We are having a very interesting week hearing about the progress of a series of amazing sculptures being created here in the Potteries in a local quarry by a group of international artists using only red clay. This is part of the British Ceramics Biennial much more than a festival to celebrate all that is good about the ceramic industry that is still very much alive in Stoke on Trent. Because we hear all too often about the sad demise of the famous household names such as Wedgwood, Spode and Doulton it would be easy to think that Stoke has lost its place as as centre of excellence in the world of ceramics but this is not the case. There are more ceramic companies in Stoke than ever, its just that they are smaller businesses but the quality and originalty are all still here. Many of our guests from both home and abroad come to the area to visit the famous names and to buy pottery but they are much less interested when they discover that most of it is not made here in Stoke on Trent, but in the Far East.
However there is still much fine pottery and ceramics made locally, if you ask you will find them; Moorland pottery, Burleigh, Portmerion to name but a few. The British Ceramics Biennial is therefore a great idea to celebrate all that is still great, just a pity that the title is such a mouthful and also a bigger shame that it would appear very few local people even know about the event. I strongly urge you to look at their web site to find out more, whether you live here or are visiting the area.
Meanwhile back to our ceramic artists here at Graythwaite, Tbjorn Kvasbo, Alexandra Engelfriet and Pekka Paikkari. Each morning they leave very early, fuelled by a good English breakfast to do battle with not only 25 tons of red clay each, but also the delights of an English summer which is doing its very best to wash their hard work away, we await their return each day with interest to hear how it is all going. Because of the transient nature of their endeavours it is all being recorded on film. Will keep you posted.
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It has been beautiful weather this weekend, lovely weather for walking, it seems everyone I talk to this weekend has been out walking, how lucky they are. We will be able to get out later this evening with the dogs but we have been too busy to take advantage of this beautiful weather during the day. People tend to think of the Potteries as an industrial area and it is but within minutes walk or drive there is beautiful countryside and many interesting walks for all ages and abilities.
Recently Christopher Somerville, a travel journalist from The Times stayed with us whilst walking the canal towpath between Barlaston (Wedgwood) and Stoke on Trent. His purpose was to show that there are many good walks in the city areas and these can be accessed by public transport too. On the doorstep are Apedale Country Park, Hanchurch Woods or the Barlaston Downs and slightly further afield the magnificent Staffordshire Moorlands. The canal network is quite extensive around this area and provides some wonderful opportunities for walking.
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Monday evening, John & I finally sat down to watch The Hotel Inspector, you would think that we would have enough of all this during the day but we enjoy to watch and continue to be amazed at the way some people can run their places and still be in business, sometimes admittedly only just. One of our other favourite programmes is Fawlty Towers it just seems so much funnier when you know what it is like behind the scenes, watch their version of The Hotel Inspector and you will see what I mean.
Anyway back to our Monday evening there we are sat down, feeling smug whilst watching the catalogue of disasters played out in front of us when all the time unbeknown to us we had our very own Hotel Inspector sleeping under our roof that night! So you see it really does happen. Although we are visited and inspected by Visit Britain every year we only have an anonymous inspector every 3 years and without fail every time we have never spotted them until they revealed their identity after breakfast. Apparently she had been trying to stay for some time but we had been too busy and it has taken her several months to get a vacant room, we should have guessed when she booked and said she would take any room we had free!
By the time you find out who they are it is too late you have already been judged on everything from your standard of cleanliness to customer service, from the breakfast to the quality of your rooms. Fortunately we performed very well and retained our 4 Star rating, she commented that her breakfast had been cooked to perfection which pleased John no end.
Although I can't believe anybody likes the experience of being inspected for us it is important that we are assessed externally by an independent body, so we can be judged and to some extent bench marked against other accommodation providers. Personally we feel the rating system provides a clearer indication to potential customers as to what they can expect to find.
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Well Sunday night was a quiet evening, just catching up and thinking about sitting down to watch some TV with a glass of wine when a knock at the door and it is the Fire Service, not just one or two but four firemen and one firewoman (if that is correct term) plus fire engine, calling to carry out our inspection. There have been times when opening my door to burly firemen would be a good thing but on a quiet Sunday evening? Anouncing that they had called on a Sunday night because they thought we would be quieter, well we were but don't we get any time off? Anyway it didn't actually take too long, just a look at our Fire Log book and a quick discussion but you will understand that when I say it is 24/7 business I do mean it. We are now responsible for our own Fire Risk Assessments but still receive regular visits from the Fire Service to check on us. There has been much debate in the B&B world about the new Fire Regulations which came into force in 2006. We already held a Fire Certificate under the old legislation so were already familiar with what was required but for some of the smaller B&B's it has been a real headache, there is a lot of red tape and not always a lot of common sense.
We still had some guests to arrive and after settling them in it was time for bed ourselves that was until 3.30am when the phone rang, somebody wanting to book a room! I know that everyone hates the telephone ringing in the night and even after 11 years you still always think the worst and never that it will just be someone wanting a room. We do get calls in the night but thankfully only occasionally. So Monday morning we were not as bright and cheerful as usual but our guests that morning made us feel a lot better particularly after hearing about Paul's successful kidney transplant, a truly inspiring story, as far as we know you are our first guest with 3 kidneys! (told you I would give you a mention). Seizing the opportunity of a quieter morning we had booked the Carpet cleaners who arrived promptly at 9am and proceeded to make quick but excellent work of cleaning the carpets in all the rooms. In between we waved our final guests off wishing then happy holidays off to board their canal boat at the local marina at Etruria. As the carpets dried it took usthe rest of the day for us to put all the rooms back together, I had just time to admire how nice everywhere was looking when our first guests of the day arrived.
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Today I had a go at making oatcakes from scratch for the first time, this may come as a surprise to those of you who know how much I love cooking but I have always relied on the plentiful supply of local Oatcake shops for fresh oatcakes. For anyone who doesn't know what an oatcake is it is our local delicacy, unique to North Staffordshire, like a pancake but made with oatmeal and yeast. Traditionally they are eaten with a cooked breakfast - bacon, sausage, beans and especially cheese but they just as good with jam, maple syrup, goats cheese etc.
Every oatcake shop has their own secret recipe which they don't want to reveal so I took to researching on the internet for a suitable recipe. Making oatcakes is very similar to making pancakes but it is especially important for the mix to stand to allow the yeast to work. I was very pleased with the results and so were the rest of my family who acted as tasters. Now the real test to try them on our guests. I also experimented with a ready made oatcake mix from the Staffordshire Oatcake Shop in Dresden, this was also very successful and a great way for anyone who has moved away from the area to ensure they have access to a plentiful supply of oatcakes. It is amazing the number of Oatcake shops that now offer to mail order your oatcakes to anywhere in the UK!
Whilst reseraching for recipes I discoverd that The Hairy Bikers have recently visited Newcastle under Lyme and Stoke sampling some of Staffordshires finest foods including oatcakes for a programme in their next series. For a preview of what they thought listen to their interview on BBC Radio Stoke
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