Busman’s Holiday for our Mystery Shoppers

Well, we have been away for a week, visiting friends and family in Kent and East Sussex, hence the silence on the blog, but of course behind the scenes it has been business as usual.

We’ve returned to warm sunshine, evening sundowners outside the barns and talk of barbecues planned for tonight; all the tubs are gasping and suddenly it feels like the summer we have dreamed about for so long is nearly here. Having said that it is almost inevitable that the snow will return, as has been known in April before now. Let’s hope not.

While we were away we spent three nights with my sister and husband who are over from South Africa, staying in a holiday cottage they had rented. Personally, this was most enjoyable and fun as we don’t get to see each other that much; professionally, it was quite intriguing as one couldn’t help comparing.

Although it was clean, warm, comfortable and adequately equipped it felt functional and impersonal, lacking any sense of excitement or ‘magic’. It provided a convenient base for us all, rather than a soothing retreat! Describing it thus is easy; much harder is to define why…