Eriska, Scottish Island

weather w/c 31st January

It has certainly been an interesting january in terms of weather with the start being incredibly cold then a dry spell in the middle followed by a wonderful sunny end to the month. In effect it was very welcome as we had a family wedding at eriska from a party who although from scotland are now based in the south of England and saw the location of Eriska being a challenge as they believed we would be under snow and ice and certainly no sunshine and in the end we have a wonderful weekend and great day for the wedding with cold conditions but not a breath of wind for the boat trip and not a cloud in the sky for the photographs.

so whats ahead for February:

Today:Generally dry and cold but at least it should be Clear then sunny intervals.

Monday: A widespread frost overnight as it remains mainly dry and clear. A few snow showers will continue to affect higher hills at times, with sleet or snow showers near coasts. Where showers have fallen, it will turn icy.

Tuesday: Remaining cold and bright as it stays mainly dry. Once again a few snow showers may affect mountains at times but with sleet or snow near coasts.

Wednesday: Rain and then snow spreading from the west later on in the day clearing to wintry showers for a time.

Thursday: It should be dry at first, although with an increasing risk of wintry showers in coastal areas and we are likely to see outbreaks of rain, becoming heavy at times on higher ground, with a risk of snow .

Friday:Temperatures probably near normal but rather cold with overnight frost in places.

Saturday: Wintry showers and clear spells likely over the first weekend of February, with rain likely over low ground in the west but snow more likely elsewhere.

Start where we left off!

We closed Eriska to guests at the beginning of the month waving off the last guests in a flurry of snow with freezing winds and bitter temperatures and it seems as if we are going to open in te same vein. First of all hoping that guests get home safely and now glad this weekends visitors have arrived safely. Whether the happy couple who are to be married today had planned, anticipated or even hoped for a white day it certainly looks like thats whats in store given the northerly wind and white peaks on the mountains.

The good news is, that behind the scenes much has changed and we are now running partially on our old syesenm of heating and water storage but the majority of the  burden is now being run on environmentally carbon neutral renewable wood pellet boilers with water stored in ever increasing sizes of vessels making it both far more efficient and user friendly. Whilst we had a few teething problems, all sorted in the nick of time we seem to be, touch wood, all operation. Even the laundry where the pipes and new storage vessels emanate from is a changed place with a warmth from the plethora of pipework although maybe this will have changed by next week when Chay has it all lagged and covered in but I am sure they will appreciate the more pleasant working environment especially given the bitter wind blowing through the car park.

The plan today is for a boat trip, golf and shooting at clays so lets hope it brightens up and everybody came prepared for the possibility of these conditions then all back for a quick lunch before off to the wedding in benderloch and back to eriska for the reception, dinner and dancing. It seems like nothing ever changes but it is our 37th year at Eriska and we are still here!

Eriska open for the 37th Year!

In truth it makes little difference whether we have too long to do a job or not enough time the last 24 hours are always going to be chaotic but hopefully we are starting to understand this and each year we get better at preparing for the dreaded first day. All of us here probably think we are closed for too short a time and the bank manager probably thinks we have been closed for ever! In reality there must eb a happy medium between getting all we need to get done finished and giving everyone a well deserved break and at the same time not letting us pick up bad habits or become lazy

It is certainly true to say that the house and island is always a bit weird when there is no activity in the evening and whilst it does not feel spooky or haunted it can feel a bit sad and lonely when there are no sounds or voices so it was good last night to welcome back our first guests of the new 2010 season. We are ready to go- just and all the changes we have made and alterations we have overseen are now being tested to the limit as we have af full house for the weekend but then luckily we have a couple of down days to fix any gremlins and insure that all the snagging is done.

This pause time is essential and part of our experience, no matter how small or trivial a job there always seems to be some snagging and already the list for the maintenance team is growing so they will arrive with dread as to how much they have to fix or improve before the next shift. Maybe I should simply suggest that we would not have these issues if we never closed- I can see the bank manager starting to smile!! However I can also hear everybody else groaning in short its nice to pause but not nice to stop and guest visiting will now benefit form refreshed corridors and staircases, enviromentally friendly and aware heating systems and a much improved golf facility, when the grass grows!

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Ready- well nearly!!

On reflection it must have been much easier for my parents to complete winter work given they were closed for a longer length of time but in respect I can still remember the last few days before the hotel reopened its doors being hectic and a huge sigh of relief when the first guests entered and all seemed calm- or so my memory tells me, This year we have been closed for just over 3 weeks and had set ourselves a demanding and tight schedule of projects. Well that was before the weather played havoc for the first week and deliveries promised did not materialize.

However we are nearly there and despite painters still wandering the corridors with brushes and pots and engineers standing over boilers with perplexed expressions we think we are nearly there. Today we will be running a full test on the heating system which involves pumping full power and heat into the house- so I hope everybody has there holiday shorts ready and then checking that every room has the new system operating and controllable. It involves all the bathrooms running hot water and seeing how quickly the system recovers and it will hopefully all go without a hitch- or so we hope although with 24 hours till the first guest crossed the threshold we have a small window for error.

But on a positive note the new wood pellet boiler sounds and looks much better and the work redecorating the corridors has brought them up in line with the bedrooms and seem to make them all look wider and more expansive. I am certain we will find small glitches when we start to operate it all at full capacity but lets hope they are only minor incursions and that they will not affect progress. 2010 will be our 37th season at Eriska and I keep thinking it should be getting easier but in reality it probably never will but as long as we look forward with optimism it should all keep us positive! 

Weather wc 24th January

It will be interesting to see the monthly rainfall figures for January when we reach the end of the week as it seems we have had almost no rain so far, however that on the west coast would normally highlight summer however it has been far from that and whilst we have missed the snow we have cvertainly had our share of ice and freezing conditions. It should howver have been expected espeically since we announced the plan to exchange our boilers and our need for a kind break in normal wnter conditions. In reality January was the only time we could close the house down to allow us to make the exchange , but common sense would have dictated that it is also the one month that we need heat to continue to maintain the house! However the upshot is that we waited patiently- if a little longer than planned and we have managed to complete the hotel exchange without detrimental consequences to the building but it did require patience and a delay waiting for a warmer window in the weather.

So whats ahead for the final weeks preparations before we reopen on Wednesday?

Today: Generally cloudy, some mostly light rain at times, with snow on higher ground giving some local accumulations on the hill tops.

Monday: After a damper start with showers most of this will die out during the afternoon, with brighter spells in places, though rain will linger on the hills.

Tuesday: Any rain on the peaks will die out and cloud will gradually break to allow some clear spells, these leading to a frost and some patchy fog overnight.

Wednesday: Mostly dry and bright with some sunshine but fog and low cloud patches may be slow to lift from some areas.

Thursday:Cloudy with some sleet or snow at first. Drier and a little brighter by afternoon. Mostly light winds.

Friday: Wet and windy at first easing later though staying cloudy.

Saturday: Starting unsettled with wind and rain but then changing later in the day and then brighter but colder and back to frost overnight.

 

Easing back to work after a good break

Normally my January consists of a couple of days hectic organisation before I head overseas for a break and then return home via some sales calls. This saves me having to fly back and forth too much but it can also be slightly disconcerting as it works off the benefits of the break even before I have made it back to Eriska so this year I decided to simply go on holiday and then come home- but that was until I remembered that I should be in London at the Master Innholders General Managers conference so a detour was on the cards.

However due to a few delays in the well thought out plan I managed to reach the conference with little time to spare from my transatlantic flight, had a good day yesterday at the meetings and this then insured that I got a full nights sleep before another day of conference and then returning home to Eriska later. The good side was tghat I seem to have avoided jet lag, and I was a blank book for accepting ideas about the future of hoteling and hospitality- the bad news is that I have even more ideas circulating in my head and have to make sure by the time I walk into the office the ideas from holiday and the ideas from the conference are well thought out and ready to be presented.

Well above all I am back refreshed and ready for our 37th Year at Eriska!!

End to the Oh ohs and start of the Terrible Teens!!

well we ended the last decade, the Oh Ohs in typical chaotic fashion here at Eriska. However the change in piper- Angus MacColl our regular New year piper had become  otherwise engaged however he arranged for his son, another Angus to help celebrate the new decade with us.  It has to be said that he was extremely efficient and indeed kept great time  for the piped eight some which finished dead on the time in line with his last note, leaving only a few minutes to charge glasses and prepare for the bells. Then after the traditional greetings and a round of Auld Lang Syne, played expertly on the piano by one of our guests it was time for Chays fireworks.

Another triumph at the pyrotechnics as the show began with some low level pieces and grew in a crushendo to the high rockets before returning to the floor to finish the show. The addition of an extra lighter, in the guise of David - obviously equipped with goggles and High Visibility jacket- not to mention the on the discreet if thorough on the job training provided by Chay helped speed the show on and insured that there were no late arrivals as we have had in previous years when we are walking back inside.

Anyway a all in all a good way to end a decade and a suitably subdued way to start the next , now fingers crossed that the frost will lift and the First Golf competition of 2010 will be able to commence!