On The Road With Jazkids

Posted by admin on Oct 3, 2011 in featured, On The Road With Jazkids | 2 comments

Over the years Jazkids has been to many events up and down the country.  One of the perks of being on the road is that we get to stay in some interesting and memorable hotels and guest houses.  What a variety of experiences we have shared on our treks around the U.K

How could I forget the warm hospitality and amazing food at the guest house near the Bath and West Showground.  We stayed there twice and each time came away feeling like turkeys that were being fattened up for Christmas.  Mine hosts stood in the entrance of the kitchen beaming at us as we sat with huge plates of food in front of us. We could hardly do it justice.  A couple of hours baling hay or ploughing the fields could have possibly set you up with an appetite to match the food on offer!  All I can say is that their ancient spaniel who sat under our table was very rounded around the girth when we left! What a wonderful memory.

Jazkids has visited Harrogate.  What a beautiful place that is.  We stayed in a lovely apartment just down the road from the famous Betty’s Tea Rooms.  Another gastronomic feast.  I would not want you to think our trips are centred around how much food we can eat but it just seems to happen that way!

For several years we have attended Henley Regatta.  Here we stayed in a bed and breakfast near Ascot.  Our host was a lovely friendly Spanish girl whose property was adjacent to a stables where Arab polo ponies were trained.  Imagine our amazement at seeing a helicopter arrive every morning carrying the head trainer.  The place was immaculate with cobbled courtyard, beautiful hanging baskets outside each stable.  Yet again the food was memorable.  Our Spanish host wished to give us a “surprise” meal every day for breakfast.  Who could forget the spanish interpretation of Devils on Horseback !

Gatcombe Park has been a wonderful venue for the annual horse trials and here we have experienced hospitality in various establishments.  Who can imagine staying in a village where the only mobile phone reception to be had is either standing on a  bench in the church graveyard or perching on the only small roundabout in the place where local youths repeatedly dice with death on their motorbikes. Our landlady was a most welcoming person who seemed to have cornered the market with bottled pickles and chutneys which adorned the shelves in the bar. Most evenings delicious home-cooked ham and chips was the dish of the day. The “special” board offered ham and chips with either peas or pineapple.  Another gastronomic memory was at a small bed and breakfast near the Horse Trials.  The owner was most welcoming and supplied breakfast that took us through to mid-afternoon! We felt like part of the family and were entranced by the owners dog who had his own bib which was regularly worn at meal times.  It was in this part of the world we came across The Ragged Cott Inn.  Head chef here at the time had worked with Gordon Ramsey.  Our profits dwindled down somewhat as we decided to eat here for two consecutive nights – the raspberry sorbet was the best I have ever tasted.

This is just a small snippet of our travels around the U.K.  Shortly we will be setting off to one of our best events of the year. Spirit of Christmas Our home from home here is a wonderful house in Hammersmith called  very aptly A Better Place to Stay. Our hosts Vicky and Edmund Sixsmith, not forgetting Tiger the dog, always give us a lovely welcome.

Come and see us at Spirit of Christmas at Stand D1.