Woken at 6pm by the strangest of sounds. At first it sounded like the wind just getting up then I got very loud and then it stopped. Thought it might have been a mini tornado but on the news they were talking about line squalls so I wonder if one passed in front of the house. I did find one of the wooden benches was not in its usual place when I took the dogs for a walk.

A busier Monday today. One cottage and one B&B out and two cottages in. Cleaning was done in a couple of hours which left me time to get on with things, but that soon disappeared. Somehow the day disappeared in emails and phone calls. At least Chris got the web site sorted but we will have to move away from BT. One set of cottage guests arrived early but I allowed them in, the others arrived nearer 3pm.

Phoned some friends (well must have some me time!) and tidied up the office. This weekend we had three mobile chargers, some clothes and a driving licence left behind. I have returned the driving licence but since the introduction of the new postal charging for size and weight, chargers are expensive to return because of the size. I will return them if guests are hppy to pay postage but otherwise we are developing a collection of phone chargers.

A quiet day. I had thought about a short walk but it looked ominous from the start. One B&B couple out but no one in so Chris did some patching up on paint bits in one B&B room and our part of the house. I caught up with some personal paper work. We also have to start thinking about Chris’s parents Diamond wedding anniversary. They are coming here soon to stay or a week or so. We also have some problems with BT who host our website. Chris tried to update it on Friday and encountered problems. The earliest BT can try to fix it is Monday. Our website is accessible but not up to date. Another problem to be sorted.

Seven cottages today, but with one already gone it was six out and six in with one arriving for a short break on Monday. Fay also came up for a couple of hours to help in lieu of the time Chris has been helping with her computer. With three here today the cleaning was finished by 1 pm and we worked out a cleaning rota for next week. After a bit of lunch I spent an hour finishing the cottages, finishing defrosting a fridge, changing some curtains and cleaning some oven shelves and whatever else I could do before 3pm! I was expecting an early rush because of the rugby but only one cottage was here for three. In fact everyone else turned up at 4pm. Out of the six cottages five have been here before even if it was not in the same cottage, so when everyone turned up at once they knew where they were going and I sorted them out in turn. Did a little paper work and had a take away, a Chinese tonight, first in a long time, before sitting down at 8pm!

A busy morning with both B&B’s out plus one cottage and all back in again later. One of the B&Bs went before breakfast as they were catching a plane from E Midlands airport for a few days in Provence. I had two cleaners come up early and they managed to turn everything around by 11am. This left the rest of the day to myself. Another couple had decided to go home early in view of the weather forecast so I decided to spend a few hours in the cottages having a good look at things. From June to September sometimes I only get 15 minutes per cottage checking things between turn rounds. Towards the end of the season I start to have more time to look for wear and tear and we can revise our list of what needs to be done next and its priority. I was able to do a few bits and make a note of some things that would need doing. I was also able to do a few bits around the house so I actually felt as if I had achieved something. Our first B&B guests arrive just after five and the cottage guests about half an hour later. The last guests arrived about 9.30. They had had a bad journey and had stopped for something to eat and were relieved to get here. The forecast had not been encouraging and I had expected more to go home today but as it turned out it was not too bad.

Only day this week with no-one in or out. After breakfast and washing etc went down to Bakewell and did the usual bits plus pay the monthly bill at the builders merchants, Midco. It is opposite Bakewells only fishmonger so I popped in and got some salmon. Got back and did lunch. Chris went off to his photo session and I went to Buxton, leaving the dogs on their own for a couple of hours. The usual way to Buxton was closed for roadworks so went via the A6 and had a good run through. I went into the town as I thought there was sports shop where I could get some new table tennis bats but must have been thinking about the one in Chesterfield. Then went to Morrisons. Got home to find the new cleaner who was supposed to start in a weeks time has changed her mind. This has left me temporarily short staffed as I had planned to advertise but didn’t when she accepted the job. It means I will be doing extra cleaning for a few weeks more until I can find someone to bolster the team whilst one of the cleaners is on maternity absence. Had a flurry of emails and telephone calls after tea so it was 9.30pm before I started the ironing so it was ready for first thing in the morning. Glad to sit down and relax with this weeks episode of Heroes. Getting real interesting. The Hotel Inspector was not on due to football.

A quieter day but still one set in and out of B&B. One of the cleaners came up in the afternoon and turned the room around as well as do the hall stairs landing and dining room. She also gave the leisure area a run through. By the afternoon it had turned a bit miserable and drizzly. B&B guests arrived about 6pm having been held up in traffic in Chesterfield. In the evening we went round to one of the cleaners to help her fill out her tax return.

Another day, another change over. A cold start but the sun soon got to work so extra washing outside to dry. I managed to get a little bit of gardening done, I need to start thinking about bulbs for spring! Next B&B guests arrived later in the afternoon but I managed to get some accounts done. I know I always go on about accounts but I hate being behind with paperwork. What accounts are there to do? Bills, deposits and final receipts for eight cottages and two B&B rooms. Reconcile statements. Credit card receipts cash receipts paying staff. Never ending.

Had to replace one of the toasters as it accidentally got put on an electric hob which hadn’t cooled down. (Always keep a couple of spare kettles and toaster). Also one set of linen has come back with marks the laundry cannot get out. One duvet has been marked by pen and a sheet looks like it has blood marks. I have enough spares but will need to get more after Xmas. I have had to replace some B&B towels in the past where make up marks have not come out in the wash. These are expenses that I guess guests don’t always think about.

An autumnal chill in the air. A turn around of one B&B room ready for guests arriving today. Usual Monday tasks, laundry, rubbish. Had done some extra washing but somehow one lot got soiled again, think one of the dogs may have thought it was possibly their bedding and pawed at it. My fault for leaving it in the basket on the floor. So it had to be redone. Got the ironing up to date.

Decided to go to Bakewell Market. Looking at my bookings it was most probably the only chance for a little while to go on a Monday. It was not as busy as I thought it would be and I had a wander and bought some bits for the business as well as usual bits. It had been dry but had clouded up but suddenly the heavens opened. I got a little wet and came back home. When I got back Andrew was up with one of his tractors moving the fallen tree. We could see the full extent of the damage, the wall, and the other trees it had also knocked down. Will need to find a dry day to carve the tree up in pieces. The b&b guests arrived later in the afternoon.

Chris went to the Bakewell Photography club for the first time. I just caught up with bits.

A bright but breezy start with rain forecast later. One B&B couple departed but no-one in today so we thought we would do something for a few hours. We had thought about a walk but after I had taken the dogs out I thought it was too windy. We went down to Bakewell and got the paper and had a coffee at home while I decided what to do. One of the other options was to go to the Hartington Wakes at Pikehall. Various events were on the programme including harness racing which I have never seen but they do hold regular harness racing events there. There were also various horse and dog events as well as other displays etc. The program mentioned cattle but I assumed they would not be there.

Some of the guests came back to watch the grand prix and as Chris was chatting to them in the courtyard there as a loud noise. I heard it from inside and went out but we could not see anything. Chris went for a walkabout and came back to say that a major part of a tree in the paddock had fallen down and the noise we heard was it falling on the stone wall. We went and had a look and could see that most had fallen on the wall with some large branches in the paddock but two thirds of the tree is still standing. It was quite windy, but we would have thought not windy enough to bring down a part of a tree, but too windy to do anything about it at that point especially with rain forecast.

So we went to Pikehall, after Chris had re tuned a TV, and yes the harness racing was quite interesting. We had a cob for lunch and wandered around the rest of the show. It was still very windy and starting to look threatening so when we left we thought we would drive the long way home and have a look at a couple of villages. It has been a long time since we have been to Elton, it seemed bigger than when we last saw it although in reality little development has happened but living somewhere makes you look at places in a different light. We then went to Birchover and on to Stanton in Peak where we had a little walk. We can see our place from there, it is one of the villages we can see form here, and we found a house for sale which seems to present a nice development opportunity.

When we got home it had just started to rain and I found myself spending a few hours dealing with emails and phone calls but at least I got some bookings.

Today was the last of the full Saturday weekly turn arounds. Eight out and eight in. Luckily like last week they were left in a good condition and the guests made a timely departure. Unlike last week noting was left behind (last week a dog basket was left behind). Cleaning went well and was finished by 1pm. A number of fridges needed to be defrosted but I had to prioritise and settled on the two worst. I was on schedule until our B&B guests turned up two hours early. They had had a bad journey and I showed them in but offered to make them tea later. This took out 15 mins which was then exacerbated by the first cottage guests turning up at 2.30 Luckily their cottages were OK – just- as I knew they would be one of the first to arrive, but it did mean I was rushing to catch up. (It was not until later in the day I remembered a couple of small things I had forgotten to do). I did finish just after three and the last of the guests had arrived by 5 pm. This week there are returning guests in five cottages.

For the third time this week we visited the village hall at Over Haddon. This time it was for a visit by the Bakewell Silver Band for ‘A Night at the Proms’. We went last year and it was a very enjoyable evening with plenty of audience participation. Another example of the results of a dedicated village hall committee.