hills…).

I recited it to him whilst we sat there with our little cups of tea. When I’d finished and after a long silence Mr. Kawaguchi said how much he envied us our own special poem.

The next morning, leaving for a few days, Mr. Kawaguchi gave me his tiny little note book, filled with his own Haiku verse, and asked me to write in it our Birthright poem for him. I had intended to do this anyway and so I was delighted to acquiesce.

It was hardly possible to ignore reading some of his own work. Haiku is a form of Japanese verse in epigrammatic form of 3 short lines typically containing a seasonal reference.

These examples given below are with the kind permission of Mr. Kawaguchi. They are full of expressions of gentle simplicity, humour, tenderness and joy.

In the wonderful heat of late June this year, whilst walking my little westie along the river bank in the early evening, I suddenly slipped down the river bank on the parched crumbly hard ground. I managed to stop the fall but sustained injury to my hand, ramming the rigid finger bones, stretched taught in defence of falling, into the knuckle bones as-it-were.

That night I could hardly sleep for the throbbing pain and too tired to get up to administer any practical self help.

During a Body Therapy Workshop I attended earlier in the year, given by the Japanese teacher and therapist, Mr Sasado, I remember his instruction “if you injure yourself…” – he was specifically discussing thumb strain in massage but I now put this advice into practice with most uncomplicated injuries, which is that “…it is best to keep using the injured part, it will get better”.

As I am a massage therapist I still needed to use my hands and so I did, but by the end of each day I had great pain and it was hard to bear.

Soon after this incident, a young man came to stay. His girlfriend had found our Bed and Breakfast website and booked him in as he was to attend a job interview at the Hereford Hospital. He was returning from studying acupuncture in both the Phillipines and China. A qualified doctor and acupuncturist he was still on an early learning path.

He seemed so young. He was enchanted with Three Park Street B & B, to the point that I felt bewildered at his joy of being here, of his room [the Caribbean Room] I’d given him. Yet he said he was in the depths of a struggle with the direction he should take.

After his breakfast and whilst finishing his green tea from his own tiny little china teapot, he looked at me and with a seriousness quite unlike the character I’d met the evening before, said he felt that coming here was meant to be, to meet me and how the house ‘felt’ to him gave him what he needed to make a decision on the direction his life was to go. He also said he’d had the first good nights sleep in all his travels and I suspect his mind was all the clearer for his difficult decision making as a result.

He went for his interview and returned later that day to collect his bag. I was setting up my therapy room for the treatments booked that day and showed him my little room. I found myself telling him how I was still working through the pain in my hand. He offered to do some acupuncture, I reluctantly accepted as I was short on time but couldn’t turn down any offer of help!

As we sat at the kitchen table, the sun streaming in through the large sash windows, he gently inserted the needles in all the strategic points, and as the scent of the heated charcoal, used to heat up the needles to increase their healing effects wafted about us, he told me his story.

His name was Gerinsimos and he was from Greece where his family still live in a small town on the mainland. He was 30 years old, slight in stature and very graceful [and extremely gentle with the acupuncture needles] I immediately recognised his gift. He knew with exactness what he was doing, he had a natural clear sense of where to put the needles, treating both the cartilage, the joints and the various trigger points.

After studying and achieving his medical doctorate he was enjoying time at home. Out walking one day he met a man who had abandoned all but the pair of shorts he was wearing and a walking stick. This man lived for much of the year in the caves on the hills. He was a spiritual man and over a period of weeks taught Gerinsimos much about well-being, about healing the whole of the person was far more important than just the symptoms. He taught him yogic moves, how to understand in one rythmical movement the yoga stansas that wholly circulated the main posterior and anterior chakras, creating one complete life cleansing movement.

He opened Gerinsimos’ eyes to natural health. As a result Gerinsimos went off to study acupuncture. It was such a positive learning he was now at a point where he must make the decision of either working as an orthodox doctor or to practice acupuncture. He knew which he wanted but he had a family who were desperately proud of his becoming a doctor, as were all his family’s friends and neighbours of where he had grown up. He said he’d been in a terrible quandry for so long but had now realised he must listen to himself and to go in the direction he believed in.

It is a moving tale of love and loyalty and his respect for his elders and for their old traditions, finding the courage to break away from it to be steadfast in his own beliefs. He’d seen for himself how acupuncture helped so many people, not only directly with their pains and illnesses but also holistically enabling him to help the whole person, empowering them to be more aware of their own health and take responsibilty for it, something I believe is missing within our orthodox medicinal practises of today which tends to wait for, even require visual symptoms before administrating medicines to supress them.

After the treatment on me Gerinsimos suggested he put seeds in my ears in order for the impact of the acupuncture to remain longer with me. I was to keep the seeds where he’d stuck them with tiny little plasters for 3 days agitating them from time to time to stir up their healing effects and if necessary repeat with new seeds he was to leave me with.

This treatment is called Auricular Therapy.

Auricular Therapy is often used for many conditions, from addiction and mood disorders to pain management and obesity. It emphasises an holistic approach. The acupuncture points found in the ear help to regulate the body’s internal organs, structure and functions.

Meanwhile, the pain in my knuckles and fingers had suddenly eased, bringing a sense of blessed calm to me. That night the intense painful throbbing had eased off to a much more bearable level. Looking at where he’d placed the seeds and referring to Auricular Therapy charts I saw he’d also boosted my energy levels. I certainly noticed that!

To be honest we weren’t his initial choice. He was stuck for a bed for one night before taking up residence in a local hotel for a week. He came to Three Park Street Bed and Breakfast out of desperation, with it being the height of the summer season beds were very scarce.

We are boasting about this because, out of preference, he actually cancelled his hotel booking and stayed on here for the duration of his stay in Hereford.

Mr Revard was here to do some research for a book and also preparing material for a number of lectures scheduled for the autumn. His height of 6′4″ and his dignified manner gave him a distinctive presence, which alerted my ‘nosey antennae’ and prompted me to ‘Google’ him.

He’s part American Indian, of the Osage Tribe on his father’s side, his grandmother gave him his Indian name Nompehwahteh (Nom-Peh-Wah-Teh), their tribe are known to be the tallest peoples of the United States of America. His early schooling on the Osage reservation was in a “single room with all the other grades of his school. In this environment schoolwork was coupled with farming and other odd jobs….. Mr Revard credits his teachers there with inspiring his interest in literature and science…”

Revard went on to achieve an interesting academic career, including studying at Oxford University. Unusually, his major scholarly focus being on Medieval manuscripts and their social context of which he is now a respected voice in this field. Out of several anthologies of his poetry he is most known for ” An Eagle Nation”, with much of his works translated into French, Italian and Hungarian.

On a personal note and I supposed what endeared me to him so much was his constant reference to his wife and how he spoke of her with obvious deep love and affection after over 50 years of marriage. A blessing he clearly acknowledges daily. I feel honoured to have met him and delighted with fate that he found us.

The Wards must go in this Blog. What a wonderful couple they are.

Here’s Harold and Jennifer. They live in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.A. and found Three Park Street Bed & Breakfast by searching the Web – I love that, isn’t the internet just amazing?!. They travelled to the U.K. in early August specifically to walk The Wye Valley Walk. They are in their early 70’s and the walk is 136 miles [218km]. Their plan was to walk it in 2 weeks. Fortunately they were enjoying the still good weather we were having then, and they were impressively on schedule by the time they reached Hereford. They were in the best of spirits and loving every mile, here’s to you Harold and Jennifer, may you enjoy many many more wonderful walks where ever you may be!