Email

Just to let you know that the normal email address for Michael House, info@michael-house.co.uk, is working again.

Just a note to let anyone reading this know that our server for the Michael House email is not currently working. So, if you wish to contact me by email, please use vang@globalnet.co.uk until I update this blog.

sorry for any inconvenience.

The green shoots of recovery.

Now, where have I heard that before?

But these green shoots are real, they are echiums. Four of them and very precious to me!

Anyone who has read my blogs in the past will know I am a bit obsessed with echiums! They are magnificent, they are also known as 'rocket plants' as they reach around 12 - 14 foot high in their second or third year, with lovely purply blue flowers which bees love. This variety is called Pininana, there are others, some with a very different, ground covering, non biennial habit. The herb, borage, is a close relation. They share the flower colour and furry, slightly rough, leaf surface.

This is a goldfinch sitting atop one last year. I know, I know, it could be anything, but you will just have to believe me, it is a goldfinch!

We had so many last year, that it was easy to take them for granted, and this year was set to be our best ever. We wrapped some up against the frost, we had a few younger ones in pots in the polytunnel.

We lost them all to the severe winter.

I was gutted, the sticks of dead echium stood as testament in the ground for a while, they have now all been removed. The garden centres have lost theirs too, so it will be a while before we can get any. So, there will be no echiums this year, and only next year if I can get a few soon which are fairly advanced. The following year, however, should be good, if we do not have any more killer frosts!

So, now you can see why those little seedlings are so precious to me! I am constantly checking other pots and the garden for more!

TV in guest room

I'm not sure this is even worth blogging about, but there is now a working TV and digibox in one of the guest rooms, the one with private bathroom. We have never had TV's in the rooms, and this has suited most people, there is a TV in the sitting room and it feels good to escape the TV in the bedroom. However, I stopped renting my old(ish) TV and they let me just keep it, so there was a spare one, so, as there was the link to the aerial in room 3, we have set it up in there!

Cornwall Today

Allow me a little brag a moment please! We have been featured in Cornwall Today for May 2009, as one of the '10 Best Veggie Eateries'. OK, so there are not 10 vegetarian restaurants in Cornwall, so they chose a couple of guest houses as well, more to the north and east, as there is a paucity of vegetarian places to eat in these areas. But, it is nice to see Michael House in a list of this sort, do have a look. It is great that they have taken up the cause of vegetariansm, they picked May, as it includes Vegetarian Week, 18th-25th May. We offer evening meals to non residents, but obviously offer priority to our resident guests, but it usually works out fine if people wish to book a meal.

Happy Easter.

Easter weekend and next week

Over the Easter weekend, we do have the odd night available, so it is worth ringing/emailing if you are thinking of coming this way. Later next week, we have availability.

Have a great Easter break.

Where's my ball? Throw it, throw, throw it. Now.

blog by a beer.

how kan a beer do it's own blog, see uther blog www.nessienoracraftexplorer.blogspot.com for my vews on this matta