It's all hands on deck for the daily half-marathon

Time seems to have catapulted forward since my last musing, with life revolving round work, work and more work. My poor cat and I have become strangers passing in the night. Amazing really, as summer seems to have passed us by this year and yet, in spite of a lack of sunshine, St Mawes has been packed to the gills.

For those not familiar with this tip of Cornwall, let me paint a brief picture for you. We have a gorgeous little harbour. It has a large car park, three quaint hotels, two pubs, two restaurants (in addition to the hotel ones), a tiny assortment of everyday shops and an even smaller number of "pottering" shops and galleries for visitors - more of which visitors and hoteliers would like to see. Oh, and a beautifully sited castle.

Most of the village is taken up by fabulous homes, the likes of which would make you never want to go away on holiday because their outlook is so great. If you watch Dawn French's new series starting in September (Wild West is the title, I believe) then you will catch glimpses of it.

The village is at its best just before sunset, when all goes quiet and you have what I can only imagine is referred to as "artist's light". It's quite magical and very tranquil. Amazing, then, that it gets so manic, with the car park overflowing on some days and every yellow line covered. Strategic planning has to be put on hold temporarily as a hands-on approach is demanded to help my weary staff serve up an endless procession of morning coffees, lunches and Cornish cream teas. I'm thinking about getting them to wear pedometers, as I reckon they must walk a half-marathon at least every day.

I'm pleased to report that we are having a great year and have managed to grow sales by 18% to date over last year. We have one month left before builders move in and start what I can only describe as our renaissance. By spring next year we'll have a brand new restaurant, on three levels to take full advantage of the waterside views; a new bar with improved space for brasserie eating; a terrace we can use for eight or nine months of the year; and a new lounge, kitchen and reception area.

We are apprehensive about the ensuing chaos and also wildly excited, as our whole approach to food and service will be considerably enhanced.

Stay tuned, as I'm sure my future diaries will be full of tales of battles between us, hell-bent on protecting our guests, and builders who have a mind-set of their own.

However, right now most of my staff are more excited by the prospect of retired motor racing commentator Murray Walker's impending visit. We seem to have done pretty well with celebrity visits this year, and the frisson of excitement they create is a boost, although we work madly hard to treat them the same as all our guests. Its nice to know that the Tresanton up the road doesn't hog them all!

Yvonne Scott is general manager of the Idle Rocks hotel, in St Mawes, Cornwall, a privately owned, 27-bedroom property
Next diary from Yvonne Scott: 10 October