We were up on the North York Moors earlier this week and noticed that the Mayflower (Hawthorn to those more in the know)was in bloom. This usually heralds the onset of warmer weather - so here's keeping our fingers crossed for a balmy month. Given the improved weather and the prospect of warmer evenings out we thought it overdue to put "pen to paper" and let readers know some of our favourite eating places. All bar one are within easy walking distance of Feverham Lodge.

Visitors to York often ask us for suggestions on eating out. Whilst we are generally spoilt for dining choices in York, we provide below details of five eating places in the York area. Each is different but each is distinctive.

The Lime House
In our opinion the crème de la crème of restaurants in York. Adam and Catherine Fisher have owned The Lime House for some seven years and during that time have garnered numerous awards and gained a justifiable reputation for outstanding cuisine. Adam learnt about culinary variety at The Green House in Mayfair, & about the qualities of fish in a Mediterranean Restaurant in the South of France. As Chef/Director of Cafe Bleu in Newark he achieved entry into the Good Food Guide. In 2003 they won the York Tourism Bureau’s accolade “Restaurant of the Year
Adam says; “I am passionate about using good quality local produce and love to discover new ways of incorporating ingredients in my dishes to suit different palates.”

The words of one of our guests says it all
.“We had both a dinner and lunch at the Lime House. The dinner was to celebrate our anniversary and it was outstanding. Great food, ambience and service. It was so good we went back for lunch and had their special. Two courses for £8.75 – it has to be the best value in the UK”
(Incidentally Elaine and I also celebrated our wedding annivesary at The Lime House and you can read our comments on our previous blog "The Good the sad but nothing ugly").
The web address is www.limehouserestaurant-york.co.uk

Bengal Brasserie
“A belting restaurant” was how a couple from Wigan described the Bengal Brasserie. Situated in the heart of York the Bengal Brasserie is arguably the city’s finest curry restaurant. Winner of the British Curry Award in 2005 it provides a convivial and comfortable environment in which to sample their Indian and Bengali delights. From time to time the Bengal Brasserie performs Indian cooking demonstrations teaching you the secrets of Bengali Cuisine. Whether your taste in curry is a mild dish like a Korma or maybe something with a little more spice you are unlikely to be disappointed.

The web address is www.bengal-brasserie.com

Plunkets
This year Plunket’s celebrates its 30th birthday and its longevity is testimony to its quality. Stars of the past and present adorn the walls of the stylishly decorated restaurant, while the upstairs bar is a comfortable place to rendezvous.
A major part menu of the Plunkets menu is based on food originating in Mexico and the American South West. Plunkets view is there is a real feeling of excitement and pride in the food from these countries and wherever possible Plunkets uses fresh ingredients in order to make their "imitations" authentic. Fresh chilli plays an important role but it is the distinctive colour and variety which make the taste buds tingle. The food quite literally sizzles with flavour.

The web address is www.plunkets.co.uk

The Bluebell at Alne
The Bluebell in the village of Alne (some 20 minutes from York) is the quintessential English village pub. Michael and Annette Anson acquired the Bluebell in April, 2002 and extensively refurbished the pub. Michael was formerly the Chef at the Fauconberg Arms, Coxwold, having been at the Carpenters' Arms, Felixkirk prior to that. With that pedigree its no surprise that foreign visitors seeking an authentic pub experience sing the Bluebell’s praises.
Try the Goat's Cheese Salad (Oven baked Goat's Cheese, served on rocket and mixed leaf salad, with a honey and lemon dressing) to start and follow it with Millefeuille of Pork (Layers of Pan Fried Pork Fillet and Apple, served with a Cheddar Cheese Crown and a rich Port Sauce.).

The web address is www.bluebellalne.co.uk

The Mulberry Hall Coffee Shop
Mulberry Hall, founded and owned by the Sinclair family for fifty years, is a flagship store for fine china, crystal, cutlery and cookware. Set in beautifully preserved premises, dating from 1434, browsers are welcome to visit their seventeen showrooms.
Whilst exploring Mulberry Hall take time to visit the delightful Mulberry Hall Coffee Shop on the first floor - a traditional English style tea room and sunny conservatory.
It's a delightful environment to enjoy a wide selection of light lunches and snacks freshly prepared on the premises. Also indulge in the day's selection of desserts from the cake trolley. Particularly tempting are the Treacle Tart, a heavenly Banoffie Pie and arguably Yorkshire's finest Curd Tart.
Everything is served on the finest china ("Night & Day" by Wedgwood) and cutlery (by Robert Welch) both available at Mulberry Hall.

The web address is www.mulberyhall.co.uk

As usual we end with the month's diary of events.

3rd/5th May Fiesta Parliament Street Parliament Street, York
3rd May Flamenco Guitar Workshop Merchant Adventurers' Hall Fossgate, York
10:00 to 12:00 01904 654818
10th/11th May Battlegroup North & Military Wheels & Wings Show Yorkshire Air Museum
Halifax Way, Elvington, York 01904 608595
14th/16th May May Horse Racing Festival York Racecourse 01904 620911
16th May 2008 Bonhams Valuation Day Fairfax House Castlegate, York 01904 655543
24th/26th May School of Chivalry Clifford's Tower Tower Street, York 01904 646940
25th/26th May Ryedale Festival of Food and Drink Castle Howard 01653 648333

In accordance with our theme we sign off by wishing you "a great dining experience".
David & Elaine

Firstly the Good. We celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary last Friday with an outstanding meal at the award winning Lime House Restaurant. Adam and Catherine Fisher have run the Lime House for some seven years and it never fails to draw excellent comments from guests we have recommended it to.
Elaine started with a Mediterranean Platter of artichokes, black olives, sunblushed tomotoes, buffalo mozzarella, lemon houmous and beetroot pannacotta whilst I had Adam's Avocado & Brie Cheesecake with a grape salad and red wine dressing. We both enthused over the way the ingredients blended to-gether.For our main course I had the Blade of Yorkshire beef slow cooked in red wine & herbs accompanied by a delicate Steak and Mushroom Suet pudding, creamed potatoes and a tarragon jus.
Elaine had the Loin of Wild Boar served on a Sweet Potato Bubble and Squeak with a sage and cider jus.
Only one word describes the Main courses; Superb.
As this was our wedding anniversary we decided to "go big or go home" and indulged ourselves on one of Adam's homemade puds. With my predilection for anything with hints of racy acidity, hence my love of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, I opted for the Rhubarb and Custard Cheesecake whilst "milady" had the legendary homemade Sticky Toffee Pudding with Cinnamon and Brandy Ice Cream.
We can unhestatingly recommend the Lime House for an outstanding meal. Access their website and we are sure you will be tempted. www.limehouserestaurant-york.co.uk

Now for the sad. As regular readers will know we were one of four finalists for the York Tourism Bureaus Guest House of The Year 2008 award. Having been the first Guest House to have won the award two years running (2006 and 2007) we were chasing an unprecedented hat trick. The awards dinner was last Wednesday
Sadly it was not to be and we were runners up. Not surprisingly I, in particular, was very disappointed (my sporting competitiveness finding defeat hard). However the response of two of our most supportive guests eased the pain.
The first pointed out quite rightly that no other guest house has ever achieved what we have and as she said "you were so close to immortality".
The other e-mailed us the following:

Hi, just wanted to say again how truly sorry we are that you didn't
win last night. I guess they felt they couldn't give it to the same place
three years running but you know that your place is even better than
it was last year so don't let it discourage you in any way. I was
absolutely gutted when I heard your news and it must have been awful to
have to sit there. I only wish I could change the result for you.
Don't be discouraged though, it's honestly not a reflection on you
guys other than that you won twice before. (Silly really that that
seems to have prejudiced you!)

With guests like that what more can we ask.
So we conclude by saying that far from being discouraged we are determined to prove the judges made a mistake and will continue to provide all our guests with the same service and attention to detail.
We look forward to welcoming both new and returning guests to Feversham Lodge.
Take care.
David and Elaine.

With yesterday (31/03) being sunny and warmer (16 degrees) than it has been for months it seems that the weather has finally turned, hence the title of this blog. Having said that one cautions any prediction as the UK's weather can be fickle. However, hope springs eternal and perhaps we are in for a summer like 2006 when we had to invest in fans for all the bedrooms.
March has been pretty hectic and we have been running pretty much at full speed.

We had a great crowd in for the Easter weekend and fortunately the weather was reasonable. With Easter so early this year the weather was always likely to be a lottery. During the month we also had a visit from Claire and Andrew of Carlisle. They have been very loyal supporters of Feversham Lodge and this was their eighth visit since we opened four years ago. Claire was sporting a very swish engagement ring and their wedding date is set for the 1st August.

During the month we also learnt that we are again finalists for the York Tourism Bureau's Guest House of the Year award. We have since had our inspection and the awards ceremony is on the 16th April. This year it will be at the Knavemire suite at York Racecourse followed by dinner and dancing. With our 35th wedding anniversary on the 18th it would be a great present if we were to win it again. Last year we became the first Guest House to win the award two years running and a hat trick would be great.

Our April "what's on in York" follows:
A new exhibition has opened at the Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington. Against the Odds is the story of Bomber Command in the Second World War and is a tribute to the 900 or so Yorkshire based airmen who lost their lives during the War. The exhibition was opened by David Jason at the end of last month and runs throughout the summer. www.yorkshireairmuseum.co.uk

From 19th March: "Swing back to the Sixties" Castle Museum. www.yorkcastlemuseum.org.uk
1st March to 31st August: "Surviving Henry: Tudor Howards on the block." Castle Howard. www.castlehoward.co.uk
Until 13th April: "Passed as Present." Past Masters compared with contemporary works. York Art Gallery.
4th to 26th April: "Three men in a Boat" York Theatre Royal. www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk
9th April: Farmers' Market Castle Howard.
14th April: Around the World in the company of great composers. Popular music from around the world. 1pm St. Helens Church.
15th to 19th April: "Me and my Girl". Joseph Rowntree Theatre. www.nems-york.co.uk
28th April: "Rhapsody in Blue." The Gershwin Story. 1pm St Helen's Church

Well it seems that we have seen the last of winter. The weather in York was decidedly mild throughout February and the snowdrops and crocuses are out. These for me are always a portent of spring and indeed the yellow of the first daffodils are already brightening up the old moat around the city walls.
Elaine and I spent the first few days of the week in London. We had been given a London Theatre voucher for Christmas and since our daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter were in Austria we took the opportunity of using their flat in Wimbledon as a base. As they say in the classics "whilst the children are away the parents will play". Monday morning was spent at Kew Gardens and we relished the opportunity to walk the gardens and enjoy the sunshine and the first of the season's flowers.
On Monday night we went to see THE SEA which starred Eileen Atkins (recently in the BBC's adaption Cranford with Judy Dench) and David Haig (Inspector Grimm in The Thin Blue Line). Sadly these two great thespians failed to lift what was a rather bizarre play.
We also had the opportunity to finally go on the London Eye which we enjoyed but concluded that the York Wheel at the National Railway Museum was better value for money.
We came back via Rochester and Chatham. The former reminded us of Simonstown in the Western Cape of South Africa. This is not altogether surprising as Simonstown was for many years the Royal Naval base in Southern Africa (it even boasts a pub called Nelson's Eye).
After leaving Kent we traveled to Bedford to pick up some homemade marmalade. For those who have yet to visit us this is not as strange as it seems. For the first few years after purchasing Feversham Lodge we bought our marmalade from the Coxwold Tea Rooms in Coxwold. However about seven months ago, and unbeknown to us, Mervyn and Margaret sold the place. The new owners seemed unsure as to where they were now based and could only tell us they had moved down south.
However, Elaine is not for nothing the daughter of an officer who served in Military Intelligence during the war and after some detective work she found they were now based in Bedford. A phone call later and we had placed our order and we are pleased to inform one and all that we are again serving Mervyn's Masterful Marmalade at breakfast.

Now for our update of forthcoming York events.

1st/14th March: York Literature Festival. www.readwriteyork.co.uk
7/16th March: York Festival of Science and Technology. www.sciencecityyork.org.uk
8/9th March: Fair Trade Festival with York Samba Band. Parliament Square.
9th March: Open cab access to the locos' at the National Railway Museum.
15th March: How did they do it? Building York Minster. Includes a visit to the rarely seen Masons Loft and Chapter House roof. Free but advance booking essential. Tel 01904 557224
15th March - 20th April. Easter Chocolate Trail (includes ghost cellar tours) Treasurer's House. 01904 624247
22nd to 24th March; York Model Railway Show: Knavemire Stand, York Racecourse. www.yorkshow.freeserve.co.uk
20th and 27th March Live Music Black Swan Inn, Peasholme Green
York Theatre Royal. St Leonard's Place www.yorktheateroyal.co.uk
Grand Opera House. Cumberland Street. www.grandoperahouseyork.org.uk

Until next month, ciao.

One month down and eleven to go. It seems only yesterday that we were celebrating Christmas and the New Year and already a month of 2008 has passed. Where oh where does the time go. We have had an enjoyable start to the new year with repeat visits from old friends who have availed themselves of our Sunday to Thursday 3 nights for the price of two offer and we were particularly pleased to have Mike and Bernie Fenn celebrate Bernie's birthday with last weekend.

Talking of birthdays I celebrate the BIG 6 in October and had thought of entering the London Marathon in 09 as this would have given me boasting rights to having completed a marathon in each of the decade since reaching 30. The look I got from the family when I suggested it was enough to make me realize that I have some persuading to do. But who knows - all I can say is watch this space.

This evenings news confirmed what we have suspected. January was the wettest month on record in North Yorkshire beating even that of June last year. Fortunately York escaped any serious flooding although the River Ouse was at one time 4.37 metres (about 15 feet) above its usual level. As usual the Kings Arms pub flooded and was again featured in the national press. For those of you who intend to visit York this year the pub is worth a visit if only to see the marks on the pub wall which indicate the dates and the level of flooding over the years.
Incidentally, you may be interested to know that last month York was voted the UK’s favorite city by the Daily Telegraph’s readers beating Edinburgh and Bath in the process. Not only that but York was also voted European City of the Year in August 2007 (beating Valencia and Gothenburg). If you haven’t yet visited this jewel in the UK’s tourism crown why not plan a trip during 2008.

With only a French couple overnighting last night (they are off to Edinburgh to watch the Scotland France rugby match on Sunday) Elaine and I took the opportunity to take a trip to Whitby. The weather was sunny, a real bonus, and we decided that as part of a new exercise regime we would walk along the beach from Whitby to Sandsend and back.

The outward walk was not unlike walking on Strandfontein Beach in Cape Town when the southeaster blows. The difference being that we were walking a round trip of 4 miles and the temperature was 6 degrees. That the outward journey took 50 minutes whilst we got back in 35 gives you an indication of the wind strength.

Despite it all we felt invigorated by our efforts and are hopeful that next week will provide a similar opportunity although I fear that it will not happen this weekend as the prediction is for heavy snow.

Below is "What's Happening" in York this month. We do hope it helps you with planning your trip.

FEB 7th to July: China in York - A city wide programme to mark the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Events at Castle Museum, National Railway Museum, Fairfax House, York University and York St John University.

Feb 12th - 23rd My Fair Lady. York Theatre Royal. www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

FEB 13th - 17th - JORVIK Viking Festival - Tel: 01904 543403 www.jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk

Until March: Unfair Trade. New exhibition marking 200th anniversary of abolition of the slave trade. The Castle Museum. www.yorkcastlemuseum.org.uk

Feb 9th - 24th A day out with Thomas. Thomas, Diesel and the Trucks will all be here. National Railway Museum. www.nrm.org.uk

Feb 16th - 13th March York Literature Festival www.readwriteyork.co.uk

Until next month take care.

A belated happy new year and apologies that the blog has been in hibernation. No excuse except that I wanted to ensure that when next I wrote our new website pictures were on the site. Suffice to say that they are all there and even though one shoudn't blow one's one trumpet I think the Lodge is finally at the level we would want.
We have been closed since the 22nd December but had a really enjoyable run up to closing date. York has a series of themed weekends in December and we had the bonus of having two weekends where the house was full of repeat visitors.
On each of the Friday nights we opened the drawing room and invited the guests in for pre dinner mulled wine and mince pies. This proved really enjoyable and gave our guests the opportunity to meet one another. It's a bit early to be thinking of the festive season of 2008 but it's woth remebering that two of the weekends were fully booked some 10 weeks in advance. If you are planning to get to York at this time remember to book early.
We had the family with us for Christmas and as per usual had our Christmas meal on the night of the 24th. This has been a tradition and frees Elaine from having to cook on Christmas Day. It also means we can get to the Christmas church service without having to give food a thought.
Having a house full of family gave me ample opportunity to indulge in my passion for wine. Three that we particularly liked were
* Tattinger NV Champagne - some of the supermarkets often have this on a pre Valentines special at 50% of the usual price. If you see on offer grab it.
* Canaletto Primotivo - An Italian classic - 100% primotivo grapes with a lovely bouquet and long finish.
Penfolds Bin 389 - often called "baby Grange" as it is matured in the American oak barriques that are used to msture Penfolds icon wine Grange.
Given the price differential - Grange £100 Bin 389 £12 - there is no doubt in my mind that this is a bargain.
As those of you have stayed at Feversham in December will know we go very festive and the dining room has a complete decor makeover - always an exciting time for us as the room takes on a completely different feel.
Yesterday we packed away the Christmas decor and the house is back to its "Guest House" livery.
As usual we are running our "Mid week Winter Special" of "three nights for the price of two". This is for bookings from Sunday night to Thursday
night. If you wish to use this offer just give us a call.
I conclude by wishing you all a wonderful year and we hope to welcome you to Feversham Lodge in 2008.

Apologies, apologies!! For those of you who are regular readers of our blog our apologies for this months late submission. My only excuse is that we have just been on holiday. Some months ago our elder daughter suggested that we join then on a Tuscan holiday. At the time, given that we were in the middle of a hectic summer season, the idea seemed seductive. So we booked a rural country retreat and the whole family (six in all) set off on the 23rd.
We finally arrived at 10.10 on Sunday night and rural it most certainly was, with the nearest "town" being Montaione, which was some 20 minutes drive.
Furthermore we had taken the "bookings book" so as to respond to possible accommodation enquiries and had to travel to San Gimignano (a 50 minute round trip) to access e-mails at an internet cafe.
Needless to say this was a bit on a bind. I say this for a few reasons. Firstly the road was narrow, scondly it seemed to have been designed with a view to causing as many accidents as possible and lastly the less said about the driving the better. It was like driving in South Africa with the added disadvantage of driving on the right hand side.
Of course the Tuscan hills are beautiful but not recommended is trying to view them while negotiating a hairpin bend with a ten ton truck bearing down on you.
Whilst we had the opportunity to taste some wonderful wines we found restaurant prices to be significantly higher than on our previous trip.
From Tuscany we moved on to Venice for three days and again found prices to over the top.
Our B and B cost us £75 per night and included a breakfast which comprised a small glass of juice, a tub of yoghurt, one sweet croissant and a cup of coffee. In fairness however the room, once one had climbed six flights of stairs was comfortable.
In fact in retrospect we felt we could have had as an enjoyable a break in the UK at a cheaper price. This is based on the fact that our self catering accommodation in Tuscany cost us £40 per person per night and that the average price for pretty ordinary meal was between £8.50 and £10.50. Even wine prices were much the same as those in the UK. This might sound like us touting for business and sure an overseas trip is fun, but next time you plan one do your sums and I am certain you will find that the UK offers great value for money.
During last month York was host to The Duke of York, Prince Andrew. He was here to attend a service at York Minster for the Duke of York's Regiment.
As fate would have it that same weekend we had Sarah Ferguson as a guest.
Breakfast on Sunday was a boisterous affair after I said to the other guests, "Who needs the Duke of York, when we have Sarah Ferguson staying at Feversham. In fact our Sarah mentioned that when she visits the doctor or dentist and the name Sarah Ferguson is announced there is an immediate reaction from the other patients as they turn to see where she is, followed by sheepish grins.
Finally this month sees the following happening in York.

1-12 October; York Minster Revealed. Over 100 paintings of the Minster dating from 17th century to present. York Minster
9-12 October; Opera; Hugh the Drover by Vaughan Williams at York Theatre Royal.
13-31 October; Halloween Festival; York Dungeon.
20-28 October; Triumphs and Tragedies; National Railway Museum. www.nrm.org.uk
26 Oct-3 Nov; The Keys to the Kingdom; Museum Gardens (Performances nightly at 7.00 and 8.00)
26-28 October; York Roman Festival. www.yorkromanfestival.com
26 Oct-3 Nov:Illuminating York, an innovative light display will open during which various York landmarks will be transformed at night. Further info can be gleaned from www.illuminatingyork.org.uk

Until next time look after yourselves.
David.
P.S. For those of your who have not been to YORK for a while or not previously visited our lovely city, you may be interested to know that YORK has just won the accolade EUROPEAN CITY OF THE YEAR 2007/08. In doing so it beat off strong competition from the other finalists Valencia and Gothenberg.

Well another month has passed and what a month it has been. The weather improved in York although temperatures were never above 20 degrees. You will notice from the title that three things of note happened this month and taking each in turn I'll deal with the winners one first.
No we were not lucky punters during the Ebor Race Festival (that's another story) but won something of far greater value to our Guests.
During the month we had our annual Quality in Tourism grading. The Assessor (it sounds much nicer than Inspector) booked in anonymously and after spending the night and sampling Elaine's breakfast let us know who she was as she paid. As you can imagine you run through all that you have said and done hope and pray that you haven't made any Basil or Manuel gaffs.
She, as is usual, asked to see all the rooms and then we settled down in the Lounge for her verdict.
Well we received Very Good on everything (bedrooms, bathrooms, linen, toiletries etc., that's a score of over 80%). However for our Dining Room, and the quality and range of choice of our Breakfasts we scored Excellent. We also scored Excellent for Hospitality. Both of these scores are over 90%.
More importantly we not only retained our 4 Stars but WON A SILVER AWARD.
This is achieved by less than 5% of Guest Houses in the UK.
For those of you who have stayed with us we wish to assure you we will not rest on our laurels and we intend to lift the bar ever higher during the next year.
I mentioned earlier the Races. August is always one of the busiest months in York and this year it has been manic. Not only did we have the Ebor Racing Festival but it was followed by a Bank Holiday Week end.
Consequently we were almost full every night of the month and last night climbed into bed at 21.00. An unusally early time for us but we felt we deserved some extra sleep. It's amazing how a good night's sleep regenerates one and this morning we rose bright and early and "rarin to go".
Finally "WET".
Some months ago we decided that the whole family would book for the Castle Howard proms. These were on the 18th and after much planning we had our pinic supper organised, the "bubbly on ice" and the chairs and table booked. All we needed was the weather to play ball. It didn't.
Tim, our son-in-law, and I went early to stake our claim to a prime spot and to set up everything. We then waited for the ladies to arrive - in what was a fine drizzle. Sadly it didn't let up all night - in fact it got progressively worse. One of the highlights, the Spitfire fly past was cancelled and we eventually sat huddled under our umbrellas.
The real surprise was that despite the weather we had a great evening listening to some super music. The finale was a fireworks display by the team that did the Millenium display in London. It can only be described as AWESOME.
We can really recommend the Proms (even if you are no clasical music lover) and for those of you looking for a truly unique evening, why not check the dates and come up to York next year.

As usual we conclude with "WHAT'S ON IN YORK" next month.

WED 5 Sept. York Races at the Knavemire.
FRI 7 Sept. Haunted Horror Maze. Grimston Bar
Sun 8 Sept. Canine Capers. York Maze, Grimston Bar
Sun 9 Sept. York Races at the Knavemire
9th 15th Sept. British Association Festival of Science. Programme on www.the-ba.net/festivalofscience
15/16th Sept. National Book Fair. Knavemire Suite, York Racecourse
20/31st Sept. York Festival of Food and Drink A GREAT EVENT. Programme on www.yorkfestivaloffoodanddrink.com

That's it for now. Take care.
David.
P.S. Just some information for those of you who have not visited YORK previously or have not been in YORK for a while.
YORK has been voted EUROPEAN CITY OF THE YEAR for 2007/8. In winning this accolade YORK beat off strong competition from the other finalists Valencia and Gothenburg.

What a sight. York bathed in sunshine. Yes you read it correctly. At last a summers day. Elaine and I had to go into town earlier and it was idyllic. Families walking in the sunshine down by the river, others having luncheon in the gardens of some of the restaurants - it really was balm for the soul. We are hoping that we have turned the corner and that we may still have a braai (barbecue for those unfamiliar with this South African term) before the onset on autumn.
During July York Racecourse hosted the John Smith racing festival. This is always popular and this year was no exception. As we had a full house for Saturday and Sunday nights we decided to take one night bookings for the Friday night. Not a wise move as we had five complete room changes on Saturday morning. Needless to say that by the end of the weekend we were pretty exhausted.
If any manifestation of how tired I was was necessary it occurred at Tesco when I pulled in to get petrol. Having filled up the car I went in to pay and after finally getting to the front of the queue the cashier greeted me by name. He happens to live two doors from us and I had not even recognised him. I explained rather sheepishly that I was shattered after our hectic weekend.
He then asked me what my number was and I replied 971. He looked decidedly bemused and asked again. I began this time by stating the car registration number which of course includes 971.
"Get a grip David, I want your pump number so I can charge you for your petrol" was his reply.
We had a good laugh and "get a grip David" has become the cry when things threaten to go pear shaped.
For those of you planning a trip to York during August, the following info might prove useful:

Late July - Early Sept - York Maze - York's amazing maize maze. New location to be confirmed, www.yorkmaze.com

Aug 4/5 Am I not your Brother? In commemmoration of the abolition of slavery. Authentic testimonies. 11.00 Clifford's Tower.

Aug 10 (Friday) Free admission Stonemasons Yard; York Minster 9.30-3.00

Aug 13 The Schbert Story featuring Vincent Billington (piano) and Philip Mindenhall (narrator). The life story of the Vienese master. 13.00 St Helens Church.

Aug 18/19 Hollywood comes to York. Public exhibition of authentic props and costumes. City Screen; Coney St. www.moviemaniaonline.co.uk

Aug 18 - Castle Howard Prom Spectacular - Open air picnic concert with fireworks, tel: 01653 648623

Aug 18 - Aug 19 - Yorkshire Air Show - Elvington, tel: 01759 305851

Aug 21 - Aug 23 - York Races - Ebor Festival - Tel: 01904 620911

Aug 24 Polish and Eastern European Market. Parliament Square.

Ciao for now.

After the madness of what has seemed like weeks of inclement weather to-day dawned bright and clear and Elaine and I walked into town. Yes walked with not a threat of rain. As many of you will know England and Wales and south Yorkshire in particular has suffered from quite unbelievable weather. Whilst we in York have got by relatively unscathed we still had our fair share and on the last Monday in June we had a months rainfall in 6 hours.

This led to some bookings being cancelled but the British folk are nothing if not resilient and a bit of rain was not going to stop them having a weekend away.

We have finally got the bathrooms completed and even if I say so myself, our plumber has done a great job so much so that a recent guest was moved to write in the Visitors Book:
" So good this place should be five star gold status."

We are currently in the throes of redoing our website photos and once complete I will advise you via the blog. That will give you all an opportunity to see not only the bathrooms but also the revamped Dining Room and Victorian Room.

Happenings of interest in York this month are as follows:
10/13 July York Early music festival
13/14 July York Races
15 July Great York Dragon Boat Challenge
20/21 July Stamp and Coin Fair at the Knavemire
27 July York Farmers Market
29 July Jazz in the afternoon at Castle Howard
28/29 July York Roman Festival

Also on at the York Art Gallery is and exhibition of works by Henri Fantin-Latour (until 23 September).

Until next time take care.