Getting something in the diary whether it be later on this year or early 2021, isn’t clutching at straws, it’s being positive and looking ahead with confidence. The anticipation of heading on holiday, making a list (not sure if that’s just me), packing for all types of weather.
Lockdown is a strange surreal world that we find ourselves in and having an empty diary is really, really odd. However the need to keep our distance has made us different, there are a couple that wave to me every day (they wouldn’t pick my ball up when it was rolling down the hill but they will happily chat from a distance every day). They enjoy seeing our children playing, which is great, I think we all need to take whatever glimpses of pleasure we can.
My children are utterly delighted to see a school friend in the distance when we go out for our daily exercise; they jump up and down and wave vigorously. It does amaze me how quickly they have realised at 4 and 7, the need for distance and that ‘socially distancing’ is now a part of their vocabulary; they have no issues with the spellings of either words in our home schooling.
New things we have noticed about Whitby whilst in lockdown. There is an echo in the West Cliff car park just opposite our house. We walk across the car park every day and it is completely empty, no cars, no coaches, no people. We shout at the top of our voices and the echo bounces back to us. Our children are amazed and I don’t need to tell them to stop shouting, as there is literally no one around to hear us.
Also we can see the sea from our house (just!), now there are no cars or coaches blocking the view across the car park.
The sound of the sea when we head down to the beach has never ‘felt’ so good to our mental well-being, it literally lifts my spirits every day, the smell of seaweed, the sound of the waves, some days louder than others when they crash towards the rocks, seeing the same pattern of sea snails on the wall as we walk down onto the beach. Exploring the rock pools, finding fossils and keeping the children active is amazing down on the beach, we have discovered lots of sea snails, plus some anemones (according to my children this is pronounced sea anemies – the joy of being corrected in grammar by 2 small children). We have thought to ourselves every day just how lucky we are to live in Whitby and literally be a 5-10 mins walk from the coast.
When we are busy, we rarely get to explore the town of Whitby. My husband recently went over to the East pier with its new extension for the first time since the new walkway was installed. With no people, he got to take some great photos of the town and piers, we want the town to be buzzing but it also makes you appreciate what we have on our doorstep and what drew us here 6 years ago.
The right to roam has been sorely missed and all our plans and travel to see different places and visit friends and family has been put on hold these past few months. I am sure I am not the only one to be dreaming of the days beyond the lockdown when we can visit different parts of the UK and be with friends and family once again. Phone calls and face time/zoom calls are fine but they definitely don’t replace the real thing.
So as a small business in Whitby, UK, I am asking you to get those calendars out, check with friends and family for dates to meet up in the future and do your research now of all the lovely places in the UK who will need your support once we get out of lockdown.
We are putting our plans in place of how to open our business, meet the needs of our customers and social distance to minimise risk.
For checking in, we still want to give you a great experience, whilst being conscious that we need to minimise contact. We will have hand sanitiser in reception. If you need assistance with luggage to your room, then we will use disposable gloves to carry them for you, pre payment on the day of arrival, to breakfast ordering. We will do as much as we can prior to your arrival to minimise contact. We want to make sure that when we reopen our business and do so responsibly, managing to the new normal.
We pride ourselves on our locally sourced breakfast. We have a large and airy breakfast room, we plan on staggering times and with no more than three tables at a time. This way we can guarantee at least 2 meters between tables. Alternatively, if you fancy a continental breakfast, we will deliver to your room. I feel baguettes in a bag will be a favourite. And nothing beats a good old bacon or sausage home made baguettes. Our butcher Eddie, is still going strong, so first class produce. Personally I prefer mine with a fried egg, lots of butter and tomato ketchup.
We aim to open as soon as the government relaxes the restrictions on travel and advises that B&B’s can open, and we will be as flexible as possible to manage your stay to the new normal.
I am hoping this blog finds you safe and well and looking forward to planning your new adventure in the UK and hopefully Whitby. Please share our Facebook page; share our blogs; encourage your family and friends to visit us, help us survive.
So back to the theme of this blog: – anticipation, high hopes, contemplation, the joy, the prospect of meeting soon – lets clutch those straws together and aim to meet again in 2020.