A jaunt.

This is Huntly. Takes about an hour and a half to get there. Our Best of Banffshire and Buchan Bed and Breakfasts had their autumnal jaunt to visit Deans of Huntly who make shortbread. Absolutely fabulous weather, all day, shame about today, the day after. We had a very nice lunch and went up to the viewing platform, but all you could see were some very bored people, with hairnets on, packing. The actual manufacture was out of sight, which was a bit concerning. So we can recommend to our guests the restaurant, but not much exciting otherwise, there is also a shop (of course) and guess what you can buy there.

It was lovely to meet up after the summer, we dont have meetings in the summer as we are all so busy. So its very much a catch up time. And our fellow b&b providers pass on to me their daft tales (for the book I intend to write - when I retire! If ever)

Mary had a corker. Guest booked in by phone, "Have you got off road parking?" Affirmative. Mary is also in the middle of nowhere with a fantastic view of the Moray coast. Guest turns up with a brand new hearse. Delivering it to the nearest funeral parlour.

Their local farmer tootling along in his tractor espyed this hearse in their drive and suddenly Mary heard the tractor rev up and in her words, "I've never seen a tractor drive so fast.'

By the time she got down to the village the whole village was expecting either her or her partner to be in the hearse, in a coffin.

Another of our members had experience of one of the many scams we b&b providers frequently get. This was an email purportedly from an Internationally known charity booking in a member of staff for two weeks. Two weeks in a b&b is rare in itself. Subsequently after quoting around £600 for the stay he received a bankers draft for over £3000. The message then came through for him to cash the bankers draft and then refund them the balance. Oh yeah! Of course what would happen is that the bankers draft would bounce and not only would the scammers get some profit out of it, well a lot of profit out of it, they would also have the bank details. Fortunately we are not daft. It's usually six newly qualified Greek priests, or three honeymoon couples from Japan. Whatever, the end result is they are after your money.

Back to the weather. 70mph winds today and rain, so every leak, bar one, in our roof is dripping away like mad. We got one bit mended today before the man nearly got blown off his ladder. Hoping the front roof gets done over the weekend and the main leakage from the flat roof has to wait for a run of good weather......Our guests dont seem to mind, they dont get to see much rain in Australia.