The run up to Christmas...

We continue to feed the birds hard as Jack always says feed the birds in winter they reward us with birdsong for the rest of the year. I was out at 3 pre Christmas dinners one with Rachael at Sophie Legard's famously known Malton Supper Club and then with Matthieu to the Ryedale Beekeepers dinner.Matthieu has been staying with us for 9 weeks .A student from France who was polishing his English and I was broadening my French. He took home Christmas crackers they apparently dont have such things in France. He looked at me in total surprise when I stuck one under his nose and said pull.Also they dont have Christmas pudding but after three different times to get him to try it ,it was still a no-goer for him Lastly food wise I went with an old and dear friend, Kate Davies ,to be cooked for and entertained by Steve Bulmer who runs the Swinton Park Cookery School -but that is another blog the latter been a totally wonderful expience I would love to do again.

Wool Is Dangerous - we go back a long way ....

This popped up tonight and I just had to post it. It shows Christine who I used to go to college with and her son James. It is over 40 years ago that Christine's Dad,Eric and my dad used to take it in turns to drive us back to college in Scarborough every Sunday night. I am sure she will remember the girl who used to get a lift with us every week. Her dad never offered and her coat always smelt of mothballs. It was Christine's mother Maud who taught me to cook at the local bakery. She worked very hard and could roll pastry out so fast. As I graduated from washer up the jobs I got to thumbing up pastry which was my favourite job.Thumbing up meant you made the pastry once it has been rolled out to fit the pie tin. I truly believe that what we see and did in our teenage years moulds us for what we are today. I remember as a 15 -16 years old in the summer holiday we would think nothing about clocking 80 -90 hours of working a week. So Maud is one of the people I have to thank today for giving me the work ethos that has got me to where I am today.

Dinner with Chelsea Pensioners .. Also Breakfast tickets still available

You may remember 3 years ago when we raised over £8,700 for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance as part of the breakfast week -Shake Up ,Your Wake Up. It took a lots of weeks hard work and generousity from a host of people. Unfortunately this year as my mother has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of thyriod cancer I am not able to give as much time to feeding the 120 at one go as I did last time. But with it being Breakfast Week- the week bed and breakfast people taken it upon themselves to raise funds for good causes I still feel I want to do something. Back at the beginning of October we were privileged to meet some of the Chelsea Pensioners when they came to North Yorkshire .So I have had this plan in my head since then. Things are finally coming together and we can know let you know... I am passing on some of workload to Robert Thomspon and his hard working team to produce a dinner on the Monday evening , Thus been in a position to raise more money for the Chelsea Royal Hospital. We have 2 Chelsea Pensioners coming to stay with us for a few days. On the mornings Monday 26th and Tuesday 27th Jan 2015 we are hoping you will come and join us at 9.30am . Each table of 6 will be headed by a Chelsea Pensioner.It will give you ample opportunity to hold a conversation with him over breakfast and plenty of photo opportunities. Tickets are £15. As these are limited and going quickly you may like to attend the evening event We are also holding a 3 course Dinner at the White Swan in Ampleforth on the Monday night 6.30pm for 7pm . George Pickles -the Ripon Hornblower will be pleased to know that Roast beef and Yorkshire puddings are on the menu. Ian Rogers of RV Rogers of Pickering will be presenting The Chelsea Pensioners with Tommies Roses which were speically created for the 100 year memorial. There have been grown on the soil that the children brought back from the Battle of the Somme on a guncarriage. We hope that these will be planted in the Royal Chelsea Hospital Gardens along with one of the newly named "Ampleforth" roses. Jim and Wendy Davison who used to be the licencees at the Horse in Ampleforth have helped to bring about this event and will be in atendance throughout . So any one who knows this lovely couple will know we will all be in for a good night Tickets are £25- 01347 868526.

The Messiah at Ampleforth Abbey

If you missed this great musical event ,make a note in your diary for next year .We are only 5 minutes down the road. Our guests who came from Switzerland and London to listen. Mince pies and drinks are served half way through. Wonderful setting for Handel’s masterpiece The Abbey Church at Ampleforth provided a wonderful setting and backdrop for a superb performance of Handel’s Messiah. Hundreds of people, including those who had travelled some distance, came together to hear schoolchildren and professionals sing the masterpiece. Parents and local residents to the Abbey, together with representatives of the College and monastic community, gave the performance an enthusiastic reception. The choral masterpiece remains a classic musical oratorio and a fixture in Yorkshire’s Christmas calendar. Performed in the Abbey’s church, more than 110 students aged nine to 18 performed alongside internationally renowned soloists. Soprano Julie Cooper was unable to be there and her place was taken by Bethany Seymour alongside Marie Elliott (contralto) Matthew Long (tenor) and James Platt (bass). The Ampleforth Chamber Orchestra, with leader Dara De Cogan, provided the music while the chorus was provided by the Abbey’s School Cantorum and the Schola Puellarum plus the Schola Sancti Martini. The conductor was Ian Little, director of music at Ampleforth College. The Ampleforth choirs with Leeds Roman Catholic Cathedral Choir will give a programme of sacred music on March 22

Thursday must be film day ....

Thursday was the day that reports were revealed on how the impact of the Tour de France cycle race had been on the county.Yorkshire had hosted its Grandest of Grand Depart. There had been a conference about it. The Yorkshire Post had an article on the front page and I was interviewed by Tyne Tees presenter, Jonny Blair. It gave us good coverage showing the outside of the house as well as the inside. There was an interview in the dining room and me making a bed. I had to do it 4 times for the filming. It showed Matthieu our French helper studying with his book and he gave an interview too in very good English may I add. It was shown on Calendar at 6pm and again at the end of the 10pm news. It is always nice to hear from friends who have seen me for a while to contact us and say I have seen you on TV. My Dad said I was ok and didnt make a hash of it and so that is fine praise indeed. My Mother said I didnt look too scruffy and by wearing a shirt I didnt look too scraggy necked. So again that was praise. Jack oked it too .So the TV celebrity went to bed a happy bunny. I will try to post interview vis Youtube for those of you that cant get our regional news

York Designer Centre and the Ice Event

Welcome to York held their Christmas networking event at the MacAuthur Glen deisgner centre on Monday evening. Outside there was an ice skating rink which is open every day to the public . A funfair and little cabins with a Christmas theme all added to magic in the run up to Christmas. We were treated to warm hot chocolate with marshmallows and a mince pie or you could have mulled wine -this was in the PapaKata kitchen. The shops were open until 8pm so I went and had a look around. All the shopping crowds seemed to disappeared, so I more or less had the centre to myself. I bought a pair of snazzy pink Crew wellies for one of the grandchildren as she seems to have shot up all of a sudden and these were on her Christmas wish list. Here you see Janet Deacon from Scarborough and Welcome to Yorkshire with the ice rink and giant Christmas tree behind her