Bank Holiday Monday dawned sunny but the breeze made it feel cooler than you thought but during the day the breeze eased and it felt warmer. No guests scheduled to depart but one cottage had to go home, only having arrived on Saturday, due to family problems, so I have said I will try and relet what I can as they had been booked in for two weeks. With it having been too wet to cut the grass on Saturday Chris found time to cut the grass. The handyman came up for a couple of hours and helped repair a gutter as well as prune some trees. With it being fine the builder also came up today. Although there was a number of odd jobs to do I found a couple of hours for myself as well. With it being a fine evening there were four hot air balloons in the sky at tea time. Drove the dogs mad! By Tuesday morning I had managed to relet most of the fortnight, this is a popular time of the year, especially with the Chatsworth Show this weekend. Another warm day with a misty start. A day of pottering in the garden, re potting some plants and replanting some that had to be dug up when we started work on the extension. One cottage out of our peak district cottages and one cleaner up with two cottages vacant to do as much as she can in the time available to her. A number of busy days ahead to think about.
Sunday started wet and windy at our Bakewell cottages and as predicted it cleared up by lunchtime although it stayed breezy. We waited until later in the morning before deciding what to do. We felt it was still too windy for a walk so opted for the Open Gardens of Bakewell. Being on a Bank Holiday Sunday we have always tried to avoid going into Bakewell but studying where the gardens were we decided we could do it without actually going into Bakewell itself. We drove down the road and parked outside Lady Manners School then using paths walked down towards the Church. All the gardens were in the area surrounding the Church so we had a pleasant few hours wandering around gardens. In one some metal cats that were swaying in the breeze caught the attention of the dogs, the dogs were allowed in all the gardens and as usual got their fair share of attention. The only disappointment was that dogs were not allowed in the churchyard so we could not enjoy a cup of tea and cake (especially as one of the WI ladies was serving teas) so we walked the short distance down into Bakewell and found a spot where we could sit outside with the dogs. Bakewell was busy as expected and after a little wander round we walked back up to Lady Manners to pick up the car. A quiet evening but noted when I took the dogs out for their evening stroll that the evenings are drawing in. Never mind.
Saturday 7.55pm sitting in the office waiting for last of guests to arrive...(ETA 8pm)... so might as well catch up with blog. Friday saw one departure with one arrival and one cleaner up. With one cottage also here for the best part of next week we did a linen change etc whilst we were at it. First delivery of oil in 5 months, interesting to see how long the gap is between the next one, but with no boiler in the house our electricity bill will be up even if the oil bill is down. After such an awful day on Thurday the sun shone and you could feel the warmth. Chris got a call mid morning to help 'turn a cow'. One of the cows was in labour and it is a normal practise if the calf is in the wrong position to hold the calf but turn the cow. This is more than a one man job so Chris donned overalls and boots and went down to Andrews to help. With one cottage vacant until tomorrow I used the time to do some odd jobs as well as recover some dining chairs with Chris's help when he returned. The weather has played havoc with my hanging baskets and a few now look so poor that we've taken them down. Guests arrived just before 5.30 pm. After dinner prepared bits for Saturday. Saturday dawned fair enough but showers built up and continued to pass through although they lessened later in the day. Went down to the Farmers Market. Disappointed the Scotch Eggs weren't there as they make a nice lunch but tried a few new things as this month there were a few new stalls. Back to our peak district cottages where cleaning was in full swing. No problems today and the three cleaners had the five cottages finished in time for an early lunch. Had to do my checks dodging the showers but all finished by 2.30 in time for first guests arrival. Two cottages in by 3.30 pm, two more arriving around 6 pm, one just before 8 pm and final cottage by 8.15 pm. Three have been here before. Forecast is for a pleasant weekend. Hope they're right.
