It is hard to believe that it’s not even 6 months yet since Jim and I took over The Old Bakery as so much has happened in such a short time. With that in mind I think it is about time I introduce ourselves to you and tell you a bit about how we ended up in this quintessential English village running a bed and breakfast.

Until January Jim and I were living in Perth, Western Australia, Jim working in real estate and me, well, pretty much jack of all trades master of none really, but most recently I have been finishing my PhD in English Literature, doing some sessional teaching at The University of Western Australia and working as a research assistant at Curtin University. About two years ago we decided that a new adventure was on the horizon and it was time to move back to the UK. That new adventure was running a bed and breakfast. We started the hunt to find our dream home, looking at both existing bed and breakfasts and homes that we might convert, and eventually, after two years, we found The Old Bakery.

In December 2017, I had my doctorate conferred upon me in a very long, but memorable, ceremony. This was followed by our last Christmas in Australia, and in January we said goodbye to Perth and hello to the UK. Two days later our little dog, Woosha, joined us after an epic journey from Perth to London, via Sydney and Dubai. At 16 years old this was quite an achievement but he arrived safe and seemed happy to see us. Given the change in temperature one of the first things we did was buy him a coat. Whilst I struggled to get the thing on, he seemed quite happy to wear it, which is more than can be said for the jumper I later knitted him.

On February 12th we completed on the sale of The Old Bakery and moved in. Within a couple of weeks the ‘Beast from the East’ arrived and we were virtually snowed in. Fortunately the previous owners had very generously left us stocked up with bacon, sausages, eggs, and bread so we didn’t starve. Woosha got to experience snow for the first time which was rather funny to watch – 1 foot of snow and 6 inch legs makes for quite a challenge but he coped, better than us in fact as I think we were probably the only people in the village without wellies.

Since then we have witnessed a beautiful spring and are now enjoying a glorious summer. We are getting out to explore the local area so we can recommend places to our guests and we are relishing in the company of the many lovely people who choose to visit South Norfolk and stay with us at the Old Bakery.

It is my hope to post something here once a week. Sometimes it will be about the area, places to visit or local events that are happening. At other times it will be about my love of books, something that I will be incorporating into the B & B soon with Reading Retreats.

Owning a bed and breakfast is hard work but we are enjoying it and this is only the start of our adventure. Who knows where this journey will take us, watch this space to find out, all I know at the moment is that we are enjoying the ride. Until next time stay happy,

Theresa