Its Sunday already

And at long last the proper work on our new home has begun! The painting...............!! Which indicates we're on the homeward stretch!!! The structural/building bits have been mostly done, but we remain in the hands of the planners for 2 small pieces of work but an answer is promised on that this week (maybe?) and as an ex local government officer it's been an interesting (read into that word anything you like!) experience being on the other end of the process....... In more ways than one - but I know better than to piss off your planner by being arsey!! So Mrs Nice/Respectful/Polite customer is working hard to remain just that ....... But it's certainly difficult at times when all you want to do seems perfectly straightforward and easy. But as I was always told many years ago, ours is not to reason why. Still, that aside our home is starting to look like a home instead of a builders yard, and we are both getting very excited (well maybe not quite SOH at the moment as he IS the painter!) about this brand new chapter of our life.  

My health is slowly but surely returning to a bit more like normality although my first walk today that was longer than up to the lifeboat, left me feeling as weak as a kitten and needing to sit down for a while upon my return to the pub.......but I know that its baby steps for a little while. I have a whole load of hospital appointments to keep, but the care I have received this time has been amazing and I can't fault it at all.

SOH & I went away for the weekend last week to a place near Preston (yes - ooopp North) as it was my sister in laws Birthday celebration and I would have felt so mean to have not gone, as it's not often the whole family get together. The last time was our wedding nearly 2 years ago.  I also knew that she had a singer and that he was in her words 'to die for'............. Now I have had one or two near death experiences in the last couple of years so I guessed I didn't want one of those, but my goodness she was right about him being a fantastic singer!! His name is Stephen Bayliss and he has a voice you want to listen to for ever, a fantastic personality, gorgeous body and an all round nice guy!! Oh dear, re-reading that sounds like I took a bit of a fancy to him..??? Actually, I did - along with every single woman in the room. This is his website - judge for yourself: http://www.stephenbayliss.co.uk/  why there aren't more people like him on programmes like XFactor I don't know - well, I do actually. He is clearly just too good and doesn't maybe have the sob story to go with his voice! He had everyone in the party (over 270 people) having a fantastic time and he worked his socks off.......... Oh I do wish he lived closer I'd have him at the Victoria Inn any time. O;) 

Today, we just met with the people in charge of the allottments here in Salcombe and we have been offered a quarter plot which SOH has accepted, so we are going to be even more a part of our great new community. Who knows, if we're any good at it we'll have home grown vegetables (well some !) on our menu to go with our home laid eggs from our Chickens??? Did I say 'we'...... oh yes so I did! lol.

Thursday saw our annual pilgimage to the St Austell Tribute awards evening in Newquay - Oh I just adore Fistral Beach! - alas this year we didn't win anything (although I wasn't overly surprised that we didn't) but we had a really good night. As usual St Austell made everyone feel very welcome and it was lovely to see a lady called Vicki Crossimgham get a lifetime achievement award. I think she's been connected to the pub business in one way or another for most of her life and with St Austell for many years in training, HR and a whole lot more besides as well as sitting on the BII main committee's. I do think St Austell as a company have got it just right in the way that they run things - I am constantly amazed at how all the senior management team know EVERYONE'S name for a start, and there is a general mutual respect. Yep, I'm really glad we work with this brewery.

Work continues on the sewers/gas/water pipes in the Fore Street here in Salcombe and of course in Kingsbridge too, but I think some of the business's here in Salcombe are feeling the effects much worse than others, as to all intents and purposes if you look up the street from our pub it just looks completely closed. So here's hoping it's not going to last for too much longer. Its making the car park even harder to get in and out of as well, particularly when people don't obey the traffic signals............ as I found to my cost last week when I drove for the first time in ages and had to do a fair bit of reversing as a car had come down the road despite a red!!

As far as the Victoria is concerned we have been hit a little by the roadworks - but the sun bought lots of people to Salcombe yesterday and today so that has helped a lot! Lots of guests have been saying they are back for half term as well, so hopefully that will be the start of a better trade.  I don't really have a whole lot more to write about now, so I'd best be off and do the dreaded Sunday paperwork..............