Easter, the weather and a funeral

No sooner did we are feeling the sunshine on our feathers and the desire for spring frolicking arriving, than the snow plunged us back into winter melancholy!   The water is frozen again on the ponds, happily though there are a few clear areas to swim in but it is chilly for the time of year.   This has thrown us into a general state of confusion particularly as a couple of the Ducks are now sitting on their eggs and are worried that the babies will be too cold when they arrive!

The snow caused its usual disruption to us and our visitors.  (Last Saturday the staff spend half the day clearing the car park yet again, thank goodness they converted the old mower to a snow plough!). Many of our customers were unable to get to visit us because of the snow, however this week we had a lot of very 'chatty' visitors - we had a couple of school visits from Hanbury First School and listening to their conversation we hear that they are incubating some of our eggs for us  - they will probably be a lot warmer in school than they are on the pond here!.  The children were all very cheerful and colourful with some brilliant hats, it was good to see them.  Hopefully we will see lots more this Easter as school breaks up today.

This afternoon there is a Funeral Tea here in the conservatory - the food looks lovely through the window.  The tea is to celebrate the life of a very regular customer Jennifer Baker who lived in Bromsgrove and came here a lot (she loved the gifts and crafts and particularly enjoyed the Salmon in White Wine Sauce served made in the farmhouse restaurant).   The staff and crafts people are so sorry that she will not be visiting any more but are thrilled that her family chose the Jinney Ring to say goodbye to her.

We also hear that there is a wedding here on Saturday evening -- we are now keeping our wings crossed that the weather is, at the very least, dry for them,  it still looks as though it will be cold!

Breaking news --- Just checked with the Chocolate Deli and they have very few eggs left (and theirs are not being incubated!) and not many Chocolate Pizza's either -- the Easter rush is on!!

Mums, Mums and Eggs

Miserable and cold though the day was yesterday, we had loads of visitors and lots of corn (thanks to you all!).  Mothering Sunday is always a busy day here at the Jinney Ring and we see lots of familiar faces plus some that come out only occasionally.  It was great to see everyone and even better that everyone was in such good humour despite crowds!  All the Mums who had lunch in the restaurant were given daffodils which provided a lovely splash of colour which is good as we don't have many up in the gardens yet. Dayel, the gardener has planted some primroses and the small Tete a Tete daffs in the boxes and pots now which are already cheering us up.  

Changing the subject - we are expecting a few "mums" out here on the pond soon - there are eggs everywhere!  One day last week the Site Manager came around and collected a bucket load of them - he was off to set them in the incubator to make sure they hatch safely and we have some ducklings in a month or so. (around Easter time).

Loss of a good friend

Today we received the sad news that Charles Lewis (Chas), long time friend of the Jinney Ring has died after a long fight with Cancer.

Chas - will be missed by everyone including especially family

We know Chas and his wife Barbara from many events they held here including their Silver Wedding Anniversary party in 2008.  Chas was a camera man in his working live and travelled the world. He had plenty of tales to tell, always well told with a wicked sense of humour and became a very good friend.  He also worked on behalf of Cancer Research raising money through concerts and other events.  He held a concert on the Jinney Ring gardens in 2007

Charity Concert at Jinney Ring

In the last few years he popped in to see us on and off and always enjoyed a cuppa (and sometimes some Bread and Butter pud) by the ponds when the weather was nice - we will miss him and we all send our love to Barbara and his lovely family.  We hope he is enjoying playing his Guitar in the clouds.... RIP.

A Week of 'Brides', Romance and Cameras!

Lovely day today with the sun out and a bit of spring in the air, let's hope it dries the ground out a little bit.
It is just right for a nice day of relaxing with plenty of corn available from our friends who come to feed us....in truth we are a bit exhausted after a very busy few days and we need a rest.......

First there was Valentines evening when the restaurant was open until late with romance in the air.  There were roses and candles on the tables and some sharing dishes on the menu plus hearts everywhere - everyone looked really happy and relaxed.  It was especially lovely to see some very familiar faces among the diners including Ron and Rebecca who celebrated their marriage with us two years ago (still just as cheeky as ever - both of them!) plus some new faces who were testing us out - we hope they enjoyed themselves and we see them again soon.

After this it was full steam ahead into some filming for TV.  The show is part of a new series that Channel 4 will be running in Autumn about people changing their work lives and lifestyles.  In this case a couple (Martin and Anne-Marie) from Nottinghamshire are interested in starting up a craft centre and needed some experience working in an operating one,  where better could they choose? On Friday morning the film crew arrived at 8am and set up in the kitchen to film Martin cooking with Head Chef Shirley. The Jinney Ring staff and TV crew arranged for lots of problems to be thrown at them while they were cooking – many based on real life occurrences except that they were compressed into a deliberately hectic day!

Our couple debriefing at the end of the day in the restaurant

Next Anne-Marie was tested in the gift shop with lots of different requests and problems to deal with, she coped very well with everything overall.

It was quite a disruptive day with lots of comings and goings and it was busy too, particularly with the weather being very pleasant - our customers and friends were great and some of them even joined in by playing a part for the filming.  We were lucky enough to have 3 of "our brides" visiting us, all who agreed to take part of the proceedings and "acted up" - Amy (who wed Simon in May 2012) had trouble with her credit card,  Joanne (who got married to Matthew in 2009) and brought her toddler Hannah May along to be "a pest" in the shop (not a normal situation as she is a very well behaved little girl!) and Louise (who is marrying Richard here in April this year) was shopping for wedding things (her Mum really came to talk to The Hattery about her wedding hat - she got more than she bargained for!).  They all acted their parts so well and were such good sports!  A few other customers joined in too and have potential for stage roles we feel (especially Les and Anne!).


Now to the best bit -- despite me thinking we would be left out this time (because of the type of show) the camera crew came out and filmed us too --- and they rewarded us with corn!!!


When the day was finished everyone was absolutely exhausted but the film crew were happy and we will now wait and see how it all turns out.

Talking of Brides - this morning we saw Laura and Mike who got married here in 2012 - they came for a Valentines breakfast.... what a week for brides and grooms - absolutely fab!

Buzzard alert!

It has been a bit too miserable in the garden lately for me to get myself together to write my diary -- the weather has been the principal cause but a roving fox which is coming out in broad daylight is keeping us on our toes too (sadly he has managed to take a couple of my friends already).  To make matters worse still we had a huge buzzard sitting above our heads all day today!!

A buzzard watching us while we are on the pond!

However all this gloom is about to end and we are determined to cheer up ...

Today was Pancake Day and there were loads of them made in the kitchens and lots of customers visiting to eat them too - which meant that we saw more people in the gardens, despite the damp day.  Thursday is of
course Valentine's day and Carolyn and Mandy have been into the restaurant decorating with hearts and the roses are due in shortly - Thursday night there is a romantic dinner planned with a lovely menu.

On  Friday we hear that we are to have the TV cameras here again - this time it is Channel 4 who are making a show about 'lifestyle changes'.  (Amanda and Malcolm the owners of the business are experts in this as they changed their lives completely when they came here 7+ years ago, both of them had worked in manufacturing industry before this, so this could be very interesting for a topic!)  It does not sound like we are going to be in the limelight this time, filming will mostly be inside in the kitchens and in the gift shop.

Watch this space and we will tell all after the show has been filmed......

White World

We are not happy ... Snow everywhere and whilst we like it looking pretty (and covers up the big brown puddles we have made in the wet garden), it has driven our friends with the brown bags of duck food away and we miss them (oh...and it is just a bit chilly on our feet too).

Chilly feet ....and hungry!

A couple of days ago we had a bit of excitement as one of our number got himself stuck on the ice -- his legs slipped and he ended up "doing the splits" and could not get himself up again no matter how much we quacked encouragement. In the end he required human intervention and Mick and Dayel lassoed him by walking a rope over the pond.  Once they got him in the "noose" he was pulled to safety and put back on his feet - fortunately he has survived OK and is swimming about again now -- he is a little "bow legged" when he walks though!

After the rescue - bottom pond is almost completely iced over

The black and white duck survives another day!

The only really good thing about the snow is that we can quite easily see when our 'friend' next door comes to visit us (she just likes to watch as we are a bit big for her to catch!).

Our 'friendly neighbour' enjoys the snow but it is a bit deep for her in places

Elsewhere in the Centre it has been very quiet but just before the snow came one little girl came to take up her Christmas present of a glass blowing experience - Stuart from 'Topglass' helped her with the molten glass and showed her how to blow it into a balloon,  She was too puffed to talk, but we think she enjoyed it!

Make your own Christmas Present?  Seems like hard work....

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Quacky New Year!

We are having a bit of a rest today after a really hectic could of days!

Lots of lights and partying went on in the restaurant with the New Years Eve party which was themed on the film "Casablanca" on Monday night.  The restaurant was dressed up and lots of tables moved about so that everyone was around the music and the dance floor which was in the middle of the party, just like when Sam played his piano in the middle of everyone in Rick's Café Americain.  (Except that the musicians Blue2 were not black, and the piano was a key board!)

Blue2 - play it again Sam!

The staff putting on their "Fez" and the customers came dressed for the evening - ladies in lovely dresses and gentlemen in black ties, some even dressed for the film, everyone looked great.

Christmas in Morroco!

 
The menu was based on Moroccan food but there was something for everyone and the desserts looked too good to eat!

Mmmmm

What a great night - lots of laughter, dancing and welcoming in the new year!

The next day started early too as the restaurant staff were getting ready for breakfast all day! It was a much better weather day so we saw lot of walkers as everyone finally had a chance to get out in the fresh air  - we had plenty of corn bought for us so we were pretty happy too!

Most of the staff are back to work today and Christmas is being taken down and lights cleared away - difficult to image that it will be a whole year until we have any days off again!

Quacky New Year everyone!