Bed Bath
Posted on Saturday, November 19th, 2011 at 10:32 pm |
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Bed Bath
Bed and Breakfast by Robert Gibson
Bed and breakfast - the name most often given to overnight accommodation - has resonance in at least a couple of other leisure and sporting spheres, as well as in financial circles.
'Bed and breakfast' is one of several expressions associated with 26 in 'bingo lingo'. Thus the bingo caller, on drawing the number 26, may call 'two and six, bed and breakfast, twenty-six'. Other possible calls are 'pick n' mix', 'half a crown'. Many of the names associated with numbers in bingo have their roots in history. The reason that 26 is often called as 'bed and breakfast' is that two shillings and sixpence (half a crown) was traditionally the cost of overnight accommodation for coachmen.
So it is also that 'bed and breakfast' occurs also in the slang adopted by darts players. The number 20 - the highest on the darts board - is flanked by two of the lower numbers, 1 and 5. Thus players aiming to score heavily on the 20, may err either side and score a 5, a 20 and a 1 - in which case the call goes up: 'bed and breakfast'! Again, the root is said to be 'two and six', ie 26.
'Bed and breakfast' used also to be a term familiar in financial circles. In the UK, the practice of 'bed and breakfasting' referred to the sale of a stock one day and purchasing it back the next morning. This was a means of crystallising gains or losses, which might help reduce taxes on gains, whilst maintaining exposure to the stock. Changes to tax laws, as well as the fact that financial markets are active around the clock, mean that this practice more or less fell out of use.
Clearly, however, the most common usage of 'bed and breakfast' is to describe overnight accommodation, with breakfast served up to set the guest up for the coming day. In the UK, it is said to be a £2 billion-a-year 'cottage industry', around a third the size of the hotels sector. Views on the sector can still be downbeat - an article in The Independent on Sunday in November 2011 carried the headline "Bye Bye to the B&B". It quoted Alex Pollizzi, Channel 5's 'Hotel Inspector' as saying "I am not at all surprised budget hotels are killing off the grotty B&B - and I am quite pleased. B&Bs got a bad name because of the standards. I get depressed at how often I have to say cleanliness is important. People are being more discerning." It balanced these remarks to an extent by acknowledging the general improvement in the B&B offering, in the face of such threats.
Any savvy bed and breakfast owner will recognise the threat posed by budget hotels, and will be working all the harder to give a warmth of welcome and service, and a breakfast, that differentiates their establishment from the formulaic budget hotel. A good B&B can really enhance a visit to one of Britain's country areas, or delightful and historic towns and cities such as Oxford, Cambridge, Bath, York, Edinburgh and Cheltenham. Bed and breakfast accommodation can still vary, and on the whole it's probably worth bearing in mind that the cheapest accommodation may be a false economy - if the price seems too good to be true, then perhaps it is.
2012 and the London Olympics gives the UK the opportunity to showcase all that is best in the country; let's hope that the B&B industry can put its best foot forward and provide one of the memorable aspects for visitors.
About the Author
Robert Gibson is a web designer based in Buckinghamshire, UK. He is a former finance professional with experience managing businesses around the world. In recent years he has developed an interest in web sites - both design, and what can be achieved by web sites and social media. A selection of his articles can be found on his web site http://www.dovedaledesign.co.uk.
Giving a Patient a Bed Bath