Rural Idyll

I have had a wonderful day.
The sun shone but it wasn't too hot.
We were very busy but it was staggered over the whole day.
A former colleague from the Beeb turned up unexpectedly with his children. They were en route from Cambridge to hear his wife speak at the Hay Festival.
I ate my own lunch in the garden.
We didn't run out of bread. Or ham. Or jacket potatoes.
Almost the perfect day.
Marred only by the discovery late this afternoon that the septic tank needs emptying.

Too much information?

Today my son, who is working at the tearooms, took an order at the counter.
"Where will you be sitting today?" he asked and was a little surprised by the response.
"In the conservatory," she replied, "but first I shall be sitting in the lavatory."

Where else in the world?

Yesterday was Bank Holiday Monday so naturally we were busy.

The weather was decidedly mixed which meant that people who ordered and said they would sit outside would be caught out by a rain storm and would then rush inside where tables were at a premium. 

One order slip for three teas and three cheddar Ploughmans suggested the hungry three would be sitting outside. In the downpour. 

We took the trays to the door and called the number, expecting to hear a shout from the conservatory. Not this time.

Under the trees and under umbrellas were three stoic ladies who insisted on eating there. 

The bread which accompanied their meal was a little soggy but they didn't seem to mind.

They smiled throughout. 

Shower in a shower

Today's question is where should we host the baby shower? Inside or out?
It will be hot, so inside will be even hotter. But there's a strong chance of being caught by rain.
The forecast doesn't help very much:

If you can't stand the heat.

Today will be one of those days when adding an apron on top of clothing feels like a mistake. Another layer? Really?

Jackets required

This is a proper heatwave. The fans are all out of the cupboards but they don't make much difference when the oven is on cooking our jacket potatoes.
We thought we wouldn't sell many baked spuds yesterday but we were mistaken.
I took the last two out to a couple in the garden and told them we'd been wrong footed by those who wanted something hot for lunch. The lady smiled and said there was no way she was going to be cooking dinner in the heat so she wanted more than a sandwich for lunch.
We are sweltering so that our clever customers don't have to.
Why has that never occurred to me before?
The ice lollies have been delivered and more ice cream is on order.

Will I ever get this right?

Most of last week was filled with rain. Now we are in Summer.
It's sunny and warm and almost everyone sitting outside.
Yet today was quietish for us. So much so that we had our own lunch at a reasonable time.
The coming weekend is another Bank Holiday - the fourth in the season.
The forecast is looking pretty good and there's a Victorian event at the Court so I am stockpiling food, ordering drinks and begging staff to work.
And growing a knot in my stomach.