Day 73 - When the volunteers cleaned too hard for Foxie (or when The Barn got more coats of paint)

We had three different volunteer groups on site today and the site phone did not stop ringing all day with bookings enquiries, some big and some small, but every one another one on our list!  We're now up to about 140 bookings for the year, which is fantastic given the time that we've been open to receive them and they still seem to be steadily coming in - we've had some enquiries for Team Building Days too, which is great, as it's another string on the Foxlease Park bow which we're really keen to promote for midweek bookings.

In terms of volunteer activity, we had the wonderful Harris family volunteering a group today, having travelled over from the Isle of Wight to be with us for the day and they made spectacular work, accompanied by Foxie of course (see photos) finishing preparations of the small bunk room and the day room in The Barn for painting and then painting everything a bright magnolia colour (paint courtesy of our paint fairy's previous donations to us).  Whilst I'm disappointed the walls aren't fox-coloured, as almost every volunteer using it to paint so far has commented, it's a very consistent colour and it stays clean longer than white so the smaller rooms in The Barn are very much having the magnolia experience and are looking much brighter for it already.

Our second group in The Barn were also on paint patrol today and they were on round two and coats, 6, 7, 8 and 9 (in some places) of the stain blocker paint on the old water marks on the ceiling in the lobby and side hall (courtesy of the previously leaky, and now replaced, pipework) and the ceiling now looks mostly white again in the side hall and fully white again in the main lobby!  It's no easy task painting upwards, even with the paint fairy's extendable paint rollers, so we're very grateful to them for doing that tricky area for us.  The Barn might be behind The Lodge on its makeover but it's certainly catching up fast with the progress our volunteers are making!

Our third group were set to task cleaning and moving for us some of the older furniture that we plan to eventually use in our reception and as a shop cabinet and that is now spick and span and ready to stock soon in advance of our first visitors to site.  Having done some careful removals down the Main Stairs, our third team moved onto cleaning some very special rooms for us in Foxlease House to ensure that they are not suffering too much from being empty and it took them some considerable time to clean the room and bathroom, known to many of you by the balcony out the back of the House which it opens onto.  All was going well, and then came the point that our volunteers in Foxlease House got too keen and enthused in their task for me to handle when they accidentally (we are assured) sucked me mostly up the tube of one of the hoover regiment in action (see photos) - so much so that the day could have been called "When Henry nearly ate Foxie" but Emma thought that might be too shocking of a headline for an unprepared late night or early morning blog reader! We're pleased to report that the volunteers noticed quickly and I was removed safely in the nick of time, avoiding the ultimate peril of the hoover bag!  They got back on track soon after and careful deep cleaning resumed - everyone, volunteers and Foxie's alike, returned to base in the Site Office at the end of the day.

More painting expected tomorrow (and a rest in the Site Office for me, just to be safe!) Love Foxie x