Monday, 6 December 2010
Sunday 5th December 2010
...In all it was a settled weekend. A bit cool for Scilly standards, but not like the mainland by any means:
Thursday, 2 December 2010
Snow in Scilly!?!
The evening of Wednesday 1st December finally saw the Isles of Scilly receive snow that actually settled. It snowed on and off all day on Sunday 28th November, but it didn't settle then. There is still snow around at 1pm on Thursday, but it is melting fast, and there's a lot of slush; Yuk! By mainland standards, it's nothing, but for Scilly where snow is a rarity, it's quite significant. Here are some pictures:
A Picture From My House - Thursday 2nd December 2010:
Porthcressa:
The Hotel:
Town Beach:
...There are a few more photographs of the snow at the hotel Facebook page. There's a link to our Facebook on the right side of this page...
A Picture From My House - Thursday 2nd December 2010:
Porthcressa:
The Hotel:
Town Beach:
...There are a few more photographs of the snow at the hotel Facebook page. There's a link to our Facebook on the right side of this page...
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
Wine Tasting - A Tough Job, But Someone Has To Do It.
Wine tasting! I nominated myself for this tough job. I thought it only fair not to delegate this awful job, and so I suffered this hardship to save the rest of the staff... ahem, cough cough!!
This was on Thursday 25th November at the Maritime Museum in Falmouth, Cornwall and hosted by our wine supplier, Wine in Cornwall. A big thank you to these guys for once again organising a great event! Cheers, Dick, Nigel & Mike!!
There are a couple of new possibilities for the wine list for 2011. I just need to see how the prices are nearer the time. As our regular guests will know, I try to keep our wine prices at a sensible price, whilst at the same time, delivering great quality!!
There is a strong possibility our house wines will need to be changed? We have our own labels printed on the bottles, and there is some doubt as to whether it will still be possible. Previously, the wines we have, are shipped in from France and head to Scotland to a company that prints the bottles with our Bell Rock Hotel logo. This service is now, no longer available. Wine in Cornwall, however have now acquired a label applying machine, albeit "hand-draulic". The snag now is that to get a print run on the labels which will be gummed paper & stuck on (as opposed to sraight printing of the bottle), is 2000 at a time. That's rather a lot of wine!
The other snag is supply of wines without the front label on in the first place to allow house wine labels to be applied...
...Needless to say, I will make sure we have house wines available, that are both worth quaffing, and not hard on our guests' pockets!! Watch this space!! ;)
This was on Thursday 25th November at the Maritime Museum in Falmouth, Cornwall and hosted by our wine supplier, Wine in Cornwall. A big thank you to these guys for once again organising a great event! Cheers, Dick, Nigel & Mike!!
There are a couple of new possibilities for the wine list for 2011. I just need to see how the prices are nearer the time. As our regular guests will know, I try to keep our wine prices at a sensible price, whilst at the same time, delivering great quality!!
There is a strong possibility our house wines will need to be changed? We have our own labels printed on the bottles, and there is some doubt as to whether it will still be possible. Previously, the wines we have, are shipped in from France and head to Scotland to a company that prints the bottles with our Bell Rock Hotel logo. This service is now, no longer available. Wine in Cornwall, however have now acquired a label applying machine, albeit "hand-draulic". The snag now is that to get a print run on the labels which will be gummed paper & stuck on (as opposed to sraight printing of the bottle), is 2000 at a time. That's rather a lot of wine!
The other snag is supply of wines without the front label on in the first place to allow house wine labels to be applied...
...Needless to say, I will make sure we have house wines available, that are both worth quaffing, and not hard on our guests' pockets!! Watch this space!! ;)
Swimming Pool - The Final Coat ...But We Didn't Expect It To Be Our Raincoats!
The top coat of the pool went on last week. It's a clear coat, but it was very unnerving as it goes on white and then changes to clear as it dries. This is a different set up to the last time I painted the pool, so it was a case of just trusting it would be ok and slap it on. Luckily it went clear ok.
The only snag we had was whilst we were doing the floor, the weather turned and it started to hammer down with rain. Theoretically, the roof should ease any cause for alarm... except we discovered a small leak. It was a frantic dash about to find some way of stopping the drips going on the paint. As we were on a time limit with the paint before it sets there was no leaving it for another day; and the amount of working daylight was also dropping for the day. It was a bit of stressy time (with my language probably as blue as the pool for a moment there!) We managed to put a couple of the pool brush poles across the deep end, and Rob found an old deep roasting tin which we placed under the drip with a towel in to stop splashes. Phew!! ...Or so we thought, before it came through another spot in the roof!! With only one pole left to utilise, we had to improvise with the use of our trusty Bell Rock Hotel plastic carrier bags! Taping one of these to the end of a pole we managed to jam it in place under the second leak. You can see our final coat and water catching efforts below.
So it seems our Bell Rock carrier bags have many uses other than for shopping, or taking beach towels to the beach. We use them on our feet and to catch rain!!
The only snag we had was whilst we were doing the floor, the weather turned and it started to hammer down with rain. Theoretically, the roof should ease any cause for alarm... except we discovered a small leak. It was a frantic dash about to find some way of stopping the drips going on the paint. As we were on a time limit with the paint before it sets there was no leaving it for another day; and the amount of working daylight was also dropping for the day. It was a bit of stressy time (with my language probably as blue as the pool for a moment there!) We managed to put a couple of the pool brush poles across the deep end, and Rob found an old deep roasting tin which we placed under the drip with a towel in to stop splashes. Phew!! ...Or so we thought, before it came through another spot in the roof!! With only one pole left to utilise, we had to improvise with the use of our trusty Bell Rock Hotel plastic carrier bags! Taping one of these to the end of a pole we managed to jam it in place under the second leak. You can see our final coat and water catching efforts below.
So it seems our Bell Rock carrier bags have many uses other than for shopping, or taking beach towels to the beach. We use them on our feet and to catch rain!!
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
British International Helicopters Fares
British International Helicopters are now selling next years flights at this year's tariff and they are holding these prices until 30th December 2010.
People can book at the usual places, Sea Salt Team John and Julie Morley on 01720 422665 or Penzance Reservations on 01736 363871. There's also a website link half way down this blog page on the right hand side. I am presuming the tariff is held on there also.
Get in there quick and get your tickets before any increases are incurred (also remember the VAT will be up to 20% in January which is bound to have a knock on effect!)
Here's a picture I took of the helicopter back in February 2009 landing at St Mary's on one of those rare occasions when we had some snow... albeit a dusting which lasted about 2 days with a few top up flurries:
People can book at the usual places, Sea Salt Team John and Julie Morley on 01720 422665 or Penzance Reservations on 01736 363871. There's also a website link half way down this blog page on the right hand side. I am presuming the tariff is held on there also.
Get in there quick and get your tickets before any increases are incurred (also remember the VAT will be up to 20% in January which is bound to have a knock on effect!)
Here's a picture I took of the helicopter back in February 2009 landing at St Mary's on one of those rare occasions when we had some snow... albeit a dusting which lasted about 2 days with a few top up flurries:
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
The Pool is Getting There! 3rd Coat!!
23rd November 2010:
The 3rd coat has this morning been applied. Just a top coat of clear sealant to go now. The paint will then take 5 to 7 days to cure before being possible to walk on it. We have had to wear bags on our feet to stop from marking or damaging the paint.
Here's a couple of pictures of Head Chef Rob & myself this morning painting the 3rd coat. (Check out the new fashion trend of footwear - it will be all the rage next season ha ha!)
The 3rd coat has this morning been applied. Just a top coat of clear sealant to go now. The paint will then take 5 to 7 days to cure before being possible to walk on it. We have had to wear bags on our feet to stop from marking or damaging the paint.
Here's a couple of pictures of Head Chef Rob & myself this morning painting the 3rd coat. (Check out the new fashion trend of footwear - it will be all the rage next season ha ha!)
Friday, 19 November 2010
Swimming Pool Getting a Splash of Paint
The pool was drained at the end of the season, and Rob the chef worked hard (whilst I went away on holiday!) preparing the pool with a blast of the pressure washer and sanding the paint down to give a good key.
We have today started with the first coat of paint. Both Rob & I tackling this as the paint only has about one and a half hours working time before it becomes too thick to work with as it is a two part paint (pigmented paint & resinous hardener). Last time I did the pool a couple of years ago, I did it alone and could never finish the tin before it was too hard.
We very nearly got around with just one tin. The only part unpainted being one of the risers on the steps, but that will get a go with the next tin. I have enough to give the pool more coats this time, which then gets coated with a clear sealing lacquer as a top coat.
Here are some photos of our progress:
Pool emptied (just about) & ready for painting:
Pool sides done first:
Floor done last... remembering not to paint ourselves into a corner!:
We have today started with the first coat of paint. Both Rob & I tackling this as the paint only has about one and a half hours working time before it becomes too thick to work with as it is a two part paint (pigmented paint & resinous hardener). Last time I did the pool a couple of years ago, I did it alone and could never finish the tin before it was too hard.
We very nearly got around with just one tin. The only part unpainted being one of the risers on the steps, but that will get a go with the next tin. I have enough to give the pool more coats this time, which then gets coated with a clear sealing lacquer as a top coat.
Here are some photos of our progress:
Pool emptied (just about) & ready for painting:
Pool sides done first:
Floor done last... remembering not to paint ourselves into a corner!:
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
Sunday 14th November 2010 - Remembrance Sunday
The weather looked bleak first thing in the morning with that horrible drizzly "get you wetter than usual" type of rain, but as if on cue, the clouds parted in time for the Remembrance Service to honour the Nation's Fallen.
The rest of the day was bright & blustery from then on in. Here's a couple of pictures I took around the Garrison in the afternoon. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me, so they were taken on my mobile:
The rest of the day was bright & blustery from then on in. Here's a couple of pictures I took around the Garrison in the afternoon. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me, so they were taken on my mobile:
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