I know a place which you will never forget -trust me -

I know a place which you will never forget -trust me - when I attend marketing meetings, we are told only to tell customers so much. Tempt them to come and then tell them the rest. This is good advice most of the time. On this occasion it would be completely unfair not to tell locals and other people who have never had the experience where it is . Okay you may read this and stay well yes we take Anna's advice and we will stay there too. In normal circunstances I would be a bit miffed, but if you do all I can say is if you do enjoy it . The people who own it and those who work there are so kind to me. If I cant repay the favourite now and again it all gets a bit one sided. I will tell you at the end, if you havent already guessed where it is. I have been going here for over 50 years now and seen landlords come and go. - clue no 1. The present owner has just celebrate 27 years of running this fine place. Fine indeed it holds a Michellin star. Situated just outside Helmsley on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors. It is essentially an Inn with Rooms serving ‘modern Yorkshire’ food made primarily from locally-sourced seasonal ingredients, such as local game, North Sea fish and fresh herbs from its own kitchen garden. Wines and beers are carefully selected to compliment the dining menu, whilst service is knowledgeable, but friendly. Add to this the atmosphere of an Inn with hospitality steeped into its very timbers for a proper treat. So then it is to decide what to have. The other lunch time I had the market menu and Jack opted for dishes from the menu. I was in such a laid back mood I didnt want to go through the menu thinking oh yes I would like that, oh no I think this sounds amazing, but oh wow this is just up my street .I left it for the chef to decide the menu of the day for me. Then Jack had forgotten his specs so I had to go and choose for him. He was very pleased with what he ate, so I think I made the right choice. After we ordered it wasnt long before some warm spelt bread came with baked salted breadsticks which must have been 2 foot long. Accompanied with olive oil,balsamic and whipped Triple Cheese with herbs. Give me bread and I am happy. My starter was East Coast Mackeral -that was so fresh it just melted in my mouth .It was served with Elderflower, Pickled Gooseberries and cucumber and pineapple sorbet. Typing this reminds me, I wonder what my gooseberries are doing. I will have to take a look. Gooseberries were once a forerunner of rhubarb They seem to have be lost in the rhubarb fenzey which when I was young it was just boring old rhubarb. As children we used to watch with intent as they rose up through the straw in the old chimney pots my Grandad sat over them to encourage them to grow longer stalks. Then my friend Derrick and I used to have rhubarb fight using them as if they were swords ... weird children that we were back in those days. And sometime I used to walk about with a large rhubarb leaf on my head as if it was a hat fit for Ascot. The drawback was they did wilt pretty quickly. Sorry I have diversed from our food. Jack, I felt would like the Signature Dish established in 1996 of which clue 2 is a book title - "Black Pudding and Foie Gras . I actually am the lucky owner of one of these books as I understand they are now out of print. The Chef wrote another book which you can buy is called Loose Birds and Game. A multi-award-winning Game cookbook which includes stunning flavour combinations and recipes for Poultry, Game and Fish served at the Michelin-starred inn is certainly worth buying. Jacks' starter was Grilled Black Pudding and pan fried Foie Gras with Pickering Watercress ,Apple and Vanilla Chutney and a Scrumpy Reduction. For my main course it was a Yorkshire chicken skewer with a mango ,chilli and coriander salsa I am not really a fan of corinder as I always think it taste a bit like soap but it wasnt "soapy" at all. Who ever had put this together made it look so pretty it was certainly a work of art - food porn .... or did I mean Pern food clue 3 Jacks' main was something very special Skrei Cod ,now this is not any old piece of Cod -this is fished from the deepest waters above Norway. I just had to try it to say I had had Skrei - how glad I did -it was amazing. It was served with Whitby crab ,Earth baked Jersey Royals,White Asparagus,Coastal Herb pickings and a Black Truffle sauce. When I saw the word Whitby I thought back to when I was in my 20s when ..here come clue 4the landlord used to say "Whitby ,My Beloved Whitby" - he was a great friend of ours, who is no longer on this Earth's plain but is remembered with great affection .Dummer {Ian] Otterburn was captain of the local cricket team then and used to wind the poor fellow up by calling him the Red Mullet I will contiue with the rest of our meal another night as I am sure we are all full up now. Or you are so hungry you are going to raid your fridge until you can travel to where we were. And did you guess where we were .... There is only a couple of stars that shine brightly on Earth. This one is in the North Yorkshire countryside and it is The Star at Harome as it is only a 15 minute drive.. For anyone staying with us and wanting to go to dine at the Star, we are happy to drive you there. .

Green Fingers and 2 weeks of gardening

I know it is rather early to tackle the garden. We have had amazing weather ,blue skies and sunshine. What nicer way, however exhausting, to get on top of all that needs doing in the garden. I kick myself now that I had not taken before and after photos. The vegetable garden is all dug over, ready for when it warms up a bit to get planting. A good sprinking of ash from the fire on it too - potash ash all for free. The roses are pruned and I nearly got quite carried away as I was just asking my Dad where there was a saw to cut a very spindally tree down. He gave me one of those looks that was as much horrified crossed with the

look you got when you raced to pick up the phone when you were young when it was his place to do that . The tree in question was actually 80 years old and was slow growing. Plenty of mulch on the rhubarb outside. Inside I have a bit that I brought inside a few weeks ago . Did you know rhubarb is the perfect diet food?. Even with sugar on as long as you only eat it and nothing else for a week or two. A few years ago I sickened myself of it but did lose quicte a lot of weight. I just tend to boil a whole pan full and run the juices off to add to a glass full of ice and gin. I keep a lot of juice from boiled fruit fruit to mix with gin .I am sure it must count as one of my 5 a day . The green plant do you know what that is .... it is my very special yuzi tree which a very kind Japanese lady and her friend posted me from London. It was after they saw I had a collection of lemon and orange plants all grown from pips. Only my lemon tree has produced fruit so far this year The cuttings that look like little fir trees are rosemary cuttings that I took from my best friend's home as she moved the other week. A rather late housewarming present butthough it would be nice to have something as a keepsake. Hopefully out of those at least half of them will grow. Under Fathers instructions I have planted seeds- cabbages, cauliflowers ,leeks, broccoli and onions although he perfers onion sets .I prefer buying a sack full ready to use. I know it is very early, but it looks like I will be having a very busy year with guests so need to get the gardening out of the way. Carrots, beetroot, koli rhabi and other similar seeds will be plented directly into th eground when the soil warms up . Oh and what you will all be glad to hear as I went to feed my bees on Saturday, that all 4 hives have survived winter and hopefully will go on to be busy this Summer. I did have over a dozen hives at one time but they are so time comsuming and I havent a pipe and beard - the typical thought of a bee keeper. I have to wear a suit to protect me from getting stung. Believe me you wouldnt want to buy a sauna when you can wear a bee suit in the height of Summer.

Gardening and how do your potatoes grow

Tt seems as if this Coronavirus is bringing out the green fingers in a lot of us . Having to stay at home and wondering what to do people with a garden like Kay is digging up her garden to plant vegetables. Jack is thinking of turning some of a field into a garden... ah yes but I reckon it will be Peter Rabbit thinking it is his birthday and Christmas rolled into one. We live too near the wood for us to grow prize vegetables .And green fingered we are not .But fear not my dad is so maybe we will try to grow some tatties but my Dad knows what he is doing . He has competitions with his friends to see who can grow the best, biggest and firsts of the garden.
"Mind thy 'ead"  as you go into the greenhouse to admire the potatoes ."I will have to get Robin Teasdale to come to prune the vine "said my Dad ..Now why he thought Robin could come as the restrictions were on I do not know. The secateurs were a bit stiff so as I couldn't find the WD40 to give them a squirt, so I poured some cooking oil on and hoped for the best.
I don't think I made a bad job .Lets hope that the vine produces as many grapes as it did last year less I might get the blame for  not pruning it right.
One is too sour for him and has pipes in . He has 3 vines.  I wondered if you can grow them from pips but he told me Peter Caselli his Italian friend had once told him you graft them like fruit trees. No doubt when my dad has time he will be looking up which are the best sweetest one on the

computer and a package will arrive shortly afterwards . And his rhubarb isn't doing too bad either . The pear tree is just coming into blossom lets hope there isn't going to be a frost

Red Gold ....one of the little pleasures in Life in these Coronavirus times

What has been your little pleasure today ... I am sure we are all not taking things for granted any more.
My Dad likes nothing more than to share what he has in his garden. My mum always used to say "George ,why do you grow so much " He gets great pleasure from growing plants especially vegetables in this garden although he has a good display of flowers too . And we mustn't forget fruit.. Well that is his forte too, Tomatoes are fruit ..
Today I was the chosen one.... to go and pick red gold .... yes red gold . We all know there is white, rose and yellow gold but this is red..   So carefully I cut 4 pieces all from different plants as not just to "rob" one . It is too early in the season yet to have enough to make a pie or crumble.

So may I present my first taste red gold of the season..... Rhubarb . Proper North Yorkshire Rhubabr none of this forced stuff. Fresh out of the garden which is doing well with a good dollop of muck out of the fold yard on it for fertiliser .

It was quite a good day despite the weather not been as sunny as last week when this arrived in the post this morning . I have been shortlisted in the Serviced Apartment Award 2020  as the Best Operator 1 - 50 Units categories . And what made it even better was the postman didn't see the stamp hadn't been marked so I can use it again. He has a nasty habit of scribbling over the top of stamps if they haven't been marked . Although we must grumble as we are grateful he brings our post. Over the last couple of weeks he doesn't open the door and put it on the table any more . I have put an empty Kitty cat food box outside and he now pops it in there . I go outside for it, take everything out of the envelopes ,put the envelopes on the fire and then wash my hand thoroughly .  Even little changes like this make me feel a little safer .
Keep safe everyone and when  you put the dustbin out as a dustbin man, one said that he touched around 2000 a day  so you need to be extra careful there too ,when touching the handle x

My Dad and his garden

My dad loves his garden and his greenhouse. Those who know him will know how ill he was a year ago. He is 89 in September and he is still supplying us all with what he grows. Today I was over there to get some rhubarb,And jolly good rhubarb it is. His potatoes are well up in the greenhouse and the mint already a couple of inches high. He grows his tomatoes from seed,there are onions,beans and peas in containers and sweet peas all growing waiting for the warmer weather to be planted out. There is a multitude of different trees to be planted and some game cover to sow. Fruit trees to be pruned and his flower beds to be planted up. What a marvelous man and even more a marvelous Dad.