New member of the household, Barney

Hi.

I have arrived at Michael House permanently. I have visited many times in the past, so it is not such a shock to me or the others to be here. My other mum, Elizabeth, could not keep me after I had caused her to break her hip. I have posted more about me on the new blog www.nessienoracraftexplorer.blogspot.com

I hope to meet you soon, but I promise not to hassle you and will only see you if you want to meet me!

Message for Andy T.

Thanks for your message. I have emailed you, but the message has just bounced back to me as undeliverable. Yes, we do have availability on the days you are enquiring about. Do get in touch, perhaps by phone. best wishes,
Vanessa

Just to let you know that I have just started a new blog, Nessienora Craft Explorer, you can access it via the full profile of this blog, or http://nessienoracraftexplorer.blogspot.com It is a more personal blog, mainly focussing on my crafts and our animals and should be a bit of fun. Do add any comments to either blog!

Good news

We now have wireless broadband, so guests should be able to connect their laptops when staying here.

Menu last night

Last night I cooked the following:

French onion soup with freshly baked rolls

Individual goats cheese and tomato charlottes
roast potatoes
roast peppers
brocolli
spiced red cabbage with onions and apples

Flourless chocolate cake - basically cooked chocolate mousse

This all went down very well, if I say it myself!

I hope you have had a good Christmas.

If you are thinking about coming to Cornwall for New Year, we will be open and have availability. The rooms will be at the normal rate, ie £30 per person per night for an en-suite room, bed and breakfast, or £25 for the standard room. We will be offering a four course evening meal on 31st Dec. for a cost of £25 per person. The weather forecast doesn't look too bad, we have had very good weather over the Christmas period.

Maybe see you soon.

Vanessa

Happy Christmas

Wishing you a Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

Storm watching.

If you like watching big waves, enjoy a good blast and heavy downpour, this is not the place to be!

I can't believe the change since my last blog. The weather is now calm, clear, there is a sliver of moon tonight, it is so peaceful. The sun was even warming earlier. The wind of a few days ago has taken it's toll however. Many of the leaves on the privet hedges have shrivelled and gone in the onslaught of the wind and there are now some gaps appearing in the hedges. I think they are rather ugly and oppressive, but they are absolutely essential in the climate we have here. Some of ours must be 5 - 6 feet thick and 10 foot tall, but the worst winds still get through to the other side.

The picture above is a cheat, taken in the summer, when the hedges are looking much nicer, and this is anyway a sheltered part of the garden, and the echiums, for which the picture was taken, dwarf the hedge as well!

I'm sure the weather I described in my last entry will return, but for now, the gentle conditions are here to enjoy.

Storm watching

If you like watching high waves, hearing the sea hurl itself at the rocks, feel the wind change the shape of your face as you battle to get along the path, north Cornwall is the place for you to be right now!

Why not pop down for a day or two of wild weather, a hot meal and a bottle of wine by the fireside?

Hi to all,

If anyone is considering getting away over Christmas, we still have some availability. It should be fun, being looked after and lots of food.

I have decided to do away with the winter rate, as we now have the special 'three for two' offer for several months of the year. So, the rates will be £30 per person per night for the en-suite room, bed and breakfast, and £25 for the standard room throughout the year, but see the special offers section of the website (the winter rates bit may not yet have gone, please ignore it!)

If you happen to be in the area this weekend, 1st and 2nd December, do pop in for our craft event. It will run from 10.30 - 5 pm each day. There will be a free glass of mulled wine for everyone or mulled apple juice and no entry charge. We will have a selection of things for sale, all hand made locally, including:

pottery
turned wood
watercolours
cards
card making kits
hand made felt brooches and pictures
woodcarvings
stained glass
jams and chutneys
jewellery
hand made bunting


Hope to see you.


Vanessa

Into the 21st century.

I have finally joined the 21st century and succumbed to the pressure to have a mobile phone! It has come to feel almost irresponsible to drive around without one, especcially with my car in the poor state it has been in recently.

So, my mobile number is 07779 231 964. It will take me some time to learn this, and i will stumble on how many 7s there are!

The 3 for 2 offer is still available, until the end of November, and we still have some availability for the special Christmas breaks. See the website for more details.

Identity crisis, what identity crisis?

At the end of this week, my registration as an Occupational Therapist expires. When we were first here, I referred to my previous role quite frequently, now I hardly ever do. I felt a bit of a fraud being a guest house proprietor, I hadn't had three years training! Now I don't think of myself as an OT, but I am happy that that is what I did for all those years. And I am happier still that I made the move to guest house proprietor, and I rarely feel fraudulent nowadays, I have now had three and a half years self training.

Perfect Moment

I just had one of those rare perfect moments, and decided I would share it with anyone who happens to read this. I took the dogs down to Trebarwith Strand and we walked back up the cliff route. I stopped on the lower slopes, and had a sit for a while. What made it even more magical than it always is, was a combination of perfect, calm and warm weather and the sound coming from the balcony of a holiday apartment across the valley. Two people were playing a recorder and guitar. I think they were practicing and kept going over the same section again and again, I was willing them to move on after a bit, but it was just so lovely to hear the sound wafting across. Even the dogs behaved well.

Thanks to Jonathan!

The website has now been updated, super fast after my email to him. he does a brilliant job, see the link on the links page of the website if you need a website to be designed!

Update.

My website is now rather out of date, for which, many apologies. Hopefully it will soon be correct, as I have just emailed the new details to the person who manages it.

Following the success of the spring offers, we are again offering three nights for the price of two, as long as evening meals are taken each night at the normal price of £17.50. This will run between the beginning of October and the end of November. Between December and the end of March 2008, our winter prices will apply, ie. £27 pppn for bed and breakfast for the en-suite rooms and £22 for the standard room, except for during the Christmas period, see below.

We will once more be offering a Christmas special. This will be for four nights, arrivng on Sunday 23rd December and it will be part full board and include a bottle of wine per room. The cost will remain the same, at just £275 per person. A single supplement applies and there will be a reduction for the standard room.

Lovely stained glass window on the stairs at Michael House

Tintagel Parish church at Glebe Cliff

Sunset at Trebarwith Strand

On the way to Trebarwith Strand, the magnificent beach some 10 - 15 minutes walk from Michael House.

A filled yellow pepper, braised fennel, sweet potato, mange tout, brocolli and mushroom sauce, a vegan evening meal at Michael House

Onion tart and vegetables, a vegetarian evening meal at Michael House.

Pictures of room 3 at Michael House

This is a double room, with private bathroom. there is a cloakroom next to the room, and the private bathroom is up another flight of stairs.


View from the bathroom

Pictures of room 2 at Michael House

Room two is a double, en-suite room, with a standard sized double bed and a huge bathroom. The room and bathroom have views views in three directions between them.






View from the bathroom to the back.





View across the bed and out of the window to the front




View from the back of the bathroom.

View to the side, over Treknow.

View from the front, towards the valley leading down to Trebarwith Strand.

view from the bed, room 1.

Photos of the bedrooms at Michael House

People often ask for more details of the rooms at Michael House. This is something I must address on the website proper. Meanwhile, here are some photos of room 1 and views from it. It is a double en-suite room, with a super kingsize bed, or it can have two single beds. The bathroom is fairly small, but has a full size bath, from which you can have a glimpse of the sea in the distance!

I will do a separate blog entry for each room, plus an extra of other bits and bobs.



The bathroom, with views from the bath!

View to the front from room 1

August in Cornwall

If you are wondering about coming to Cornwall this month and staying at Michael House, do give me a ring or email me. There are a few gaps here and there and the weather doesn't look too bad for the next few weeks - no promises of 80 degrees though!