Facebook rules!

It's been noticeable that The Limes Facebook link gets a lot more interest than the blog.  So, for now, the blog will be quiet and updates will be on Facebook.  This may not be for ever, but for now... find us on Facebook!

Another Bank Holiday

Not quite like the previous ones though, as this one is grey and not too warm.  Never mind - lots happening here.  Purbeck Produce Market in the lane by Chococo, Purbeck Arts Week which goes from strength to strength - fantastic programme this year, and a kayak fishing competition too.
We're full for the weekend and nearly full right through Half Term, still a few gaps to fill but no family rooms.
And now - I'm off down the town to join in the fun!

Whew! No more Bank Holidays for a week or two

Been a busy week with Swanage Walking Festival taking up quite a lot of our time, both because Lyn led three walks and we had guests staying for the Festival.
It's been hazy all week and I've been telling people what lovely views they could see if only the cloud would lift.  Walking Festival finishes and it's clear as a bell - typical!
It's all gone a bit quiet for a day or two now - which is really quite nice.  Time to re-charge the batteries before the next weekend.  But if the sun goes on shining - who knows?
We're kept busy watching the bluetits who've taken up residence in our nesting boxes.  We've had the boxes for years, but only recenlty discovered that birds like them being on a north facing wall.  Moved the boxes and hey presto - we have tenants.  Hours of amusement!  Photo coming soon - hopefully!

Hot weather = no blog!

From the silence on here, you can guess that things have been more than a little hectic.  Fantastic Easter in Swanage, due the hot weather, indeed, as you can see from the picture above, it felt more like August than April . 
The hot weather brought out the best in everyone and the atmosphere in town was great.

Several roads held street parties for the Royal Wedding but here in Park Road that would have been a bit of a problem - all our sausage rolls would have ended up in the Italian restaurant at the bottom of the hill!  Personally, I was glued to the television and thought the whole thing was fantastic.

And now we're in the throes of Swanage Walking Festival.  I led a walk over the ridge to Corfe yesterday in bright sunshine - sadly it was hazy so the views weren't all they could have been but we all had a great time and finished up at The Boilerhouse Gallery in Corfe which I can heartily recommend.  Easy to find, just over the footbridge at Corfe Castle station - have a look at http://www.boilerhousegallery.co.uk/ for more information.

And now we have another Bank Holiday - great news for hoteliers, and their guests!

Welcome Jamie.

Well, the new arrival was successfully delivered at Dorchester Hospital, so Welcome to the World, Jamie.  Rather sorry his parents are not following Posh and Becks' example.  What's wrong with Purbeck as a name?
Easter is upon us but somehow the weather seems to have fooled itself into thinking it's August.  Fantastic!  We celebrated with a beer at Ocean Bay this afternoon.  Sitting on the deck in the sun there was just bliss.
And now - a full hotel for the next three nights - the season begins!

Great Expectations

A flurry of excitement here amongst all the fantastic Spring weather, as a guest is taken into Dorchester hospital having gone into labour.  Baby is due on May 1st, so we had been joking about boiling water and hot towels for several days, little expecting that anything would actually happen.
Now waiting for news...
Meanwhile, the phone is ringing off the hook for Easter weekend and the next few days as people want to take advantage of the wonderful, August-like weather.
Long may it last!

Back in the old routine

Well, there we were, sitting on our roof terrace in Spain, looking out over our beautiful white Andalucian village and the mountains beyond, and as I picked up the emails and looked at Facebook, what did I see?  "Spring has come to Swanage", "20 degrees and I'm putting on my bikini" (bit extreme in my opinion, but. still), "Just going for an ice cream".  Basically, it was as warm in Swanage as it was in our village in Almeria.  Still, we weren't working and the beer and wine is cheaper in Spain.

So we came back on Friday and hit the ground running with a busy weekend at the beginning of the Easter holidays.  Lovely to have lots of repeat guests and enjoyed the company of two Jack Russell Terriers, with separate guests, both called Scooby!  Confusion reigns!

Weather's settled down to its April average now, but Swanage is still busy - so, to the laundry.

Spring is Sprung and we all had a laugh

Three days of fabulous Spring weather was topped off by a night of fun and laughter at Swanage Comedy Festival last night.  Three fantastic professional comedians toured three venues, each with their own hilarious MC.  We went to the British Legion, but reports from both Swanage Bay View and the Football Club indicate that all three venues were a huge success.  The next Comedy Weekend is 23rd and 24th September and I'm sure it will sell out quickly.  Visit http://www.swanagecomedy.com/ to keep up with events and book tickets when they become available.

The Limes is now closed till April 8th as we're heading to Spain for a quick bit of sun before the season 'proper' kicks in.  More next month....

Swanage Comedy Festival Sells Out

Great to hear that Swanage Comedy Festival is totally sold out for the Saturday night - at all three venues.  There are still tickets for the Open Mic night at the British Legion on Friday.

It should be a good night!
If you missed out on this one, though, there will be another festival in September - watch this space for details.

What a Difference a Day Makes

Well, after yesterday's damp grey gloom, today Spring arrived.  Swanage looks so different when the sun shines and everybody smiles.  Lots of visitors about, though many of them seemed to be day trippers.

 We have some regular guests and some new ones, including two gorgeous little chihuahuas.  They may be small but they're certainly characters! 

Short post today as a needle Rugby match about to start - England v Ireland is quite an event in our house!

A Damp Day in Purbeck

Spent yesterday afternoon at a Hospitality Association Committee Meeting. Always come back energised as there is so much going on. the Comedy Festival (27th March) is almost sold out and plans are already coming together for the next one in September and the Walking Festival in May is also looking good, though how I have found myself leading three walks I'm not quite sure.  There's more plans for later in the year which sound exciting too.  For a small town, there's an awful lot going on!

Need something to cheer ourselves up today as it's grey and wet - although the forecast is good for tomorrow which should help us fill the rooms we have left for the weekend.  Hope to sneak out to the Anchor to listen to Finnan for a late celebration of St Patrick's Day tomorrow night.  Well, if you're married to an Irishman, it's pretty much the law!

Should have done something for Comic Relief, really, but it's a bit late now...

Oh, well.  A dog walk in the rain beckons.

PS To Blues Festival

Possibly the most bizarre of Blues Festival acts - the Fabulous Fezheads at The Red Lion. 

A Virgin Blogger

I had this idea that it would be fun to keep a diary of the season.  It would have been much more interesting if I'd done this from the start, twelve years ago.  So much work has taken place that you would have enjoyed sharing our suffering with us.  Now, though, when we're 'just running the guest house' is when I may find time to blog.

At the moment, we're finding it quiet in the week, though busy at weekends so this is a good opportunity to learn and practise this whole new world.

So much goes on in Swanage that our guests say 'oh, we never knew that'!  This is a way of sharing some of this news.

Last weekend was Blues Festival - a packed weekend of music when all the  pubs, packed out, rocked to the sound of music.  Declan and I went out Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon - it's all only a few hundred yards from home so it's got to be done.  We're already looking forward to the next Blues weekend in October, but for now it's onward to the Comedy Weekend at the end of March.  Starting on Thursday 25th with a Comedy Quiz it goes on to an Open Mic night on the Friday, through to the three simultaneous professional gigs on the Saturday.  The first one was last October and it was a huge success - so we're doing it all again. 

Now, though, I have to find out how to make this all look more interesting - put up some more pictures and encourage people to find it.  See you here soon!