So the builders have been here for a little over a month now and last week was our most exciting yet. We had our fantastic photographer Jim Cossey on site shooting the first drone tour of the build. If you have never seen any of the amazing videos that can be shot from them, you’re in for a treat ! I must say, it’s not the usual thing you’d see buzzing over our quiet little village and it certainly got the neighbours peering over the hedge, but Jim’ll be here every month or so during the build to keep you updated and literally give you a bird’s eye view of the progress.

Behind the scenes there’s been quite a bit of action too. The site meeting last week saw a long discussion between Rob , the kitchen designer and the architect over the height of the pass – eventually they settled at 1.15 metres exactly. ‘What’s the drama?’ I hear you ask, but with the open kitchen being the main focal point of the orangery we just had to make sure the pass was tall enough to allow a good view. Talking of the pass, and the open kitchen, we may now add a third rotisserie meat to our already mouth-watering selection… lamb could well be on the cards, along with the original chicken & porchetta. You wouldn’t believe the amount of work that goes into a menu… from what’s on offer, to the design of it & the size… but Rob’s almost there with finalising it so keep your eyes peeled for the hard copy on your table soon.

Right, enough ‘droning’ on for now…!