Best Partnership Pub of the Year

Best Pub Partnership of the Year - that's the Victoria Inn!!!!Well what a night we had last week at the Morning Advertiser Great British Pub awards! Having been a bit disappointed recently not to have won another of the big awards we entered for (least said about that the better!) I was absolutely convinced we wouldn't win this one............ SOH on the other hand NEVER expects us to win - he say's  that way you don't get disappointed!! Viv la difference!!! 

Anyway, we had arrived in London the day before and had a night on the town - went to see Jersey Boys (You absolutely MUST see it - Phenomenal!) and then a few (!) cocktails after the show meant that I woke up with a stonking hangover the next morning.  Walking down Mayfair you would have thought I was casually looking into the very posh car showrooms - I hope to anyone looking at us it looked as though we were giving due consideration to a new Ferrari - when actually I was desperately trying not to chuck up! Maybe my pallor gave it away?!?  Anyway - until I had a decent bacon sandwich and a few gallons of coffee down my neck I felt like death warmed up. 

The Polyfilla seems to have worked!

Feeling better and ready for a late lunch we had lunch on the terrace in Harrods (Oh yes - we can do posh you know!!) we shared our first ever Lebanese food together and it was absolutely gorgeous. 
Back to the hotel and a little siesta, followed by enough time to let the polyfilla settle into the cracks of my face and we were on our way. 

Now the pub industry throws great bashes - but nothing is quite as good as the MA Pub Awards - so I knew to pace myself - although a good number of glasses of Champagne seemed to hit the spot remarkably well.  Our friends from St Austell Brewery Management were there as well as a couple of other pubs who were also finalists. We were on a table with great company from management of Enterprise Inns and my nerves had all but dissapeared - you note I say 'all but'. 

There is no other feeling like the one you get in the 30 seconds or so as the names of the contenders are read out and that eternity when they say 'The winner is..............'??? My stomach goes into a series of somersaults and I usually grip Tim's hand for dear life (think childbirth).  Then the words Victoria Inn, Salcombe were read out...... I swear it's the most incredible feeling on earth when that happens.  
I leapt to my feet shrieking (oh dear) forgot all about holding my stomach in, chin up etc and practically ran to the stage! Shook hands with the comedian Sean Locke (brilliant bloke!), then it's all over in a flash and you're being led off the stage - I'm sure they do it to stop everyone making Oscar night type speeches. 

We were then asked if we would do a quick promotional interview - the Lord only knows what I waffled about, but it looked surprisingly ok when we saw it the next day. I cried, kissed Tim and then proceeded to get highly merry!! 

So what does the award recognise?? This award recognises the work that we and St Austell Brewery have done together in raising the level of our business by 45%, being recognised as 'flagship tenants' and us in turn continually assisting St Austell with innovative ideas that they have used with other pubs in their estate - such as the Gin menu. 

I've said it before and I'll say it again, we truly believe that St Austell is a great company to work with.  They genuinely support you and want you to do well, and when you do perform well they are quick to congratulate and reward you. You feel valued and not just someone making money for them. If you have ideas they are happy to explore them with you - hence our major refurb last year. Next blog I'll tell you about the Hobbit House and our / their plans for that! 

On top of that we were absolutely delighted to be included in CAMRA'S Good Beer Guide 2016 - the only pub in Salcombe to be so, and a huge credit to Tim and all our team for all they do in making sure our beers are kept and served in first rate conditions. 

We also moved out of our house to allow a major overhaul of it and we are currently renting a little cottage with an Estuary view - blooming lovely it is too!  The house is coming along nicely and we hope to be back in it soon.  It's been odd being quite so close to the pub again - we certainly have put a lot more hours in as well as I've walked a lot more with the dogs. I'd forgotten just how lovely Salcombe is first thing in the morning..............

The pub continues to be busy - over 230 Sunday lunches yesterday - and we are fully booked most of the time still. A new Autumnal menu is being extremely well received and tomorrow sees the launch of an addition to our lunch menu; Pub Classics Lunch including Chilli, Shepherds Pie, Fish Pie etc. 

Now, if you're thinking of booking for New Years Eve let me tell you that we have lots and lots of bookings already, so get a move on if you're still thinking about it. 

Ok, on that note then - that will be enough for this blog. Hope I haven't bored you to death with all our good news!!

Much love  

Liz x

I can't believe I'm saying this, but........

The pub with no name - or beer!!!!!

I am bored!!!! Bored!!!! Bored!!!! A whole week we've been shut, and whilst the first few days were nice lie ins and lazing around - NOW - I'm thoroughly and utterly bored!!!

Yes, a whole week we've been shut! On our last Saturday we had very little food but with creativity from my kitchen team we managed to serve 108 meals.......... SOH had worked the beers exceedingly well and we wasted only a little bit of one beer! So that went very well..........

The team turned up on the following day to strip out the pub and the designer and team with 2 small lorries took away every stick of furniture, bric a brack and countless photos, pictures and mirrors. Then, there we were with an empty pub........... very bizarre it was too! In 6 short hours the Vic went from a busy happy pub with bags of character to a cold and pretty unfriendly shell. We meanwhile, went to another pub in town and looked a bit sorrowful!

The builders turned up the following day on time and by day 4 the Vic was completely and utterly under their spell. Wires (dozen of the buggers) appeared from seemingly nowhere causing a not too small headache for Gary the foreman, walls were knocked down and first coats of paint were applied!
Walls were exposed at the back top of the old restaurant showing brickwork that had not seen light for many hundreds of years - some of which SOH has kept for a rockery in the pub garden.

The cellar has had some additional drainage put in so that SOH can clean it easier (bit of a pain its been - but as it's not my part of ship I can't confess to being awfully interested!) but he was like a child who'd experienced Christmas for the first time.

I popped my head in last week and have to say that I was totally and completely overwhelmed - not just by the fact its a massive building site, but that I can already see the amazing potential of how its going to look when it's finished. But apart from a site visit this week I'm going to stay away and you're not getting any more photos because actually I want to feel the joy of seeing it made over and I want you to experience it too. Also, because doing this blog from my home means I am using my new lap top and have not yet mastered art of putting more than one photo on!!!! So, if you really want to look at what's happening have a look at the Victoria Inn facebook. Sorry darlings!

So what else have I done this week?? Well, I've cleaned and tidied our kitchen cupboards at home, we've been out and bought paint etc for the Hobbit House which also has a makeover whilst we're shut - but we are doing that ourselves. We've also visited another St Austell pub; The Cornish Arms, where we had an amazing meal!

We also took the team out for the day on Wednesday.  We went to Plymouth Gin first which was brilliant - drinking Gin at about 11 in the morning was a bit harsh though....... then to Rockfish for brilliant Fish & Chips. An afternoons bowling with me screaming at the top of my lungs egging on the teams (as well as playing) and finally a so so meal at a chain restaurant in the Bowling complex.

We go on a bit of a buying trip for the pub this coming week as well as taking the chance to pop into Portsmouth and see my family. Menu stuff to do, paper to be sorted for printing menus on, staff uniforms to finalise etc, etc and etc...................

Life gets VERY exciting!

 

 

Oh My Goodness!!! Life is getting very exciting one way and another............. Just back from a fabulous 10 days in the sun and straight back into work.  But you know what - I'm so ready for it now!!

 

SOOOO here is the very exciting news I've been hinting at for a little while and it is that the Vic is going to have an absolutely fantabulous makeover in January 2014!!

 

Ever since we came to the Victoria Inn almost 5 years ago (My goodness - where has THAT time gone!!) we have done our best to make more use of the upstairs restaurant (yes, there IS one) and had all sorts of ideas. 

 

I always wanted to turn it into a set of 3 or 4 very fancy bedrooms to compliment the Hobbit House - but our brewery St Austell were never really in favour of it. I see why, because of course bedrooms do not sell beer - food does!  So, we also looked at a real Italian Pizza oven to sell our own authentic Italian Pizza's - but we just couldn't make it fit logistically. We have tried every which way to make more use of the space as a function room - but because of lack of parking etc - that never really took off either.

 

So in the last year or two as our business has got bigger and bigger, we have opened it up, almost as an overflow from the main pub and the garden (when the weather was poor) and it's started to become really accepted as a good extension to our offering - BUT -  always with the feeling its' a bit upstairs / downstairs.  Customers either like it or hate it - many have said it's too isolated, and with little or no atmosphere.........aargh!! To get to the garden you either have to know where the stairs are (despite signs) have staff point the way (can't tell you how many times a day in the summer we say stairs are that way Madam!) or else customers go 'Oh they're packed' and walk away!! It's all been most frustrating at times.

 

So, a couple of months ago SOH, myself, Head Chef James & Bar Manager Glo visited a pub in Cornwall with a spiral staircase and it was James (we will never be allowed to forget this!!) that said 'That could work well in the Vic'!

 

One phone-call and a couple of e mails later led to a meeting with our business development Manager Jim (from the brewery - St Austell) who thought we had the starts of a great idea.  But that actually, we were probably thinking a bit too small.................???

 

This led to a meeting with an architect, surveyor et al who agreed that a spiral staircase was not the answer - but that a whole approach to re-furbing the pub was!  How amazing that our brewery have the faith in us to think that big!!

 

So (pauses for breath!!) the long and the short of it is this;

• We'll close on or around the 6th January (to be confirmed) for 3 weeks
• A staircase will be put in from the entrance at the front of the pub right up and through to upstairs - with a bit of a mezzanine floor going on
• The upstairs bar and a cupboard will be knocked out
• Upstairs will have a reclaimed wood floor - not the existing carpet
• A wood burning stove with comfy seating
• Great new lighting
• Lots of arty stuff with pictures and mirrors
• Huge glass doors to the garden
• Some really high end garden furniture for the first terrace and finally;
• The whole pub will have a paint job

It's all going to be absolutely stunningly beautiful - and if you're in or around the area we have the plans and mood boards (see, I've got the architect language already!!) for you to look at and discuss with us. We met today with Matt from Trading Spaces about utilising furniture we have but making it 'shabby chic' (NOT shabby s**t!!) and I can't remember the last time I was this excited about any sort of project.......... (oh yes - getting married - but hardly a project!)

 

Already, we have had great feedback on this re-furb but there seems to be an over-riding fear that everyone's beloved 'Vic' will turn into some sort of corporate chained pub............. well let me tell you here and now that this won't be the case! 

 

We're simply going to make our Victoria Inn even more beautiful! I absolutely guarantee that you will be blown away by this re-furb - watch this space for more news as it happens over the next couple of months.

 

Liz x

 

Its Sunday already

And at long last the proper work on our new home has begun! The painting...............!! Which indicates we're on the homeward stretch!!! The structural/building bits have been mostly done, but we remain in the hands of the planners for 2 small pieces of work but an answer is promised on that this week (maybe?) and as an ex local government officer it's been an interesting (read into that word anything you like!) experience being on the other end of the process....... In more ways than one - but I know better than to piss off your planner by being arsey!! So Mrs Nice/Respectful/Polite customer is working hard to remain just that ....... But it's certainly difficult at times when all you want to do seems perfectly straightforward and easy. But as I was always told many years ago, ours is not to reason why. Still, that aside our home is starting to look like a home instead of a builders yard, and we are both getting very excited (well maybe not quite SOH at the moment as he IS the painter!) about this brand new chapter of our life.  

My health is slowly but surely returning to a bit more like normality although my first walk today that was longer than up to the lifeboat, left me feeling as weak as a kitten and needing to sit down for a while upon my return to the pub.......but I know that its baby steps for a little while. I have a whole load of hospital appointments to keep, but the care I have received this time has been amazing and I can't fault it at all.

SOH & I went away for the weekend last week to a place near Preston (yes - ooopp North) as it was my sister in laws Birthday celebration and I would have felt so mean to have not gone, as it's not often the whole family get together. The last time was our wedding nearly 2 years ago.  I also knew that she had a singer and that he was in her words 'to die for'............. Now I have had one or two near death experiences in the last couple of years so I guessed I didn't want one of those, but my goodness she was right about him being a fantastic singer!! His name is Stephen Bayliss and he has a voice you want to listen to for ever, a fantastic personality, gorgeous body and an all round nice guy!! Oh dear, re-reading that sounds like I took a bit of a fancy to him..??? Actually, I did - along with every single woman in the room. This is his website - judge for yourself: http://www.stephenbayliss.co.uk/  why there aren't more people like him on programmes like XFactor I don't know - well, I do actually. He is clearly just too good and doesn't maybe have the sob story to go with his voice! He had everyone in the party (over 270 people) having a fantastic time and he worked his socks off.......... Oh I do wish he lived closer I'd have him at the Victoria Inn any time. O;) 

Today, we just met with the people in charge of the allottments here in Salcombe and we have been offered a quarter plot which SOH has accepted, so we are going to be even more a part of our great new community. Who knows, if we're any good at it we'll have home grown vegetables (well some !) on our menu to go with our home laid eggs from our Chickens??? Did I say 'we'...... oh yes so I did! lol.

Thursday saw our annual pilgimage to the St Austell Tribute awards evening in Newquay - Oh I just adore Fistral Beach! - alas this year we didn't win anything (although I wasn't overly surprised that we didn't) but we had a really good night. As usual St Austell made everyone feel very welcome and it was lovely to see a lady called Vicki Crossimgham get a lifetime achievement award. I think she's been connected to the pub business in one way or another for most of her life and with St Austell for many years in training, HR and a whole lot more besides as well as sitting on the BII main committee's. I do think St Austell as a company have got it just right in the way that they run things - I am constantly amazed at how all the senior management team know EVERYONE'S name for a start, and there is a general mutual respect. Yep, I'm really glad we work with this brewery.

Work continues on the sewers/gas/water pipes in the Fore Street here in Salcombe and of course in Kingsbridge too, but I think some of the business's here in Salcombe are feeling the effects much worse than others, as to all intents and purposes if you look up the street from our pub it just looks completely closed. So here's hoping it's not going to last for too much longer. Its making the car park even harder to get in and out of as well, particularly when people don't obey the traffic signals............ as I found to my cost last week when I drove for the first time in ages and had to do a fair bit of reversing as a car had come down the road despite a red!!

As far as the Victoria is concerned we have been hit a little by the roadworks - but the sun bought lots of people to Salcombe yesterday and today so that has helped a lot! Lots of guests have been saying they are back for half term as well, so hopefully that will be the start of a better trade.  I don't really have a whole lot more to write about now, so I'd best be off and do the dreaded Sunday paperwork..............

Then on to Autumn........

Don't you think there's a bit of a nip in the air in the mornings and evening's.....?? I love the Autumn - it's my favourite time of the year, and I especially love Autumn in Salcombe. There are still quite a few people in town but it's lost that huge hustle and bustle and a feeling of not being able to move for hordes or cars and tourists. It's not quite lazy and yet the town has a nice gentle feel to it - locals are coming back into the Victoria and old faces who love this time of year here are appearing for their 2 or 3 week sabbatical. Now then, where shall I start - well, firstly my training with JC is paying off dividends..... I'm now a whole 20lbs lighter than I was when we started! He also has these amazing scales that show not only weight loss but water, fat round your organs, bone mass etc - very interesting actually - so you get a whole picture. Then there's my new short hair with its natural colour that I'm really starting to love as well as receiving lots of lovely compliments on how well I'm looking so that's all very lovely!!! On top of that, I have started driving lessons - and I am chuffed with how well I'm doing. Guy is my instructor and after a couple of dodgy moments in the first lesson I've one what he said - relaxed, thought about my positioning in the road and used my mirrors, and on Friday I drove all the way home from Kingsbridge! SOH has even started looking for a little SMART car for me......................

Work wise, we've been making some serious business decisions - particularly about the White Hart. When we took on the temporary tenancy we did it for a couple of reasons; firstly the challenge of taking a pub from scratch and making it work, secondly, we rather liked the idea of being 'multiple operators' for the brewery - taking this pub and then using the business model for maybe 2 or 3 others. Well, we soon discovered that for us, the dreams didn't match the reality! Immediate issues with staffing made it all very difficult right from the off - as well as the usual teething problems with appliances that every pub suffers, getting the pub up and off the ground when the last 2 owners had gone bankrupt meant we had a hard audience in Modbury to try to impress - I'll never forget the 'interview' with a local before being allowed to do a wake!! It's also been much more difficult than we thought in trying to get the right mix of time at both pubs - being 'seen' at both was proving almost impossible! Great in theory but bloody difficult to achieve in reality.

So we have asked the brewery to accept our notice, which they have done and I'm absolutely delighted to say that Mark & Christine (our current managers) have been selected by the brewery to become tenants in their own right of the White Hart from the end of September. We are so pleased for them, they have worked really hard for us in achieving the start of a great local customer base; the pub has a sound regular clientele now, the hotel rooms have come 6th in the Trip Advisor rankings for the whole of the UK, with the breakfasts often being cited in reviews as the best ever and I know it's only a matter of time before the beautiful function room upstairs starts to get regular bookings.

I still believe that the White Hart has huge potential and that they are completely the right people to do it, but for us.......? Well, we'll go back full time to our lovely Victoria Inn and of course Captain Morgans! We didn't come down to Salcombe to kill ourselves, we tried with the WH and I don't feel we've failed, but being multiple pub operators is perhaps just not the lifestyle we want after all.

So here's a toast to Mark & Christine and the White Hart Hotel, Modbury and lots of good wishes for it's continued future success.

A Pub Landlady's Life - Victor Meldrew style!

I've started this blog post off with the name of my blog just to remind myself why I started this blog really, and also just to get off my chest a few things that have really, really hacked me off this week and to reflect back on what a cushy life I had working for a Council!!

Now then - what has set me off on this reflection I hear you say...... you are saying that aren't you?? How about a few things..... firstly - the expensive new awning that St Austell have purchased for the back of our pub - you know, the posh one with sides, heaters and lighting? Well it came this week - along with six workmen to install it. Only they didn't! Well they did - partly.... only partly I hear you say - whys that?? How about the boxes that contained some of the parts - didn't!! They're still in transit somewhere between Germany and here......... aarrghhh, if it wasn't so bloody infuriating I'd be in bits weeping by now!! But 'we've chased it up - it'll all be here and done by next Wednesday'......... I tell you, I had a Boys from the Blackstuff moment when they were out there looking at empty boxes! Even funnier (ish) was the fax that came through from Germany regarding the missing parts IN GERMAN - surprise, surprise!!

Secondly - Scaffolding up at the building next door but on our land (means the huge bins are down by the back door and we've had to draw curtains in the restaurant so that diners don't have a view of Biffas finest whilst they're eating!) - 'sorry love - it's going to be a bit longer than we thought - but it'll be down by the end of the week'......

Thirdly - but by no means last (although I don't have the energy to chronicle ALL the weeks events that have pi***d me off) how about one of our supplier's who regularly gets a fortune from us for supplying paper napkins and cleaning materials etc, only to have this: 'No sorry, the depot manager says we can't split a pack of paper table cloths'..........it's 500 or nothing.......

Lastly - what about the supplier who wants us to pay £10 a food delivery because we live in the deepest wilds of Salcombe (well that was until SOH eventually told them to get stuffed - only much politer of course - we are talking about SOH not me!). They then decided that the charge could be dropped.............

Very lastly - what about the call from the Job Centre wanting to know how many dozens of people had applied for the jobs I've got advertised with them - 'mmnn - how about none'!! They'll try to make it a priority.......... hello - am I wrong, or do we have one of the worst recessions in years???

For God's sake and at the risk of sounding like a female Victor Meldrew what on earth is up with our country that it can't supply what has been ordered or if it does than there's something wrong with it..... where is the flexibility in business relationships particularly with business's like ours who put a lot of money into other business's pockets. Where are all the jobless people desperate for work??

Now that's where I've been looking back at being a Local Govt manager..... if I wanted something done - I'd phone, I'd say politely what I wanted doing, I'd give a timescale and it would be done - it really would! If I wanted staff, I advertised and we got lots of good candidates to choose from - in this business you're lucky if they even bother to turn up for the interview!

Here in my new(ish) life as a self employed person, I have no comfort blanket of a procurement dept or HR dept. I seem to spend half of my time either moaning down the phone because something hasn't been delivered, some of it has been missed off etc etc.................. BLIMEY - I feel so much better for getting that off my chest.

Onto good things.......... really, really good things!! The FURNITURE ARRIVED!!!! It actually arrived when Brian from Capricorn Imports said it would and bar a couple of fairly minor dents and scratches the upstairs dining room is at last taking shape. More pictures purchased from the lovely Simon Drew now adorn the walls and along with an eclectic mix of mirrors I can honestly say it's looking even better than we hoped it would.

Talking of Simon Drew, he has given us one of his signature pictures where you have to work out the saying etc for a wedding present, how lovely is that? SOH is especially chuffed as he's been a fan of his works for years.

Then of course moving on to the impending nuptials - the Order of Service was delivered to us last night - OMG it is lovely, we are both so very pleased with it! The wedding dress is collected tomorrow, a variety of beauty treatments start from Friday to ensure I look as good as possible (I know there are those of you thinking a year wouldn't be long enough- lol)and we've started to get wedding cards! I'm crying at fairly regular intervals at the moment - and bottom twitching nerves are kicking in!!

But of course I have managed to skip neatly over the obligatory 'hen night' and the wand, crown, sash and badge. Thanks girls, you did me proud - I woke up on Saturday thinking I'd successfully got through the event relatively unscathed.

WRONG!!! I was just suffering from alcohol induced amnesia......... as the day wore on and I felt worse I had several calls, texts and visits to fill in the gaps...... oops!! Let me see - it apparently ranged from thinking I was in ABBA and using the stairs at the 'Catch' restaurant (thanks Donna & Mischa for making it a great night) as my stage - flinging my leg over the banister ala burlesque style (ouch - I've seen the video - damned mobile phones!), attempting to get on a stationary scooter, dancing in the 'ships bar' at the Fortesque Arms and granting 'wishes' with my wand to anyone unfortunate enough to cross my path!!

Finally, staggering - BARE FOOT - home to my dearest soon to be Husband, declaring undying love and collapsing into the bed............ where even Rosie bounding in and on said bed didn't cause me to stir apparently!

Anyway - it was a fantastic night and friends old and new gave me a night to always remember - if I could remember it that is. So, 10 days and counting - I'll probably manage one last post before the 'BIG DAY', until then - hugs and kisses to everyone! X

P.S - Despite the rant - I still love being a PUB LANDLADY....................

We're Winners...........

Wow - we're winners - the Victoria Inn, Salcombe won an award last week.

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We had a great night out last Thursday - at the 2009 Annual Dinner & Tribute Estate Awards. The event was held at the Atlantic Hotel, Newquay (http://www.atlantichotelnewquay.co.uk/) and after an initial mix up with our booking, they gave us a superb suite! Very nice it was too, pity it was only for 1 night! The food on the evening was really good and the service excellent! Breakfast the next morning even more so......

We found to our delight that we were shortlisted for SIX awards, a couple we knew about, but they were:

Pub Floral Display of the Year (we got a highly commended for this one!)
Cask Ale Pub of the Year (Tenancy)
Training Award

Wine House of the Year

New Tenants of the Year

The one we actually won was Marketing and Business Innovation of the Year (Tenancy). What a fantastic achievement in our first year for us and all our loyal hard working staff!! !

In the picture you can see SOH and I with the sponsors of the award Diageo GB, and a St Austell representative. Not only did we win a lovely plaque for our outside Pub entrance, but we also received £500 of holiday vouchers! That will go towards a lovely holiday after the summer season has ended - something to bear in mind when we're knackered out again!! We have of course treated our team to a little thank you each as well.

In a business that seems to be suffering a lot of knocks, particularly at the hands of our cretinous politicians it was great to meet other licensees making a success of their business. Its also always such a good opportunity to meet colleagues from the brewery and our industry and this particular evening was no exception!

So to everyone at St Austell who put so much effort in to the evening a huge 'Thank You' for giving us such a great time!

On the home front, I continue to make good progress in my recovery, although its very much a case of 2 steps forward and 1 step back.... Sunday was a two steps back day and today was 1 day forward! With only 52 days to the wedding I have to concentrate on getting fit and well - not thin, just fit and well........having said that I've put myself on a healthy eating plan, lots of vitamins and walking with Rosie when I feel up to it.

On the Victoria Inn re-fit front, well............ what can I say!! We got home from the awards on Friday morning to find absolute chaos in the Pub - virtually everything was done, but it looked like one massive building site! Dust covered anything and everything........... because of that I couldn't play as much of a part in the clean up as I would have liked, however, despite staff being in most of the day Friday, SOH and I putting in a 17 hour day and then being up for 7 on the Saturday, we were still not able to open for Saturday lunchtime. However, everyone turned up again on Saturday morning - and somehow we were able to open for 5 Saturday afternoon.

SOH has a really great eye for decor and he has put up different pictures, mirrors etc to what was up previously. I did the blackboards and signs for outside, and between us we made the Victoria Inn 'our' pub, with 'our' stamp on it.

The floor in the restaurant is Brazilian slate and is truly beautiful - it has opened up the restaurant and with less dividers in the room there is far more natural light coming in from the estuary.

A new way of laying out the comfy seating area has given more covers as well as the new sexy red leather sofa's being one of the first things that customers see.......... and yet again, this is the area that people are naturally drifting towards!

We have (thankfully) been quite busy since re-opening, and customers love the new look! It's certainly given the pub a different atmosphere - it feels calmer and warmer......??

Anyway - the re-furb has moved upstairs now............ where there was a garden area, there is now yet another building site! The paving now has to be done so that the awning can be placed, the 'Hobbit House' (our en-suite holiday accommodation) has a fab new roof, builders will be going in there in the next few weeks to transform that. The upstairs restaurant will start to be painted tomorrow, the new lighting is in place - only the carpet to make firm decisions on! And BREATH!!!!!!!!!!!

Carl the builder has been a joy to work with - and when he looks me in the eye and tells me its on track, I believe him....... I just take every available opportunity to remind him that we have about 200 guests at our wedding on the 20th March!!! In fact I tell every workman that - just to ensure they get a sense of purpose!!

So there you have it - another interesting week as a pub landlady/project manager/ customer services director/bridzilla................. I'll leave that last bit for the next blog update!!