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Review of Aztec Hotel and Spa, Bristol

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Review of Aztec Hotel and Spa, Bristol

A day at the Aztec Hotel and Spa

October 4, 2019

Oh my goodness, I have just returned from the most wonderful day out at the Aztec Hotel and Spa, just North of Bristol. Breakfast, a swim, a spa treatment, a masterclass with chef, Marc Payne and then an eight course taster meal from the new winter menu in the Curious Kitchen restaurant. Yes, I said eight…

Adagio teas

Tea for people who don’t like tea! (And for those who do.)

October 3, 2018

When Adagio Teas asked if I’d like to work with them, I had to be honest in my reply; that I don’t actually like tea. On my trips to America, this is like saying I’m not actually British, but my main disgruntle is that I couldn’t join in with all the beautiful Instagrams of cups of tea! I do, however like fruit infusions, and the mango flavoured tea I had at the Jane Austen Centre a couple of weeks ago was very nice, so I asked if I could try their flavoured tea….

Afternoon tea in Bath

Afternoon Tea with Mr Darcy at the Jane Austen Centre in Bath, Somerset

September 21, 2018

We asked what Jude would like to do for her Twentieth birthday (yes, you did hear me correctly: twentieth birthday) and she asked to go out for afternoon tea. I’ll be honest, when I agreed, I was thinking more like at a National Trust cafe, but Jude had in mind the full afternoon tea experience. Apart from on a cruise, I’ve never done this, (it’s the sort of thing I’ll do when I grow up) so was looking forward to experiencing the proper deal….

Review of the Rose and Crown in Dunton Green

Review of the Rose and Crown restaurant in Dunton Green, Sevenoaks, Kent

February 9, 2018

There is a fundamental problem about going to visit my parents, and that is that the dog has to sleep in our bedroom. If he doesn’t he ends up scratching the door or waking everyone up whining, so instead I suffer with the noise he makes while he sleeps. Imagine something like a cross between an elephant and a sea-lion snoring whilst dreaming of mating, and you’ve almost got the level of noise our beloved Loki makes at night. (And day for that matter. Whenever he’s asleep basically.) So I admit, I was in somewhat of a tired daze the day we went to the Rose and Crown pub restaurant in Dunton Green to celebrate Dad’s birthday. However, I do remember the essentials well enough to write a little review….

mail order dog food review

Yes, this is a blog post about dog food! Natural grain-free food and treats from an online pet shop.

October 26, 2017

Loki has become the star of the show in several of my YouTube videos. He also commands attention whenever we take him anywhere; we love him to bits, but he can also be a bit embarrassing! He slobbers on everyone; bumps into them; accidentally knocks small children over and even when we meet people who are perfectly fine with all that, he will never take a treat from them. When family buy him expensive treats at Christmas, they’re lucky if they get a sniff. Even at the Pylle Happy Landings dog show, he wouldn’t take the free samples of handmade dog treats offered to him. He just isn’t interested. As a puppy we had to train him with cheap sausages and pieces of cheese – not the easiest of foodstuffs to take about with you. So when PetShop sent me a box of dog goodies to review, I didn’t hold out much hope….

Review of the mitre restaurant in Oxford

A quick review of The Mitre restaurant in Oxford

My trip to Oxford was a year ago now, but I found this review in my notebook, so I thought I’d type it up as it could be useful to someone visiting Oxford. Just to fill you in, as part of my Christmas and birthday presents, I had a little two-night stay in a lovely hotel near the city, all by myself. It was heaven! Anyway, you can never go wrong with a Beefeater restaurant, so I tried the one on Oxford High Street called The Mitre….

How to host an afternoon tea party

October 18, 2016

Yes I know it’s not exactly the weather for this in the garden any more, but it can still be done inside! My daughter didn’t want to go out on the piss for her eighteenth birthday last month – partly because she’s the first of her friends to turn legal in pubs, so it wouldn’t be much fun getting drunk on her own – and partly because that’s not really her sort of thing anyway. For now at least! So it was her idea to have afternoon tea in the garden with a nod to an Alice in Wonderland theme….

Blackberry picking

October 4, 2016

At this time of year, throughout our childhood, my sister and I would go to Nanny Up-the-road’s house (Or Nanna Sharland to my cousins) and then we would venture off to Woodland’s Walk with washed empty ice-cream tubs ready to fill with autumn fruit. I used to look forward to it so much. Proof that you don’t need expensive toys and gadgets to have fun – just nature and family time. This is a gentle post about memories and blackberries….

What to do with your leftover rhubarb

September 28, 2016

Rhubarb is virtually indestructible and is about the only fruit or vegetable I can rely on in the garden! My rhubarb was inherited from previous owners of our old house and moved with us to this one, so is at least seventeen years old. It just keeps on and on growing from March until the first hard frost. If you’re the same and still have some left and are bored of rhubarb crumble and thinking, What shall I do with my rhubarb? then here’s a couple of suggestions: Rhubarb streusels and rhubarb muffins. Both these recipes have been adapted from magazines, and you’ll need plenty of paper cupcake cases. The streusels especially, are a hit in the family…..

3 days in Oxford – Day 1. The story of the photographs

September 16, 2016

I was so excited about this little mini-break to Oxford. I love my family to bits, but sometimes it’s nice to be alone and have a little headspace all to yourself! I also find it difficult to relax at home because there’s always so much to do there. I don’t think it helps that I work from home either, so no matter if it’s the evening or weekend, I still always feel I should either be working or doing something towards fixing the house. I was also a little bit nervous because I’m not great at driving and get flustered easily, but the journey was good; I didn’t get lost once and made it to the park and ride with no problems following the sat nav!….

Making a pineapple and walnut cake – a picture guide for beginners

These pictures were taken when I made my favourite cake to celebrate twelve years of this blog. The recipe is nothing particularly special or exciting, and now that the Great British Bake-off is such a hit, this is probably incredibly tame, but I thought I’d share it anyway. (At least I’m assuming that’s likely the case – I’ve never actually watched the show apart from one Children-in-need episode.) There’s a possibility you’ve never put pineapple or walnut together in a cake before, and now is your chance to be inspired! …

Birthday dinner at The Kingsdon Inn, nr Somerton, Somerset

It was my birthday! And what better way to celebrate than going out and have someone else cook for you. And clear away. Yeeees! I absolutely love eating out. It’s just such a pity that one meal out for the four of us costs about the same as our weekly shop from Tescos. But you see, (as I sometimes remember to remind myself) if you did it every day, it wouldn’t be special, would it? My lovely daughter, Rain did the research, and hunted out all restaurants within a reasonable distance that served Duck, being that duck is my favourite meal. The Kingsdon Inn came up as one of the top twenty restaurants in Somerset, and when my husband phoned to check food serving hours, it turned out you need to book well in advance if you want a table. We were lucky and got the second-to-last one; which is not what you’d expect for somewhere truly out in the sticks….