Jonathan: We take great pride in not only the high standard of our ‘turnaround’ cleaning and presentation of our two holiday lets, but also the on-going repairs and maintenance. An annual schedule of planned maintenance – of the buildings themselves, services, fixtures, furnishings and decor – is carried out during the quieter months.  It’s then, too, that we’ll make the small improvements – and occasionally not so small – that keep the houses fresh and welcoming.  As November comes to a close, we’ve completed the deep clean and redecorating work at Carrick – The Blue House, Eriskay, and made a significant improvement to the walk-in/wet-room shower. The original thermostatic shower valve was an expensive model, yet has given us six years of trouble. Enough! We’ve replaced it with a better designed model of the concealed type. That kept us busy over a few weeks – plumbing, joinery, and tiling, sealants.  Mess, oh what mess!  As we were tiling anyway, we’ve now added half-tiling to more of the shower room. Over the course of the autumn – dodging passing showers – we’ve repainted some of the outside of the house – the famous sky-blue larch cladding. After Christmas and New Year, weather permitting, we’ll be making at least one significant improvement outside – but you’ll have to wait to find out about that!  And in the meantime, we’ve started the annual programme of work at Eight Askernish, which we’ve got to get on with as we have guests at both houses over the Christmas – New Year holiday. Of course we hope our guests will appreciate our dedication!