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Busy weekend with lots of people visiting the Potteries for different events including guests taking part in the Trentham Triathlon I can't believe what people do in the name of sport and fun, I take my hat off to them I really do and swimming 1.2 miles in Trentham Lake, its amazing what some people will do to avoid paying the new admission charge (sorry that is an in joke for local readers).
We also had guests visiting the first Penkhull Jazz and Blues Festival www.penkhulljazz.co.uk which appears to have got off to a very good start so much so there is now talk of making it much bigger next year but according to the discussion at breakfast the next day much of its success was due to the local community feel about the event so hope they don't spoil it. Big is not always necessarily better. Click on the link to hear some good music!
But the biggest event of the weekend as far as we were concerned was our second Graythwaite wedding in 2009, our guests Tara & Phil, how honoured we were that you chose to spend your wedding weekend here at Graythwaite. Whilst we often have lots of guests staying who are going to weddinggs we don't often have the bride and groom but when we do we like to make it something special. We really enjoyed playing a part in making it a day for you both to remember and look forward to welcoming you back to celebrate your first anniversary. All the best to you both.
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What a wonderful week we are having, we have welcomed back guests from the four corners of the world well almost, Australia, America and Ashton under Lyne! It has been lovely to see everyone again, these are all guests who have stayed over many years, who originate from the Potteries and are returning to visit family and friends. When we first started here we had no idea that so many of our guests would come from countries all around the world. Like many people living in the area we didn't realise that so many people visited Newcastle and Stoke. It is not unusual to have 4 or 5 nationalities represented at breakfast time, for our children (and us) it has been a living geography lesson.
Mostly our guests are people with a local connection but we also have many who come to the area to visit the Pottery factories and although the number of famous names that people recognise is declining, which is very sad, there are still many factory shops to visit and bargains to be had. Only last week we had an American guest currently living in Kazakhstan who was doing all her years shopping in one visit to the UK and that included one trip to the Potteries for lots of pottery bargains! For up to date info on all the pottery factory shops have a look at www.visitstoke.co.uk and click on the link to "See & Do"
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Running a Guest House is a 7 day a week job, every day of the year, since moving here we gave up weekend lie-ins and the opportunity do just what you like, for us weekends are just as busy as weekdays. As you can imagine mornings and evenings are our busiest times but also one week can vary enornmously from the next, in fact life can vary from day to day, depending how many guests are due, how many are leaving, what time people will get here, will they get lost, delayed? So flexibilty is a pre-requsite for this job. However one of the plus points is that we may get free time when everyone else is busy for example mid week afternoons when the shops and roads are quieter. Many times we will just decide to do something around the house that needs doing but sometimes we seize the oppotunity to get out together and visit somewhere locally. As well as being an extremely pleasant way to spend an afternoon it also keeps us up to date with what is available and happening locally which means we can pass this information onto our Guests.
Such an opporotunity arose last week and we decided to visit a local art gallery in Fenton www.theartbay.co.uk Having read an article back in April in a Staffordshire magazine about a local artist, Sid Kirkham, dubbed "The Potteries Lowry" we had been waiting for a chance to go and have a look at his work. As a very keen Stoke City supporter John was very interested in his football paintings and hoping he may be able lucky enough to acquire one for his forthcoming birthday.
We were in for a treat when we finally found the gallery, our fault not their's for not being able to find our way around the local road system having live here for many years we know how our visitors feel. The lady at Longton library was very helpful to us, but my advice would be make sure you print off your directions before you leave home! The gallery is lovely and has many examples of the work of local artists and is well worth a vist for both local residents as well as visitors to the area. The staff were very helpful, leaving us lots of time to browse. This was as well for we were overwhelemed with the choice of paintings, we loved Sid's work, both his urban landscapes of the Potteries and also his unique football paintings we were absolutely spoilt for choice. Have a look at some examples of his work and you will see what I mean www.sidkirkham.co.uk and more on www.creativestoke.co.uk Did we manage to pick one? Well for anyone visiting after 28th August ask to see which one we chose.
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This may seem a strange title for only my second blog but read on and all will become clear. What is that saying I think it is something like "come as guests, leave as friends"? How true that is for over the 11 years that we have been here at Graythwaite we have made some truly wonderful friends so it is always with sadness (or nearly always) that people take their leave. And Friday was such a day, one of our longest staying guests " Mr Arsenal" left after a stay of over two years whilst he has been working in the area. So our loss is his family's gain as he takes up a new post closer to home. We wish you all the best and assure you that your prescence here will be missed especially as the start of the football season looms ever closer. You will now be able to catch up on Graythwaite news through the blog and our new adventure into "Facebook"
Time flies when you are having fun so we must be enjoying ourselves here because the time seems to race by. I don't know what people think it is like to run a B&B but it is a lifestyle job, and you need to really love it to get the most out of it. When guests stay for long periods of time or guests who return regularly inevitably become part of your lives sharing in family celebrations; birthdays, exam results and we too like to celebrate the success and special moments in the lives of our guests. I guess that is one of the things that makes staying in a B&B so different from a hotel.
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