A varied day. One B&B out with no-one back in. After chores went down to Bakewell primarily for dental check up but also to get provisions for the weekend. Came back and had lunch after which Chris went down to Over Haddon for his digital photography and I spent a few hours pottering in our garden and also a little bit of accounts. After dinner went with Joanna to Matlock to our WI treasurers house for the monthly committee meeting. It was a lovely evening and she has a lovely garden.

Another quiet day at home. One B&B out with one back in. One cleaner up this morning. A much better day weather wise which meant a lot of phone calls enquiring about the weekend. It also meant that finally Andrew could start silaging so the cutters started after lunch. Fay popped in this morning before going back to university. She has been home for a couple of days as she has been to a placement interview. After lunch spent some time in the garden and greenhouse and brought down the first of the hanging baskets to harden off for a day or so before hanging up. After dinner phoned a friend and sat down later to watch Law and Order from Saturday. Law and Order has been running for many years and we watch it every now and then and occasionally record an episode.

Unfortunately another wet day which was supposed to dry up but didn’t until much later. After usual bits went to Sainsbury’s in Matlock then came back and had a light lunch. Whilst I was out Chris and the handyman fixed up a new drying system in my linen room to replace the airers. It has given me more space but I will need to see if it works. Mid afternoon we went down to Ashford to try out the new Tearoom (Aisseford Tearoom) with the former guest who has moved to Ashford. We spent a pleasant few hours with her at the tearoom and also had a look at the work she has had carried out at her home. We hope the tearoom does well as that is the one thing that has been lacking in the village. After dinner did a bit of tidying up in my new style linen room before sitting down to watch Dr Who from Saturday.

First Monday with no cottages in or out! Today both B&Bs out and back in. One cleaner in and both rooms done. A brighter warmer day and as usual a lot of guests visited Bakewell Market. Had a chance for a quick foray there myself (I have a visit planned for this month) as my hay fever was bad and I had run out of my usual pills. So after lunch dashed down town to get some pills and some B&B bits and had a quick zip around the market (bought a packable hat for my cruise) to get back before my B&B guests arrived. When I got back the first guests had already arrived and the second guests arrived a bit later. Checked on my greenhouse plants and plan to put some hanging baskets out later in the week. After dinner sat down and watched Warship. Did not blog as was feeling very tired. Decided it was the combination of the constant sneezing and the hay fever tablet had knocked me for six.

Had hoped for a mainly dry day as the forecast indicated the wet weather would stay to the north of Sheffield but unfortunately it was raining by 10am and it stayed wet for most of the day. Went down to get the paper and empty the bottle bins. Spent most of the day catching up from yesterday and doing some personal paper work. Also spent some more time surfing to find the ports of the cruise and what ships were in. I found a wonderful site where it had our itinery with all the other ships and total passengers in port for that day which I printed off. Good news is that in some ports we are the only ones, but in Copenhagen we have to share the city with 8000 cruisers who are on four other boats! It will be interesting to see how big those ships are! Our final cottage guests arrived for the rest of the week in the early evening. Had dinner and sat down for 8.pm.

Weather stats. The warmest day was the 11th with that night being the warmest. Highest temp was 22.5 C. The coldest day was the 19th with that night being the coldest and lowest temp of 2.6 C. A total of 2.01 in rain with 1.03 in of that falling on the 28th (and most of that in an hour). Last May we had 3.43 in. Highest UV was on 29th at 7.6.

Up and did breakfast before going down to the Farmers Market. Last three cottage guests and both B&B out and two cleaners up to turn them around. No major problems encountered although one cottage was a little untidy. Seven cottages and both B&B due back in so glad got a lot done yesterday. Six cottages arrived between 3& 4 pm with one cottage and one B&B between 4&5 pm with the final B&B here about 6pm. Continuing the overseas trend we have B&B guests from Tasmania. Two of the cottages have been here before. We also have a number of dogs here this week. It had been quite a pleasant day weather wise although the sun kept disappearing but it had remained warm so we had a pizza outside on the patio as two hot air balloons floated by. I bet they could hear Smudge barking at them! Two bi planes also flew over. Turned off the reception light about 8.30pm.

A day of outs but not ins. Five cottages out today with no one back in so a chance to get some cleaning done ahead of tomorrow. Two cleaners up today and no problems encountered. With no one due back in I had the opportunity to do some odd jobs as well as some final checking and defrosting a fridge and so the afternoon went. After dinner caught up with some paper work as well as some surfing. Sometimes they say its best not to know. Having discovered the web sites of most of the ports that our cruise visits I have been able to find out what other cruise ships are in when we are. We will be in Tallin with the Oriana, but in Copenhagen there are four other cruise ships in, three of which have more than 2000 passengers! Sat down about 9.30 and watched the recorded episode of Mountain from a few nights ago which we missed the first time around. This episode concentrated on the Pennines and some of it featured the Peak District.

At last a dry sunny day. Both B&B out and both B&B back in so one cleaner up to do rooms and public areas. Went down to Bakewell to get provisions for weekend. After lunch Chris went to Over Haddon for his digital photography session. I took advantage of the nice weather to put some more plants out. First guests, some Germans, arrived a little earlier than planned so they could have an Internet conversation with their son in Mexico. The wonders of modern technology! As it was nice they had a cup of tea on the terrace, as did the second guests when they arrived. Phoned a friend and after dinner sat down to watch Heroes.

So I have been blogging for a year now. Hasn’t it gone quickly. Today was up for an early breakfast. It was still misty but with the promise of something better as well as the risk of thundery downpours. With no guests leaving or arriving in theory it was a day off. Too miserable for a walk and with half term I decided any indoor attractions might be too busy. So we went shopping! Chose the MacArthur Glenn Outlet Centre by junction 28 of the M1. I like it because it has a Thornton’s and Cadbury’s outlet! Chris had to take the 2kg of Licorice Allsorts and the assorted choccies back to the car before I started on the clothes! It also has a M&S store and I bought something from there and also from another store too. We had a late lunch at Thorntons. Didn’t need a dinner. Stopped off at the Matlock Garden Centre on the way back. The cloud was beginning to lift but we could tell there had been a heavy down pour in the recent past by the amount of water on the road. When we got home we discovered that there had been nearly an inch of rain, as much as we have had all month. The post had brought the excursion list for the cruise so I ended up studying that this evening rather than blogging.

Another day, another change over. One cottage out with one cottage and both b&b back in. One cleaner up to do the rooms and cottage. Started cool and wet and never really warmed up. It stopped raining but later in the day got unseasonably misty. Went down to Bakewell to stock up for the next few days and in the butchers bumped into another B&B provider. We were one of her first guests when we stayed with her and I do refer people to her if I am full. After lunch decided to catch up with some personal paper work whilst waiting for the guests. Cottage guests arrived about 3pm with the first B&B guests about 4pm. They are from Australia but have travelled down from Yorkshire. Second B&B guests arrived nearer to 5pm, they have been here before. After dinner sat down about 9pm to watch the program from yesterday, Life after People, which was interesting.