We’re into the final countdown for Christmas now, our Christmas party bookings are all in and we are starting to dot the “i”s and cross the “t”s: yesterday Joyce bought the sweets for the guest stockings, on Monday a few of us are taking a trip out to buy some new Christmas decorations for the hotel.  We’ve used the same ones for a while, just adding a few new bits each year but now we do need to do something radical with our themes.

The biggest job to get done happened this morning.  So that Santa can get in without getting his red suit dirty we had our chimney swept, all 57′ of it!  It certainly was the biggest chimney that the sweep did today.

Having had the chimney swept we will now start to light the fire, once the new screen and tools arrive.  This will make a lovely first impression as guests come in.  It is only a small grate so it won’t give out a great amount of heat but the look will be good.  The receptionists are already looking forward to sitting next to it on the quieter evenings. I’ll be keeping an eye on them for sure!

Bill Isaacs, one of our local artists, produces some great fun paintings which we sell for him in the CafeBar.  One range that he does is variations on Vetriano’s “The Gentleman’s Gentleman” so we have pictures of the lady holding her umbrella while the two gentlemen dance  and another with the right couple dancing but with a big wave bearing down on them and quite a few others have passed through our hands.  Great fun and worth a look over a cup of coffee.

I had a call from Nigel, our wine merchant, yesterday lunchtime - would I be interested in doing a blind tasting of 9 vintage champagnes.  I was about to say yes please can I come down now when i really had to stop and think about the business.  we had over 50 guests in for dinner so should I stay and help look after them or was it right to further my education?  I told Nigel that I would have to say no but would have a chat with Kristin when she came in to see how she felt about the evening.

Luckily for me she was quite happy about her team for the night so quickly back on the phone to Nigel to book my place.  I just about managed to get there for 6.30 start time when Nigel explained the background to the evening.

Nigel had been talking to one of the champagne houses about the different vintage champagnes they offered and was questionning the quality / price differentials between them, Louis Roederer Cristal 2000 retails for £125 yet the Gosset 1996 retails for £40.99.  Nigel wanted to see if we could tell what differences there were so we all had to try them in turn and make notes on them and then rank our top 5. 

It is very rare for me to get the chance to try 1 vintage champagne, let alone 9 at the same time so we set about our task with great enthusiasm.  The 20 of us for the evening were a mixture of the shop staff and guests from local hotels and restaurants, we discussed quietly amongst ourselves and there were some startlingly different opinions - which is how it should be, the wines are all different even though they are all grown in a small area and from the same blend of grapes.

The overall winner was Bollinger RD 1996, which I found quite rich and very distinctive - this was my 4th ranked champagne, I must admit my favourite was Dom Perignon which didn’t come out very well in everyone elses ranking.

The Gosset 1996 did quite well but wasn’t in the top 3 so perhaps there is something in the price after all but was the Cristal 3 times better than the Gosset?  I guess it is about choosing the right drink for the right occasion.  Have a look at Nigel’s shop site to choose your favourite www.wwrw.co.uk

I started Sunday morning with a bit of surprising news: when I turned my phone on I had 3 text messages come through in quick succession, all from Adam, my Head Chef.  The times ranged from 1.30 in the morning to just after 6 am.  Leah, his partner was expecting their first baby in the middle of November but things happened a bit quicker than planned.

Adam and Leah went down to hospital around 11.30 and Chloe put in an appearance around 2.30, weighing only 2 and a bit pounds and 2 and a half months early.  I am very pleased to report that she is already breathing on her own but is being kept in until November just to make sure she stays alright.  Adam is clearly excited about what has happened but at the same time very nervous about the future as Chloe is so small and frail.  We’ve all told him she is in the right place with the right people looking after her.  As Adam said when I was talking to him on Sunday morning all we can do is to hope and pray that she will be OK. 

Leah is staying in hospital until next week to make sure she’s well enough to come home but after that there will be lots of trips to the hospital just to be with Chloe and to try and bond as much as they can.  Mark is coming back to join us as sous chef next week so Adam will be able to have a bit more time with his family.

Please keep Adam, Leah and Chloe in your thoughts for the next few weeks.