September 2008 News and Views
News & Members' Contributions from Countryside Connection Village
The response has been so wonderful since I began sharing excerpts from our members' monthly newsletters! After enjoying this month's issue, you will be able to read all of the February 2008 News and Views as well as March 2008 News and Views April 2008 News and Views May 2008 News and Views June 2008 News and Views July 2008 News and Views and August 2008 News and Views you might have missed by accessing the individual links. I will continue to provide access to all future issues in the same way so that you will not miss any of the news from our village. To enable you to enjoy past news and members' contributions from our Countryside Connection Village please simply click on the link to the appropriate month each time you visit our site.
Please Note : As one of our members, Artist Linda Leonard Hughes from Maine advised in our February issue, you will be wise to prepare a pot of your favourite brew before beginning so that you can sit back, relax and enjoy all of the exciting news as well as the latest adventures and offerings our members have shared.
I hope you will enjoy the excerpts from our Members' Newsletter. If you have a small business in Britain or America that you would like to see featured on our site and enjoy the full benefits of membership in our unique networking community, please send me an email and I will be delighted to make contact with you and answer all of your questions. Send your request to enquiries@countrysideconnection.com ~ I look forward to hearing from you, Heléne
Dear Visitors to Countryside Connection Village,
For many of our members in Britain and America , the month of August was filled with less than ideal summertime weather. Extreme humidity reported from members in America; rare viewings of sunshine, showers that never seemed to end and even a spectacular storm or two throughout most of the British countryside ~ this past month has brought every possible type of weather! The unpredictability of nature certainly hasn’t stopped many of our members who report gardening and enjoying outside pursuits in between heavy downpours or intense humidity whenever the weather allowed. At the end of August, many British farmers struggled to harvest wheat which not only seemed destined to be relegated to animal feed causing added economic hardship, but in fields where although they could clearly see that the wheat was ready to harvest, the ground was so saturated that tractors and other farm equipment could not enter without being mired in the mud. As I write this, we are still having heavy intermittent rain showers with heavier storms predicted in other parts of the country. This summer also saw the cancellation of many Annual Agricultural and Village Shows which are the highlight of the summer season and extremely important economic events. As we are all aware in our diverse community, the weather has combined with the current worldwide economic issues to also affect those offering their art for sale at events that were deluged by rain or cancelled completely, those offering accommodations and food and so many other diverse small businesses who rely upon tourism.
This is a vital time for all of us to support one another in every possible way ~ through networking and promoting one another’s offerings; referring those who are still unfamiliar with our wonderful community to our website, look to other members when you personally require food items, gifts, accommodations and business assistance and services. Our members offer the very best and we must work together to ensure everyone knows that about us!
There’s strength in numbers! We must remember that as we plan our strategy for helping all members’ businesses to grow and prosper!
Follow-up from last month ~ Canadian Visitor To Our Site Is In Need of Some Information:
A wonderful email came in from Linda Simms after her feature last month (please access link to August ‘News and Views’):
Dear Heléne,
“I hope you are well. We had a virus in our computer so unfortunately I am late in responding to many messages.
Thank you very much for including my request in you newsletter. I think the newsletter is great and I enjoyed reading it. I don’t know of any similar websites here.
There is a publisher in the States I have heard about, and I may approach them. I am sure one of these days I will find a course about food history. I also consider it a labour of love and would like to study the subject as well as sourcing relevant books. I recently checked the British ebay site and bought an old book about Victorian recipes, and the changing recipes over time. When I lived in England I remember roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Today my friends in England told me curry is now a national dish.
Thank you very much again. I will be in touch.”
Linda
**Please send any information or assistance to Linda, send your emails: psimms@rogers.com
Your Ghost Stories Have Been Requested
Inspired by Penyrallt Farm's Jinsy Robinson's comments last month about ghosts in our “new home and my response, the following email was received from Wendy Blair, of Rose Hill B and B in Roanoke,Virginia www.bandbRoseHill.com
Dear Heléne,
”So sorry I have not answered, just finished a marathon run of guests and my Granddaughter’s visit. Pretty pooped. Sounds like you have a plate that is overflowing too. Gotta clean now for a three week stint of no days off without guests. Take care of your back with all the moving in you are doing and I wish you much joy in the new place. Hugs, Wendy
Wendy's P.S. Had a thought for a future discussion — House Ghosts.
Question for Members and Visitors to our Website : Do you have any ghosts in your inn or business, do you tell your guests, why or why not? It might be great fun to share all the stories.”
Just to refresh your mind, these are the comments Wendy was referring too.
“ All best wishes for the move north to go well and without any hiccups. I'm sure the new house and its ghosts will smile a welcome to you and make you feel that you are home. ”
Love, Jinsy ”
In closing, I wrote, “I already feel welcome by the ghosts noted by Jinsy that inhabit the home that is new to us but very old and long to ‘settle in’ and begin baking and creating ‘proper’ meals such as those that have been prepared in this home for the generations that have preceded us.
Please continue to write, send your favourite recipes and know that I will respond as soon as possible. Until next month. “ Warmly, Heléne
Please share your ghosts and/or ghostly experiences with us ~ with so many members living and working in very old homes and structures I feel certain that many of you have stories to share. I join Wendy in looking forward to hearing stories from lots of you!
Additional Email with important information from Wendy:
Dear Heléne,
”Yes, everything should reflect the new email address. Thanks for thinking of that. I suggested the ghost stories because I’m pretty sure I have one. Unless someone is breaking in at night and taking books off the shelf and depositing them in the center of the library for a lark. I will send you a full version sometime this week. Interestingly enough, we have named him Paul—there is the name Paul somehow ensconced on the brick out front that gets removed often and always reappears. Hope others have fun stories to share. I always wonder whether to mention it to guests, but some beat me to the punch. Guess I’m not the only one who is aware.
More later, gotta serve breakfast,”
W.
Please note: Wendy’s new email is: wendy@rosehill.roacoxmail.com Her website address remains the same: www.bandbRoseHill.com
Lord Combermere’s Ghost
This photograph of the Combermere Abbey library was taken in 1891 by Sybell Corbet. The figure of a man can faintly be seen sitting in the chair to the left. His head, collar and right arm on the armrest are clearly discernable. It is believed to be the ghost of Lord Combermere.
Lord Combermere died in 1891, having been struck and killed by a horse-drawn carriage. At the time Sybell Corbet took the above photo, Combermere's funeral was taking place some four miles away. The photographic exposure, Corbet recorded, took about an hour. It is thought by some that during that time a servant might have come into the room and sat briefly in the chair, creating the transparent image. This idea was refuted by members of the household, however, testifying that all were attending Lord Combermere's funeral.
Interesting side note: Lord Combermere is connected to another well-known paranormal story: the famous "Moving Coffins" of Barbados . The coffins inside the sealed vault of the Chase family are said to have been moved about by unnatural forces. The heavy coffins were repeatedly put in proper order, but often when a new coffin was added to the vault, the coffins were found strewn about. Lord Combermere, while governor of Barbados , had ordered a professional investigation of the mystery.
The above information is an excerpt from the following website:
http://paranormal.about.com/od/ghostphotos/ig/Best-Ghost-Photos/
Introducing Our Newest Countryside Connection Village Resident
From America’s Beautiful Southern State of North Carolina
A Warm Welcome to Carol and Fred Halton, Innkeepers of Bridle Path Inn in Asheville, North Carolina. View their listing in our Country Inn & Hotels Category. Please also take time to visit their beautiful website showing artistic images of each of their large guest rooms and the common areas of this historic inn. www.bridlepathinn.com
Bridle Path Inn
The Bridle Path Inn is truly ‘An Inn for All Seasons’. Relax in the comfortable surroundings, and enjoy this unique home away from home. The quaint setting is a secluded one, nestled atop a hill overlooking downtown Asheville. Here you will savour an elegant, full breakfast in front of the fireplace in the wintertime or on the wide verandah in the summer. Rest and leave your worries behind as you delight in the quiet offerings of nature while viewing the memorable mountains, of Western North Carolina.
The View From The Veranda at Bridle Path Inn
The University of North Carolina Asheville and its botanical gardens is just around the corner. Stroll in the other direction and walk to the top of Horizon Hill to enjoy the panoramic view.
Eastern America's tallest mountain, Mt. Mitchell, elevation 6,684 feet is located twenty miles away, as the crow flies . During the winter months, guests enjoy hot glug around the huge fireplace. Golf, backpacking, skiing, and climbing the Appalachian Trail nearby are available for the more adventuresome.
The large bedrooms all offer private bath, air conditioning, CCTV, and coffee makers. Small refrigerators are available for late night snacks and each is stocked with gourmet Wisconsin cheeses and soft drinks.
"Renting a room at The Bridle Path Inn is like going to visit friends who just happen to live in a mansion. The kind of friends who string white Christmas lights around their front veranda in June because they like the way they look; who fly the Polish and British flags in celebration of their ancestry; who take pictures of all their guests and keep them in a scrapbook."
Atlanta Magazine
The Crayton Trail at The Botanical Gardens at Asheville in fall
Asheville, North Carolina: Edgy, Artsy and Inviting
Asheville is that type of unique, special place that lingers sweetly in your mind and memories for years to come. The city's rich architectural legacy with its mix of Art Deco, Beaux Arts and Neoclassical styles is the perfect retro-urban backdrop to the edgy energy that emanates from the locally owned-shops and art galleries, distinctive restaurants and exciting entertainment venues. Known as an art colony, a healing resort and a home to notable luminaries, statesmen and bohemians, Asheville is one of the most welcoming, vibrant cities in America.
A bastion of cutting-edge art and technology in the Blue Ridge, the city also prides itself on its fascinating Appalachian past and celebrates this culture with annual events such as Shindig on the Green. While many cities underwent major overhauls in past decades, Asheville's historic and architecturally diverse downtown remains beautifully preserved.
The information above was found on the excellent website, http://www.exploreasheville.com/ one of the many you will discover as you explore the web for information about Asheville. Try visiting http://www.ashevillenc.com/ , http://www.ashevillechamber.org/ or one of the may others listed.
Asheville offers something for everyone! Visit some of the websites mentioned and discover many others. You will long to book your next holiday at Bridle Path Inn!
News from Member Carla Boulton
Hoping LOTS of You Will Be Able to Attend The Exciting Event
I would love you to put in something about the September 20th event at Dearnford Lake please, this would be my preference as I need to get as many people interested in my work as possible since other things are a bit slow!?
I am showing at a Festival of Fine Art and Food at Dearnford Lake on 20th September. This all began with a conversation between myself and Jane Bebbington co-owner with husband Charles, of Dearnford Lake which is near Whitchurch, Shropshire. We talked about how it would be fab to show some art in her wonderful new fishing lodge which sits on the lakeside. Of course as would happen when people are enthusiastic about their venue and their work the event has grown into a huge extravaganza!
The one-day event promises to be massive fun, an agricultural and nature-based day with a really big element of quality artwork and food on offer and a tie-in with RABI National Welly Week with Raft Racing on the Lake. (The RABI is a farming charity formed in 1860 to help those in need in the farming community) Also for anyone who is not excited by art, food, nature, rafts, the lake, or alpacas, there will be a gathering of shiny classic cars, a hot air balloon and the local fire service - I told you it had grown!
Please have a look at the link below and if any countryside connection members are in the area please do come and see us, I shall be in the Lodge alongside fellow artists, with my drawings and some lovely greeting cards which I am producing especially.
http://www.dearnfordlake.com/dl_news.html
Oh, I nearly forgot - because we are not plagued enough by these beautiful beasts in our gardens, I am attaching a snail.
Let me know your news,
hope all is good Bye for now , Carla www.carlaboulton.co.uk
“Give it some welly and join in the fun! How far can you Wang a Welly? This special event offers something for everyone – from Art Demonstrations & Original Works of Art for Sale; locally produced food and drink; Team Raft Racing, Classic Car Displays and so much more. There will be a Hog Roast and Clay Pigeon Shoot . . . a true country event AND all in the aid of a wonderful cause!
PLEASE GATHER EVERYONE TOGETHER AND JOIN THE FUN!
Alan and I will be attending the event and hope to have the chance to meet lots of you and help Carla at the same time! Please keep an eye out for us ~ visit Artists’ Area and ask Carla where to find us as we will keep her informed! After the event, we will be spending the night at Colliers Hill to see if we can be of any assistance to Jackie ~ read below:
A Countryside Connection Member Has An Accident!
Jackie Miller, of Colliers Hill in Worcestershire www.colliershill.co.uk wrote with some very distressing news. Yet, as a ‘woman of organisation and action’ nothing, not even a broken hip was going to stop her. She immediately offered, with everything else going on, to write a feature for this newsletter and send along a few photos! Here is her wonderful article:
Where there’s a will there’s a way.
How to cook breakfast on one leg
Not exactly what guests expect…. to be greeted by a landlady on crutches… Three days before one of my most important functions of the summer I fell over and broke my left hip.
As I came round from the operating table I had to do some quick decision making. Cancelling was out of the question I was hosting a 60th birthday/retirement celebration for a friend in the village. A gala dinner on the Saturday evening for 20 people, a house full of B&B guests and a drop-in party for family and friends (100 expected) with a pig roast during the day on Sunday.
Fortunately I am extremely well organised so most of the preparation was well in hand. The pig roast man was booked, puddings and birthday cake were arriving from friends in the village for the Sunday. The room had been decorated and the table laid for the gala dinner and my loyal helpers were booked in to work for the weekend. So far so good……but how was I going to manage to cook and serve my guests. Both my lovely children, who cook superbly well, were out of the country, and my helpers were very nervous about preparing the meal without support.
After a dark night of the soul it was “once more to the breach dear friends”, lucky the Bard has been a constant source of inspiration in my life.
I would have to find a way of being let out of hospital for the evening so I could supervise the proceedings. A couple of friends had agreed to cook the meal using my chosen recipes as guests had pre-ordered their food. However they were somewhat apprehensive about the canapés and the special final touches that are my trade-mark.
My saviour was at hand in the form of a staff-nurse in the hospital where I was a patient. Kerry a close family friend agreed to take responsibility for me, collect me from the ward in a wheel-chair and return me a couple of hours later.
In a somewhat anxious state I was wheeled into my kitchen and was able to reign supreme with my able bodied friends and helpers. Probably not to be recommended in terms of my personal well being but definitely the only way out of the situation.
Mission accomplished I returned to my hospital bed exhausted but content that I had played my part in making my friend’s celebration weekend a memorable one.
My advise to anybody who runs a business alone is to make sure you support train and cherish your helpers and friends. I set my business up three years ago and have worked hard to train and motivate the people who work for me. They take great pride in what they do, have certainly improved their culinary skills, much to the delight of their other halves, and always go that extra mile for the guests.
I’m now back at home coping with the bed and breakfast guests, not easy on crutches, but possible if you delegate and make sure you give yourself plenty of time to plan ahead. I will honour all the advance bookings, but avoid the one offs until I am feeling stronger and more confident about moving around my kitchen in the wheelchair or on crutches.
If I am able to turn what has certainly been a very eventful summer at every level into a positive situation I have to admit this enforced sedentary life style has given me the ability to think creatively about how I can move forward in all aspects of my life/business. The truth is I have been working far to hard for far too long simply because I get a buzz out for meeting new people welcoming them into my lovely farmhouse and I have not really had time to think about looking after my unique selling point…myself.
For the next month, whilst waiting to see my consultant at the hospital early in October I am going to look at how to improve the efficiency of my business without killing myself….watch this space.
A Wonderful Opportunity For Me To Help A Member Of Our Village . .
After visiting Carla and attending DearnfordLake Event on the 20th of September as described above, Alan and I are driving to Worcestershire and spending the night at Colliers Hill in the hopes of helping Jackie during her recuperation. As I told her, we suffered through a series of injuries and accidents during our time as innkeepers (I can just see many of our Brattleboro Members nodding as they read this ~ if I were to list them you would be horrified at how many things can happen to two people in the period of 5 ½ years!). We do not know what we would have done without the ongoing help and assistance of our helpers, family, friends, neighbours, guests and fellow innkeepers.
Supporting one another during time of personal need as well as business assistance, that is what Countryside Connection is all about. Although I am dreadfully sorry about the circumstances, I am very pleased that Alan and I might be able to provide some assistance to Jackie whilst enjoying a pleasant visit! Jackie and I will both have more about our time together to share in our October Newsletter. As she noted above, watch this space . . .
Jackie continues ~ I have already experimented with a couple of simple nourishing soup recipes which I have been preparing in advance, with the help of my children, and freezing for my guests. To me soup is the ultimate in comfort fast food and so easy to offer guests with some delicious bread if they have arrived after a long journey and don’t fancy going to the local pub.
I’ve got a party of fishermen arriving in a couple of days so have spent the weekend stocking up with soups and home made cakes. Instead of rushing round shopping myself, what bliss local suppliers have delivered to the door at no extra cost.
Another Countryside ConnectionVillage Resident Arrives Next Month
An English Ecological Cleaning Product Creator, offering online ordering, is joining us as soon as the new website is complete. This mother and daughter team will be a wonderful addition! Gill and I are fellow WiRE members, as are many of you, and I have really enjoyed getting to know her and hearing all about her wonderfully large close-knit family. I know you will be delighted with their addition to our village!
Two Recent Emails I have received from Gill
1) Hello Heléne
“I am so sorry for not responding sooner, it has been somewhat chaotic here!
I had a holiday and have returned and am still working on the new website.
We do have an up to the minute marketing plan in place and I have included you in it but I am still working on the website with my designer.
It is getting close to finalisation now I believe and I think in another six weeks or so we should be good to go. If not, I have a contingency plan!
This timescale suits me as Lauren (my daughter and the other half of The Green Housekeeper) is away touring Europe until mid August.
I will be in touch with a preview as soon as I possible can. I do apologise for disappearing, we are still here I can assure you!”
Kind regards, Gill
2) Hello Heléne
“Lovely to hear from you and thank you, Lauren has returned with plenty of stories from her travels. She is well and very tanned!
I did actually see our new website yesterday for the very first time, all is now going to plan and we hope to launch on Monday so I will be in touch with you again next week, if that is ok.
Looking forward to it, now it is real, a little scary but exciting too! The children return to school next week so I am hoping to return to some kind of normal routine, summer holidays are wonderful - but tiring!
Trust you and your family are well, speak to you soon. Many thanks.” Gill
Thank you for all of the wonderful contributions to this month’s issue! I have so enjoyed reading and viewing everything as they came in and then preparing it all to share with you. I also admit to receiving a great amount of pleasure in taking a break from the remaining unpacking and decorating (oh, yes, there is still more to do but I have promised to stop putting so much pressure upon myself ~ this is a big change for someone who always wants everything completed yesterday!). Such wonderful events in September to look forward to and hope to see lots of you, members and visitors to our website alike, at Dearnford Lake on the Saturday, the 20th of September.
I will report on Carla’s art display and everything else about the day as well as our time with Jackie and also our special visit to another member's farm. It is a visit we have all been planning for a long time and have finally been able to make arrangements ( yes, I am well aware that this also provides yet another excuse to delay completion of our 'settling in' - if I do say so myself, I am getting quite adept at this delay and relaxation!)
Once again, Warmest Welcome to new members, Carol and Fred at Bridle Path Inn in Asheville, North Carolina; Well Done Jackie for your amazing perseverance and positive nature; Congratulations to Carla for finding time to concentrate more on the art that brings you such joy ~ I know how much this costs you and others who take the brave step to follow their heart and passion; A Gold Star to Clare who is finding such happiness in her decision to make it on her own and another to Cally who somehow fits it all in . . . WELL DONE TO ALL MEMBERS FOR ALL YOU DO AND THE PRIDE YOU BRING OUT IN OUR COMMUNITY! Until next month, Heléne
PLEASE send in your Ghost Stories – Thanks for the idea, Wendy!