Busy periods

As in previous years, demand is extremely high for the Stockport Schools’ Whit holiday (24th May – 4th June 2025) and for the summer holidays in particular.

That first week in June is now completely fully booked (it’s traditionally the busiest week of the year) and August is getting rather packed now, so if you’re planning on being away during the school summer holidays then let me know as soon as possible else risk missing out.

A pause on new customers

The eagle-eyed of you will see that on the contact page, I’ve temporarily removed the contact form.

I am a one-person business and the truth is that things are already rather busy at the moment. After last year’s madness, I don’t want to over-commit or over-promise my time, especially in the light of family commitments and health matters.

I’ll review things as the year progresses so do check back periodically.

An FAQ section

I get asked the same questions over and over, so thought it was worth giving a written answer to some of these.

You’ll find them on the contact page, but just in case you saw this first, here they are:

• I offer a visiting service only and do not board animals, regardless of what Google Search likes to try to tell you………!
• I do not sit or walk dogs. The service I offer doesn’t really work for our canine companions and I’d prefer you to find a more appropriate service for their care and well-being.
• My visits will fall during my office hours. Morning visits are usually between 9am – 12 noon. Afternoon visits are usually between 3pm – 6pm.
• Whilst I will try to accommodate requests (within those office hours), I am unable to guarantee the timing of my visits as it depends on the other visits I have to make (and I can generally only be in one place at any given time!)
• My current prices are shown on the ‘price‘ tab on the website. Asking me directly what my prices are won’t yield a different figure!
• Due to the travel costs, both in fuel and in time, I can only cover the areas shown on the website. To put it into perspective, I can often be driving 60+ miles per day in the peak holiday periods which roughly translates to about 3 hours daily sat behind the wheel getting to and from jobs, and that is in covering an radius of only about 4 miles from home!

I hope this is useful to you and that you are having a good year thus far.

Take care
Simeon (& Cleo)

I am fully booked now for Christmas and for New Year and thus unable to take on any further bookings over this festive period.

I ope you have a wonderful (and fluffy) Christmas and a great start to 2025!

If you’re not involved in schools, you might not know when the holidays fall. So here’s what is going on in 2023:

• May Day – 1st May
• Coronation extra bank holiday – 8th May
• Spring bank half term: 30th May – 11th June (4th June for secondary schools)
• Summer: 21st July (28th for primary schools)  – 3rd September
• Autumn half term: 21st – 29th October
• Christmas: 23rd December – 7th January 2024

If you’re intending to be away during any of these periods then please make your bookings early. Once I’m fully booked I am unable to squeeze extra jobs in, so don’t be left disappointed!

I have taken the difficult decision to pause taking on new customers for the time being. The high demand from my existing customers means that there isn’t the room to accommodate new ones. I will, of course, review the position in the autumn once the main holiday season is finished and will update the website accordingly.

I am, of course, open for business to my existing customers.

I am already FULLY BOOKED for the Jubilee weekend.

If you have fixed your holiday dates for the summer, please let me know as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. August is already pretty busy and I anticipate I will be fully booked up well before the time we’re getting close.

If you’re not already subscribed to the (2 messages per year) mailing list but want to receive it, click the link and add your details in the form.

Enjoy the sunshine (while it lasts!!) and take care.

Simeon

Demand for pet sitting is always high during the school summer holidays and 2021 is no exception. August is fully booked now and I think it’s one of the busiest months ever!

If you’re planning a getaway in September and beyond there’s still availability so get in touch and get booked in as it’s often almost as busy as August!

Take care out there and if you are away, have a super time!

By the beginning of January, in previous years, I would have circulated the forthcoming school holiday dates as well as the dates of my own planned holidays to let everyone know when things are going to be busy (and when I’m not going to be available).

Obviously, with the current lockdown ongoing without any real indication of an end point, there really hasn’t been a lot of point doing this (I do have holidays “booked”, but whether they will be allowed to happen remains to be seen). Making any sort of plans is tough at the moment for everyone.

That said, I know many of you are starting to try to book your 2021 breaks.

When the spring 2020 lockdown ended there was a big rush in bookings and with the restrictions having gone on for all this time, I envisage the rush will be at least as big in 2021.

Therefore if you do have anything booked, do please let me know ASAP so I can get you in the diary.

I’m anticipating that, once the Government gives the go-ahead for taking holidays again, there will be a lot of demand for pet sitting.

I’m currently available all summer and into the autumn so if you’re looking to book some time away, get in touch!

Stay safe and be well!

Simeon

I know many of you have had to make alterations to your 2020 plans so far due to the global pandemic that is Coronavirus COVID-19. Hopefully with that said, you’re all keeping safe and well. For me,  that’s the most important thing for the time being.

COVID-19: phase 2

With any luck now that the UK has moved into the ‘second phase’ of the lockdown things will slowly start getting back to ‘normal’ soon. At least whatever that new normal may be.  I know some of you have carried on with your normal working life whilst others have been adapting to working from home. I hope that you all have managed to keep your jobs during this uncertain time.

For those of you working in ‘key roles’ I’d like to share my thanks; keeping the country operating throughout this mad time has been a massive task.

COVID-19 and Fluffies

I haven’t had a lot to do since lockdown started. On the plus side, lots of ‘annoying’ jobs around the house have now been done!

I’m safe and well at home, although I’m not sure Squeak is quite as keen that I’m around so much. That said he doesn’t miss an opportunity for a knee …….

COVID-19 and holidays

Despite the positive news this last week on the slight easement on the lockdown conditions, the reality is that currently no holidays are yet possible here in the UK or abroad. That’s obviously having an impact on the bookings already in the diary as they were all made before things got complicated!

I’m checking the diary each month and if I’ve not heard from people I’m double-checking what their plans are. There’s little point checking much further ahead as things are changing so rapidly. Obviously there’s been a lot of cancellations throughout April & May but hopefully things will start to improve going forward. We await further news from the Government on that front.

New holidays or rearranged trips

As and when you have your new dates, please let me know and I will get them into the diary. I know some holidays (mine included) have been put back to 2021 whilst others are being rescheduled for later in the year.

I am anticipating that, as and when holidays are able to be booked that there will be a bit of a rush, so do let me know your dates as soon as you’ve got them.

Be well, stay safe and hope to see you soon.

Simeon

So if you’ve got your holiday dates sorted already, it’s not too soon to let me know. It gives you peace of mind well in advance that your pets will be covered whilst you’re on your holidays!

When are the ‘peak times’? Well it usually follows the school holidays as that’s when more people go away at the same time. For example:

• Late-May half-term: That’s usually the last week of May and the first week of June
• School summer holidays: August, basically!

In addition, September is often a very busy month with all those people not tied to the school holidays looking for a summer break.

If you want to make your 2020 holiday bookings please get in touch through the contact page!