Nicola’s announcement was another blow for Dreamcatcher Cabins. It looks now as if we will not open until 26th April. I was so hopeful for an earlier date with the speed we are getting people vaccinated. We are fully booked in April. So many bookings are honeymoons and special times that will not happen now. It is so disappointing for so many. We feel for you, for us and for all the businesses that today know they cannot survive another 7 weeks. It is very sad what this virus has done to so many.

We will be in touch over the next few days if you have a booking with us. However, as always, we need to look for the positives and count our blessings. We are well, have a business that will bounce back in May and it is nearly spring. I will now have lots of time to plant some seeds, grow some vegetables and spend time on my bike.

I long to see my lovely friends, sit down at the table and eat and laugh together again. We took that so for granted! Never again. We will treasure any time we can spend together. These times are not far away now and we need to keep that sharply in focus. Another positive.

There is one little character who is delighted by Nicola’s announcement. She is called Pan and she is our little black, moggy-type cat. We have 2 cats and they both live outdoors in a variety of insulated beds. They rarely come into the house, although they are allowed to visit whenever they like.

Pan decided to move out after Christmas when Dreamcatchers had to close. We knew she was living somewhere in the cabins but could not ever see where she was. Every morning she trots across the garden to her dish for breakfast and then back to the forest – the same at dinner time. If we were up at the cabins she would appear to say hello but we could not find from where.

That was until the other day when Brian had to do a little job under Badger’s Sett. I do not know who got the bigger fright. As Brian crawled under the cabin he came face to face with a pair of eyes who was not in the least pleased to have her new home invaded.

So as the cabins remain closed there is at least one member of our family who is delighted. Pan does not need to move back home quite yet to face her brother. She will be able to stay at Dreamcatchers and enjoy all the crocus and daffodils as they come up. She has a friend too and it is a really sweet story. She had 2 litters of kittens about 12 years ago to a black feral cat that lives in the area. They were the most beautiful kittens and they are all homed locally. The other day we saw them both sitting together in the forest – he is still around and they are still friends. How is that for an animal maintaining a relationship. Better than a lot of us humans.

So as we try to grasp at the positives as always please look after yourselves and stay safe. x