Welcome to Holly Cottage
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Norma Collis has come full circle returning to Tillsonburg in her retirement.
Author of the book Welcome to Holly Cottage, published in November 2021, Collis shares some of her experiences running a bed and breakfast for 15 years in the Meaford-Owen Sound area with her husband David.
Norma grew up in Tillsonburg, graduated from Rolph Street School and Annandale High School, then left town for a 33-year teaching career. After retiring, she and husband David bought a stone farmhouse in Woodford, coincidentally in David’s mother’s hometown.
“There was just something about the house,” said Norma. “I said, ‘David, this house just hugs you.’”
A year after moving in they learned that David’s grandparents had lived in that same house, built in 1878, when they first emigrated from Ireland.
“We had no idea!”
Soon after they renovated the farmhouse into a bed and breakfast. It provided 15 years of life experiences, which became the heart of Norma’s Welcome to Holly Cottage story. They eventually closed the B&B, sold the house in 2017 and moved to Tillsonburg.
“The winters in that area can be pretty brutal, and we knew when we get to be elderly we’re not going to be able to take care of two acres of property.”
The book has been dedicated to Norma’s sister, Laura Rex, a big supporter, who passed away in 2017.
“I tried to make it light-hearted and most of it is kind of humorous,” said Norma. “A lot of what happened was ‘fun’ so I just tried to write something that would hopefully give people a little bit of a lift. I’ve been getting really good feedback on it.”
It also answers questions from people who would like to operate a bed and breakfast. Things you need to know before you jump in.
“There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes and you really are on call 24-7.
“It’s a fairly fast read and I wish now that my editor had pushed me to write more.”
There are so many more stories she could share and she plans to write a Part II. For the most part she does not use names, the only exception coming from a family that asked her to use it.
“People that live around there are busy trying to piece together who all these people are,” she laughed.
People came from all over the world to stay at Holly Cottage, including China, Australia and Dubai.
“We got a lot of people staying from Britain. They like the name, Holly Cottage, and the photos of the farmhouse… it just looked British to them. They said, ‘We figured you would know how to make a decent cup of tea.’”
Luckily, Norma’s grandmother from Norwich taught her well.
“They were so much fun.”
Published through Iguana Books, a hybrid publishing house, Welcome to Holly Cottage was professionally edited and printed.
It’s available through a print-on-demand system – you place an online order and a book is printed (available at amazon.ca or Barnes & Noble – be aware, some book suppliers are based in the USA and United Kingdom). It’s also available in an ebook format.
It sells at the Meaford museum, a bookstore in Owen Sound, and there is a copy in both libraries.
Locally, Collis has copies to purchase (she calls them “porch copies”), and they can be purchased at Indigo Lounge. The Tillsonburg Library also has a copy.
“It’s available in the UK as well, but then of course Brits really understand B&Bs – that’s where we first discovered them as well.”
While visiting the UK, against the advice of their travel agent, Norma and Dave stayed exclusively at bed and breakfasts.
They were told ‘you’re going to hate them, they’re not clean, they just have linoleum on the floor…’
“Well, they were just incredible,” said Norma. “We stayed in all kinds of wonderful places. And some of the best things we saw were things our hosts and hostesses recommended – they were not things you would find in a guide book.”
And that’s what Norma and Dave wanted to provide for people who stayed at Holly Cottage, giving them a taste of the area.
cabbott@postmedia.com
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