In reflective holiday mode, conversations with my OH move away from the mundane functional every day who is picking up who, from where and when, and is “there enough milk?” to deeper more thoughtful “what ifs?”. For 24 of our 27 years together we have debated the classic “what if we won the lottery?” and despite our enthusiasm and persistence of discussion we have yet to discover what we would indeed do if we won the lottery. We then enter the constant circle of debate about improving our work life balance, making promises about diet, exercise, date night, him spending less time in London and me working my hours rather than all the hours. Years of experience has shown us we have failed miserably at changing and then maintaining those habits. One topic I love returning to, is buying our own campsite near a lovely beach in Devon or Cornwall. This might require a small lottery win to enable this, but all the same its dream!
We would live on site in a log cabin, drive an old Land Rover Defender and not just because I’ve always wanted one, it would be really handy. We would have a sit on mower, as that would be practical as well as make the OH happy. The sun would shine a lot. I would Instagram a steady stream of camping site photos, sunsets, people having fun on the beach etc.. which would be linked to our amazing website, which OH or one of our boys with their computing GCSES and lack of fear of technology would create. We would invite my travel and lifestyle sister in law blogger to stay for a long weekend, so she could share the fantastic features of the campsite with her 74k followers on Instagram, Twitter and 484,508 on Pinterest.
OH has interrupted me as I write this to establish as what point he can resign and we maintain our current lifestyle. Unfortunately, I don’t have an excel spreadsheet to hand as I sit on Sennen Beach in the sun, watching the surfers and eating a pasty. But at our dream campsite, I would make full use of technology to ensure a smooth booking system and finance system. I know I would enjoy creating a maintenance schedule for the small amount of static caravans and grounds. Not sure I would enjoy managing my DIY challenged husband to complete the to do list, as he does have an aversion to any list I create, so I would probably employ a handy man and a cleaner. I would like to invest in some solar panels and some jazzy hot water system for the shower block, but I am a little bit concerned about the on-going compliance costs. Youngest son has just mentioned a decent WIFI system is a definite requirement of a modern campsite (This is controversial I know, not enough words in this blog for it!). Obviously, there would be an amazing children’s play area, near the washing up and toilet block. I would definitely have a little shop! And some chickens so I can sell their eggs. At this point my eldest has mentioned we would have to sell pastries as well as bacon for the early morning campers. So, you can see this would be a family dream.
Whilst sat on the beach, I’ve searched on my phone using very poor connection and possibly all my data allowance for the month for any campsites on the south west coast currently for sale for very little capital investment, there are none! But what a fantastic life it would be: living by the sea; providing refreshments and compliant resources; watching children playing and making memories; ensuring we stay financially viable; employing local people; maintaining buildings and grounds; marketing and maintaining a social media profile; ensuring customers have a positive experience and want to return to us or recommend us to others. Oh gripes, bar the Land Rover Defender, log cabin and sit on mower, I’ve pretty much described my generalist SBM role which is already based in a coastal town! I’ve got a lovely beach five minutes from my front door, which I enjoy walking along most evenings if I get out of work on time, or don’t need to buy milk or be a taxi service for a son. So maybe I need to search the internet for Land Rover Defenders instead, as I’m already living most of the dream?
Waffles of a School Business Leader 