News from North of the By Pass

Driving on our country lanes is something we’ve discovered since moving here, and as a family we now drive with more care, however we are still surprised by the speeding cars passing our gate! However we have noticed that others have slowed down and much appreciate it very much. For dog walkers you may have noticed that we have a little terrier, called Teddy. He runs up to you looks incredibly frightening but butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, so I have no fear.

Progress on the Hill.
Vicki and I are new to gardening. Two years ago we hadn’t got a clue and this is our second year. The success we’ve had is just amazing and every day we wake up, not only more weeds but some beautiful flowers and the selection of new vegetables. The walkers will have seen our rose garden which has surprised us, thinking that we wouldn’t see any flowers this year. They are quite beautiful! I believe the success has been learnt from the preparation from the start. Get that right and the results will follow. The enormous amount of patience that is required is another new hobby required for gardening!

The Future...
Coming out of lockdown is interesting from many different angles. Not sure whether we have rushed this yet, but very concerned for a second hit! I have only left here once to go to a meeting at Brockdish. With all the meetings that I’ve had on Zoom seems to have taught a few of us to keep meetings to the point and within an hour. Long may this continue. My business, thanks to Vicki, has ticked over, providing meals to the locals, as and when required. The hotel has had a ‘makeover’ in almost all areas. The future plans are to continue and develop the ‘takeaways’, have a menu for the children, open up for teas & coffees and to open up the accommodation. The bar I’m not rushing into, even if they relax the two metre distancing and looking towards Christmas. We do hope to open the restaurant, exclusive menu and very restricted numbers. Bookings only. Watch this space!

The answer to the .. how many screws did we use, on the fence? The best result was 16% off the total. Their guess was 540. Now, what was the actual answer?Robin Twigge