Keeping Busy

Here’s our kitchen all set for our next guests who arrive this afternoon. We’ve been busy since Lockdown lifted mid-July for Scotland.

After a few shorter 3 to 4 night stays were booked in quick succession, we received a few week long breaks, which takes off the pressure of turning the cottage frequently, but also means that we have a very tight window in which to prepare for the new guests, usually in the morning with them arriving late afternoon.

Where we can, we let guests depart late but same day changeovers require sharp departures. We are lucky in that our guests were leaving early anyway and, with Covid cleaning protocol to be followed, they understand. They appreciate that we did exactly the same for them just prior to their arrival.

As regards Covid cleaning, our protocol is pretty much the same, we’ve just had to change the chemicals used. Also, we tend to clean, sanitise and change a room and once complete, we don’t go back in. Also more mindful of common touch areas such as cupboard handles and switches etc.

It’s not that much more of a burden and the methodical approach helps get through it a little bit quicker if we’re honest.

Kitchen with shiny newly mopped floor below!

Clean kitchen with a sprig of mint on the table

Waiting patiently for Lockdown to end

There’s no rush.

There’s no rush to open the doors again until things are safe and our neighbours, local community and guests are not put at risk.

And when we do open out doors again…

There’s still… No rush…

Fluffy Towels waiting patiently

New Upgraded heating system!

This was No. 1 on our list of enhancements for 2020. The old storage heaters heated up overnight and released heat during the day – when guests would not be there – and were often times cold by evening when our guests would actually be in the cottage. Our new heaters cut our consumption by 60%.. Deliver heat when it is required – not in the mornings & all gone by evening… are much more effective at heating the cottage and can be controlled remotely off peak or when unoccupied! Reduce our carbon footprint too. Big investment for us but worth it in the long term!
Here’s to cosy snug guests & a slightly greener footprint!

Remote access via smartphone

Edinburgh: National Portrait Gallery

Edinburgh Castle, Hollyrood and the Scott Monument take the limelight, but this is probably the nicest building in Edinburgh, just 5 minutes stroll from the main thoroughfare of Princes Street, it is a beautiful building inside and out and well worth a visit.

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

We took the kids in to see the Tattoo last Wednesday night. We had been a couple of times in the past but neither of them had been before. It was a brilliant spectacle! As far as content goes, probably the best one we have seen so far. The theme was “Kaleidoscope” – as the kaleidoscope was a Scottish invention (and we knew that already from our visit to the V&A Museum in Dundee!).

The different colours were pegged against different musical themes, with military bands, dancers and drill teams performing to them, with lights and projections onto the Castle as a backdrop.

Tickets go on sale early in the year and are generally quite easy to get. We had seats at the lower end of the scale and as you will see from the pictures, they were still really good.