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Rail trouble forced me to buy hotel

Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2007-02-07 07:53:02 - Graham Ellis

.... that's a headline in Monday's "Metro" paper, over a story about how we came to open Well House Manor. "Graham Ellis, 52 was facing ruin ..." it says. Well - not quite, though I suppose that the business would have been severely damaged if we had done nothing at all to offer viable alternatives to our clients.

I've not been able to find a link to the full story on the Metro's web site but I do have a copy of the paper here "in the flesh". I'm delighted at the number of our customers who have commented on it ... and I was delighted, too, to see the complete Monday to Friday timetable from Swindon to Melksham published in the national press - me thinks that's more advertising of the service (now just 06:19 and 18:42 from Swindon) than the First group have even done!

Actually, the hotel is a "win / win" for us. We now have a better product - FGW gave us the impetus to improve. Clients now usually come the night before - there's a connection off the 17:30 from Paddington - or make other arrangements. Car is often cheaper than the train these days, and for non-drivers flying in to various airports we're moving much of our business to a local taxi firm who are doing us proud.

And with the hotel, we're much more able to show people what a lovely part of the country we're in too. Late last night wasn't really an ideal time to take pictures of Bath, but here is our local "artist's mark" - the hands of Joan Collins cast into bronze near the Theatre Royal ... and if I look back at this entry in a year or two's time, it will be a happy memory of a Brazilian meal with two gentlemen from Kuwait.