Here are some of the more important things that we would like you to do for us:

• Be part of our household. Although the cottage is completely self-contained, we expect you to join our household. My mother is normally alone in the main house for half the week; our household would not therefore be sustainable without your presence. For the sake of safety and security, we expect at least one of you to be present in or around your cottage from midday Tuesday till Friday night (except for short periods and pre-arranged holidays).
  
  
• Have your own transport. Our home is in a secluded rural position and my mother only drives in good daylight conditions. We therefore expect both of you to have cars and driving licences, and to run errands (shopping, etc.) for us.
  
  
• Help around the house. Previous cottage residents have helped us in a variety of ways, depending on their own skills and circumstances. We already employ a cleaner three days a week, and a gardener three days a week; so we can be reasonably flexible in what we expect from you.
  
  In order to give you some general guidelines, here are some examples of the kind of help we expect from you:
  
  • Keeping all the paths around the house clear and safe
  • Cutting back excess growth in summer
  • Bringing in plenty of firewood in winter
  • Ensuring that all our flood precautions are working: pumps, drains, stand-by generator, etc.
  • Reporting things that are broken or need attention, and ensuring that we do not run out of essential supplies
  • Short walks with my mother 2-3 mornings per week
  • Driving my mother to go shopping, etc. 2-3 afternoons per week
  • General tidying up
  
  
• Be committed to staying in this area. The position is open to people of any nationality; however, preference will be given to those who can demonstrate some reason for staying in the local area (roughly bounded by Winchester, Basingstoke, Guildford and Petersfield).