Days Inn, M6 Toll services

Husbant has bought a new car. Not brand new but new to him. Same colour as the old car but a different shape at the back. New car means a trip to an industrial estate close to the M6 Toll services to get a new grill* fitted to stop small birds being sucked in when warp speed is reached. We aren’t talking cooking equipment, by the way.

We have a joke about the Days Inn at the M6 Toll services. Husbant took his previous car to the special garage a few years ago to have a new grill fixed. While it was being fitted, he booked into the Days Inn so he had somewhere to work. He had to book the room for the whole night but didn’t stay.

There is an episode in Modern Family where Phil and Claire Dunphy go to a hotel for Valentine’s night. Phil takes on the persona of Clive Bixby, a visiting salesman at a conference at the hotel. They meet in the bar of the hotel pretending they don’t know each other. But, as expected, things go horribly wrong in a very funny way. Watch it if you can! So whenever we have a pit stop on our way to the Lakes or to Manchester, we remember Clive Bixby. When Husbant said he had to get a new grill for his new car, and was planning to rent a room, I took this to mean we could do the Clive Bigsby thing for real. My expectations weren’t that high in terms of what the Days Inn would offer but, being retired and taking on a more supportive role, I suggested we go up and spend the night together so that Husbant could be first at the garage to get his new grill fitted.

All started well with a trip to Bicester, Husbant’s favourite shopping destination. I am not a fan of shopping outlets or clothes shopping in general. Husbant’s two jackets and a pair of shoes later, we went to the Ottolenghi restaurant which is my favourite bit of Bicester. They also have a La Tua Pasta place which does great pasta. We had a delicious meal – I had a pumpkin curry and Husbant had Ottolenghi fish and chips which were very tasty. I opted for a non alcoholic cocktail which was really good and spicy. So with our bellies full we headed up the M6 Toll to the services. I had a little nap in the car which had consequences later but I run ahead of myself.

Parking up in front of the Days Inn, we made our way to the door of the hotel and there was a tiny kiosk with a receptionist squeezed into it. I thought Husbant might have booked in the name of Bixby, but that was just my active imagination. We were given the keys to room 8 and I got the impression that Husbant had worked in the very same room on his last visit.

How can I describe it? Hmmmm. I have seen many hotel rooms in my lifetime. Some very grand and some that had more of a brothel feel. I would place Days Inn M6 Toll services towards the lower end. There was a bed with pillows and a duvet. There was a weird sofa with unidentifiable stains. The bathroom was ok but had a red resin floor that went up the sides of the wall a bit. The taps could have been cleaner and the hot tap was the cold tap so some sort of plumbing issue was evident. The towels had that weird smell and stiffness that you find in some less-than-nice hotels – it’s hard to use a smelly towel to dry a freshly cleaned body. The smell is reminiscent of a old tea towel that you have put in the laundry basket and forgotten about for a few days (or is that only me?)

Anyway, with no bar and just a Burger King open in the services, we settled in for the night. The TV worked and Husbant checked every channel available until I started to get a headache so we agreed an old Have I Got News For You. It was a good one, hosted by Stephen Mangan (phoar). It was the missing words headline that got me thinking: “Adventurous pensioner plans to spend six weeks…..” . So, for context, this episode was in May 2025 when I had no real plans to be a full- time pensioner. But now I am a full-time pensioner, I was intrigued by what the rest of the headline revealed (I admit I really do want to go on more adventures).

In May 2025 I probably would have laughed out loud but in February 2026 I am thinking that sounds quite exciting. I need to get out more.

The 10 o’clock news and Match of the Day followed and then it was time for lights out and sleep. The Days Inn rooms have thin walls. So it was almost like sleeping in a dorm. Someone had a terrible cough – although it sounded worse than a cough. I fell asleep quite quickly. But then 2.26am I woke up and that was really the end of my night. Someone not in our room was snoring very loudly – it was almost as if he were in the bed. Then someone in the bed started snoring. It was almost the first and second movements of a symphony and I had a front row seat. Then I started itching – like the bed had a million bugs. Then I started trying to go back to sleep. That never works – every tool in my sleep box was used. Eventually, I must have fallen asleep as I woke up to Husbant saying the car park was filling up already with early travellers…

So I am a bit of a grumpy person today.

A few things have also transpired. Firstly, it’s President’s Day so Husbant isn’t working so we didn’t really need to come up and stay over. The grill is being fitted but won’t be ready until 4pm. That is in 6 hours. We are sitting in a windowless room on an industrial estate. But there is always a rainbow…. The kind people here have offered to take us to the nearest shopping outlet to spend the day there. And you know how much I love shopping outlets…

*have been told it is a grille not a grill