A little late this month but as the saying goes "better late than never". October has been quite a month - most of which have been highs.
Early in the month my brother and sister in law arrived for a visit from South Africa. Not having seen them for some years we had much catching up to do. Elaine and I surprised them by meeting them at Heathrow and after giving them time for a quick shower it was off the Oxford and Stratford upon Avon.
At Stratford we went to Shakespeare's birth place and I was accosted by a young actress in theatrical dress who used me as a "prop" whilst regaling the amused audience with a monologue from The Merry Wives of Windsor" - I wasn't quite sure to take the philandering suggestion as a compliment or insult. We arrived back in York having had a really fun day.
Whilst they were with us we also visited the Stadium of Light in Sunderland to watch Sunderland play Liverpool. As many will know this was the afternoon when Sunderland beat Liverpool courtesy of a deflection via a red beach ball thrown on the field by a young Liverpool fan.
I had not previously visited the Sunderland ground and I must say the afternoon was a revelation. A stunning ground, a vociferous but impeccably behave home crowd and a really exciting match. One really couldn't ask for more.
They also visited Castle Howard and the Bronte Museum in Haworth and we managed to get in a couple of autumn walks, not to mention a few pub meals at one of our favourite pubs, The Anchor Inn in Whixley. www.anchorinnwhixley.com
Sadly their visit was over far to quickly and they are now safely back and enjoying the summer heat of South Africa.
Before they left however our daughter had her second baby in Cape Town and we are now the proud grand parents of two grand daughters. I think our son in law, Tim, was hoping for a son but it appears the new arrival, very quickly, won her Dad's heart.
Whilst Philip and Avril were with us I introduced them to some South American wine.
The first of these was a Casillero del Diablo Chardonnay 2008. A lovely pale yellow colour with overt peach and citrus flavours it's a steal at under £6.00. A second wine that they enjoyed was an Argentinian Viognier from the Las Moras winery. With a nose of orange blossom, pineapple and apricots it is full bodied and went very well with our meal of Bobotie. This dish is South African in origin and is a great dinner party dish as it can be prepared in advance and heated on the day. The following link will get you to a recipe http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5109/bobotie
But enough of Wine and Food.
No sooner had we seen Philip and Avril off to SA than we were having to face the prospect of saying goodbye to our daughter Carolynne. She has spent the last two and a half years with us in York. This year she decided to change career direction and went back to University to do a B.Sc Honours degree. No half measures with Carol she did it in one year with no previous science degree background. I have a renewed admiration for her - did she put in the hours studying. She wrote her final exam on the Wednesday and one week later she too headed off to South Africa.
She will be spending the next five months as a research intern on a project in the South African bush where after she will return to York to get in her Masters degree applications.
So for the first time in ages Elaine & I are truly "Darby & Joan".
The other really exciting news is that our new website has gone live. We have been working with our web designers for a few months and "signed off" the new site last week.
For those who have not yet seen it you can access it on www.fevershamlodge.co.uk
Finally, for those wishing to do some pre Christmas shopping in York, we only have a few rooms available over the weekends 11/12 and 18/19 December. For those looking to come mid week the accommodation situation is a lot better.
Until next time, take care and keep warm.