Yamas!

Last Friday was "Greek Night" in the restaurant.  The staff dressed the restaurant up with blue and white Greek flags and balloons and there was a full selection of traditional Greek fayre supplied in plenty from the kitchens.  To complete the evening we also had Clarion playing Greek Musics and there was dancing too.

It was a lovely evening, making everyone think of holidays!  Glasses were raised with the traditional salutation "Yamas" (Cheers) heard on occasion.  There was no plate throwing though - maybe next time!

Music and dancing 

An unexpectedly gorgeous day was an added bonus for Jon and Lin last Sunday who celebrated their Ruby Anniversary with us.  It was a really romantic day for this couple who also renewed their wedding vows in the church where they got married in central Birmingham before coming to us for their 'reception'.  The weather was so good that that they were able to enjoy Pimms in the garden before eating in the private room next to the restaurant.  When the meal was over it was still warm enough for coffee in the garden and the children to run around.  Everyone looked so smart, particularly the happy couple.  They did not wear their original outfits but both have stayed slim so enough to 40 years on - not bad we think!

Happily married - John and Lin 

We love to see our regular customers celebrate here - it is a very special trust that they put in us and we are determined to give them a great time.

In the gardens it is a bit fraught - the fox has been visiting us and many of my friends have disappeared lately - we are on guard but it is difficult to stay awake all night.  The new ducklings are still happy to go inside their pens at night but the older ducks are not keen on this - however they are not keen on being eaten either!
The cows are back in the fields now too so there are lots of noises in the night to distract us!

Classic cars

Since our last diary entry we have had some smashing weather in the gardens and lots of visitors - especially on bank holiday Monday.  Some of the visitors that day were dogs - we are never that keen as they seem to have a particular interest in what we are doing, but they were all pretty well behaved so we did not need to worry too much.  The dogs were on best behaviour and many of them were well groomed ready for their "pet portraits"   - this was a charity shoot by Foreverly photography.  They donated £5 to the guide dogs for the blind for each shoot.

The sunshine was a lovely treat for all of us in the gardens but it soon gave way to windier and wetter days.  Happily though it has not put people coming out to see us, this morning for instance we were visited by Hanbury Bell Ringers, a large group of cyclists and some classic car enthusiasts.  Just look at these....

The ducklings in the pen are growing up fast now and are getting to the precocious stage and are escaping under the water at will - at the moment the wide world is still a bit scary for them but it won't be long before they are out and about around the gardens!

Bucking ....sheep?

Beautiful Bride Louise with her Groom Richard arriving into the gardens 

We had a lovely wedding in the gardens and restaurant this weekend but it was just a bit different....

The Bride and Groom, Louise and Richard have been coming to the Jinney Ring for quite a while so we feel like they are part of our family - they have also brought along their families and they too are included in this! At 2pm on Saturday they got married at Hanbury Church (which we love, as the bells sound super throughout the gardens) and then, after some photographs, they came down to us for their celebration party.

The Bride and Groom came from the Church in a old Morris Minor and decided to take a bit of a detour to enjoy the vehicle, while the bridesmaids arrived in an VW Camper Van.  When they arrived they had afternoon tea and garden games ....the more traditional games of skittles, coconut shy and horseshoe throwing but then they included a rodeo attraction -- a bucking sheep and a bucking bronco.  There was a competition for the rider that stayed on the longest...fortunately the landing was soft as there was an inflatable surround!  First up on the bucking beast was the Brides Mum - she was such a good sport !

The bucking beast was well padded around it!

After the tea and games the party moved inside for a picnic style meal and some brilliant speeches followed by the cake cutting and dancing in the marquee - the first dance was quite an unusual one, having been crafted by the couples nieces - it had everyone in stitches.  

It was a pretty exciting and fun day and despite the odd bit of rain and a bit of a chill in the April air, everyone seemed to enjoy it.  We had quite a lot of "firsts" on the day - besides in bucking sheep we had a a bridesmaid in very interesting shoes - the lawn and the gravel paths had beaten her heels but she was not easily held back - she was well prepared!

Bridesmaid Rachel in red shoes!

Another 'First" were the boat lanterns that the couple asked the guests to float on our pond after their meal - it was a bit of a shock to us to be invaded like this but we soon learned to swim around with the lanterns - they looked very pretty!

Make a wish and sale a boat on the pond - a surprise for the guests from groom Richard.

Richard and Louise have a gorgeous little girl, she is still only very young so found the day a bit bewildering and teething did not help despite this she proved very photogenic and slept through the evening dancing without a sound - I doubt she will remember her parents wedding - but the photos will show her looking lovely, not as lovely as her mum of course!

Baby girl with here grandmother

"Bearly" a visitor!

What a gorgeous day on the pond today was - reminded us how good it can be!

There was lots of activity going on too - a small marquee was being cleaned and put up, the lawns were mowed for the first time this year and there were lots of people out and about.  Sounds like there is a big wedding here at the weekend, that should be fun!

We had a very special visitor in the gardens too - this is Berty bear who is looked after by the children of Clawson First School (class rt).  The children take it in turns to look after Berty and they take him out and about to loads of places.  We were delighted to see him - even if it was sideways (can't work out how to change the rotation permanently -it is my webbed feet you know!)

 

School's out for spring!

The eggs that Hanbury First School Reception class have been incubating have hatched and they have 5 beautiful yellow ducklings - including a crested duck (the one with the pom pom!).

These little ones will be cared for by the Children for another week or so and will then return to the Jinney Ring to join the one hatched a couple of weeks ago.  The children have named them Charlie, Augustus, Veruca, Mike and Violet after the five children in 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' - I wonder if they will be able to tell which is which (except for the crested one of course!).

Lots of ladies!

The garden is drying out and the daffodils are out - they are a very welcome sight, even if they are a bit late!
Lots more people out and about this week and even some brave enough to eat their lunches outside in the gardens.

It has been a lively week here - first of all with the Ladies Charity night in aid of Worcester Snoezelen on Wednesday.  Special guest visitors were Jane Roberts from the charity who explained all about their big build project to the 75 ladies who attended, and Sara Coward (also know as Caroline Stirling from Radio 4's Archers). Sara read some poems and made everyone laugh with her anecdotes and observations.

Jane Roberts and Sara Coward

Also supporting the night were stall holders from the Jinney Ring - Blue Lemon, Chocolate Deli and The Hattery (and Top Glass donated a raffle prize) and from local area Sian Ulyet (Swedish MAssage) and Melista from conceptpilates.  The evening raised about £350 for the charity and everyone had a lovely meal cooked by chefs Shirley and Katharine (Katharine is a big Archers fan!).

Sian - gave some 'sample massages''!

Jenny selling her soaps - she does parties too!

Hats for all occasions from The Hattery

The ladies evening over, the staff set about getting ready for another party on Saturday.  This time it was Caroline and Andrew celebrating 20 years of marriage by renewing their vows.  The weather was perfect for this and then were able to have their welcome drink in the sunshine on the lawn with us, They then went inside for a luxury buffet in the restaurant and dancing to all the old favourites until midnight - a great party.

That's it for the human world this week.  In the duck world, the ducklings are growing fast and are swimming in their drinking water now.  The 'girls' are getting a bit of a rough ride at the moment as it it mating season and we have lost a couple of them to the fox recently so that means those left are getting more "attention" - a new pen is being build to try to make their lives a bit easier.

Well done Walkers!

The 'Big Dog' was back this weekend.  He is part of the local team from 'Guide Dogs for the Blind'  who organised and ran a very successful "Go Walkies" event starting from the Jinney Ring gardens today.  This is the 3rd walk organised from here and, as such, has built up a bit of a following - this time, despite the wind and rain they had close to 50 walkers fundraising for the charity! We were really pleased to see them all but unlike last year there was no laying about in the sunshine in the gardens which was a pity!

Also in the gardens this week - we are all 'on guard'  as there is a predator at large that is breaking into the compound are and taking our friends away in the night - we don't know what it is but we are watching - enough is enough!.  The new ducklings are still protected as they are inside a smaller pen area within the large compound but it will not be long before they need to go out and about and we are determined that they will be safe!

Looking ahead - everyone is very excited in the restaurant at the moment as they are getting ready for another charity event on Wednedsay (17th) which is for Worcester Snoezelen - the star of the show is Sara Coward who plays Caroline Stirling in Radio 4's The Archers - we are all big fans here!.  There are only a few tickets left now I hear.