apple press day

For the last three years our dear friends Sarah, Ben, Daisy and Milly, open up their home and ancient apple press for a real community day of apple pressing. Today was that day.

Sarah and Ben live in a gorgeous old farm house

and it creates the perfect back-drop to the whole experience.

Its always in October and for some reason, the sun is always shining on this day.

First, Sarah's dad looks through the apples and checks whether there are any that are too far gone to be consumed.

Next, we wash the apples.

Then we give them to Chris who puts each one through the 'mulcher' (not sure that's the technical term).

Zac carrying the mulch to the press.

The base of the press is concrete (i think). On top of that is a wooden, lattice layer, then a sheet of hessian which is filled with the 'mulch' of apples. There are six or seven of these layers which go in each 'pressing' session.

Steve and Rich put lots of effort into winding down the press which squeezes down onto the apples and brings out gallons of gorgeous juice.

The juice is then poured into a giant container and decanted (in this case by Ben and his dad) into..

Empty milk cartons. Hundred's of them! This was just the first three.

While Zac played in the stream..

our girls spent all day 'hanging out', drinking apple juice and generally having a great time.

There is always an amazing spread of food.

Everyone seems to arrive with a cake (many with an apple theme)

and Sarah and Ben cook their own pig for hot pork rolls.

There is pork, cheese, and apples everywhere you look.

I have heard a rumour that Richard is cooking a mulled apple juice recipe for tonight as we are going to a camp fire at another friend's house. I am very excited to try it. I think Tracey will post the recipe in a couple of blog posts time so watch this space!

M and M's Wedding

What a weekend to have a wedding. Who would have thought we would have a heat wave at the beginning of October? Well, it really was a gorgeous wedding and not just because of the weather. Mathew and Marianne have such wonderful friends who rallied around to help make it such a brilliant weekend.

The flowers were by Derryn at Twigs Florist, Barnstaple. These fantastic urns really set off the entrance to the ballroom.

These beautiful arrangements were the central feature of the tables. With the eucolyptus they smelt wonderful.

The bridesmaids and their husbands spent all of Thursday making these delicious cupcakes as the wedding cake and tiny cupcakes for the wedding favours. Each cake had an M and M to decorate the top, cute. The boys in particular showed quite a flare for icing and even became quite possessive over the task!

The boys play a morning game of cricket in the sunshine on the tennis court to calm the nerves.

Also to calm the nerves the ushers requested a pint of Doom bar for the groom. One of the lovely ushers took this photo of Richard spiking the keg. I was holding the towel to guard the wall from beer spray, however it leapt over the towel and drenched me in Doom bar, giving me the faint aroma of a street drinker, mmmm nice!! Oh how he laughed!!

I loved the groom’s button hole, well done Derryn.

mmm, delicious canapés.

Not forgetting the 'gluten free' guest who had her own specially prepared canapés, she was ever so pleased.

Dinner is served; I loved the look of the vegetarian starter.

The bridal bouquet in a vase on the sideboard made a stunning statement in the hall.

It was a truly magnificent day celebrating love, friendship, food and family. The evening was topped off with delicious bacon rolls, cooked in the candle lit courtyard by Lee (Chef) on the BBQ. Who can resist the smell of sizzling bacon......Mouth watering! Then they danced the night away to their great band, the lead singer of which was Marianne's very talented friend from university.

A day out at Arlington Court

I have been meaning to post this since the summer, I can't believe we are already 4 weeks into term already, where does the time go??

We had the most lovely day at Arlington Court, only a 30 minute car journey away, I can't believe I have not been before.

Such beautiful grounds, the perfect place to have a picnic. The lake is full of fish which very much enjoyed the crisps that the children fed them.

Then there was the tree climbing.....

So many brilliant trees to climb and camps to be made.....

They had such a good time, Naomi and I even managed to chat...

The tea rooms were also well worth a visit, lovely lunches and cakes. We were all so hot after tree climbing we had to have a round of lollies.

The carriage museum was so much more than I had expected. There were lots of amazing really old coaches to see including a wonderful gold state coach. Then there were 3 real live gorgeous shire horses to meet and the children even got to have a go at harnessing a very obliging wooden horse called Polly.

A quick ride in a mini carriage, ya, ya!

And just enough time for one more climb on the way out.
A great day had by all, highly recommended!!

pirate day

It has been Year 3 and 4's pirate day this week. With great excitement the children put together their outfits for a day of pirate craft and raft making. They do such lovely things at school.
Great to see Keith, and baby Will, entering into the spirit. We can always count on Keith!

Rich went into school for the afternoon to help with raft making (the children designed their own rafts with the plan to have a grand raft race on Thursday). Molly found Rich a pirate hat and armed with some truly awful pirate jokes Rich trotted off to school. His favourite joke was 'What did the pirate say when he got his wooden leg stuck in the freezer?......shiver me timbers'.......aghhhh...groan!!!!! He really enjoyed helping the kids despite the third degree burns he acquired from operating the glue gun.

After school Molly and I then hit the beach for some mother/daughter bonding and body boarding.

How amazing is this sunshine!!!

We then had a picnic on the beech and watched the surfers.

A truly gorgeous evening!

Matt and Jess are married

Creativity flowed in abundance at the wedding of Matt and Jess. For this wedding, I am going to let the pictures do the talking...

Jess asked her 10 yr old sort-of niece Ruby to make something to welcome everyone to the apartments...this is what she came up with. Two peg dolls of the bride and groom with a matching beautiful hand-made card welcoming everyone.

A cousin was asked to design the invitation, so he hand drew this picture and screen printed every card. Even the map to the venue was hand drawn. The image of the two figures walking on the sand followed through to all the letter-heads (one in each apartment) and the head of the menu cards.

Jess and Matt had saved up corks from special times through their lives and they formed the base of all the name places. What a fantastic idea!

They had collected quotes about love and marriage from close friends and family and displayed them in frames..

This was my personal favourite.

A sweet station...yum.

They bought an old battered suitcase filled with props and a lovely big Polaroid camera. Guests were invited to take a picture, using the props, then stick it in the book with a message.

There were gorgeous over-sized candle lanterns adorning each window-sill.

The Entrance Hall came alive with colour. The table plan was beautifully made and displayed on our sideboard in front of our mirror.

Matt spent two days making chutneys and jams as a favour for each guest. They were topped off with gorgeous fabric and really added to the overall look of the tables.

Taa daaaa!

The bouquet was an array of colour. Thanks to our local florist Derryn, from 'Twigs' in Barnstaple, for the flowers.

The menu cards (btw, the food went down a treat!)

Another great idea was this amazing photo of Matt and Jess mounted on card and guests were invited to sign messages around the outside.

Speeches were conducted from the gallery on the stairs as the sky was grey and drizzling. It made for a warm and intimate atmosphere for this very personal part of the day. My favourite moment was when Matt said that there were 'still people he'd like to spank' (as opposed to 'thank' obviously)

The wedding cake was made entirely of cheese and decorated by our catering team..gorgeous.

'The funky buddha' band played and there was a wonderful atmosphere as guests enjoyed canapes and drinks inside.

The band played into the evening. Jess' grandmother Mary loved taking photos during the evening on her digital camera and i found her having hysterics with Jess' other grandparents, Gene and Rob, over some of the pictures.

These amazing Grandparents danced for nearly the whole night. I couldn't take my eyes off them and i have enormous respect for their energy levels!I'm not sure i could have kept going as long as they did. Thank you Gene and Rob for making my night.

The cake was cut and came back beautifully displayed and labelled for guests to eat in the evening.

The dance floor was full all night. Everyone had a great time, but none more so than Gene and Rob and Matt and Mary. What a fabulous weekend. Congratulations Matt and Jess x

Sarah and John's Wedding

Its September, so we have started our last month of 2011 weddings. This weekend we had the pleasure of Sarah and John's wedding. Sarah's family have owned a holiday home in Georgeham (our nearest village) for many years so this area means a lot to them.

John's Mum chose a 'master' florist, Karen from 'Inflowers' in Exeter who is a friend of the family's (having arranged the flowers for John's sister and brother's weddings too).

I loved watching the team working and seeing how this delicate operation of putting gypsophila into oasis turned it into this beautiful candle surround.

They did a really good job. The stairs came alive with a cream and white floral garland.

There were two big urn's either side of our central bay window.

We lent our lovely driftwood flower sculpture (made by Ted, see 'Sam and Ted wedding' blog post) and they did a great job of filling it with flowers and ymaking it look so different to the last time it was used.

In the centre of every table there was a stunning candleabra with five candles and flowers flowing down to gather around the base.

The Top Table really stood out with the flowers and foliage filling the front.

The chair covers were white with cream satin sashes. The pallet of neutral colours perfectly complimented our ballroom.

The result was this beautiful, elegant room. All ready for the guests to fill.

Sarah (with the help of her mum and a couple of the bridesmaids i think!) put together this wonderful table plan herself. It followed the design through to the place-cards and table names. Very creative!

As a joke, Sarah's hilarious dad Gary, had these mugs made especially for the occasion. Every guest took one home and i now have mine proudly sitting on my mug shelf too!

The cakes were delicious! (I know because i was given a couple on Sunday) They were cup-cakes made with almonds and decorated beautifully. Thank you to Gill who is a long-standing friend of the family. They were devoured in the evening after the fish and chip boxes. Mmmmmmm.

Sarah and John were married in Georgeham Church. I knew they had transport arranged but it was a surprise to us (and Sarah) as to what the transport was. What a fab car..

I love the way they tied in the flowers on the 'just married' sign to the displays in the ballroom.

There were a few canapes going around. I did manage to get a picture of one of them...westcountry chicken caesar tartlets.

The weather had been blowy and wintry all morning and we had all agreed to have the drinks reception inside. Just as Sarah and John stepped out of the car though, the sun started shining! With a quick change of plan we took everything outside and had a lovely hour in the sun before the wedding breakfast.

Lee and Kris created the most gorgeous meal. Each course was hot, so it meant lots of oven time for Lee.

The menu was gressingham duck breast salad with bacon and galic croutes to start.

The main was fillet of seabass with lyonnaise potato and bearnaise sauce, followed by a dessert of bread and butter pudding scented with orange and a vanilla pod custard. I'm now feeling really hungry.

Instead of a guest book, Sarah and John chose to have a wishing tree. Guests were invited to write notes and wishes and attach them to the branches.

A caricaturist arrived to entertain guests while we changed the room around for the evening. A great idea to fill the lull between the wedding breakfast and the evening beginning.

The band 'Limited Company' were really good. I don't think i've ever seen so much equipment in our ballroom, but the sound was great and the dancefloor was heaving all night. The first dance started all very slow and romantic and then suddenly switched into 'rock around the clock' to the most hilarious routine. John's moves will stay in my mind for a long time to come....!

It was a lovely day and a good time was had by all. Congratulations Sarah and John x