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