The fifth of January has become one of our regular maintenance days, we plan to take down and tidy away the Christmas decorations and give the cottage a deep clean after the Christmas and New year festivities. We took the opportunity to give the rugs and carpets a deep clean and change the sofa covers. The weather and tide times were kind to us and we even managed to fit in a walk down the beach to Boggle Hole. A good day.

For us the start of a New Year is time for a period of reflection on the positive and negative events that occurred during the old year trying to identify ways of ensuring a repetition of the positive and the avoidance of the negatives.
For 2024 we will take a week in January for maintenance of the cottage, Repairing and repainting areas of the walls and woodwork to remove the scuffs and scratches of everyday wear. This is a good opportunity to book tradesmen in to run our electrical item checks and other repairs as required. We usually take time to survey the building structure to ensure that it remains in good health.
When you research the history of a building like Fenay cottage it forces you to recognise that you are simply a short term curator caring for a beautiful building in the way that owners cared for it before you and others will continue to care for the place long after you are gone.

We hope that 2024 proves to be a happy and prosperous one for you all.