We're on You - Tube!!

A very quick blog post as I sit here past midnight and eyes are steadily closing. Our wedding video / stills footage is on You Tube and this is the link (hopefully) for you to be able to see it.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zrq19TTGxI

I haven't yet been able to watch it without crying, although the tears are a bit less of a river and more like a steady trickle.................. I really hope you love it as much as Tim and I.... what a great thing technology is!!

Love and hugs to you all.................. X

Wedding - Part 1

Well what can I say and where do I start other than hello from Mrs Elizabeth Hore........and to let you know that I have sooooooooooo much to say about the events of the last week I'm going to split it down into sections - and with lots of photo's!! The first section is about the day itself. The first photo you can see here is from our very dear friend Lisa Beaney - http://www.lisabeaneyphotography.co.uk/ I just know that we're going to love all of her photo's and we'll have one heck of a job choosing 'favourites' for an album - but I can hardly wait to see them........

Anyway, to the day itself...... I hardly know where to begin really?? It was certainly a day full of excitement, joy and happiness.... my very best friend Tanya helped keep me calm - bacon and eggs at Captain Morgans helped(!) and the dress fitted perfectly!! I was the recipient of huge compliments, my hair (big thanks to Leah at Floc in Kingsbridge) also looked fantastic but I was very pleased to get the three dozen odd pins out of my head at midnight!!

The weather was rotten - with driving rain at some points, but it really didn't matter to the day. Mr Smith - Smee to his friends - DID turn up with a tractor (a long running joke with everyone in on it bar me!!) giving me a little bit of a shock as I wondered momentarily if that really was my transport - but luckily SOH had arranged a proper car - an Austin Chalfont 1934 with chauffeur etc......... Mark, resplendent in his kilt 'gave' me away and held my shaking hand as I waited to get to the church. Loads and loads of people waved as drove past in the car, and I was really humbled to think they had stood in driving rain just to wish me well.

When I got to the Church, all I wanted to do was get out of the car safely (it was very wet and slippery on the cobbles outside of the Church, and my trembly legs weren't helping matters) get in the dry and look my best for SOH. I could see all our friends and then I could see him, SOH .......... with his glasses on his head! Bossy to the end I sent a message ahead to get his glasses off - I saw Tim laugh and quickly remove them!! With that laugh - I was absolutely ok!! Tanya helped get my dress arranged properly (she's the blonde in the hat in the photo's at the bottom of this blog) all nerves went, the entrance music 'Pie Jesu' resounded around the Church, Mark and I waited about 30 seconds and we were off - processing (as slowly as we could!).

I honestly felt like a complete and utter Princess as I walked down the aisle smiling (a smile that never left my face for the next 10 hours!!) and then I saw Tim properly - so very handsome in his suit and after that - well, it's all a bit of a blur really....... I remember stumbling through the words of the first hymn as my voice was a bit croaky and I was thinking of saying our vows, Tim smiled at me loads and we kept muttering little things to each other, I turned round and smiled at my son and was rewarded with the smile that said - 'love you Mum'.

I almost cried twice - once as Tim's eyes never left mine as we exchanged vows and then again at the reading from Captain Corelli's Mandolin. The wedding ceremony itself was hugely special to us - and since then we've had lots of our guests say how much they enjoyed the service itself.

One of the best memories for me was sitting on our chairs as the reading were happening and looking at all these friends and family smiling at US, and twee as it may sound you could really feel the love in Holy Trinity that afternoon. All of the most important people in our lives were there, friends old and new, family, work and business colleagues and then also people from the congregation at church as well.

But it's the coming out of the church I hope I'll remember for ever - we literally danced out to Nat King Cole singing L.O.V.E - and that kickstarted the party good and proper for the rest of the day. The assembled audience were completely surprised and seemed to really enjoy this twist to the day (Tim's idea I have to say!!). Tim looked so happy and gave me 2 good 'twirls' in the aisle and before we knew it - we were done!!

In the next blog post I'll write about the rest of the day............. so keep looking, I'll try to write it in the next couple of days, in the meantime - enjoy some of the other photo's!

3 more sleeps..........

This is it then folks for a little while, the great day is nearly upon us and as all the children seem to measure big events in sleeps these days - we have only 3 more sleeps!!! Am I excited?? You bet - SOH has said today that I am 'like a 5 year old who's had 3 weeks worth of E no's in one go'............. :)

Actually he's right - the excitement woke me up early, I say woke me up - that's a bit of a loose statement really, it implies I slept..... I didn't actually. In fact I haven't slept properly since last week with far more than the wedding on my mind. We may have really exciting business developments ahead, and I hope that when I come back from honeymoon I'll be able to tell you all about it - oh, and get back to sleeping normally as well.

However, back to 'The Wedding' you know, this thing I've been writing about for ever (well it seems that way - probably does to you as well....). Tonight our lovely Chef, James is hard at work in the kitchen - after having done a full 12 hr day in his normal work, getting this monster of a cake iced! He has spent hours of his own time baking, marzipaning, and making incredible sugar roses and petals, and I can't wait to see the finished work of art tomorrow morning.
On top of that and as well as the buffet we planned together, he unveiled his menu of Canape's today - and I have to say he has excelled himself... hopefully, someone will keep us a couple to have when we come back from having our photo's taken after the service.

Beautiful cards have started to arrive full of warm wishes, and all the things that drove me to the edge of insanity (ok - just a little exaggeration!!) are slipping into place; - The furniture and decor in the upstairs restaurant looks fabulous, all the pictures from Simon Drew are up and being shown to their best advantage, the Carpet looks wonderful and I'm sure is going to wear well (a good start was made on it with a Christening and lots of children with sticky sweets and drinks last weekend!), the upstairs bar is stocked and looking splendid, and all in all I'm fairly ok with how things are going.

The awning in the back garden is ALMOST done, I'm promised a finish tomorrow - but even now, we can see it's going to be a great crowd pleaser....., Bayleaf our gardeners are coming on Friday to do a bit of planting and tidying. All my new friends here in Salcombe have offered in one way or another to help - so tomorrow at 3 see's Debs and Hazel helping get the upstairs restaurant laid up and gorgeous, Friday sees Debs, Theresa, Dena and Judith in 'doing' flowers (apparently 1,000 dafffodils!!!) and fairy lights and then that just leaves Glo and the staff to get downstairs ready on Saturday morning. The Tattinger is on ice, the fruit for jugs of Pimms is ordered, posh beauty toiletries have been bought for the loo's and hopefully all will be well in the Victoria on the morning of the 20th.

I went to my Church this morning to listen to the CD's for Saturday in all their glorious best on a new improved sound system and managed to sob all through the entrance music - tell you after the event what it is........ but I thought it best to get it out of my system now!!

So that's it then - my big day, the one I think I've dreamed about for ever is nearly here - and as my very dearest friend Tanya said to me today - 'who'd have thought it'............!!

I'm going to marry the man I turned my life upside down and inside out for, the man who makes me smile and wipes my tears. The man who's made my dreams a reality and loves me for who and what I am. The man who's seen me at my very best and at times, particularly when so ill - my very worst - and for all that he loves me.

Having my dear children in my life, particularly my now grown up son Paul is the greatest gift that life could ever have given me, and the biggest single privilege of my life has been in being a Mum. Saturday takes none of that away, and never will, but I do leave some of my past at the Church door at two o'clock and walk forward to my Husband to be: Timothy John Hore, forever to be known to you as SOH but to me, my most dearly beloved Tim.

I hope you wish me luck, love and happiness in this second special part of my journey of a life - I'll bore you all to death with the pics and stories after our short honeymoon in Normandy, in the meantime - Cheers

Liz x x x

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....................

Chad, Rosie and the RAT!!

I meant to include this little bit in my last blog entry but ran out of time and energy - the latter being a bit more on the menu (thankfully!!)

Firstly, let me introduce you to this fabulous gentleman in the picture.... his name is Chad, well, that's what everyone calls him! I actually don't don't know his proper name, but what I do know is that Chad keeps Salcombe clean and lovely. He's out in all weathers, he always has a smile and I don't think I've ever know him to be even the slightest bit miserable. At Christmas he wears a Santa hat and his cart has a horn which he uses occasionally - if only to get a smile from tourists!!

In one of our chats not long after we moved here, I was saying what a tough job he had - and his response was that it was one of the best jobs! He loves the fact he works in such a great place, meets so many nice people and can do such a good job.......... ohhhh, don't you love him already!!!

He and our Rosie have developed a real affinity with each other - she absolutely adores him and it appears to be pretty mutual..... With Rosie, SOH and I have developed a little pattern which allows us a short lay in of a morning - I stay in bed pretending to be asleep, he gets up, lets her out for a pee and then brings her back to bed where we all snuggle down for another 40 winks!

On one such occasion last week, SOH was doing just this - and I was in in bed snoozing, when I heard Chad returning our re-cycling bin to it's rightful place (see what I mean, he doesn't have to do this and in fact he probably shouldn't - but that's the sort of chap Chad is!) Next thing I hear is Chad let out this guttural moan and words to the effect of 'aarrghhhh - a rat!' closely followed by "Rosie - what are you doing here"............. followed by Chad then seeing SOH in his white towelling bath robe (it was not long after 7.30 a.m!!) and much laughter all round!!! Poor Chad - he thought Rosie was an overgrown rat climbing up his leg............. even writing this has me smiling at the memory!!

I hasten to add that we work closely with Baroque on pest control and can vouch to being rat/mouse free............... Honest!!

What else has the last few days bought?? Well, I am definitely getting better, still quite knackered come middle of the afternoon, but I've stopped fighting it and if I want to snooze then I snooze! Work continues on the pub and Carlton our marvelous builder is fast becoming the 2nd man in my life as he and his team transform our pub - but more about that next time!!

At 48 days and counting till the Big Day the wedding preparations are fairly well in hand, I sat last night and spent a small fortune on the internet buying all the 'pretty' things that will make the day even more special - the ribbons, the chocolates, the rose petals etc for the tables........you can see how costs start to ratchet up, and we've done it reasonably cheaply as well!!

We've sat with James our Chef and devised the menu's etc for the day, and then Glo my lovely bar manager has thought about staffing and she's also going to lead on decroating the pub etc for the wedding.

The Order of Service is written and will go to the printers next week, all the invites for the evening are written and being handed out - and we probably will end up with about 200 for the evening....... already, last night we were saying - Oh what about "XYZ", we haven't invited them...????

Mmmnn, just phoned the Bridal shop - no wedding dress yet......... but I'm NOT panicking!! Am I???? ..............................

Re-Furbishment Plans & Wedding Plans

The 4th January 2010 - that's the proposed date for the start of the Victoria Inn re-furbishment! Blimey, even seeing it written down like that gives me the colly wobbles......... so then what is planned to happen? Firstly - I told you in my previous blog post that we have a certain amount of wet rot in our downstairs restaurant - approximately 40 covers in there.

Until the flooring is taken up in it's entirety, we have no idea to the total extent of the problem - but it's likely to need a completely new floor. So, my military operation planning goes like this - afternoon of the 3rd, strip room completely - morning of the 4th stand with builder as he sucks air in through his teeth and tell's me A) 'oh dear love - it's not looking good' or B) 'oh dear love - thats looking bad'........ either way, I'm working on the principle of expect the worst!! Evening of the 4th - stand quietly sobbing in corner of bar cuddling a large G & T!

All of the fittings will have to be stripped out INCLUDING the wood panelling round the walls (further mutterings about water pressure!) and the alcove panellings then the floor will be dug up, dryed out, new floor laid, damproof membrane put down, followed by new black slate flooring, wall coverings replaced, wood panelling put back! Probable total time to achieve these works - 3 maybe 4 weeks! Ok - have just read that back and that sounds pretty simple - doesn't it?? So, why then am I filled with a deep sense of foreboding?? Probably, because in all my years working for local councils etc I don't think I knew one building project that went through without hiccups in one way or another.......But this is so very different from anything I've done before - this time our own income is at stake here.

THEN whilst all this is going on - the whole of the downstairs bar areas will be re-painted from top to bottom, upstairs restaurant will be stripped (doing a lot of that aren't we!?!) a hole knocked in a central wall for a more 'natural walking space' (that's designer speak!) out with the old furniture and carpet and in with new, decorated in it's entirety - oh yes, and new stair carpet as well............more mirrors, plants, candles etc etc etc!!

Not finished yet - THEN - new slabbing to the paved terrace, followed by the erection of an awning - a 'delightful outside dining experience' (sales person speak!) followed by two bedroom accomodation provison above the cellar! Things to consider - how many days will we have to shut the pub for, how much revenue will it cost by being closed and how much weight am I likely to put on as a result of the stress?? So dear blog readers - rest assured that you'll hear a lot about this re-furb between now and Easter.

As well as all of that, we are really quite busy for this time of the year - SOOOOO busy at the weekend, I had to work behind the bar!! Haven't done that for a little while - well not with any great intent anyway! The Victoria Inn has also been shortlisted for StAustell Wine Pub of the Year so we've been cleaning, tidying, putting up blackboards, re-vamping the wine menu for our official judging in a couple of weeks time and also trying to ensure all staff know what they're talking about regarding wine as we're expected to be 'mystery shopped' any day.

Then there's the wedding planning - got the shoes, sorted out the invitations (at last!) 'done' the flowers and discussed with James our chef the catering requirements for the big day! Just the Order of Service to do, and I'm (well actually WE'RE - SOH has really played a full role in this wedding!!) almost there!!

Lastly - but in no way least, we've also had Rosie to look after and start to learn to live with each other! My good Lord - it has been every inch like having a baby in the house!! But she is just adorable..... absolutely adorable! I love her to peices and SOH is smitten as well, despite his mutterings of it being 'just a dog'....... I'm sure you can see from the photo that she's growing fast, and we have had quite a few people come in to the pub just to see her!! I have never seen anything as funny as her little bottom bouncing up the stairs. Very, very lastly - hasn't it been the most awful weather?? I've never seen swell out in the Estuary as strong as it has been the last few days - and the Lifeboat is still moored out there, rather in it's mooring round the corner, so more bad weather and high winds to come I suspect.

So, lots on the go at the moment one way and another but I can always spare half an hour to write on here!!