Ashtead - Building on Powerful Rental Growth!

Good evening everyone.

As promised a Christmas Tale (By Hatto)......True of course.

Dedicated to Yaesu (who likes my stories).

Every year at Xmas I take a disabled, elderly friend (he's 81) on holiday to sunnier climes. I used to have a (Sports)Tour Operator Business which I ran for 10 years along with our main business (we needed the money).

He is a friend of my girlfriends Father & about 6 years ago he asked if I would take him on holiday....He'd pay the flights, hotel rooms, hire car & my expenses & £300 a week. I agreed.

He now just pays the flights & hotel room......I pay the rest......He is a wealthy fellow so I don't feel too guilty.

Anyway when I say disabled, he is a diabetic & has a heart condition....sometimes he needs the wheel chair sometimes he likes to walk.

Afew days back we had a gorgeous German lady of about 30/40 come up to us with a lady I assumed to be her Mother & must have been a German Shot Putt Champion in her day if you know what I mean & asked if we'd like to dance. I was about to say my friend didn't dance when he lept to his feet & danced off with the 30 year old & left me with the shot putter.

Story of my life really, I can't even compete with 80 year olds on the totti front.

Well back to my story......It was this Christmas day & we were going for an evening meal in the main beach front area nearly a mile away. Due to a previous near mishap many years ago when going out, I only take what cash I need, leaving credit cards etc in the Hotel Room safe.

I had only got 100 Euros in cash, which fortunately was enough to pay for the 3 Course Set Xmas meal for two (45E x 2) & a tip...So 100E was enough....

We turned left out of the hotel & walked down hill down the main road, so that if my friend couldn't walk any further I could go & get the car & ferry him to the Restaurant or back to the Hotel as appropriate, everyone else would have taken the path by the sea.....anyway on the walk to the Restaurant I started to have doubts as to whether 100 euros was enough, was it 50E x 2 that they charged....I sure wished I had bought my credit cards.....

Just then I looked down & there on the deserted well lit side walk I saw a
20 Euro Bill, all folded up. I reached down & picked it up.....How lucky that was....Fate sure was smiling on me I thought.....I now had enough money for all eventualities.

Well we had not gone far when we came accross a man, with a withered leg which he dragged slightly as he walked, sweeping the path & street, with a spade, brush & trolley.

Here he was late at night on Xmas day doing a job as well as he could, probably not well paid & if I hadn't picked up the 20 Euro Bill he would have had a nice bonus on this of all days.

I decided fate had meant him to find the 20 Euro bill & not me.....I felt very guilty.....So having gone past him I ran back & tapped him on the shoulder & said "For You" & handed him the 20 Euro Bill.

"WHY" he said.

"Because its Christmas" I said.....& because I felt so guilty that I had nearly kept the money when he deserved it so much more than I did, I got out a further 20 Euro Bill & handed that to him as well.

I left him before he said anything further.

When we got to the Restaurant we found it to be full & instead found ourselves eating at the Burger King next door.....& had a Big Whopper (with cheeze), Chips & Coke for under 12 Euros between us.

And do you know when we sat down to eat there was a very pregnant woman, her boyfriend & a spikey haired youth. So thats the Lanzarote equivalent of Mary, Joseph & three wise men.

The whole episode made me think what Christmas is really about.

PS....If the Restaurant had not been full I would have run back to the Hotel to get my credit card.....but as it was I ended 68 Euros up....Someone was smiling on me after all....Lubly jubly.

Happy New Year everyone.