Derry's Good Samaritan praised

A visitor to Derry has thanked the Good Samaritan who went “well above and beyond” for himself and his friend during their recent holiday in the city.

Dean Campbell, who is from South Yorkshire, contacted Derry News to highlight the “unforgettable  kindness” shown to him and his friend by the landlady of their B & B following an incident which happened during their stay.

Dean said: “Myself and Joel have visited Derry a few times over the years and we always stay at the Iona Inn in the Waterside. Tanya, the landlady there, is absolutely amazing. However, she went well above and beyond for us this time and I want people to know about her absolute, unforgettable kindness.

“There are truly nice people in Derry, kind people, and Tanya is definitely one of them. She really, really went out of her way to help us. I couldn’t tell you the amount of things she did for us while we were there. We will always be grateful to her.

“Because I had great difficulty walking, Tanya wanted to move me to a room on a lower floor in the Iona Inn. She made sure we got our food up to our rooms, and she even came and had a meal with us.

“At one point, she offered to let me stay in her own home until I was well enough to travel back home, which I thought was amazing.

“And, as  if that wasn’t enough, she even went out and bought me a pair of shoes, because I didn’t have any, and she wouldn’t take any money for them,” said a clearly emotional Dean.

“When Joel was released from hospital, Tanya put him into a more convenient room,” said Dean, “free of charge, for three extra days, because he couldn’t fly home as scheduled.

“She also took him to get new clothes and made him smoothies to ensure he would have something to eat.

“Basically, Tanya went way out of her way for us. She is something else. She is a brilliant landlady, a brilliant host and she went the extra mile to care for us. I just thought it would be a nice gesture to thank her in some way.

“The people of Derry, over the years, have been really, really kind to me. They are lovely people,” said Dean.

Older readers might remember Dean’s family, who hailed from the Ballyarnett area of Derry.

His granda, John James Campbell, emigrated from the city in the 1920s to work in the Yorkshire coal mines.

“He used to come home every year to work on a farm owned by the McCorkell family,” said Dean, “along with his brother, David.”