Spring is in the Air

The first signs of Spring are definitely here. The garden is full of green shoots from the bulbs pushing through in all of the borders. Already we have primroses, blue mini irises and snowdrops side by side.

We have had some lovely sunny days recently but there is still a bit of a chill in the air when the sun disappears. Out walking recently we saw the first lambs of the season which always lightens the heart.

RSC theatre to reopen

The Royal Shakespeare Company have now reopened the redeveloped main theatre in Stratford. Pam and I had the chance to get a free tour around the new theatre prior to any productions starting and even managed to have a meal in the rooftop restaurant.
Tickets are going on sale very soon for the first production which will be the 'Scottish Play' - also known as Macbeth. This production starts on the 16th April and should be well worth a visit. For more information on tickets and the rest of the programme just click on the link http://www.rsc.org.uk/whats-on/stratford/ .

The Freezing Weather Bites

While the bad weather spreads throughout the country spare a thought for our poor dog, Meisie, who struggled to get her breakfast this morning. I went down to Mole End, our shed, to get the dog food and to add the water to find that the big bucket was frozen right round the edge. I managed to turn it out to end up with this super ice sculpture. Very spectacular.

We have been very fortunate so far with only a light dusting of snow so guests can still manage to get through to us to enjoy their break. Although the temperature has plummeted it is still really nice to go out for a long walk all wrapped up and to end up at the Red Lion for a steaming bowl of soup and a light(!) refreshment.

A beauty spot by the river

We managed to pop out for a nice walk recently and ended up at the Old Mill at Lower Slaughter with it's beautiful cafe terrace overlooking the river Eye. This is a lovely spot after doing the walk between Lower and Upper Slaughter. After a browse around the Old Mill's shop you can sit on the terrace with a coffee and a big slice of cake and watch the ducks on the river. The Old Mill wheel still occasionally turns to give an even better atmosphere. It is like stepping back in time here and as the terrace is not particularly publicised it is usually nice and quiet.
As an alternative you can always have one of their home made ice creams - the brown bread flavour is my favourite one!

Grapes Galore

The fruits of my labour have finally been tasted. The grapes growing on the vine in the greenhouse were picked today and taste fantastic. Those of you familiar with the blog may remember what they were like earlier in the year looking like small full stops!
This was the first year for the vine and to produce a bunch of grapes in the first season is seemingly quite unusual. Pam did suggest making some wine with them but we decided that we would be lucky if we even got one sip from the small amount of grapes. However that is the target for next year.
The tomato plants have produced literally hundreds of tomatoes this season and we are using them for all of the breakfasts just now. This is definitely the best crop that we have had and so rewarding.

The Collapsing Wall

A collapse has happened at the cottage. Part of our lovely dry stone wall at the side of the car park collapsed last night during some high winds and heavy rain. We were quite taken aback at the damage when we got up this morning as although the weather was quite unpleasant it didn't seem bad enough to create this much bother. A section of the wall about 8m long has fallen into our neighbours garden.

Plenty of exercise for Pam and I this afternoon and continuing into tomorrow to remove all of the stone from the neighbours driveway to a safe location and then we will have to arrange for the local builder to carry out some essential repairs.

Tomatoes Galore!

What a fantastic crop of tomatoes we now have. There are so many cherry tomatoes that we are having to give them away. All of the tomatoes for use at breakfast are also coming from the greenhouse. I think this is the best crop that we have ever had and they should last us for weeks. I hope that you manage to sample them when you stay here with us.
The greenhouse has also provided the peppers for the quiche on the evening meal menu, courgettes and cucumber for the side dishes and the chillis are ready to be frozen for use over the winter time.
The fruit trees are starting to provide us with apples, pears and plums which are absolutely delicious. We also got some mini plums from a neighbour which we have put out in the dining room for guests to try. They are really good.