This is Buckle Yeat with a new paint job (did I mention I have been painting a bit lately) before breakfast this morning.
Denis decided to hang the hanging baskets this morning and I had to secure a couple of brackets on the side of the house.



There are no places for these baskets so they will stay here till the ones on the front are past their best, we have only just put them out!! I think Denis is getting ahead of himself, but hey I just do as I am told.

We opened for teas and it was a good steady day with no mishaps, I even managed to catch a bit of the big man Peter Crouch banging in three goals against Arsenal, we owed them a beating.





We got out for a walk up to Moss Eccles before tea as there was no comings and goings on the guest front.
I have just been up to Buckle Yeat to make up the fire and it is a clear night with a big moon, the temperatures are dropping.

We went to Kendal yesterday to get the big shop ready for opening the tearooms this weekend. It had gone really cold compared to previous days, this morning it was a bit brighter and it is supposed to warm up over the weekend.

We set off after breakfast to paint and spring clean the kitchen and then gloss the last two doors outside, the tables and chairs are all cleaned off ready in the tea garden and the new menus are all printed and laminated.

We have a large party in this weekend from the midlands, the have been before and are here for mixture of birthdays and wedding anniversary celebrations, they have all arrived and are planning to eat in the Tower tonight and have meals booked in another two places over the weekend.

Matthew has been contacted by Severn Trent Water regarding his new job, they are just keeping in touch and then he will have to go down next month to be allocated a position and location.

This was first thing this morning on my way to work.


More sunshine means more painting but I am glad to report we have just about finished, just a couple of doors to gloss and we will be all spick and span for the start of the tea season, Saturday.

Denis and Margaret have been off to get a car load of pansies for the hanging baskets, he even brought back more baskets, they had to drive back via Ambleside because the ferry was off again, it is back on as I write this.

The footy was pretty dire tonight although England won with the best player Stevie G grabbing a brace and Nugget Nugent scoring from what might be called point blank range.

The sky has gone very dark and I think we are in for some rain, just got the painting finished in time.
We are busy tonight with only one room free, just a foursome left to arrive,

The sunshine just keeps on shining, after breakfast I got the paint brushes out, the first job was the front doors which had begun to look a bit dull so we gave them a quick coat of stain and when it drys we may give them a coat of clear varnish to lift them a bit.
After the walls have been whitened the guttering and downspouts looked a bit shabby so I started on them and hope to finish tomorrow.





Helen and Margaret went for a walk up to Moss Eccles and took these pictures.

A single girl checked in at about 4pm and I will bet she is some sort of hotel inspector, you can just sense them, we will find out in the morning and try and look surprised as she reveals her true identity, it's all part of the game.

Another spring/summer day.
We had to go into Barrow to visit the the DIY store for yet more paint based goods, if the weather keeps like this we will get more outside work done tomorrow.

Margaret and Denis started to spring clean their conservatory so I got the roller out and slapped some emulsion on for them.



This is a new Morgan a couple turned up in last night, they tell me it is their third Morgan and they visited the factory and saw it being built.

The clocks went forward last night and I had warned all our guests so everyone was up for breakfast on time.

Today was our last Sunday before we open for teas, next Saturday is the day,so I took the last opportunity to go for a Sunday lunchtime beer, they had been really busy and as I was having my pint a couple came in and I recognised the girl as being Anita a former neighbour from Ulverston who has started a micro brewery, its called The Ulverston Brewery company and dedicates most of its brews to old Laurel and Hardy films ie Laughing Gravy and Lonesome Pine to name two.



As we set off a walk Matthew was just getting back from work so came with us to Moss Eccles and we took this video of these new born lambs.

What a fantastic sunny day,I made a start with the painting after we had finished serving breakfast and sent out a couple of brochures that had been requested, a rare thing these days with the world wide web.

The last thing to paint was the chimney stacks and i had to climb on the roof to paint them safely.

These are some pictures of Sawrey from on top of Buckle Yeat roof.


The Tower Bank Arms


Market Street up towards Stoney Lane.


Post Office Meadow


Esthwaite Water, Buckle Yeat does have lake views, if you climb on the roof.


A different aspect of Hill Top.


The artist at work, Jemima has been on the roof for a number of years and needed a bit of a paint job.





Jemima back in position.

We had a busy breakfast on this sunny Friday morning, just as we were getting cleared up Roger the builder arrived,he was a just to late for a bacon sandwich, not like Roger at all. Anyway he had come to investigate a bit of a problem with damp around the chimney stack, he made some temporary repairs and will have to return.

Matthew has a couple of days off and picked up a Durham University pal from Windermere station, her name is Jen and she was spending a couple of days with Sarah at Lancaster, Sarah was busy today so Jen hopped on the train for a day in the Lakes, Matthew took her back to catch her train home from Lancaster this afternoon.
He will be back for work on Sunday.



I made a start on the painting and did manage to get some on the walls despite what the picture suggests.
I lost count of the number of directions I was asked for, the ferry, the toilets, the house of Miss Potter.

Just as I reported the case of the missing sign, it is back, what had happened I am not sure but I know one thing, the general public don't do signs, because people are still confused as to where Hill Top is.

A full house tonight at Buckle Yeat, which is good for a Thursday at this time of year, I think we have just the one room free tomorrow and then full again Saturday.
Everyone is here except a foursome and they are due anytime soon.

I got the power washer out and cleaned off the gable end this afternoon, the anti fungicidal wash worked a treat, if the weather looks set in the morning I think we should make start with the painting.

It has been quite a nice day on the weather front and looking at various news stories from around the country we have had the best of it.

I noticed this morning one of the wonderful blue Miss Potter signs had disappeared, did it jump or was it pushed, not guilty either way.

It was a sunny start to what developed into a busy, full day. The first thing that happened was Matthew took a telephone call offering him the job with Severn Trent Water he had applied for, great news!

I then set off after breakfast to Kendal and bought some masonry paint and some treatment to get rid of the lichen on the gable end at Buckle Yeat. When I got back I took the bull by the horns and applied the anti-fungicidal treatment to the the wall, if we get a couple of good dry days forecast I can get on with painting Buckle Yeat white.

A quick run round the garden with the lawnmower for the first time this year, then we had a walk up to Moss Eccles.
We dropped back down into the village and went into the Tower Bank and met Matthew and his gran and grandad for a celebration drink. Then home for tea.

We are back in action at Buckle Yeat after a couple of days off.
It is bitterly cold again with the coldest spell of the winter,it would be of course just as the new lambs are arriving.

We only have four guests in tonight, it should have been six but we had cancellation at the last minute.

Helen has just taken a protracted phone call from Boston Massachusetts, a lady who has stayed before is wanting to coincide her week at Buckle Yeat with the bluebells in full bloom, unfortunately it is not an exact science.

It was wild and windy again last night with frequent hail showers, this morning it is bitterly cold. Snow is forecast for later on, in fact there has been the odd shower this morning.
It was a quiet breakfast at Buckle Yeat and we are closing for a couple days before the busy time.
It was a great St Patrick's day for the Irish yesterday with the rugby team beating Italy and the cricket team, against all the odds knocking Pakistan out of the World Cup.
Football later with Liverpool at Villa Park.

A miserable wet Saturday afternoon after a dry start.
All guests left this morning which is unusual for a Saturday, they were all in Thursday/Friday this week, it means tonight we are very quiet and with the weather as it is we do not expect any callers.
Helen made floral wreath this morning which I took down to Ulverston and put it on mums grave( Mothers Day tomorrow).
I popped in to see Dad then also called on my auntie who is struggling with very bad arthritis.
Despite the weather there is a steady stream of Miss Potter fans trailing up and down the village.
Looking at the hit counter at the bottom of the page we should hit 25,000 blog hits over the next day or two

We had a bit of a boon day in the garden this morning clearing a lot of rubbish from the ground that had become redundant beneath the trees we had felled earlier this week.

This afternoon I replaced the outside light that was about to fall, I will put the other one up as soon as I can get some cable.
Matthew is on his way back from Coventry after attending the next stage in a job application, fingers crossed.

The lake district has featured big on the local news today, a visit from the Princess Royal, she was in Grasmere this morning and Penrith this afternoon. I think it was the mayor of Penrith who when being presented to The Princess he gave a regal nod of the head but he had his hand in pocket like he was meeting a mate in the street.

The other feature was a caravan site, which will remain anonymous that is planning to plant some plastic daffodils for Easter because they are worried the real things will be past their best by then.







The weather forecast is talking about getting colder with a chance of snow, let's hope not.

I took this picture yesterday down on the shore of Esthwaite Water




This is taken from the same spot looking towards the village, the three largest properties in the village are pictured, from left to right Ees Wyke, The Garth and Sawrey House.

Off to Kendal for a much needed shop today, and it has been sunny all day.
After we did the shop we went to visit Helen's Auntie Margaret in Burton, she is Denis’s elder sister and has been suffering with a cold for a few weeks, she is on the mend now.
Kendal was surprisingly quiet considering it was market day; we had to go via Ambleside because the ferry was out of action all day due to maintenance work.

I went to Manchester Airport yesterday, sadly not to jet off to the sun, but on the the bright side to bring Denis & Margaret back to reality after their winter on the costa del sol.
I had a good clear run down and back with no traffic problems.

Today Terry and his mate Rob came to cut a couple of big fir trees down, we planted them in 1989 and they have got far to big. They also took a lot of boughs out of the big laurel at the bottom of the garden.



As they were.



Going



Going



Gone

We will buy some small compact shrubs and set to and replant this part of the garden and keep it under control.
Whilst I had the boys there we took another big fir tree out of the garden at Denis & Margaret's.

After the tree felling we still managed a walk down to to the fish farm, the nights are getting lighter and it makes you feel like you want to be outdoors.

A busy busy breakfast, 13 guests and 7 tables, we can handle it though.
It was a dreary day and when I nipped down to Hawkshead it was pouring down.
Hill Top was open again today and there was a steady stream of visitors this morning although it did quieten down this afternoon.





Sarah has been over for a brief visit but has gone back to uni on the train tonight, Matthew has had a couple of days off but is back at work in the morning, they went up to Langdale for a swim last night and went a walk today today.
Another full house tonight, followed by a big turnout tomorrow.
Annie from the shop is back home from hospital, get well soon.

A busy day today, I had to shoot off half way through breakfast to attend a funeral service and cremation at Barrow in Furness, my aunts mother aged a venerable 97 years young had sadly passed away, it was like all family funerals you meet relations you have not seen for a while.

When I got back home we tackled the front garden with weeds in mind, Denis bans us from standing on the garden in case we damage any plants coming through, anyway it's our secret and he is still away.

Alan rang from Spain tonight, they have been out for lunch with Denis and Margaret, Alan is home tomorrow and Denis and Margaret on Monday.

We have had a couple of e-mails today, one from Mark & Carole and one from Jan & Jeff (all from south of Watford and all regular Buckle Yeat people) It's always good to hear from our guests.

A spring like day in Sawrey as these pictures show, they were taken from the Outgate to Barngates road this afternoon.

When I went for the papers this morning I was saddened to hear Annie from the shop had been admitted to hospital overnight, we all wish her a speedy recovery.







I spoke to Denis in Spain this afternoon, I tried a new method of calling by using the computer and a program called Skype it worked perfectly and the cost was crazy, less than 1.5p a minute, how cheap is that!

The fire extinguisher man called to service the fire fighting equipment at Buckle Yeat, good news all the extinguishers are in good order and no replacements are needed.





Two of the wonderful looking signs that have appeared in the village and further afield.

This is Tower Bank House which is clear for all to see after all the trees in the garden have been felled. the National Trust own this property and are attempting to let it to a new tenant.
The village is rife with rumours about the National Trust and Sawrey House pictured below, I heard today, it is true.



A very tense match at Anfield tonight, Liverpool lost the game but won the tie and the last 15 minutes seemed to go on for ever.


Helen had to go to Kendal today and unfortunately although the ferry was operating early on I think the heavy rain overnight had caused the lake level to rise so the ferry was taken out of service.
I replaced the security light at Buckle Yeat this afternoon, these PIR sensors have a life of their own and they do not like water getting in to the sensor.

The National Trust have gone mad with a tree felling program in the village, I assume they are just trimming this one in Post Office Meadow.
It stayed dry till mid afternoon and then the rain arrived with a vengeance.







Matthew is on his way back from Coventry, he is going to be late and then he has to be up bright and early for a telephone interview at 8:30 in the morning, this job seeking is hard work.
The phone has gone crazy tonight and we have taken a number of bookings for later on in the year.
We had a nice meal at the Tower Bank last night along with a good bottle of red wine, very civilised.

It was a clear night and the lunar eclipse was stunning, I would like claim this picture as mine but I am far too honest.



After a quite bright start the rain finally arrived around lunchtime and it has been pouring down since, there has been a steady stream of Miss Potter fans up and down the village.
We have 6 six guests in tonight, a couple and a foursome, the men out of the 4 party are fishing from a boat on Estwhaite Water and the ladies are sat up to the log fire having tea and cakes in the lounge at Buckle Yeat.

Matthew is off to Sarah's tonight and then on the train in the morning to Coventry for a job interview, he is getting a lot of response from his recent applications and fingers crossed he will get something suitable before long.

It's been a lovely day, apart from the football result, Willie came round after the match to discuss the game, he always likes a natter about the beautiful game especially when United win.

Hill Top opened today, 1 month earlier than usual, they are opening Saturday and Sundays in March and then back to normal in April.I think they they have had a few customers.
I have heard a few comments about the awful signs and John from Hill Top told me they wanted brown signs, but new regulations say to qualify for brown signs you have to receive 100,000 visitors a year.

We had a family in last night and they did not arrive till midnight,they only wanted the one night and left at 10am after breakfast, they were only in the house 10 hours it must be some sort of a record, they said they enjoyed their stay, but did they have time to tell?

We still have a couple of rooms free tonight but I think it's unlikely anyone will be calling now.

After a wild wet and windy night it has been a much brighter day. The ferry was back in operation today which was a good thing because I had to go into Kendal, first to the opticians and then for a haircut.

The optician did not fill me with much confidence though, I went to Boots for the actual eye test and then called in to look at some specs at another opticians and when the lady looked at my new prescription it was for someone called Miss Lawson!! I had not had my haircut by this time but please, Miss!!! give me a break.I went back and accepted his apology, I resisted the temptation to suggest he needed glasses.

We have had a few weeks of electrical goods failing and today, not one but two outside lights have given up the ghost so I have ordered some replacements from Screwfix and they should be here tomorrow. I also picked up a replacement bathroom fan from Kendal, still under guarantee fortunately,looks like I will be busy tomorrow.

The road gritter has just gone through the village to the ferry and back, the speed he was going I think his supper must be ready.