Trouble comes in sixes

Here’s the latest news from Suzie Paton’s Gloucestershire B&B

My neighbours may well have been raising an eyebrow at the comings and goings from our farmhouse earlier this month. A string of men in boiler suits were in and out at regular intervals. The reason was because of a series of malfunctioning domestic appliances.

Problems usually happen in threes, but we had things happening in sixes. The Aga, central heating, TV, dishwasher, light circuits and computer all broke down within the space of a week. It was a frustrating chain of events, so at the end of the week it was a real treat to escape for a weekend away. Ironically, we went to a country where everything seems to work perfectly.

We went skiing in Switzerland to celebrate our friend Rosie’s 40th birthday. When I say we went skiing, Tom was skiing, and I was looking the part, wearing great kit lent to me by an experienced skier friend, but my skiing style resembled a young giraffe learning to walk.

It was an amazing break and at home our run of bad luck seemed to have ended. Despite one of our cows giving birth to twins a month early, all was well and we returned to a fully functioning farm and house with not a service engineer in sight.

But our electrician, Paddy, will be back to install some new interconnecting smoke detectors. Among the Farm Stay Group members, fire risk assessments have definitely been the hot topic of conversation.

At our last meeting, whilst ensconced in comfy lounge furniture at our Treasurer David’s, eating sandwiches and sipping wine (we certainly know how to do lunch meetings here in the Cotswolds) we discussed the implications for installing fire doors, emergency lighting and alarm systems.

In October 2006 there was a big change in UK fire safety legislation and we’ve all had to adopt a self-assessment approach. In our area, Fire Officers have been knocking on doors unannounced to view B&Bs and self-catering properties making sure a sufficient risk assessment has been made.

In some cases enforcement notices have meant that expensive alarm systems and fire doors have had to be put in place. Sadly, for some businesses the prohibitive costs and reluctance to make disfiguring alterations to their homes have meant they have simply decided to stop trading.

Statistics show that the actual risk of a serious fire in our homes is small, and we suspect that some of the unregistered guesthouses (and possibly some wooden Swiss ski hotels) will pose a greater risk, but obviously it’s something we all need to take seriously.

Sarah, one of the members, told us of an incident in her B&B. A guest returning from a party removed her clothes, tossing them around the room. Her knickers landed on the lampshade, and while she was taking a shower they gently smouldered and melted into the light. Fortunately, the fire was extinguished, but it’s a lesson for all of us to think about. If nothing else, if you are inclined to throw your best undies around the room, at least make sure they are made of fire retardant material.

Suzie Paton’s farm B&B columns