Oh goody, we now know there is going to be an election on May 6th, yippee! At least there is now a time frame for the uncertainty to be over but there seems to be a chance that the outcome will be more uncertainty. Let’s hope that it will be a decisive win for someone and we can then get on with the business of paying back some debt and moving on. When I say the business, I mean the business because it is only businesses that employ people and puts money into peoples pockets to go and spend as they wish, oh and of course pay taxes. It annoys me all these politicians who forget that is OUR money that they are taking from us not THEIR money to spend as they see fit, and the more of OUR money they take, the less I like it.

Here at The Inn things continue as ever, training new staff, planning new dishes, events, finding different wines for you to enjoy and making sure the garden is in good shape for the hot Summer that is on the way. Planning staffing is a bit of a nightmare as one minute we are rushed off our feet and the next we are very quiet. The problem is we don’t know which day will be which! What we do know is that Kate and Lee will be parents VERY soon which will be exciting for them and all of us. Lee is looking forward to the joys, and expense, of parenthood and already anticipating the day their child can buy his first round! We do know it will be a boy but not the name as yet. Some things are sacred.

The 2009 wines are about to be released from France and erybody is saying what a fantastic vintage it is and how wonderful the wines will be, best since 1982. Trouble is that they say that almost every year, so one becomes just a wee bit cynical about it all. I will however be looking out for some of my favourites with a view to putting a few cases in the cellar just in case they are right.

I have just finished the year end tax return, one of the joys of running your own business and employing staff. It is a time that frightens me silly as it is absolutely clear how much our little pub puts into the local economy, feeds the hungry mouths of government and needs to take every day to keep going! The software company Sage have to be congratulated though, as their software and links in to HMG website work exceedingly well and makes our job a lot easier than it used to be. It almost makes paying the thousands of pounds to them seem painless!

Hopefully I will get away from the office tomorrow and have time to serve some customers and have a bit of fun. Its what I enjoy doing but seem to have less and less time for these days. Ho hum! See you in the bar on Thursday or for a bite to eat sometime soon

Gerry