Peaceful Parwich in the Peak Park

I have been trying for days to upload a (small) map showing which parts of the country all our guests come from. So far success has eluded me so instead we are going to show you two rather lovely Parwich pictures.

John got up early this to capture some peaceful morning scenes after a wonderful cleat, crisp and frosty night with the most enormous full moon, apparently nearer the earth than it has been for 20 years…

In spite of cheerfully dire predictions about the inevitable effect this proximity of the moon might have, today dawned as peacefully as any other for us lucky people in this little corner of the world. With all the ghastly things that are going on elsewhere the tranquillity and beauty seems all the more fragile and special.

So many of our guests come from busier parts of the country (back to our map…!) and the peace and quiet is something they all remark upon and appreciate.

The following is a small extract from a delightful email we received earlier this week:  “Tom’s Barn was so welcoming and comfortable without being pretentious that (my husband) instantly relaxed, something that he finds tricky!! We were so taken by the peace and lack of light pollution, we live in such a busy part of the country that this made a big impact on us. We felt like we had gone back in time in a very good way.”

A brief (nearly spring) stroll in the garden at Orchard Farm

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5 Stars again (for 2010 – 2011) and a Gold Award for both Tom’s and Douglas’s Barn

Well, try as we might we simply could not open our online QiT (Visit England Quality in Tourism) report but after after a couple of frustrating and somewhat worrying days the QiT office had to send another version which worked like a charm, to reveal no unpleasant surprise after all!

As always there appear to be anomalies and inconsistencies but perhaps that is only to be expected. The inspectors are only human and  in a tick box system there is little scope for subtleties or explanation – the answer is either Yes or No, Black or White. As much as we might moan about the system and its sometimes hard to fathom priorities, having a nationally accepted grading system must on the whole  be a good thing: it gives some sort of an idea to prospective quests of the kind of standard to expect nor avoid, and it does keep us owners on our toes.

At the moment however there is consternation in the QiT ranks since it was suggested that the government intended to phase the official star rating out completely and rely instead on TripAdvisor on the grounds that a) it would save the government money and b) more and more holiday makers make their minds up on the strength of online reviews rather than on ecstatic comments written by owners themselves, or indeed on official QiT star gradings.

We really value our reviews on TripAdvisor; however, it would be hard to see how they could replace an objective national ‘grading’ system.  Reviews on TripAdvisor can be anonymous, they are subjective, can be malicious or have apparently even been composed by over keen owners themselves.

Anyway, so much for all that and back to the current system… Our overall score is 92%  and once again, 100% for cleanliness! We have some more improvements in the pipeline so things can only get even better. We have already bought a new chair for Tom’s Barn, and are having the footstool recovered; we have two oak bedside cabinets, two side tables and a coffee table being made by a local joiner. It will be Douglas’s Barn’s turn next.

But the crucial ‘to do’ is to buy a set of smaller tumblers for both barns or we apparently, suddenly (the first we have heard of this) do not meet minimum standards for 5 Stars! It would be a shame to go down a grade for the sake for six small tumblers…

A daffodil in February (but only just!)

There really is hope – spring is getting nearer all the time. Here at Orchard Farm we have been watching carefully as several dwarf daffs have gradually revealed more yellow each day  since last week, but we can proudly record that our first grown up daffodil has actually made it before the month of February is officially out. What a heartening sight! The splash of yellow sums up sun and warmth and just makes you want to smile. Meanwhile the faithful snowdrops are still blossoming in their happy clumps although the first ones to come out in front of the house are actually over by now; they have all been a real joy and encouragement in what has been a long winter.

Come tomorrow, St David’s Day and we are already well into 2011 now, with the days lengthening and the birds getting seriously lively and chattersome.

We have a busyish morning tomorrow with the AGM of our Peak District Premier Cottages regional group – lots to report and discuss and including a workshop given by Caron Lyon on using social media effectively. As a group we have a Peak District Premier Cottages Facebook page now, to share news and views with other owners and our guests so amongst other things (in the hour!) we are hoping to learn how to use it most usefully for everybody. So far the page has only 15 people ‘liking’ it but when at least 25 people do we can change the name from a random looking lengthy code to the rather more easily remembered Peak District Premier Cottages.

A final news flash – we have just been sent, three weeks after the inspector’s visit, our Visit England Quality in Tourism report. We cannot open it! As you might imagine, that is quite frustrating. What on earth does it say that we are prevented from seeing?

Tom’s Barn Dog Parade

We have had our ‘annual’ (last one was in June 2010) inspection today. It is always a tense moment. There is quite a lot of work beforehand making sure the paperwork is up to date and that one has done everything one was meant to do after the previous inspection.

There is also that underlying nagging worry that a domestic disaster might occur immediately beforehand, like an overflowed bath or a particularly hairy dog but the only disaster of any sort was my ‘fake Bakewell’ which wasn’t quite up to the usual standard but was thankfully still reasonably edible.

The inspector herself was warm, friendly and extremely helpful so in fact the whole inspection passed very constructively and well. The final result we will not know for a day or two and of course we will announce the result…

Meanwhile, on a totally different note, we often agree, all of us here behind the Orchard Farm scenes, how lucky we are with our guests who are always so friendly, pleasant and appreciative – we couldn’t hope for nicer.

But tagging along with these lovely guests are some pretty super dogs. Darren and Tracey who left this morning have just sent a ‘thank you for having us’ email (thank you for coming!) enclosing this gorgeous photo of their Sid lying on the Tom’s Barn doormat. We can’t quite make out the expression – what is going through Sid’s mind?

And while we’re on the dog track, so to speak, here is another beauty, still very young; she has yet to pay her first visit here with Sam and Gary who normally come with their cat but she no doubt will when she has successfully ‘left the nursery’. Meanwhile, here she is with a cuddly toy considerably bigger than she is!

Both photos will look better if you click to enlarge them.

Tom’s Barn News Catch-up

The days have hurtled by in a flurry of trying to sort out our email crisis and getting our tax returns done by the end of the month. Thanks to a lot of help from Aaron at Dove Computers in Ashbourne, and Jeremy Brough our website wizard, the email situation is more or less restored; in the end 401 emails poured through the system at once so it is taking some time sorting through them all and hoping not too many are seriously urgent.

And as for meeting that menacing tax return deadline of Jan 31, yes, we have, just…. but at some cost to a relaxing state of mind, and to the total exclusion of more interesting things like keeping the blog up to date.

Before you feel too sorry for us, there have been some light interludes and quite a lot of fun squeezed in beside the headaches. We were lucky enough to get tickets to Matilda in Stratford, having a light supper beforehand in the River restaurant high up in the new  RST building which was very atmospheric (and convenient).

Matilda was a joy! At least a third of the cast are young children, but so skilled and so well trained – they sang and danced and spoke like pros three times their age. Miss Trunchbull the ghastly headteacher  (not a child!) was wonderfully dreadful, too, but it would be hard to pick out any one individual. The show ends in Stratford at the end of he month, but no doubt will be going to London or on tour, so if you get a chance – book early!

The first snowdrops of the year at Orchard Farm

Both photos were taken today, Wednesday January 19th – the first full moon of the year, and much more significantly, the first snowdrops of the year at Orchard Farm.

Aren’t these snowdrops lovely?  And would you say they were flowering? Certainly almost, and it is a very heartening sight to see all these clusters of snowdrops by our front door competing to show their beautiful faces and send their promise that spring will come eventually.

John took this photo this morning, and on the way back from Derby by the light of the full moon (at 5.30pm!) we stopped the car for him to take another photo, of the moon over Carsington Water. That too looked very beautiful.

We had paid a quick visit to Derby to buy various things for the barns (champagne flutes for both barns and new kitchen chair cushions for Tom’s Barn amongst other rather bulky items). Rather more excitingly, we also met up with some friends to see The King’s Speech in the very super-plush new cinema in the Derby Westfield Centre. We don’t often go to the cinema apart from Parwich’s own in the new village hall, but this was a real treat. We thought the film quite excellent.

All the while I am resisting mentioning the tax (still not done) and the email crisis (still not resolved) but both things are receiving attention.

Tom’s & Douglas’s Barns: our New Website

Our new-look website was launched late yesterday (Wed 12th Jan) afternoon. Jeremy Brough our webman and friend has worked hard on this, and so in a more modest way have John and I. Now it is up and public we are standing back and patiently tweaking oddities but Jeremy has done such a good job we haven’t found too many yet.

But the trouble is when you’ve been looking at something for a while, you tend to see what you expect to see, not always what is actually there…so this is where anyone reading this can help. We’d be really grateful for any comments or suggestions – if there is something incorrect or that doesn’t work properly we’d like to know, please – we need to know!

There is lots more we will put in over the next few months – more info in the More Info section for a start, including more links to what you can do locally, and about local pubs and restaurants. Suggestions gratefully received

Revamping the Website for Tom’s & Douglas’s Barns

We have some exciting news about our website, which sometime next week will transfer to a new format. It won’t look very different, but technically it will be. And it should look (even) better.

In fact, if  we were selling a soap powder I expect the headline would have been ‘New Improved!!!’ ‘Now  even better then ever!!!’ building up one fears to almost inevitable disappointment when the new product often seems a bit of a let down.

So we do hope you won’t be disappointed. The somewhat cautious headline to this post reveals more than a degree of anxiety on my part, not I hasten to say about the part of Jeremy our web man in whose IT expertise we have every confidence. He however has to rely on us, mainly John for photos and me for the content and this is where you might say the weak link is – where our anxieties lie. We’re not actually changing much of what we say but just bringing everything totally up to date and hopefully, where it’s possible, actually genuinely – improving it! It is taking quite a lot of thought and time.

Eventually, and hopefully from the start it really will be new improved and better…

Do ‘bear with us’ as they say if there are some glitches. Any that do appear will be speedily ironed out but if you notice anything please let us know, by phone, email or comment on this post on our blog. There could be some that in our excitement we simply don’t see.

The blog meanwhile will stay as it is, our security blanket. Any urgent messages or disclaimers as the move takes place will appear here!

The Last Few Days of 2010

2010 began in snow and shows every sign of ending in snow although the current forecast is for slightly warmer weather, causing fog and mist, but basically ‘staying cold and damp with some patchy light rain’.

Meanwhile on a more domestic front, Nick had to be back at work on Boxing Day so set off at about 6.30 am and returned safely, in  time… We were sad he had so little time off for Christmas but can’t feel too sorry for him as he flies to Tobago for New Year, poor chap. Ruthie had a couple more days here which was lovely but she too had to return early, as she goes to Burgundy with some friends for New Year. We meanwhile remain, less excitingly but very happily in Parwich, enjoying a gentle round of local parties, walks and get-togethers.

About 35 of us enjoyed a wonderful walk to Tissington and back on Christmas day, stopping to enjoy a picnic lunch of mulled wine and Christmas goodies in front of the Hall before setting off back home. The scenery was beautiful, the sun shone, the skies were bright blue and the snow was dazzling. We all agreed how very grateful we were to live in such a lovely part of the country – one could go far to find somewhere as stunning as it all looked on Christmas Day. (In the photo on the right you can just – with very sharp eyes – make out Orchard Farm in the background.)

Finally, a gentle reminder to any would-be-guests who are thinking of booking a holiday next year – 2010 prices finish on the first stroke of the clock at midnight on New Year’s Eve…!