Lay My Hat

+another 1.

I don’t know about a ‘deal breaker’, but I think 200cm is better. That’s the length of bed I prefer for myself, although I’m only 5ft 9ins tall, because I don’t sleep with my toes pointing straight upwards! If your bed has a footboard, so stopping someone tall from sticking their toes out, I think y...

Thanks for your comments, Newtimber. I had thought that they would be most unlikely to both fall ill at the same time, but in fact it's not so unlikely as they would be on holiday together and probably meeting the same people. And I had completely forgotten that not everybody drives! Maybe our estee...

Currently my plan is as follows: 1. Not to allow anyone to stay here from outside Britain, so that they can immediately drive home if one of them develops symptoms. 2. Not to allow anyone to stay here on their own, as anyone with symptoms probably shouldn't be driving. 3. To make guests aware before...

I don't know, I'm afraid, but wouldn't he be a key worker and therefore allowed to stay? Not the same thing, obviously, but my local computer shop has been open throughout as they are considered key workers.

That’s how I read the government announcements: that guests may be able to come from July 4. And that’s only ‘may’, but I’m planning for that at the moment. I’m making sure I have one week between all bookings. Whatever official advice may or may not transpire, that’s what I consider sensible, for e...

I'll be very interested to see what people are doing too. Here's what I'm doing, and have put on my website: 'To protect everyone concerned, and to eliminate (we hope) any possibility of transferring infection, we are leaving one week between all bookings this year. The scientists have determined th...

I don't like what I hear about either agency, although I've no direct experience. Helpful Holidays used to have a good reputation, but see this recent thread on this forum https://www.laymyhat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=28152&highlight=helpful+holidays. I'm no sort of legal expert, but I personal...

I agree completely with Ben. I’ve been letting my cottage, joined on to my house, for 16 years. The first year I was with a local agency and didn’t like anything about it. I didn’t like the huge amount of money they took just for handling bookings (about 30 per cent, by the time everything was added...

Hi Peter Lower Polnish looks absolutely gorgeous! It reminds me so much of where I used to live on Skye, although that was two miles from where I had to leave my car and had no electricity. If you haven’t yet got the furniture, how about a sofa bed in the new sitting room? That way two friends who d...

There's been a thread about this before: viewtopic.php?t=27157&highlight=cottage+cooperative

I once had guests here who arrived early and then went away to do some shopping. Later that afternoon they phoned to say they weren't coming back because the Devon lanes were very narrow. It was their fault, they said, that they hadn't known about Devon lanes, and they didn't want their money back. ...

I've voted for the pale grey. It's softer, prettier and more subtle. I find the dark grey rather harsh.

My washing machine, a rather basic Bosch, has just celebrated its 21st birthday.

Hi LC: Good! I think you're right to change it, as any visitors expecting and hoping for barn owls might be disappointed to find out that they're tawnies. Both are lovely, but barn owls are quite a bit more special and much less common. And yes, screeching is what they do - they used to be known als...