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CHRISTMAS 2009
Regular readers of The Cheese News will have noticed that the jottings for the last five years have recently disappeared. There is a saying that if you give a monkey a typewriter, eventually it will produce the Bible. The opposite side of the coin is that if you give someone (who shall be nameless) a computer and buttons to press, eventually everything will "disappear down the earth spike". However, as they also say, nobody died and nobody went to prison and it was only words and worse things happen at sea; indeed in 2009 for one of our number they did indeed happen worse at sea. (OSTAR 2009)
Sadly in August our lovely red collie Zoe died and was buried at the end of the pig stye croft where we overlook her every day from the kitchen window. In November, we went to the local country supply shop to buy one of our number a pair of wellingtons. (Have you seen the price of good wellingtons recently? £28 ! They will have to see me out.) There on the notice board was a card advertising ... yes ... collie pups ... it was a local telephone number ... 24 hours later we were owned by Beeley, a black and white bitch. She is called Beeley because that is the village on the Chatsworth estate where the farm is that she came from. It is a smart well organised farm, as befits a Chatsworth tenancy, and a very likeable young couple - the farmer and wife that is. The dog and bitch were a likeable couple also. As for the puppies ... well clearly they all saw us coming. It is a very very long time since we last had a puppy. We are beginning to remember why that is. However, with the recent snow and ice and blue skies we have been taken for walks by Beeley and that is what it is all about.
On an even happier note, our son Oliver recently became engaged to Sarah. Wedding bells next year we hope, at Duffield near Derby. There will be an announcement in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday 2 January. (Have you seen the price of announcements in the Daily Torygrpaph recently ... it makes wellingtons look cheap.)
The Manager's House has just been totally redecorated internally. We are not much good with colour and have generally stuck to white and cream. However, we took our courage in both hands. The sitting room in Farrow and Ball Rectory Red is a statement. It looks stunning and was clearly a right thing to do. The double bed room is now a sort of raspberry sorbet and is much more of a question mark. Apparently it is "feminine". Well, The Manager's House is occupied by paying guests for Christmas and New Year, so we will find out from them what they think.
The paying guests have an artificial tree this year. However, we continue to have a 10 foot real tree in the upstairs sitting room of The Cheese Factory. Each year the tree gets more difficult to collect and get upstairs. Every year, Christmas trees get heavier. This year we admitted defeat and called on assistance from our friend and builder, Ben from Elton. Even with Ben it was touch and go. We are investigating if they make 10 foot artificial trees. It would be a sad day, but not as sad as no tree.
So, to all our paying guests and readers, we wish you a very wonderful Christmas and New Year holidays and a happy and healthy 2010. We know that we shall see many of you in The Manager's House. Almost the only thing that has not increased in price for next year is ... the charges for The Manager's House which are unchanged from this year. We have so far booked eleven weeks, all bar one are for returners. We are confident that there will be more and we look forward to seeing you.
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Jonathan & Jane Snodgrass The (Old) Cheese Factory, Gratton, Bakewell, Derbyshire DE45 1LN |