Naima was pleasantly surprised when she arrived at The Plough and Stars, when she had heard that most of the customers were local sheep farmers she had expected the Inn to be a small grubby place surrounded by bleating animals. What she found however was a large well run Inn, immaculately clean and with a warm and friendly group of customers.
She was shown to a small attic room at the top of building that featured a single large window that over-looked the main street. It was comfortable and cosy but more importantly it was hers, back at home she had to share a room with two of her sisters.
Naima's Room
Her duties were also a surprise. Expecting to be lugging around large heavy kegs she was pleased to find out that her duties included nothing more than collecting plates and mugs, keeping the fires lit and generally seeing to the customer’s needs. All the heavy lifting was done by two waiters and the cooking and washing up was left to the cook and her helpers. She was beginning to expect that her job could have been done by the waiters and that she had only been given the job because of the family connection, but she was not about to complain about it and started immediately with clearing used plates and mugs from the tables.
The customers were pleasant mixture of folk, sheep farmers, quarry workers and residents of Brokenboring. There was the occasional traveller coming in but as the Brokenborings was not on a main road and many folk travelled through Hobbiton it was never very busy. There were a handful of residents who rented some of the rooms on a long term basis. These included a young hobbit that did odd-jobs around the inn, a musician who spent most of her time beside the fireplace in the evenings and a few other elderly hobbits who had chosen to move to Brokenborings for the peace and quiet it provided.
During the day Naima found time to explore the countryside, her favourite spot was beside the large pond close to the Quarry which had spectacular views. It was obviously well used as a campfire had been lit there many times before. Whilst sitting there she would use her knife to whittle pieces of wood into shapes, a skill taught to her by her grandfather back in Oatbarton.
Her first few days at the Inn had gone well but she was looking forward to her days off so that she could explore further afield.
