Since my last blog my dad’s condition started to deteriorate and on Tuesday afternoon I took the train down to Watford to see my dad who had been transferred to the ITU unit at Watford General Hospital. Sadly he passed away Tuesday night. I stayed with my sister for a few days and we have started to sort out the necessary arrangements. I returned to Bolehill today.

A dreary day weather wise. Two B&B out and none back in and one cottage out and two back in, one of which is Chris’s parents. Had a chat with one of the B&B guests before they left. They live near Tewkesbury and were telling us stories about the flooding there last year and the aftermath. Went down to Bakewell to get paper and do bottle bank run. It was noticeably quieter in Bakewell today than recently. After coffee Chris drove up to York to collect his parents whilst I got on with usual chores. Had lunch then checked cottages were OK for this afternoon guests as well as some general chores around the house. First cottage arrived about 3.30 and Chris got back with his parents about 5.30. After dinner sat down for the new series of Top Gear and Stephen Fry in America which we have been enjoying.

A quieter day. After breakfast four cottages departed and two cleaners up to turn them round. No problems encountered and an opportunity to do some extra jobs. Only one cottage back in today and they arrived just after 3pm. So a chance to catch up a bit from yesterday and cook a roast dinner. A friend of Chris’s phoned who lives in Manchester – they have just moved but still live in the same area. Spoke to my sister and all being well dad should be out of hospital early next week. Watched the Timewatch programme about the last day of WW1 and then this week’s episode of Heroes.
Weather wise a month of contrasts with the wettest day of the year and month being the 1st with 1.35 in. Total for month 5.09in compared to 1.53 in 10/07. The warmest day was the 12th and warmest night 12/13. Highest temperature was 16.5 on the 12th and lowest was -1.7 on 29/10. Coldest day as 30th and coldest night was 28/29th of the month.

Up and after breakfasts said good bye to both B&B and four cottages. Two cleaners up this morning to turn cottages round. Did ironing for B&B’s then went down to Bakewell to get bits for the weekend. Got back as third cleaner arrived to do B&B’s. Grabbed a quick bite of lunch then just started checking cottages when first ones arrived just after 2pm. They amused themselves in the leisure area for a while while I finished doing the cottages. Having shown them in the next cottage arrived shortly afterwards. Did the final check on the B&B’s before the third cottage arrived after which the first B&B arrived. They have stayed in the cottages. Had time to pay the handyman who had been up today and chopping logs with Chris. Final cottage arrived, they are from Holland and were here earlier in the year, their daughter lives in Sheffield and the in laws were here in September. One of the cottages came over to ‘trick or treat’ by arrangement and then final B&B guests arrived. Phew! Cooked a dinner and did some bits ready for tomorrow. At 9pm some former guests called in to collect some belongings they left behind in the summer. They had hoped to call in earlier but got held up in traffic. We had a chat with them for a while then sat down to watch Heroes from last week!

Started off a bit grey and never got any better. While taking the dogs out Andrew came up and moved some cows into the field nearest the gated field on his side. Bye Bye girls. Decided to go to Chesterfield and by time done usual chores it was 11.30 before we set off. When we got to Chesterfield found that there was a continental market as well as the usual Thursday flea market. It was a bit drizzly and still felt cold. Chris has been charged with getting a trophy for the Bakewell Photographic Society and there is a stall in he market hall that specialises in them. Had lunch at M&S and went to Wilkinsons before heading back. Stopped at Dunelm and Morrisons and Chris popped into an electrical wholesalers to pick up some bits. Came back via Holymoorside and Beeley as we suspected the roadworks in Baslow would be causing havoc. After tidying up sorted out emails and phone calls and had dinner before phoning sister to check on dad who will still be in hospital for a few more days as he regains strength. Then sat down to watch Silent Witness before retiring.

A lovely frosty start to the day and it remained nice for the rest of the day. Chris made a quick departure after breakfasts as he had a training session in Buxton. This left me alone (with the dogs) for the rest of the day. After usual tasks did some housework and odd jobs and after lunch planted some spring bulbs in hanging baskets. Ian was muck spreading so there was quite a whiff in the air. The milk cows were out today but went in about 3pm. It is unlikely I will see them again until next spring. There is a point when it is more productive to leave them inside otherwise their bodies use more energy in keeping warm rather than producing milk. In the next few days we will be losing the hooligans and gaining some mature dry cows before they also ‘go home’ to the farm for winter. Stil don’t know if will have some sheep or the winter. Did some paper work before Chris got back. After dinner Geoff called round and sat down in time to watch Silent Witness while recording Heroes.

A quieter day with one cottage out and back in and both B&B in (they are together). Went down to Bakewell in the morning. It was very busy. One cleaner up to do vacated cottage and B&B rooms. Chris and handyman spent another day doing logs. Cottage guests arrived just after 3pm. They have been here before, in fact they were here the first new year we were here, there was an unexpected snow fall on New Year’s Eve and they had gone out for the evening and like most of the guests had to leave their car at the bottom of the drive. B&B guests arrived about 4.30. Got fire going and did a final check on the 2009 prices before they are published. After dinner spoke to my sister as my dad has been admitted to hospital for observation after collapsing. He has a viral infection but should be released in a few days. Sat down in time for Spooks.

A busier day with a lot happening. B&B out with none back in for tonight and three cottages out with three back in. Two cleaners due up but one had a sick child. Luckily at short notice another one was able to come up but wouldn’t be able to get here until midday. With the other cleaner also not able to come up until early afternoon it meant that the turn around would be tight. So after all the usual bits started to do my bit to help by stripping beds. Had some ironing to do for today so by the time the first cleaner arrived was able to start making up beds and dusting. Chris helped too! Grabbed a quick bite in between beds and bathrooms and luckily all the work was done by 2.45. First guests arrived early at 2.15 for the one cottage that of course was still being cleaned. They waited on site using the leisure facilities and I let them in as as soon as I could. Second cottage arrived about 4pm and final one about an hour later. Got log burning stove going and after phoning a friend had dinner and sat down in time to watch the new series of Spooks.

A bright start after a wet night – nearly half inch rain according to the weather station. Clocks went back so this morning we had to do the round of the cottages adjusting the central heating, water timers and clocks. Additionally there were all the bits in the house as well as all the outside lights. Went down to Bakewell to get the paper and after coffee did usual bits plus another lot of new linen. After lunch spent the afternoon finalising next years prices. Cooked a roast dinner before sitting down at 8pm.

Up and after breakfasts and saying goodbye to guests headed down to Bakewell for the Farmers Market. Got some of my usual bits plus some different items as I make a habit of trying something new every time. Arrived back home the same time as the first of the guests. They were going for a walk before checking in later. Two cleaners here today with four cottages out and five back in. Once back from Bakewell our first task was to replace the sofas in one of the cottages with the ones delivered on Thursday. It is a long way from the garage to the cottage with a three piece suite and then back to the garage with the old sofas. Having installed the suite and move the furniture and TV to get the right balance, it is only when we test the sitting positions that we realise there is a possibility of hitting your head on one of the beams if you jumped out of one of the chairs. So we had to rearrange them again and hopefully we have got it right now. Of course now it means some of the pictures on the website need updating and a segment of the video is already out of date! That’s Life! Having spent about an hour or so on furniture moving it meant I was now in a race against time to get everything else done on time. No major problems encountered with the cleaning but one cottage was a bit untidy and we had a couple of breakages to replace and a blood marked duvet cover to deal with. Thank heavens for Biotex! Final cleaning finished about 2.30 by which time I had done most of my bits. It had got very windy but luckily the rain had held off so far. Most guests arrived between 3 & 4 pm with the final ones arriving about 5pm. One cottage has been here before. With such a hectic day it was a good excuse for a takeaway then sitting down by 8pm. Watched the film ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’ which we had recorded recently. I have read the book and enjoyed the ‘Hollywood‘ version but just feel that some books do not translate into films and this is one of them.