You and us - people and events at Queensberry Bay

Welcome!

As a business we've always tried hard to keep in touch with our friends and regulars. We've used newsletters and Christmas cards, notices on our notice board  - and word of mouth of course.

But what we really wanted was a way of passing on news on a more current basis and without the formality of a newsletter - and the internet of course is the way to go.

This site will allow you to add comments, post your own news and generally keep in touch. There are some ground rules - you'll have to leave your email details and there's an anti spam test, we will not allow anything abusive or personally unpleasant and we will not allow you to break the law.

Other than that - blog away!

Hi - De - Hi Campers !!!

Well, things are revving up a pace here at Queensberry Bay as we head with breakneck speed towards a very busy Easter to get the season off to a flying start !

We have (finally) got a show of daffodils although due to the harsh winter they are not quite the "host of golden daffodils" that Mr Wordsworth waxed so lyrical about ...yet!

Lots to tell on the animal front - apart from Nicole's two little lambs,Stan and Loretta,we have had more arrivals - some expected and some a complete surprise.

A beautiful new highland calf has been born - Stuart assures me that it is a bull calf,but I didn't want to get close enough to it's Mum to check for myself - this one was expected to happen.

On the other hand, the latest unexpected arrival was here on Sunday March 28th when Madge (the very spitty Llama) produced a baby which is a cross between an Alpaca and a Llama.We have no idea whether it is male or female but it has bucketloads of the Awwww! factor and I want to take it home!!

I hope that the motherhood police have a quiet word in Madge's ear (if they can get close enough without a wetsuit and goggles) to explain to her that teaching a baby to spit "like Mummy" is really not a good idea which Andrew and Stuart will testify to !

To all of you hardy souls that are coming to see us over Easter I have only one request - please bring us some sunshine with you or direct it through the post as we have all cast off our thermals despite the adverse forecast !!

See you soon and a Happy Easter to all our Readers !!!!

More wafflings another day....................

Frankie says..Relax....!

A beautiful,crisp day - I actually saw snowdrops on the way here this morning - all was well with the world - I thought.

I have never worried about conspiracy theories unneccessarily on a personal level but have to conclude that there is one ongoing right here at the moment between the "darling" animals and food .

Not just food in general, only mine!

There I was today just starting a particularly nice Tuna & Cucumber sandwich when I needed to go over to the Reception/Shop to retrieve a key fob for a lovely gent who had just arrived to stay with us - so ,off I went, leaving my sandwich on my desk - as you would.

On my return Pamela said " oops! sorry I only went through to the printer for a second" - Frankie the beautiful ,big,black housecat had the temerity to be tucking in to my sandwich!!

What was worse he had the cheek to spit out the cucumber on my paperwork!

Note to self - bring only cucumber sandwiches in future - that way I might not starve to death!

Good job I still had my crisps!

More nonsense another day.

Normal service resumes!

What a cheek! Has life at Queensberry Bay ever been anything remotely like normal?

Sammy the housecat is asleep on the windowsill in the sunshine, Wombat is stretched out under my desk(having "helped" me to eat my lunchtime sandwich) as usual.

It's a glorious day now - compared to minus 4 degrees,snow and fog this morning,Stuart was playing waltzers with his car at one point on the way in.

Todays educational fact : Llamas are like sheep in that they like to roll about in the snow- I hope that fact is actually true of all Llamas - either that or the ones we've got are not quite wired up properly!!!

That's all for now folks!

Just As I Thought

15 whole minutes of vital second-cup-of-tea-before-work time I wasted this morning chiselling ice from my poor car windows and lights,the temperature guage was at an almost balmy minus 1.5 degrees by the time I got to Queensberry Bay .

And Andrew was back to cycling in to work again this morning!

The day turned out to be another glorious one so I don't mind the cold starts quite so much,apart from the fact that the body lagging thermals are going to fall to bits if it doesn't warm up a tad shortly.

More adventures anon.........

Strange Light In The Sky

No, not a UFO but that lovely big sunshine yellow thing that gladdens the heart and banishes seasonal something or other disorder in people that don't get out much.

The snowdrops are trying their hardest to break through,the lambs are frolicking about,you might almost hope that Spring is on it's way at last - then you watch the Weather on the TV!!

Latest acquisition on the livestock front.....2 beautiful Mallard ducks to add to the general melee that is our duck-pond. They are a pair and are called Willie and Pat(ricia).

One of the LLamas has a poorly eye so Paul,the beardy vet is being called upon to wave his magic wand and make her better.

Today has beeen surprisingly busy - the glorious sunshine brought out dog walkers,families and plain old people just having a "nosy" because it was something to do.

Andrew made us all feel fat and unfit by cycling to work a couple of times but I am greatly relieved to see that when it is rather frosty and chilly he brings his car like the rest of us mere mortals.

Thats all for now folks..........

Form an Orderly Queue,Ladies.

I was not working this weekend but I gather the Grand Opening of the newly refurbished Ladies Powder - room/Shower block went well.With grateful thanks to all the gentlemen on site for sharing their facilities with us ladies until ours were finished!

The colour scheme is very classy,the furniture is posh and the overall impression is very good indeed, although the wall-mounting of the full length mirror caused some grief when a tiny hairline crack appeared in the plaster - now sorted !

Enough talk of lavatorial things I hear you cry! I hope all you ladies out there weren't giving overtime work to all the chiropractors in the vicinity by causing damage to your postman's back having to carry all your Valentines cards . My postman is cheerfully unmarked by the whole thing!!

More tomorrow......

Nicole The Dog-Sheep?

I don,t know how many of you are familiar with the film "Babe" but we seem to have a sheep with an identity crisis.

Wombat ,Maddie & Millie the dogs all wander around then ,when they get fed up of being out in the cold(or hear us opening our sandwiches) they stand outside the office door and bark once - loudly-to let us know they want in.

Just so, I hear you cry! However, Nicole has taken to standing outside the door and baaa - ing loudly to be in lately too...I may not have any objection to sharing my lunch with Wombat but a three way split may leave me somewhat malnourished!!

You will be pleased to hear that Alex is back with us - so remember to give him a wave as he is busily strimming the edges!

I have to say that Alex came in looking rather "sheepish"(sorry!) earlier this afternoon after admitting that he had got the digger stuck in the field! - it was ok though as Andrew hurtled to the rescue and between them managed to free it.

A beautiful crisp day here today even though my car registered 2 degrees below freezing on the journey to work this morning.

As I write this Nicole has brought Stan and Loretta to the door again - I'll have to ignore their heart-rendingly pitiful pleas for entry as I can not condone such delinquent behaviour in the young!

More later......

It's Good to be back!

No excuses this time!

What a busy time we've had just lately.

On 4th February we had a " works outing " to snowy Glasgow to the Caravan Sales Fayre/Convention( funny word convention,some of the exhibits were anything but conventional!) - All in the name of understanding our guests better. We do have photographic proof that we all attended because we bumped into "Midge the Campervan's" people who laughed to see us all out in force and took photo's! - Thanks Sheena & Gary!!

Due to our uncharacteristic mass exodus on Thursday the pile of work that faced everyone on our return was daunting to say the least - but, you all know that "Team Queensberry Bay" are made of stern stuff and we soon had the backlog licked into shape.

Today both Pamela and Joanne have been suffering from a bug that is doing the rounds but thankfully Joanne was fit enough to come back to work this afternoon so we were able to admire the posh new furniture that arrived for the Ladies Showers today!

Nicole and the lambs.....wait for it......who have now been named Stan and Loretta have a thing about the Spa,I have stressed to Nicole that it is an adult only facility so I can't take her booking but she will insist that her little darlings are allowed to climb the steps and then jump off !!! quite what health & safety will make of it I don't know - as for the Insurance ramifications I won't even go there!!(pardon the ram pun but as I've said before I have absolutely no talent in the comedy department.

That's all for now folks,more ramblings tomorrow!!....

Saw Point......

Oh joy !

Whilst wending my way to the Reception area to take a card payment today I felt sure that there must be a local chapter meeting of "Hells Angels" somewhere on the park as there was a most horrendous noise outside.

But no!-as I rushed outside,to my surprise there was Stuart having been let loose with a small chain saw to help the "alterations" in the Bothey (is this wise?).Stuart kept asking Andrew to hold things to help him but as Andrew quite likes being able to count up to 10 without the removal of his socks he graciously declined and kept a safe distance(definitely a wise move!)

More from the crazy gang tomorrow......

Shhhhh - Sammy's sleeping.

I don't know whether you have ever tried to type quietly but I am having to because the lovely wee house cat/kitten Sammy is asleep in an empty envelope box on the spare desk in the farmhouse office. This makes a refreshing change from him taking off with pens etc. in passing(bless!).and also chewing the spidery bits off my spider plant.

Well,today Adams sheep must have thought it was an Away match they were playing in because when I looked out of the window in Joanne's office they were streaming past - must have been making their way to the shop for a bacon roll and a bottle of coke for half time!

John ,Andrew and Stuart soon put paid to their little jaunt and told them that as they hadn't been "sent off" they had to stay put and eat their way to victory.

We are currently trying to decide whether one of the highland cows is in a "delicate condition" and whether we should make ready for the clatter of tiny hooves.

The lads are working hard on the extension of the Bothey but it is still very much a "work in progress" so I will try to keep you updated.

More tomorrow.......