Just back from holidays and the telephone rings. "Hello Miss Pezzack, Caterer here, your diary's late (again)." Oops. Knew I'd forgotten something.
Anyway, what a wonderful time we had in Cuba - a bit of culture mixed with a beach holiday. I must say that the professionalism and attitude of their staff, from front of house to gardeners, really impressed me. They were polite and courteous, took a real interest in their jobs and found great pleasure in the fact that you were enjoying your stay in their country.
After speaking with a few of the staff, I found out that there are two large catering colleges, one in Havana and the other near the town of Moron.
When they finish their college training, the students apply for jobs at several hotels and are placed on a waiting list until a vacancy arises at one of the establishments, where they are invited for interview.
Once a position has been offered and employment starts, they take great pride in their appearance and in loyalty to their employers. This contrasts starkly with a lot of larger hotels in the UK, where the staff are under-trained, possess a couldn't-care-less attitude and/or have a tendency to look down their noses at guests.
It could be that, in Cuba, catering is really seen as a career. After all, students undergo four years of training before they receive their qualifications to become waiters. In this country it's possible that we have too many people just filling in or too many gap-year students employed in the industry.
Meanwhile, we have just found out that Samson, our one-year-old Great Dane, has been diagnosed as epileptic. It proved traumatic for us to experience his first fit - at 75kg it's a lot of dog to handle - and then having to take him for a brain scan. Trying to keep his fits under control could be a long process. But being your own boss is an advantage, as it has taken a lot of time to travel to and from the vet. No matter how sympathetic a boss is, there are limits to everyone's patience when you have to take time out for sick pets. We just cover for each other, so we cope quite well with any problems.
Next week we have a group of "blue badge" tour guides lunching with us. They will be taken on a tour around the marvels of Montgomeryshire and then enjoy a hearty lunch at one of the county's "finest hostelries" (their words, not mine).
Sara Pezzack is the proprietor of the Bricklayers Arms, Montgomery, Powys