It was nice to be home again. We had treated ourselves to a break in Dublin which was most enjoyable but for some reason we were under the impression that Dublin would be around the same size as Truro (Cornwall's only city). We were wrong. It was a bustling city of 4 million inhabitants - three quarters of the population of Ireland in fact!
Meanwhile back at Lambriggan Court life is very hectic. Great excitement when one of our rare geese laid an egg. Great disappointment when it was found broken the day after. A decision was taken to get the incubator up and running immediately in expectation of more eggs. In fact we now have 2 eggs incubating which of course have to be exactly at the right temperature , humidity and need regular turning.
Quite a few of the owls have 'gone down'. This means they have disappeared into their nesting boxes - a very good sign indeed. Last year we had quite a few eggs but the birds were immature and the eggs infertile.
Another baby wallaby has been spotted. Last year we had 3 young Palmer's wallabies - a smaller breed - but this is the first of the larger wallabies. A bit difficult at the moment to distinguish if it will be grey or white ( we have one white male) as the only part visible is the Joey's head which is pink and hairless. The wallabies like all the other animals at Lambriggan Court are fascinating and I shall include more information about them in another blog.
A sad loss this week has been our cockerel. We take great care in protecting all our animals and birds from the foxes but they are not called 'crafty' for no reason. This particular cockerel was saved from the pot because when he was younger he was very protective of one of the other chicks . I also think it's much more natural to have a male bird with the chickens and he has guarded them well. Unfortunately he must have strayed a little too far this week which led to his very sad demise.
It's not just the birds and animals that have been busy. We already have three bed and breakfast rooms at Lambiggan Court and are just putting the finishing touches to two new suites.
As usual it has been a very tight deadline particularly with Easter arriving so early this year but we are nearly there. The en-suite shower room in The Furniss Suite has just been tiled. The carpet fitters are due to fit the carpet tomorrow afternoon. The furniture which was due to arrive the first week of March was held up but arrived in the dark a few nights ago - thank goodness. The furniture in The Lemon Suite is going in today with the electrician fitting all the lighting. This is my favourite part - the dressing of the rooms. I spend months searching for just the right furnishings and all the other little but very important items to dress the rooms. Little touches like the wall lamps we brought back from Andalucia in January to go in The Lemon Suite along with two antique wall sconces with cherubs on from a superb antiques shop in Lostwithiel. For The Furniss Suite I have a gramophone player blending in perfectly with it's elegant and sumptious surroundings and on the wall will be the vibrant tapestries purchased from the bastide town of Domme from our time in France. These are what gives each room it's character and individuality , something which is often lacking in big hotels. The feed back from our guests shows how much this extra effort is appreciated. I hope our guests who will be arriving on Friday for the Easter break will enjoy the new suites as much as I have enjoyed creating them.
Monday 17 March 2008
Thursday 6 March 2008
Eating out in Cornwall
A change of topic today - one of my favourites in fact - food. Cornwall is really making it's mark in the world of 'cuisine' with many top chefs opening up first rate places to eat. Cornwall also has so much up- and- coming talent with home-grown chefs , particularly those who are establishing themselves with their first ventures. One of these is Nic Boyle who has returned home to Cornwall after 2 years of working in some of the top U.K's restaurants and established 'Gaudi's in Truro - a 15 minute drive from Lambriggan Court. The style is classic British with Cornish flavours.
Another superb local eating place is 'Sally's Bistro' in St.Agnes - a 10 minute drive. Very much a Mediterranean experience , with lots of fish specials, using as much local produce as possible. With only ten tables the atmosphere is very intimate. The Bistro has an excellent chef with Sally out front mixing with the guests and making sure the food and wine are exactly as ordered.
Odd's Restaurant , newly opened at Cubert - 3 miles away on the road to Newquay. Adam Coad runs this restaurant at Ellenglaze farm and it has taken 4 years for him to realise his dream. 'Farm gate to plate ' sums it up quite nicely. The daily changing menus make use of Adam's beef , orchard fruit and game with help from neighbouring growers and local fishermen.
The restaurant is set in the hillside with panoramic 180-degree views over farmland and out to sea , as far as St.Ives.
A five minute drive from us is The Miner's Arms. A 16th century inn reputed to have it's own ghosts! This recently changed hands and now is run by Anouska , a local Cornish maid , despite the name and her excellent chef Catherine. A very cozy inn , open fires , beams , excellent food and a big Cornish welcome. Book a table beforehand as it is very popular with all us locals.
Finally (on this blog) I can add Fifteen Cornwall as I was treated to a wonderful lunch there this week. I am sure everyone knows about this establishment in Watergate Bay - 25 minutes away - as it has had so much time in the media. For those however who live outside the U.K it is owned by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and is a place where disadvantaged young people in Cornwall can carve out a career for themselves under the watchful eyes of experienced chefs.
Fifteen Cornwall is set in the cliffside at Watergate Bay with views over the Atlantic rollers and a 2 mile sandy beach. On Monday we were sitting at a table by the window admiring the antics of two kite-surfers. There was a bit of a breeze and they were flying high. This week there has been a Tuscan theme to the menu . The Antipasti was huge - a mountain of Italian meats , cheeses , vegetables and fruit. The waitress warned us not to have the primi course or we would never get through the secondi or main course. How right she was.!We both opted for rib-eye steaks dressed with atichokes and other vegetables with spiced and garlic potatoes. This was followed by tiramasu for my host , and for me - vanilla pannacotta, morsels of rhubarb , a gooseberry jelly and Cornish clotted cream ( of course ).
I think there is enough here today to wet the appetite but there are so many more in Cornwall.
I am determined to try them out one by one - all in the name of research of course!!!
Contact telephone numbers for all these restaurants can be found on my website under 'attractions'.
Another superb local eating place is 'Sally's Bistro' in St.Agnes - a 10 minute drive. Very much a Mediterranean experience , with lots of fish specials, using as much local produce as possible. With only ten tables the atmosphere is very intimate. The Bistro has an excellent chef with Sally out front mixing with the guests and making sure the food and wine are exactly as ordered.
Odd's Restaurant , newly opened at Cubert - 3 miles away on the road to Newquay. Adam Coad runs this restaurant at Ellenglaze farm and it has taken 4 years for him to realise his dream. 'Farm gate to plate ' sums it up quite nicely. The daily changing menus make use of Adam's beef , orchard fruit and game with help from neighbouring growers and local fishermen.
The restaurant is set in the hillside with panoramic 180-degree views over farmland and out to sea , as far as St.Ives.
A five minute drive from us is The Miner's Arms. A 16th century inn reputed to have it's own ghosts! This recently changed hands and now is run by Anouska , a local Cornish maid , despite the name and her excellent chef Catherine. A very cozy inn , open fires , beams , excellent food and a big Cornish welcome. Book a table beforehand as it is very popular with all us locals.
Finally (on this blog) I can add Fifteen Cornwall as I was treated to a wonderful lunch there this week. I am sure everyone knows about this establishment in Watergate Bay - 25 minutes away - as it has had so much time in the media. For those however who live outside the U.K it is owned by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and is a place where disadvantaged young people in Cornwall can carve out a career for themselves under the watchful eyes of experienced chefs.
Fifteen Cornwall is set in the cliffside at Watergate Bay with views over the Atlantic rollers and a 2 mile sandy beach. On Monday we were sitting at a table by the window admiring the antics of two kite-surfers. There was a bit of a breeze and they were flying high. This week there has been a Tuscan theme to the menu . The Antipasti was huge - a mountain of Italian meats , cheeses , vegetables and fruit. The waitress warned us not to have the primi course or we would never get through the secondi or main course. How right she was.!We both opted for rib-eye steaks dressed with atichokes and other vegetables with spiced and garlic potatoes. This was followed by tiramasu for my host , and for me - vanilla pannacotta, morsels of rhubarb , a gooseberry jelly and Cornish clotted cream ( of course ).
I think there is enough here today to wet the appetite but there are so many more in Cornwall.
I am determined to try them out one by one - all in the name of research of course!!!
Contact telephone numbers for all these restaurants can be found on my website under 'attractions'.
Sunday 2 March 2008
Spring Arrives
It's amazing when suddenly you realise that Spring has arrived. We have been so busy here at Lambriggan Court that weeks, months and even apparently seasons are passing by and here we are going through our second Spring at Lambriggan Court. The climate in Cornwall is definately milder - we have only had two frosts this winter where as I know north of the border ( across the Tamar ) the weather had been much harsher. The grass has continued to grow throughout the Winter which has been great for our Alpacas Gwineas and Gruda. For the last few weeks we have also had a neighbours three horses grazing in the paddock and up in the orchard. Jon seems to be pleased with the move to the orchard as the horses have been 'ambushing' him as he has been making his way around the paddock feeding the rheas and chickens and for some reason has always been a little nervous of horses. This is a man who can face a 6ft. male rhea in mating mode (admittedly with a broom stick and dustbin lid to fend him off) but still tries to sneak into the paddock without the horses seeing him. No chance!
With the grass still growing and the daffodils having been in full bloom since November and the Camellias not long after , we have had so much colour around for so long that it's really not surprising that Spring has slipped in unnoticed. The Primroses and the Crocusses (or is it crocii? unsure on that one ) have added to the colour and then a couple of weeks ago the roses started blooming.
Spring hasn't gone unnoticed of course by the birds and animals. The Alpaca are like Spring lambs at the moment . Sitting writing this at on my old scrubbed Victorian table in the kitchen with the aga warming my back quite nicely Gwineas and Gruda keep appearing in my peripheral vision though the kitchen window. One second there then gone again. On top of the dry stone wall then down on the grass. Back up on the wall again. That baby alpaca or 'cria' is becoming a distinct possibility! The birds are all strutting and displaying and some showing signs of wanting to build nests. The Canadian Geese arrived in full cry and tried to settle on our lakes but our swans - notably the males were having none of that. The geese were last seen heading to a neighbouring farmer's lake instead.
Testosterone is running rampant with the young male wallabies - very interesting! The storks have been given a nesting platform and seem to know what to do with it. The mara tend to congregate at the moment in their dens so one hopes that they are full of the joys of Spring too.
The owls are disappearing into nesting boxes and our neighbours Jen and Chris have been known to comment that the 'dawn chorus' is becoming very interesting.
With the grass still growing and the daffodils having been in full bloom since November and the Camellias not long after , we have had so much colour around for so long that it's really not surprising that Spring has slipped in unnoticed. The Primroses and the Crocusses (or is it crocii? unsure on that one ) have added to the colour and then a couple of weeks ago the roses started blooming.
Spring hasn't gone unnoticed of course by the birds and animals. The Alpaca are like Spring lambs at the moment . Sitting writing this at on my old scrubbed Victorian table in the kitchen with the aga warming my back quite nicely Gwineas and Gruda keep appearing in my peripheral vision though the kitchen window. One second there then gone again. On top of the dry stone wall then down on the grass. Back up on the wall again. That baby alpaca or 'cria' is becoming a distinct possibility! The birds are all strutting and displaying and some showing signs of wanting to build nests. The Canadian Geese arrived in full cry and tried to settle on our lakes but our swans - notably the males were having none of that. The geese were last seen heading to a neighbouring farmer's lake instead.
Testosterone is running rampant with the young male wallabies - very interesting! The storks have been given a nesting platform and seem to know what to do with it. The mara tend to congregate at the moment in their dens so one hopes that they are full of the joys of Spring too.
The owls are disappearing into nesting boxes and our neighbours Jen and Chris have been known to comment that the 'dawn chorus' is becoming very interesting.
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