Yay – builders are here

Hard to believe that it’s over a week since I updated here, but at last I have scheduled time to sit down and update it…

We have had a few events since my last update – we had some fun with the rain on Sunday 1st November - the word someone used on Twitter summed it up beautifully – hostile! When we got up in the morning, we noticed that the waterfall and “sink” area were under water. So, we immediately got our act together and tried to see if we could divert it away from the house and get it to the stream the other side of the drive. Dug out some old yellow drainage pipe from behind the barn, and got it going. Then Norman went into dig mode, and created two more channels from the drive into the lower stream, so it had somewhere to go – other than down the drive! So, some 2 hours later, when it all subsided, we noticed that of the two drain holes in the upper sink, one had a great bolder in front of it – so presume that this was the root of the problem, although I have to say, with all the work the neighbour had done on improving his drainage, plus all the rain we’d had, it was perhaps always going to struggle. However, since removing that bolder, and despite some very heavy rain again since, it has not overflowed in quite the same way again. Fortunately… Fingers crossed that it stays that way!

We ended up not needing wood for shelves as originally planned – so a blessing that we hadn’t bought any last week, although knowing Norman he would’ve found a use for it – but he re-used the shelving out of the existing walk-in wardrobes. Had a bit of a nightmare getting all the nails and screws out, as there were far too many, but at least the shelves for the linens is now up – if being used to hold videotapes and cassette tapes for the moment. He also put other shelves up, as well as fixing the pulley maid so we can use it now – we intend to buy another larger one for there, too. So definitely enjoyed himself I think… We do actually need to buy another bookshelf, as we have far too many books for us to have on the one we have - even though its 6′ high and about 4′ wide! We have taken all the cookery books off and placed on some freestanding shelving in the kitchen (not a stupid place to have them, I suppose) so that the rest of the books can be seen, but fiction and DIY are also in the utility, beside the tapes. All need a home sometime in a more suitable place…

Had the final delivery of the goods which Pickfords could not bring on the original delivery van… very good, and asked them to move one of the sofas – we wanted the larger one in what will be our lounge, leaving the small one in the guest lounge/diner. Sadly they had to concede defeat when after 20 minutes they could still not get it in! They did a bit more damage to the back – the original guys did some when they put it I the guest lounge anyway – so they moved the little one into our lounge – Norman and I will just have to cuddle up even closer when we manage to sit on the sofa from now on…

Didn’t go to the sausage tasting event I heard about on Twitter – was a bit of a wimp and decided not to go in the monster (hubby’s sports car!) as I was worried about the ford on our drive, plus not knowing where I was going in the dark, I could end up stranded… Apologised to them, but will still try and order from them. Will call them tomorrow or Wednesday to discuss how we can trial some of their stuff – although Norman bought some great sausages from a butcher in Welshpool on Saturday, and they were very nice. I think she understood my reasoning for not going, but not sure! Anyway, thebestof site is sending me some other info from an Oswestry butcher, so worth a try… It will be fun trying all these different things in the meantime.

I went and saw a new chiropractor on Friday… very good start. Came back feeling like a new women, but obviously its early days yet. Have a couple of appointments this week and we’ll see how it goes. All this shunting of boxes is not doing me any good! I bought a new wallpaper steamer last week, so will get onto using it this week, when I strip the large bedroom ready for skimming with plaster, if necessary, or just paint if it’s good enough underneath. Hope that won’t upset my back at all… we shall see though.

One of the things we have both commented on is the amount of walking we’re doing. Between the size of the house compared to our old one, we’ve got more flooring to cover anyway, but also because the majority of the boxes we have been emptying and sorting this week are in the barn, we have been schlepping back and forth, as well as around the house. I said I should have been wearing my stepper, to find out how many I’ve been doing – it’s probably miles if I added it all up! Combine that with taking the dogs for walks, even if only little ones, it all mounts up to a lot more exercise than I have been used to. In addition, we’re getting a lot fresher, cleaner air than we were, so no wonder we’re tired. I have been sleeping very well, if a bit fragmented – in part due to my poorly back – but also I think we’re not used to the quiet. So, anywhere from 6-9 hours is not uncommon. I changed the alarm last week, to get up earlier, so that when it’s light, I take the dogs for a walk. They seem to be pretty good at holding on till I am ready to take them for a constitutional, but sometimes they only just get to the gate, not even in the field, so I am watching that, try and make  sure we’re a bit more considerate…

So, the great news is that the builders arrived this morning, to make a start on the external work for the en-suites – as in the waste pipes to the cesspit. As the weather has been so good today – albeit cold – they were able to crack-on and get a lot done. When they were planning to leave, they said they should start filling in tomorrow! Rapid progress indeed!! Sadly, there was a problem with the soak away – as in its not working! Despite the comment from the owner when Norman saw the pit in the summer, that it was because there had been so much rain, it was not at all… the water has got nowhere to go, so the septic tank is full! Ah well, just another job to get done, but means that there might be an additional delay to the finishing of the works.

We had some fellow B&B people come to see us today; as they are looking to rent the land from us… he has sheep and helps her with the B&B, whilst she runs the B&B. They have agreed to take the land from us, and will pay us 6 months in advance – so a Xmas present for us on 20th December! Means that the grass and land will all be kept in better shape than if we left it as it is now – not sure if we need to get it “topped” (I think that’s the terminology!) but will seek some help from our neighbour – he offered to help us try and sort the land, even with the drainage. Seeing as now he’s done his, we need to sort ours out (see previous comments about that) before we get deluged again!

I have been saddened these last few weeks with the deaths of 3 people who were all slightly younger than me. Firstly and mentioned in a previous blog was Dawn, then I heard about Simon, a cyclist buddy of my ex, and then this week was someone who used to work with me back in Guildford until 2000, Alistair. It’s all rather sad and sudden – maybe only to me as I had not been in regular contact with each of them, and if they had been ill, I was unaware of it, but for them to be gone to young is all rather upsetting. So, RIP to all of them – and best wishes to their families and loved ones.

On a slightly more upbeat note – I have been efficient in getting birthday cards out this week, although it took me 3 days to give them to the Postie! Should have put them in a box when I was out on Friday, but forgot! So, they went today and that’s the important thing. Hope they all arrive in good time. Got another one to get off now – so must remember to take it out with me tomorrow… must remember…must remember… Good news is that Norman is taking the monster south with him this week, and I get to keep the 4×4, so if anything comes up, I can go with more confidence. Been hunting for a Land Rover to purchase, but we will be better off selling the monster down south – not sure anyone would want it here, as it is not designed for hilly terrain! (Although it manages well, I would prefer something higher off the ground on our drive!)

Ah well, that’ll do for now. Hope you are all enjoying my updates. Let me know – it is good to know people are reading it! Au revoir…

Settling in

Well, things have settled down a bit now, with a little routine starting. Although we had our friends stay for the weekend, it was a relaxing visit – apart from poorly children (and dogs!). It was great to spend some uninterrupted time with them and have them relax as much as they said they did… Their kids loved taking the dogs for walks too. The dogs certainly missed them when they left, having me fuss over them as much as I normally do is no comparison to three children constantly fussing… they recovered though.

With Norman away this week, I settled into a routine of getting up and immediately letting the dogs out for their first visit - then fed them whilst I shower. Then while I have my breakfast, they get to settle their breakfast down… seems to be working. Then when I have done some work, whether unpacking boxes or changing sheets/vacuuming as this week, and am ready for my tea/coffee break, I take them for a short walk – between 15-30 minutes, depending on what the weather is like. Then back for more of the same – managed to do most of my ironing in just over an hour, apart from a few things which need the normal iron… still cannot get over how quickly I do that ironing with my steam press. Sorry to go on about that – but it’s still staggering me!

We are slowly getting organised – Norman went into male domain mode today, getting his tools and things all organised. It looked like he was having fun, putting things in their place. We now have all the books out on the shelving unit, so at least we can find things now… In particular we need the bird books available, to try and establish what bird is what on the table outside. Our vendor left a couple of tins of bird feed behind, so we have been filling up the units for them. Have had nuthatches and tits, as well as a few robins visiting; even noticed some wrens which are a delight; however, it was the greater spotted woodpecker which surprised me the most – I didn’t realise they fed from nutbags or bird tables even, so it has been a revelation already. Will try and get a decent photo to put here, so you can see what I mean.

I even bought 2 books today, a 1977 cookery book with some interesting recipes (and ones I remember from childhood) and one on fish. I bought them when I went to the coffee morning at the local community hall, where they have tabletop bric-a-brac and cakes, etc. on sale. Met a few more of the neighbours too, as well as our local councillor. (Hope I can remember everyone’s name… and that they have patience with us whilst we learn them all!) It was pretty busy there, but it’s not normally quite so well attended they tell me: its assumed that the caravanners from local parks were visiting, due to it being half term or something. It was great to see it so lively though – they have them once a month apparently, so I will be going again.

We went shopping for some bits this afternoon – need some wood for shelving we are putting up in the utility room (for the bed linen when we’re up and running) as well as in the wardrobe in the study. Sadly we have come to somewhere that has DIY places, but they are not open on Sunday, which we expected, but the surprise was they close at lunchtime on Saturday… who’d've thought? Has been another revelation. I think we will be having a few of those! Charming, but slightly galling when you plan to do something and you’re used to access regularly and easily. Ah well, another something to get used to.

Managed to have our first fish and chip supper tonight, although I think it didn’t travel well, as the batter was a bit soggy, but the dogs enjoyed the leftover chips! So, am now sitting typing this whilst watching recorded programmes (Coast, Life, for example) whilst Norman is dozing on the sofa beside me and occasionally putting another log on the fire. Life doesn’t get much better than this I dont think….

Till next time… arrivederci.

Hello from Wales or Hello o Gymru (I think!)

Where to start? We have now been in our new house in Wales for over a week – and what an eventful week its been…

To start, I will finish off where we left – the removers were unable to fit everything into the lorry… so my worst concerns were realised. They seemed to load everything very easily at the house, but sadly a plant had one of its stems broken – after all the care we had taken to not upset it!! But sadly, they could not get all the large stuff on from storage (partly due to bad loading in my opinion) so it was not just boxes being left behind for Norman to bring back gradually. Since the problem was the house and not the storage (estimator got it wrong!) they collected the remainder on the Friday – after much annoyance and nagging from me that it was not our fault. Therefore, we are still waiting on them delivering the remainder of our possessions. (As most of it had been in storage for some time, we are not missing it – but its a pain nonetheless.) Ah well, such is life. Also, a mirror got broken – hope it’s not us that has the bad luck!!

Once we got here, the start was that there was water gushing out of the overflow onto the roof… On the note left from vendor, she advised it was an occasional event, but it happens every time we turn the water pump on (necessary as we’re on our own water supply) and the ballcock in the loft gets stuck. Fortunately the plumber for all the en-suites says it just needs replacing, so he will do that when he is here once the work starts. In the meantime we just turn the pump on for short periods of time. We usually know if there’s a problem, as the water stops coming out of the taps!

Second thing in short succession – the lorry when turning around in the yard, knocked the cables and three snapped – fortunately, it was from one barn to another, and looks as though it was long dead, but still irritating! It was quite awesome to watch that big truck head up our drive… The irritating thing though, the guys they sent to help unload, were only around for 2 hours, then had to leave as they were from Stoke! It would have been completely offloaded if they had worked till 5.30, like normal folk! However, it was only a minor irritation, and the following day they were back to finish it off and had left by midday.

We had some sad news on our first morning – one of our friends from the pub had died the previous night, so we were quite upset. She had been at the pub on our last night there, so at least we had seen her recently and said our farewells – but not expecting it to be a permanent one! RIP Dawn.

Hubby and I have had some fun in unloading boxes – kitchen was done the first night, but trying to decide what would be best where has been strange. Yes its a much bigger kitchen than our old house, but we have not got a routine as such and it meant that I have moved a few things since then; but mostly we got it right. Since then we have had the washing machine delivered – done a few loads already and its wonderful; then the big American fridge/freezer… They had to remove the doors to get it in, but it fits perfectly. It will take some getting used to for us, as neither of us have had one before. Also, I think I made a boo boo, in that the water and ice dispenser needs to be connected to a permanent water supply – I thought it was one which we could fill up manually – so might mean we need to shift it to a slightly different position to enable this, but it’s not insurmountable.

Sadly the big issue for us – we lost our telephone (and therefore broadband) on the Saturday. We walked over to meet our new neighbour – they bought some of the land from the estate – and they said we should check to see if we still had telephone, as a telegraph pole had been taken down when they caught the cables… apparently the cables were lower than regulation. Anyway, we had lost the phone – which meant no broadband. I reported to BT Business, and they got on the case. However, we were not back on till yesterday (Thursday 22nd October) in the afternoon, but we learned that the whole of Dolanog (our local hamlet/village) was without telephone. I took the dogs for a walk on Wednesday and saw the new pole, but the spaghetti for the phone lines looked like they would take days to get back together, but technology being what it is, we were pretty quickly sorted…. well done BT.

We had our first social event in the village – a cheese and wine gathering. Although the pair of us were absolutely knackered, we decided it would be a good idea to go and introduce ourselves to some of the locals. We were warmly welcomed and promptly put on a table – there was a small quiz which each table had to answer, which was fun, but tested us all a bit – and the cheeses were lovely (must remember to go to the cheeseman in Welshpool market!) and then dessert too!! Lovely… We will be looking out for other events in future.

Well, we have survived our first week of Norman heading back to Maidenhead to work. Been a very strange couple of nights on my own, but got used to it… happy to have hubby back last night! Worst part was that on Wednesday night, I didn’t even have my mobile signal to have a conversation… so worst case scenario happened, and I survived. It should get easier…

After the first few nights with the dogs waking us up at 3am… etc, we decided to bring them into the back porch. Absolute silence since then. The problem was that they could smell and hear all sorts of goings on from the barn, and barked like mad. Norman had investigated the first night it happened, and could hear dogs barking from other farms – which obviously set them off, and then they were in competition with each other. Fortunately that has stopped. However, need to try and address they wandering tendencies… whilst they are used to having the run of the farm, they have got into the habit of going further afield, onto the neighbour’s land (to be fair it used to be part of the original farm, so they dont understand) but yesterday I spotted them on the neighbouring wetland – across the road. Then this morning when Norman took them for a walk, they didn’t heel or come when called, so, we have now grounded them in the yard with weights for now. Not sure how we can go about retraining them to stick to the land which is ours. Might have to walk all the perimeter fence and ensure its all blocked… more work! Ah well, we knew it wouldn’t be an easy life!

Our best friends are coming up for the weekend, so our very first “guests” - it’s the half term week and they are coming up tonight. We have made all the beds and set-up each room as best we can – no en-suites yet, but I am sure they will enjoy the break. We will too – but the dogs will love having kids to play with them… They can keep each other entertained!

Oh well, that will do for now. Been here for about an hour doing this, so best get on and do some work! Thanks for reading – and it won’t be so long next time! (Fingers crossed!)

Two more sleeps

I cannot believe how much stuff we have… we ran out of boxes yesterday, so I am going to removers first thing this morning to collect more. As you can imagine, my concerns about the lorry not being able to hold everything have increased! At least the way they are collecting (house first, then storage) means that if they do run out of room, the storage can stay there for now, and Norman can bring back bits each week on his return to/from work. Hope we don’t have to do that though!

Our final night at our “local” was quite poignant – got upset when the landlady wished us luck and then I was even worse when Martin (Stepson) dedicated a song to his Dad and I (one of our favourites) and it took a while for me to calm down. I found it strange to be getting so upset, when we’re doing something we want – but Norman gave me a good reason… When I moved here, I was starting a whole new life with him, so I have been happy and therefore I am sad to be leaving. He’s right of course - I have been happy here and I am sad to be leaving…

So, rather than end here on a sad note, I’ll tell you our plans for the next couple of days: packing for rest of the today; try and schedule a visit to my Dad this pm; out for dinner tonight with Vicky (Stepdaughter) and Holly; then tomorrow we are with the removers; and tomorrow night we are at our friends for a Chinese… cannot think of a better place to spend our last night, than at our best friends.

Definitely this is my last post in the old homestead… hope you’ve enjoyed our journey to here. I will start updating from the new abode as and when we get the internet up and running – should be on Friday.

Thanks for your company.

Time goes too quickly

It’s amazing how quickly time goes by when you have a deadline to do things… I realise I have done a lot of moves at work, even moving my own office! However, when it’s your own house, and you are moving a little further than down the road, it seems to magnify. Sadly, I ended up with a migraine this week – must’ve been the build-up of stress before exchange and the constant worry that suddenly something could happen to stop us. As hubby said, we needed me to be at least working on 2 cylinders this week! Anyway, bought some strong pills and hibernated for a day or so, and am now back on track.

Have ended up with trips down memory lane whilst packing… as I’m sure everyone does. One particular trip was looking at the photos of my Mum & Dad’s 50th wedding anniversary – poignant because we lost her earlier this year, and because she will not see our new home… Also found some old school photos of me, which I don’t think I have shown to hubby – nor will I, I think! Yuk maroon and grey was an awful colour combination!!! Ah well.

We are off out for dinner tonight with my step-children (they are adults really, or claim to be!) for a curry, so we will be saying goodbye to our regular haunt, as well as them. Should be good… Then on Saturday we are off to our local for some drinks – it’s the landlady’s birthday, so she has organised a duo to play (Martin & Darren – step-son and his friend) who have been playing together for nearly 5 years – they are good. They did a short stint at our wedding, so those who were there will know who we mean. So it will be a great treat and a send-off, but without us having planned anything! How cool is that..?

The house looks like a junkyard – boxes everywhere, furniture all askew to accommodate those boxes, and we’re living in a corridor to the kitchen. It will only get worse over the coming days… I know, it’s a necessary process but doesn’t mean I have to like it!

So, off to final appointment at the chiropractor – at least the one down here - will have to find one nearby when we’ve moved, as I will definitely need to continue with some treatments. And then off to meet the IT people who are designing our website… I need some tuition on how to manage the content – even if we don’t have the photos yet. We have arranged for a professional photographer to come to the house in January when all the en-suites are done and we have finished decorating, so that we can put on the website. Will link the site here when it’s got some content!

Best get on then. Might get to update before we move, but more likely once we’ve already gone… so arrivederci.

Long awaited pictures

Thought it was about time I added a photo of the house - its one which shows the entrance and our very own ford!!

Also, a picture of the two dogs - not exactly happy to pose yet, but they are really cute! The black and white one is Beau and the brown and white one is Bonnie…

Penultimate step…

Well, I am glad to report that we have finally exchanged. This happened late on Friday, when we were heading to Wales… a quick call to the removal firm to confirm the date was still OK for them to move us, and we were on our way.

The completion date is going to be 14th October, so we need to get our skates on!! That’s a week Wednesday!!! Yikes, coming up fast. So, might not get to update this Blog much over the coming week or so, but at least you will know we’re busy and more importantly, why!

The weekend was a bit mixed tho, as the weather on Saturday was almost exactly as they said - showers and cloudy, but high winds. We did go and play golf, but when my Dad and I got to the second green, the heavens opened (as my Mum used to say) and we were soaked. Although I had my golfing wets on, Dad’s were still at the self catering place we were staying at (I know, silly place for them to be!) so he was playing in a jacket and cardigan. Anyway – we decided to call it a day, but Norman and the other two carried on – oh we wished we had too, as the sun came out about 20 minutes later and was beautiful for the next 2 hours. Still gusty winds, but lovely nonetheless. Ah well, there will be other times once we’re up there.

Saturday evening we went out for dinner with our vendors, to celebrate exchanging… went to Revells in Welshpool, which was a lovely location. Will definitely be going back there, but also, they offer a quick supper before going to the cinema next door – so, might be something for us to enjoy (or our guests once we’re open); but also, they have live music on a fairly regular basis, so combined with the excellent food, it will be on our list of recommendations as well as somewhere for us to go too.

The dogs were very blasé about us when we arrived, so hopefully that means they are getting used to us, but only time will tell whether they do. I suppose so long as we feed them, exercise them and offer enough affection, they will adapt. I hope so…  

We also hope we have got our builder decided… we got the final quote whilst we were up there, so we have some decisions to make – primarily on price, but a very close second is how quickly they can get the work done! We’re aiming to get all the works done and get the grading assessor in to see us before Christmas, so we’re on a tight schedule! Fingers crossed, and I will update our progress here.

OK, off to open the bottle of champagne to celebrate with my husband… à bientôt.

Another milestone

Well, things are taking their own sweet time… we signed the contracts on Tuesday – so, another milestone reached. We hoped that meant we would be exchanging on the house purchase Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. The delays are related to our buyers, who are waiting for probate to be sworn in (I think that’s the right terminology), so they have the funds to complete… ah well, might be 13th, 14th or even 27th October before we complete. Part of me would like it to be 27th, so there’s more time for things, but the other part cannot wait to get going. I think my reasoning is admitting to a little nervousness – new area, making new friends, setting up a new house, then setting up a new business. A lot to do all at once, and I think I’ve mentioned before – the collywobbles kick in every now and then…

We plan on running a blog on the B&B website, but that can wait till we’re up and running and the website goes live, so this one will have to do until then. I intend to try and post piccies of the before/during/after all the works, as well as a few views from the house… at least it will give you a flavour of why we’re buying it in the first place!

So – update on Friday – still not exchanged, but hopeful. Apparently family member is prepared to lend our buyer the balance to complete, but wants something from the probate solicitor that they will get their money back! Not unreasonable I have to say, but I wish they would just get a move on!!

We’re off up there again today, taking my Dad with us to see the place. We also hope to play some golf at the club we are likely to frequent most often once we’re there…. depends on the weather though! Forecast is a bit gloomy – and worse than that, its due to be windy. That makes playing hard work – worse than rain really. (Although I am not a happy golfer when its raining…8-( so, fingers crossed)

We have been packing again all week – the house looks dreadful, with boxes piled everywhere and things half-done – waiting on more boxes of similar stuff to collect them all together – and the walls are mostly bare. So a bit sad really, but we’ve certainly broken the back of the bulk of it. It’s only the kitchen stuff we’re using now, plus the linens and clothing which still needs to be sorted. A job well done, even if I say so myself!

Sorry I waited so long to update, but I was waiting for some good news to report – still dont have it, but at least now you know why! Best get myself packed in the car and head off – got lots of miles to do today.

On tenterhooks…

It’s amazing how long a fairly straightforward process can be extended and lengthened by the vagaries of house-buying… did that make sense even? As you can probably tell we’re still waiting to exchange – although we are hopeful it will be this week. We went back up over the weekend, meeting another builder-type for groundwork – I think I already mentioned that. Anyway, that should be interesting when they get back to us…

However, the weather was fantastic - even both caught the sun a bit. We took the dogs for a walk twice - once with the lead – so that they can get used to us. Not sure if I’ve mentioned, but we’re “inheriting” the dogs. The current owner does not want to take them into town with them, as they are used to lots of space and quiet. They are yard/house dogs, rather than farm dogs, but they are used to the farm. Anyway, we are having to learn all about the dog whisperer, as that is the rules by which they have been trained, so need to keep that up. Fascinating watching a programme of his on Sky, as he has a very unusual way of dealing with dogs.. I’ll leave you to look him up if you’re interested. They do seem to be getting used to us, as they barely barked when we pulled in on Saturday. On Sunday, Bonnie barked at me a bit – I was wearing a peak to shade my eyes from the sun, and she was a bit confused, so I removed it and she was fine. So, when I put it back on when stroking her, she quickly got used to it… Funny how little things can upset them.

Hubby and I have started packing the house… Already need to go and get some more packing paper, tape and smallish boxes. Only done some of the “knickknacks” in the lounge and landing. So, long way to go yet. It works out we have 3 weekends left if we get the completion date we’re working towards… yikes, that’s coming up quick!

Anyway, thats a brief update for now – more to follow.

The joys of house buying

Well, the joys of house buying are well documented, but sometimes they seem to be conspiring against us. Shouldn’t complain really, but of course we are keen to get a move on!! We’ve been having some fun with insurances and establishing the exact dates of the build of the house, as it is pretty old in parts and had a huge extension built mid 1800, then a complete refurb in the late 80’s with new electrics, etc., so hopefully all now resolved.

In the meantime, I have been having some success with the new steam press iron. There are some things it cannot do as well – for example my skirts, as they flare out and although i did one yesterday, and it turned out fine, it took ages. Also, my linen blouse needs to have an iron, to get around the buttons. Apart from that its brilliant – can get twice as much done as using a normal iron, and it does the sheets brilliantly. A worthy investment!

Still not received the quotes from the builders, but we will chase. We’re back up there this weekend meeting another chap who is a groundwork specialist; we need him to help with the access road for camping, building a concrete base for the static caravan and do some major landscaping to help with planning for that. In addition, we will need to create a bit of a car parking area – we don’t want everyone parking on the forecourt, as that is not the entrance we want the guests to use… They will use the front door!

We have a few more bath stuff trials now, so we can make our minds up. All have some form of personalisation, so we can get our name on all the packaging – and even sell it if people like it enough!!! Who knows, it could be a whole new income stream… Trouble is so far, neither of us has agreed on the same one, which is presenting a problem. I think I have already said here that we will ask for some comments from friends – that might be the arbitration!

I’ve realised that I’ve mentioned static caravan here, but not before… The reason for this is that we will want somewhere for our guests and visitors to stay – so it doesn’t impact on the business. Although during our shoulder or winter months, they will stay in the house – and if we can, with the planning, we will rent it out during the summer. The planner has already advised on what we need to do to landscape the area to gain approval – hence the meeting with the groundworks guy…

So, perhaps I’ll leave more for another time.