The + 1 news gives us the opportunity to celebrate our employees successes, achievements and initiatives at English Lakes Hotels. The spring Edition; hot of the press this week, includes photographs of the Commercial Department’s ‘back to school’ training day and the news of a new conservation project championed by Lancaster House Hotel as well as many other projects that English Lakes Hotels have been getting up to over the past few months.
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April 2010
04/20/2010
Charity 3 Peaks Challenge: Help! It's taken over my life!
English Lakes Hotels Charity 3 Peaks Challenge
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It's a lovely day outside today. The daffodils have finally shown their face, the sun is shining, and there are rather too many people out there showing their mid-riffs who really shouldn't be, if you know what I mean! Actually, fair play to them, why shouldn't they? We're emerging from one of the longest winters in recent history so I say let them hang their pierced pot-bellies out. Show the world that you like one too many chippy teas a week. I might even join them! But on the basis that its still only 9 degrees, I think I'll keep my stomach well and truly hidden, and tucked up nice and warm for the time being. Besides, there's no six-pack there I can tell you. More like a keg of smooth to be honest.
I will say though
that this walking malarkey is causing the pounds to drop off. However,
just not in the right places I would have ideally liked (had I been
given the choice, or got all "Pally" with a plastic surgeon). My legs
have always been top of the list to go in to a "Room 101
for unwanted limbs". They've never carried too much weight, be it
muscle or fat, and now that the latter form of tissue has now completely
disappeared from my lower torso, my legs look like they belong to an
anorexic turkey, after a knee-op! And as for trying to get a suntan on
them - forget it! My upper-body can burn like a cheap sofa at a
pyromaniac's convention. But I can drench my legs in Olive oil, Carrot
Oil, even Crude Oil, and they still resemble one of those colours on
your Dulux paint chart which is neither White nor Magnolia. (I think the
current trendy name for it is "Frosted Dawn" if you were interested in
decorating sometime later this month, which I should, but I've kinda got
too much on my plate at the moment)
Anyway,
I find myself in the familiar and frustrating (to you) territory of
waffling again, and about a subject that none of you probably want to
hear about or visualise come to think if it, so let's get back on the
straight and narrow shall we?
So, this
sudden but very welcome change in the climate has brought about a new
vigour to the training effort. In the last 6 days I have completed 4
walks and been to the gym twice! Had you said that to me 12 months ago I
would have probably stared at you for a while and then asked you what
kind of medication you were taking, but a lot can happen in a year it
seems. My life has changed beyond recognition. My outlook on everything
is different, more positive, less selfish, and I owe most of it to the
hypnotic powers of those mountains. It's been a gradual change sure, but
the contrasts one can draw by comparing T.Bell circa 2009 to the
revised, updated and reduced-emissions model of 2010 are startling! A
bit like Nick Clegg really, only with slightly less hair.
There's
no doubt the long, harsh winter has been good for training. Thick snow
and often treacherous conditions have made the walks more gruelling and
challenging, and in a strange way - rather a lot of fun! But with the
short days and the sheer effort required for plodding up Helvellyn in
sub-zero temperatures through 2 feet of snow, one walk a week was as
good as it got. The changing of the clocks and the season has catapulted
the enthusiasm in to a whole new ball park and opened up many more
windows of opportunity.
Last week for instance, I had the pleasure of entertaining my good friend Niall whom I had not seen in nearly 6 years. So, I took 2 days of annual leave and on one of them I dragged him up Haystacks near Buttermere. Actually, as it transpired he was the one dragging me up as the shear fitness and stride length of this 6'4" monster of a Scotsman soon put any good work I had done to shame. It was only at 1500ft (the point that I'm normally doing my best Darth Vader with Bronchitis impersonation) that he confessed that one of his nicknames during his youth was "Mountain Goat". The sneaky bugger that he is! Good walk though nevertheless.
The next planned walk wasn't until the Sunday, however a very good friend and colleague of mine who shall remain nameless (although her name starts with a "D" and ends in "...eana Chesterton") had been making rumblings about my obsession, and was keen to see what all the fuss was about in "them fells". So, to satisfy her curiosity I took her on Saturday morning to my favourite short leg-stretcher, Helm Crag. She huffed, puffed but persevered through the initial cardio and physical shocks (see blog 2 for further details of expected symptoms) and once perched on the summit outcrop she had her "Epiphany". 24 hours later, and now armed with new boots, socks and breathable walking attire, she was accompanying my sister and myself up 2800ft of Blencathra's slopes, bouncing around like a spring lamb wired up to the mains. Another one converted then!
48 hours after that, and having spent a day in the Lakes on a training course, the pleasant evening weather drew myself, Vanessa and the afore-mentioned nameless colleague back up Helm Crag in an attempt to smash the previous set times for this particular ascent. Needless to say, they did it and what a wonderful feeling it was to be sat on the Lion and the Lamb feeling the last warm rays of the sun on our faces before it sunk gracefully behind the Langdale Pikes for another day.
So the fells are taking over all my spare time at the moment, but the addiction has gone so much further than just causing my television to gather dust. It's taken over my house!
My wardrobes and cupboards are now like the "rejects" store room of a Millets shop. Thick fleeces, thin fleeces, very thin fleeces, summer socks, winter socks, waterproof socks, winter gloves, summer gloves, breathable t-shirts - short-sleeved, long sleeved, zip-collar, no-collar, red, blue, black, green and orange! Walking boots, all over the house and woe-betide you walk in to them when your barefooted and heading to the loo with your eyes closed at 4am.
Today, 4 of the 5 walkers have been strolling around on the Helvellyn range. (We're down by one unfortunately folks, due to Hannah's work commitments which have prevented her from coming on the training walks, but she's still coming along to help with the driving. Bless you Hannah!)
The Wythburn ascent of this notorious mountain is a calf-cruncher, but a safe one. Most people however opt for the Striding/Swirral Edge ascent to the top. But we're trying our best to avoid any unnecessary dangers in our training regime. Helvellyn has claimed many lives over the years, and we're not about to add any more to it in the name of adrenaline.
The last 3 attempts of Helvellyn have been slightly frustrating affairs, mainly on the account that this magnificent summit chose to stay hidden in thick clouds and snow, and she stubbornly refused to give even the slightest, teasing glimpse of those white-knuckle/brown-trouser edges. Today however, the big man upstairs kept his Cumulonimbus collection well above the peaks so we were rewarded with a 360 degree panorama that made me speechless (yep, it is possible folks). And with the top reached with relative (and surprising) ease, we opted to head south down the ridge and take in 3 more summits as opposed to a quick descent back to the car park. Do remember to have the Ordnance Survey handy though if you're gonna go and do a bit of ridge-rambling. One slight mis-judgement with the internal compass, and one could find oneself miles off course. Been there, done that, got the blisters!
So, it's less than 6 weeks to go now! It's time to wake up and smell the gore-tex! Although, (and I think I can speak on behalf of the whole group here) I think we're ready now! We've got the drivers, we've got the equipment, we've got the fitness, we've even got the post-walk BBQ menu sorted down to the final detail, including which champagne will used to wash down the celebratory sausages at Snowdon's base. It starting to feel quite real now, and I love it!The justgiving page for Open Arms International has been updated with some more pictures and details of this fantastic charity, so please pop by and do remember to drop a few quid in won't you? Remember, every minimum £5 donation allows you to guess the time we actually take to complete the challenge, and the winner gets a luxury night stay in a Lake District Hotel with dinner thrown in for good measure. Once again, many thanks to English Lakes Hotels for their kind support, especially as they are lending us the company minibus for the whole trip!
Frustratingly, we're in a long, drawn-out paper trail with the second sight for Primrose House, but we're hoping to have it up and running before the challenge begins, so hold a few quid back for this one won't you?
Right, off for a bath now, I smell!
04/15/2010
The Wild Boar re-opens with a HOT new Smokehouse!
This it is the first restaurant in the Lake District to have its own smokehouse, producing delicious smoked cheeses, fishes and meats.
The newly-named Wild Boar Inn, Grill & Smokehouse will also boast an open-plan layout that will give diners the chance to see the chefs at work.
Another new addition is the Chef’s Table which seats up to eight people located directly next to the kitchen for the best view of the action.
Head chef Marc Saunders has created a modern British menu that makes use of some of the best local produce.
“The fact that the kitchen now opens out into the restaurant will add a new dimension for our diners, as well as a new challenge for the busy team working in the kitchen itself! It’s been fantastic to have the opportunity to create such a distinctive new menu and a completely new dining experience. I think our regular and new customers are going to be delighted with the results.”
The grill menu is a meat-eaters delight with a choice of six styles of steak from rump to T-bone, all of which are guaranteed British beef hung for a minimum 21 days. Marc also gives chef recommendations on how each of the steaks should be served from rare to well done.
From the Wild Boar Smokehouse comes Damson Cured Scottish Smoked Salmon which is served with caper and red onion salsa, lemon and brown bread.
Puddings will be another speciality with a choice of traditional favourites including Baked Alaska, Sticky Toffee Pudding and Hot Chocolate Fondant. There will also be a daily fruit crumble served with custard and ice cream.
Simon Berry, Managing Director of English Lakes Hotels, which owns the Wild Boar, says: “We’ve added all of the ingredients to make the Wild Boar Grill one of the best restaurants in the Lake District. It will be a fantastic new restaurant in which diners can see their meals being prepared right before their eyes.
“Marc Sanders has devised an exciting new menu offering a choice of classic breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes. The food will be good, honest and simply prepared. And the ability to smoke products on site will offer our customers something we think they’ll really enjoy and which isn’t available anywhere else in the area.”
As an extra treat guests will be able to buy their own bottle of whisky or other spirits which will then be kept at the inn for their use on future visits.
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