December 2012 wins

3^rd Dec: I received an e-mail from Classic FM to say I’d won 50 iTunes downloads.  This is a lovely prize, but I can never decide what to buy – given the short timescale for redeeming the voucher I’ll need to decide quickly.

5^th Dec:  Having been out for the day for my birthday meal I returned home to an e-mail from Rude Health which informed me that I had won a Merchant Gourmet hamper and a selection of Oatys products 

10^th Dec:  I received an e-mail from Tesco Books Blog to say I’d won a boxed set of ‘Meerkat Tales’.  A boxed set of six books which I’m sure my granddaughter will love.

14^th Dec: A very pleasant box of Christmas crackers arrived from Lurpak.

19^th Dec: A long white envelope arrived with a letter saying I’d won a bottle of Capella and containing a voucher.  I’ll try not to let it change my life. 

24th Dec: Christmas Eve, not a day when you expect too many wins, but my wife’s copy of the Sunday Times Travel magazine arrived.   Flicking through I found that I had won second prize in their photography competition of a nice camera with a x10 zoom.  This was the photo that won it for me.

Walworth Castle, Co. Durham Trip

Walworth Castle Hotel near Durham. 

The first of the three weekends for which we exchanged our luxury London theatre weekend was to Walworth Castle Hotel near Durham.  More about the other two to Telford and Scotland later

We left home in foggy conditions which persisted until we were east of Harrogate.  After a leisurely stop for lunch in Richmond we arrived at Walworth Castle.  As our room was not ready we took the opportunity to drive to Barnards Castle with its tea rooms and antique shops.

Walworth Castle is a renovated 12^th Century Castle set in 18 acres of lovely countryside of the Tees Valley, though due to the mist that prevailed during our stay we saw very little of the grounds.  We were directed to our rooms which were situated in the modern wing of the hotel.  The room was a little characterless but nonetheless functional.

We had an afternoon tea booked in the lounge of the hotel. The afternoon tea consisted of finger sandwiches, scones, cake and a glass of wine each. 

In the evening we drove into Darlington which was trimmed up for the Christmas festivities, where we enjoyed a very pleasant evening meal in a small Italian bistro. Dale had a lovely pork in Marsala sauce and I had a fish stew. 

The following morning we were greeted with freezing fog, which did not get any better by the time we had enjoyed a hearty breakfast.  We pressed ahead with our plans to visit Durham, driving northward through the fog.  However, by the time we reached Durham the fog had cleared and a beautiful, crisp sunny day unfolded before us.

We started by walking through the city center up to the cathedral.  We enjoyed a leisurely look around the cathedral and even managed the climb up the highest tower.

 

Following this we made our way down to the river for a riverside walk.

Lunch was soup and sandwiches in an old café, with the afternoon taken up with a look around the city and another riverside walk.

The temperature took a downturn so we decided to make our way back to the hotel, which turned out to be another drive in the freezing fog.

In the evening we decided to try a Thai Restaurant that we had seen on the way to Barnards Castle the previous day.  A very agreeable meal was served along with a nice range of beers.  Dale had wrapped prawns to start followed by a Thai chicken curry with strips of ginger.  I had a plate of mixed starters followed by a roast duck curry which was delicious.

We left the hotel after breakfast, travelling again in the fog.  We decided to stop of in Rippon for a quick look round and then drove to Skipton for some lunch.

November 2012 Wins plus Pre-Raphaelite London Weekend

8th November:  Two wins today.  A pair of tickets to see Bonnie Raitt in Liverpool, courtesy of Jazz FM.

Secondly and even better I received an e-mail from Stylist Magazine to say I'd won a weekend in London to visit the Pre-Raphaelite Exhibition at Tate Britain.  The weekend included bed and breakfast at the Charing Cross Hotel and a guided tour of the exhibition.

Pre-Raphaelite weekend

The morning of Saturday 15th December involved an early start enabling us to catch the train to Euston via Preston. Luckily we had no delays and arrived in London late morning.  We went straight to our hotel where our room was ready for us.

We were booked into an Executive Double room at the Charing Cross Hotel.   The hotel was quite impressive and the room was very modern and tastefully decorated.  Unfortunately the view from the room was of the building across, but you can’t have everything.

We freshened up and set off on our planned walk.  We started our afternoon with a quick Italian meal near the hotel. 

We walked along the area which runs parallel to the Strand an area which used to be the bank of the Thames before the embankment was built.  The walk then took in areas such as Covent Garden and Seven Dials, it was very busy but being Christmas it was also very atmospheric.  The area was seasonally decorated with a very large topiary Rudolph, a large Christmas tree made out of Jack Daniels barrels, a large advent calendar made out of Lego and giant baubles hanging from the roof. 

    

    

We completed our walk at Trafalgar Square and were surprised to be confronted with a mass rally of Santa Claus’s.  The Santas were a little rowdy but on the whole well behaved, but I expect there were a lot of Santas with sore heads the following morning.

We then returned to the hotel for a quick nap and to get ready for our evening out.

Our evening was spent at the Cuban bar and restaurant Floridita on Wardour Street.  We had booked the Weekend Mojito menu, which basically meant a three course meal and a glass of Mojito.  Very unusually both my wife and I ordered the same things for all three courses.  First course was red snapper and salmon croquettes which was very nice but could have been warmer.  This was followed by a pleasant chicken dish and bourbon cheesecake which was really nice.  The meal was accompanied by an energetic Cuban band which added to the lively atmosphere.

We had a pleasant stroll back to the hotel and by the time we reached it were ready for bed.

The next day started with a very pleasant breakfast in the hotel’s bistro restaurant, which must have one of the best views in London with its outlook encompassing Nelsons column and the National Gallery building.

We walk down Pall Mall, Whitehall and Milbank and arrived at Tate Britain in time for our appointment.  Unfortunately the lady who was to give us our tour of the Pre-Raphaelites exhibition did not arrive.  We carried on regardless and toured the exhibition ourselves.  Whilst appreciating many of the artists were technically very talented most of the works were a bit uninspiring.  There were however a few standout pictures. I particularly liked the one showing the holy family in the carpentry workshop.

After quick refreshment in the gallery café we set-off to catch the tube to Goodge Street to start our next walk.  This walk took in some areas of London which I was not familiar with before taking in areas such as Soho, Carnaby Street and Chinatown.  

We completed the afternoon with an agreeable Italian meal at the Spaghetti House.  When we came out it was raining heavily, which meant sheltering in doorways a number of times on our way back to the hotel.

After picking up our cases from the hotel we caught the train home, ready for work the following day (yeh right).

October 2012 Wins

10th October: A pair of tickets arrived out of the blue to see Katie Melua at Bridgewater Hall, Manchester.  The concert was well attended, but although Katie has a pleasant enough voice, overall the performance was a bit bland.

27th October: A parcel of shampoo and conditioner arrived.

September 2012 Wins

16th September:  Just one one this month which came from the local paper - a trip to a local farm and a set of farm toys.  My grandaughter Lucy had a lovely day and the toys will make a nice additional present come Christmas.

I think Lucy thought the best part was when nanna had a rat placed on her head.

 

August 2012 Wins

9^th August: An e-mail arrived from Lancashire Telegraph to say I’d won a pair of tickets to see Dandy Dick a period farce starring Patricia Hodge at the Opera House in Manchester.   It turned out to be a very dated play with few laughs.  Still a pleasant night out.      

16^th August: A book arrived called ‘Heist Society’, not sure where it came from but I’m sure Mrs D will enjoy.

17^th August:I received both  an e-mail and a phone call to say I’d won a pair of tickets for a Champagne Trip on the Ravenglass Railway.  The trip is accompanied by a local historian who explains the history of the railway.  At the terminus there is tea and cakes.   On the return journey there is a glass of champagne.

20^th August : Received an e-mail from Mio Heart to say I have won a 5 Star Theatre Break to London.  This was provided in the form of a Red Letter Day voucher which I decided to exchange for three weekend breaks one to Durham, one to Telford and one to Dumfries & Galloway, plus a cream tea.

23rd August: I received both an e-mail and a phone call to say I’d won a pair of tickets for a guided tour of the tunnels under Manchester.

28th August: Received a pair of tickets to the play 'Our County's Good' at Bolton Octagon.

July 2012 Wins

Finally managed to use the Knowlsley Safari Park tickets that I had won last year. Considering how much I’m winning at the moment it’s a good job I have something to keep me going.

My three girls, wife, daughter and granddaughter had a really pleasant day. It is a measure of how much Lucy has grown over the past few months in the way that she could name all the animals. I think the highlights for Lucy were the baboons on the car and the lions walking close to the car. I’m not having nightmares about the baboons tearing bits off my car, but I am having nightmares about the bill I’m going to get when I take it to the garage to get it repaired.


No wins for July.

JUNE 2012 WINS

6th June: I recieved an e-mail which read, "Congratulations - you are the winner of BagThat.com's latest Facebook competition - which means you have won a fantastic Diamond Jubilee Queen Elizabeth Teddy Bear - Happy days!"

My granddaughter Lucy seems very happy with.  She even chose to wear her own crown for the picture.

30th June: I recieved a letter to say I'd won some Heliocare suncare products from Yours magazine.

MAY 2012 WINS

A disappointing month with just three small wins,

A book of historical photographs from Liverpool Museums,

A pair of cinema tickets from Stella Artois

Lastly a Wilkinson Sword razor.

Spooky Weekend

Our prize winning Spooky Break from Talktalk began with an early train from Blackburn to Euston  via Preston, then a short taxi ride to the Morgan Hotel on Bloomsbury Street which was to be our base for the weekend.

After a quick freshen-up we set off on a self guided walk taking in the Bloomsbury area.  We stopped for a quick lunch at the Lamb Inn on Lamb's Conduit Street, a lovely Victorian Pub.


We dined at the Il Posto across from the Apollo Victoria Theatre where the next part if our prize was to be experienced.  We had good seats in the circle for the musical 'Wicked'.  The musical was over-hyped and I was underwhelmed.  I'm sure many people would have enjoyed it but it was not my cup of tea.  Nice theatre though.

The following day we arrived at the Thames Embankment ready for the next part of our prize, a trip on the London Eye.  As we were early we had a stroll around the perimeters of Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster.  After some queuing we boarded the London Eye.  This time the experience was beyond my expectations, great views of some of London's greatest cityscapes.

We continued our morning with our second self guided walk, this time along the Southbank. We particularly enjoyed lunch at the Tate and our visit to Borough Market.

In the afternoon we enjoyed our third self guided walk.  This time we took in Blackfriars pub, a fantastic Art Deco pub, apparently it was due to be demolished at one time, but was saved by Sir John Betjamin amongst others.

We then walked along Fleet Street and visited The Old Cheshire Cheese pub, which dates back to the 1600's and was frequented by Dr Johnson, Dickens etc.  After much exploring of the area we had a lovely snack at the Fleet Street Bakery - well worth a visit for what must be the finest carrot cake I've ever had (and I've had quite a few).

We dined at the Tas Restaurant in the evening, a very pleasant Turkish Restaurant in Bloomsbury.

We spent Sunday morning in Hyde Park and took tea in the Orangery at Kensington Palace.  After lunch we boarded our train  home. 

A lovely weekend with fantastic weather and areas of London visited which we hadn't previously explored.

April 2012 Wins

3rd April: Recieved an email from Birdwathcer Magazine to say I had won a pair of HiTech Eco Walking Boots.

4th April: I won a pair of tickets to the Chester Food & Drink Festival from Real Radio though unfortunately I will not be able to attend.

11th April: I won a recipe book from AEG and a pair of cinema tickets from Stella Artois

17th April: I received an e-mail which read -

"AA Rewards has organised an exclusive event at The Burlington on 24 April, and congratulations because you have been chosen as one of our winners.

You and a guest have won a special dining experience at one of the most highly regarded restaurants in Yorkshire .

Located at the Devonshire Arms Country House Hotel on the Duke of Devonshire's 30,000 acre Bolton Abbey Estate, even the drive to get to the restaurant is breathtaking, with fantastic views over the Yorkshire Dales, and of course the stunning backdrop of the abbey.

Enjoy a special seven-course taster menu dinner, with paired wines, in the company of award-winning Head Chef Steve Smith. Steve will explain the intricacies of each dish and bring you behind-the-scenes news from his kitchen.

Cellar Master Nigel Fairclough will also be on hand to offer detailed tasting notes, anecdotes and tips on building your own wine collection.

With four AA Rosettes, a visit to The Burlington promises an outstanding journey of tastes".

For the write up see the blog article below.

27th April: A Red Meat Cook Book arrived from Tesco.

The Burlington Meal

 It was a lovely evening as we arrived for our prize of a meal at The Burlington Inn at The Devonshire Arm near Bolton Abbey. The evening sun lit the glorious hills of the Yorkshire Dales highlighting just what a lovely setting the hotel was situated in.

The Burlington has gained something of a reputation under Head Chef Steven Smith having gained a Michelin Star and four AA Rosettes, so we were very much looking forward to the tasting menu that lay ahead of us.

At the venue we were escorted by a member of staff to a lovely little lounge where we introduced ourselves to the other couples who we were to share the evening with.  It was here that we were treated to the first of the classic wines which was to accompany our meal.  It was a ‘Prosecco Superiore, Giavi Prima Volta 2010’ – very nice to start with a bit of bubbly.  We were also treated to an ‘amuse bouche’ of bread-crumbed seared tuna on a bed of pea, citrus and apple jelly with a crème freche mousse sprinkled with caviar.

We were then shown to our table where we introduced to the Head Chef Steven Smith and the Cellar Master.  For each course we were given an explanation of the ingredients and why they had been chosen to complement each other and also why each wine was matched to the course and a little background to each wine.

Our meal began with a ‘Grapefruit & basil mojito’ which we were told that as well as being delicious would also act as a palate cleanser.

This was closely followed with an ‘Onion and liquorice velouté, which included a whole yoke of a hens egg and was topped with toasted rye.

We then had one of my favourite courses of the night.  East Coast Turbot with Razor Clams, cauliflower, pickled grapes and sorrel.  This was complemented with a glass of 'Nuits Saint Georges Blanc, Domaine De L'Arlot 2003'.

We then had a beautifully presented duck dish.  This consisted of a bed of duck confit and fois gras, topped with what they called Goosnargh duck flavours (basically small portions of duck prepared in a variety of ways).  All this served with a delightful cherry gel and a brioche.  This was accompanied by a 'Sauternes, Chateau Briatte 2006'.

Next up was a dish of Hand-dived scallop, smoked eel, apple, truffle and celeriac. This was matched with a 'Woodcutters Semillon, Torbrek Barossa Valley 2006'

Then came what they described as the main course, a dish of Smoked beef sirloin and braised cheek with onion, parsley risotto, snails, deep fried bone marrow and red wine.  This had to my mind the nicest wine of the night a 'Cabernet Sauvignon Atemis, Stags Leap Wine Cellars, Napa Valley 2007'

This was followed by the first of our two desserts.  This was a bed of crumble, with wafer thin slices of rhubarb, topped with a rhubarb sherbet, rhubarb parfait and a champagne espuma.  This was matched with a 'Moscato D'Asti, Contero 2011'.

The second desert and our final course was Chocolate Mayhem.  Basically three flavours of chocolate in a chocolate box, served with a lime mousse, caramel and peanut

We gave our thanks and said our goodbyes to the Chef, then retired to the lounge for our coffees.  The treats had not ended however, small miniature chests of drawers were placed on the coffee table in front of us and each drawer contained a selection of handmade chocolates and other treats.

We had a wonderful evening with magnificent foods, great wine, lovely company and efficient, attentive and friendly service.   The event demonstrated just how fantastic a dining experience could be.  Here’s to the next time.