Monday 30 August 2010

The Willersey Fete (August Bank Holiday monday)

The sun is out and it's going to be another beautiful day in the Cotswolds. Lynne and Charlotte have entries into the baking sections of the horticultural show this year .Lynne is hoping to get disqualified again this year.

Charlotte as grown a massive sunflower, so we are expecting great things from her, and she ahas entered these lovely cupcakes. Judging starts at 11am and the Fete opens at 2pm. Mark and I are on Skittle duty outside the Bell.
Henry and Sam have a stand which they are raising money for the Village, so if you would like a game of Top Trumps and beat them you could win a bag of sweets.

Valentine Warner Evening

Here are some pictures from our Valentine Warner inspired dinner party - using his crayfish recipe (unfortunately I could not find a hazelnut tree locally) and also Lynne made a lovely crayfish bisque which tasted a lot like a Lobster bisque. The crayfish were caught and supplied by our own local fish farmer (Rosbson Green) Mr Riley, thanks Mark!. Another great evening of food and fun over the bank holiday weekend. Off cycling with Mark later this morning to burn off some of the calories!. Next blog after today's Willersey Fete which starts at 2pm.

Here is the recipe for Valentine's Crayfish.

Friday 27 August 2010

40th Birthday bash for Quentin



40 came and went, and I have had my mid life crisis. It was so nice to catch up with all my friends and family over the weekend. We turned Willersey into a mini Glastonbury for 24hrs. Thanks for all the pressies and wine, and turning up

Catching Crayfish with the Riley's


Watch out we'll soon be calling ourselves the Fernley-whittinstall-warners! A new adventure took place just down the road in Broadway, where we were taken to a secret place to find the illusive cray fish. The promise of fat juicy lobster like shell fish was truly tempting (especially after 2 pints of best beer at the Crown & Trumpet).

Crayfish are eaten all over the world. Like other edible crustaceans, only a small portion of the body of a crayfish is edible. In most prepared dishes, such as soups, bisques and étouffées, only the tail portion is served. At crawfish boils or other meals where the entire body of the crayfish is presented, other portions may be eaten.

We were not disappointed, and caught about 20 of the beasties. We then cooked them on the BBQ later that day. Thanks Rileys!


40th Birthday treat with Mum & Dad


Fine dining at Mr Underhill's

Just came back from a birthday treat and visit to Ludlow to see the folks - and were taken out to the very lovely Mr Underhill's restaurant - wow! what a delight. We had an absolutely fantastic meal, and would highly reccommend the restaurant

You will find them at the foot of Ludlow Castle ramparts on the banks on the River Teme, just five minutes walk from the market square.

The Michelin starred restaurant looks onto the courtyard garden, romantically candle-light at night, and the River Teme beyond. All the rooms and suites overlook both garden and river. To ensure they maintain a five star gold award all the accommodation continues to be fine-tuned and upgraded.

Just be sure to book well in advance

Short Holiday in Devon

We finally managed to scrape enough dosh together to go to Branscombe in Devon to see friends (Catherine, Paul, Evie, Lilly and Jessica) we have a lovely few days and even managed to get into a little boat and go sea fishing. Charlotte caught a mackerel, and we ate it on the BBQ that evening. We also saw Toy Story 3D in Exeter (adults beware it's s little weepy!) what a great end to the trilogy.

Mummy's making cakes

Another day making cakes and baking. Lynne has just started producing cakes for Market Pantry in Broadway. As always the house is filled with a lovely smell of sweet scones, flapjack, chocolate brownies, cookies and cupcakes. ....and I'm on a diet!

The Pitcher Inn Vermont


The Pitcher Inn was recreated after a fire in 1993 burnt the original 1800s structure to the ground. Under the careful direction of David Sellers and a team of architects, The Pitcher Inn was intentionally recreated by a nostalgia mirroring Vermont's beauty and simplicity, whilst still remaining true to the original structure. Hence the Inn's nine rooms and two suites are each an adventure in the state's history. In addition, now a member of Relais & Chateaux, the Inn's philosophy emphasizes the 5 Cs: calm, cuisine, character, charm and courtesy. The Pitcher Inn's eleven rooms are patterned to reflect the individual designers' interpretation of a particular Vermont theme. From the whimsical to the classical, each room is a spectacular display of talent and taste lavishly manifested in unique motifs.

Ludlow Food Festival

The 2010 Ludlow Marches Food and Drink Festival takes place on 10-12 September in Ludlow, Shropshire, England, the small town with the large reputation for good food and drink.
This year the Festival will feature more than 130 top quality small independent food and drink producers from the Marches, the England-Wales border country, inside Ludlow Castle.
As well as the food producers, throughout Ludlow's historic town centre there's seemingly no end of food-related events, such as the famous Ludlow Sausage trail and the Festival Loaf trail, not forgetting all the old favourites both inside and outside the Castle, including great demonstrations, talks, food vendors and more.
This was Britain's first successful food and drink festival when it started back in 1995. It's grown considerably since then, with large numbers of visitors from throughout the UK, as well as from overseas - but we've stayed firmly with our original idea of highlighting the great food and drink that is available in the Marches, and to have a great time!
Come and join in - there's something for everyone, and a great party atmosphere!
Buy tickets online here and beat the queues that can form at busy times!

Welcome to the Thomas Family Blog!


This is the new blog site for Quentin, Lynne, Henry and Charlotte. All of us will update the blog with pictures, events, news and recent holidays that we have had. It will also include some places we like, recipes, and business news for all our family and friends to catch up on