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A New Beginning (again)
Almost a year ago I sat at this very keyboard, welcoming you all to the new all singing all dancing website and writing my first "blog" in which I wrote the following words :-
This new site has a lot of improvements - chief of which is a remarkably simple editing feature which allows even a computer illiterate to amend and update content and even pictures – all by myself. So, no excuses now for old news and dated photographs.
So much for fine words and promises. What happened, nothing !!! that's what happened. I wrote all about Easter 2009, mentioned what was coming up and then promptly got on with the rest of my life and forgot all about blogs, web-sites and everything else remotely computer related. That's not entirely true of course - even my memory isn't that far gone, despite what wotsisname says. I did have the occasional twinge of conscience or guilt, and kept thinking I should write a new page - but somehow it never seemed to happen. To be fair (or to put forward some lame excuses) I was waiting for the web designer to get back to me to do one or two minor tweaks, and then again I have been exceptionally busy this year, not a moment to spare really - but in truth it just never got high enough up my list of priorities, despite various e-mails from readers gently (or rudely) pointing out that the web-site was beginning to stagnate again.
Enough of this whining, the tweaks have now been done, the open page lays before me and I can go wherever I like. So what's been happening in the curious world of Paul Bonsall and the Fat Lamb. Well, last years recession brought about the busiest year we have ever had - for once the expert pundits rolled out to predict the future, got some of it right - there was a move to stay at home instead of holidaying abroad, to take a "staycation" in fact (doesn't that particular American style soundbite make you squirm, why can't they stop mucking about with the language!!). Anyway we have been very busy all last year as a result.
This coming year I'm not so sure. We are officially out of recession, but I reckon people are going to find it harder to avoid the doom and gloom merchants with their predictions of 2012 before we are back where we were etc. Truth is with interest rates as low as they are, inflation still under control and businesses vying for trade with special offers etc, most people are not that much affected. I do feel sympathy for the minority who have lost their jobs or are on short time etc, but the rest of the country going into tortoise mode and retreating into their shells isn't going to help them or the economy. Whoops - slipped into bar room politician mode there for a minute, sorry about that. Anyway, I'm sure you will agree, whoever wins the forthcoming General Election, they're bound to sort the situation out - won't they?
Back to something much more interesting. Much of the first part of the year was spent finishing
the Jag I brought over from Australia last year - I'm a classic car nut if you haven't read that bit of the web-site (groups and functions/classic car tours). As with most of my projects this took slightly longer than anticipated so the inaugural spring run ended up as an autumn trip to the Goodwood Revival. The wait was well worth it though, the car runs beautifully and looks gorgeous - to my eyes anyway. She's currently hibernating for the winter, but I can't wait for the salt to be gone from the roads so I can start to use her again. The idea is to use this as my daily transport - reliability shouldn't be a problem as any classic car owner will tell you. I just have to get the doors to fit a bit better so I can have a normal conversation above 30 mph, but that's just a minor problem. This year is one of the biennial years for the Classic Le Mans, which I will be attending of course. I have an interesting quandary now - Mk2 Jag or Healey 3000, which would be best - would that all my problems in life were so simple.
Alongside this mammoth rebuild I was also looking at the hotel property market. I reasoned (rightly for a change) that the recession was going to flush out a lot of poor operators who should never have been in the business, and that a good number of basically sound (but badly run) businesses were likely to be coming onto the market at a not unrealistic price. All this was just hypothetical musing of course, just to keep me amused really, idle curiosity, I mean what would I want with another hotel, only a madman would take on a failed business in the middle of a recession, surely....................... Which is how I came to take possession of the Kings Arms Hotel at Temple Sowerby at the end of October - a grand rambling building in the centre of what was once described as, "The Queen of Westmorland Villages. We are currently renovating and restoring (or demolishing and destroying - depending on which way you look at it) a good 80% of the building, but we are hoping to be fully open around Easter time with a new kitchen and restaurant downstairs, and nine en-suite bedrooms above. The Kings Arms will join our other sister hotel - The Black Bull Inn at Nateby - and we will be encouraging crossover trade between the three with an extension of the Guest Club scheme we operate at The Fat Lamb.
There now that wasn't hard was it - my second blog. I must try harder and will endeavour to ensure my next attempt doesn't take ten months to materialise. If it does please feel free to bombard me with e-mails - the ruder the better probably - to jog my memory.
Saturday 6th of February 2010
