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Gerry's Blog
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Tuesday, 10 January 2012 11:40 |
Happy New Year to all of you!
This is a quick note to remind you of:
- Quiz night this Sunday night. You know the form, just be here at 7.30, earlier if you want to eat first.
- Wine tasting supper on Sunday 15th January. £29.50 for two courses including a taste of six wines. Please book.
- Wine appreciation courses starting on Monday 16th January. Six sessions at either 11.30 in the morning or 7.30 at night including tasting six wines each session for just £149. Course run by Nina Cerrullo. six lunchtime places left, three evening places. Please register with me ASAP to avoid disappointment. 07767 802241
- Whisky tasting on Saturday 21st January. Six whiskies and a gentle exploration of how they are made and why they are all different. £25, only five places remaining.
- Burns Night Wednesday 25th January. Four courses including a wee dram for £32.50. Burns V Shakespeare? Please book.
Did you read that the experts now say that having January off the booze is not good for you but two days a week all year is? Heartily agree, much better for the cash flow (mine).
We look forward to seeing you soon - don't forget you can call in for a coffee from 9am. Free wi.fi., Champagne available from 11 am.
Cheers
Gerry
PS did you know that when you spell check 'free wifi' it changes it to 'free wife'. Hmmm. |
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Monday, 31 October 2011 18:07 |
Oh dark hundred hours, October 31st 2011
Dear Diners and Quaffers,
An extra hour in bed was welcome this weekend, before a Sunday lunch to bring a smile back to my face (really busy) and a Sunday evening that raised nearly £3000 for the charity, breakthrough breast cancer. Amanda Hobson spoke to me some time ago about having a fund raising evening for this very worthwhile cause and thus it came to pass. Lee and the boys excelled themselves with lovely mixed platters of food and Clive Smith made me chuckle when he bought a packet of pink smarties in the auction for £50.00! Thanks to everyone who came and enjoyed themselves, made donations, bought raffle tickets and bid in the auction. It was a really fabulous evening.
Andy Johnson, our south coast fisherman, has been laying out the most fantastic fish counter just in front of The Inn for the last four Tuesadys and would love to see you here, buying his first class fresh fish. There isn't a better display for many miles around and he will take the hard work out of things for you by preparing whatever you buy and even advising you on cooking methods. He gets here at about 1 o'clock and starts packing up about 4.30, so come on down and get a few piscatorial pleasures for your tea.
For those of you that remember the halcyon days of The Brickies in Windlesham, we are reinventing the wheel with a new dining club. When you next dine at The Inn you will be given a free application form which entitles you to a £10 voucher next time you eat here and then a loyalty bonus card like we used to do all those years ago. We aren't Tescos, so we will not be tracking your every purchase, but we will be giving you the respect you deserve for being one of our regular customers with offers and rewards in various ways. We look forward to getting you enroled and giving you something back for being one of our extended family.
Martin Owton is one of that extended family and he will be here next Sunday, November 6th, to tease you with his challenging questions in the first of our winter quizzes. If it is cold enough outside we will have the fire roaring and the meals and drinks flowing while you try to beat Micky, Tony, Derek and Colin, our 'True Daffy's'. The quiz starts at about 7.30, so why not book a table and quiz while you dine?
Talking of booking tables, have you used our online booking system, restaurant diary, on the website yet? If you have, please give us a bit of feedback as to how it was for you. It is jolly useful in principle and may be so, when we get used to using it. In the meantime we would appreciate your views.
If you haven't been into the wine shop yet, there are many delights in store for you. There is a great selection of dessert wines and ports, many wines from Portugal and Spain as well as some really good claret and champagne. There are wines from £5.95 up to silly ridiculous, something for everyone and every taste. I look forward to tempting you in the near future.
Finally, our Christmas program is in print and will soon be on the website too, when Al can tear himself away from processing hundreds of thousands of solar panel orders which are keeping him awake at night. If you are interested in booking for dinner on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve, don't dally too long as bookings are coming in well ahead of last year. We have kept our prices competitive, as always, and it would be fair to say that we have more bookings than El Bulli at the moment.
We look forward to seeing you tomorrow for your fresh fish, or maybe for fish night on Tuesday or quiz night on Sunday. In fact we look forwrd to seeing you for a glass of something anytime soon.
Best Wishes
Gerry, Ann and all the Gang at The Inn |
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Tuesday, 18 October 2011 12:23 |
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Dear Diners and Quaffers,
On a damp and dreary day in West End, Andy Johnson is set to cheer you up with some fantastic fresh fish from the coast - mussels, oysters, crabs, lobster, Sea Bass, Ling - I could go on but I might be accused of being piscatorially boring. He will set out his stall at about 1pm, just in time for you to have nipped down here for lunch and then strolled outside to choose a flapping specimen for tea. A short amble to the wine shop to see Dan and he will talk you through an appropriate Alvarinho or Godello to drink with your atlantic catch and all will be well.
Sunny, on the other hand is feeling distinctly unwell. I accidentally let him get a look at the front page of the torygraph this morning where Hugh flipping milkingstool was suggesting that a spot of Labrador on the menu was perfectly acceptable. Sunny immediately sloped off to a dark corner to make himself look unpleasant and smell worse in the hope that I would not look at him with the unblinkered culinary eyes of a supposedly top chef. I gently explained that at £600 plus injections, board and keep, scans etc there simply wasn't enough margin to make it worthwhile and he cheered up no end. There seemed a completely different edge to his affection and retreiving thereafter, most welcome.
Ann - Marie is an excited bunny this morning as she is going to see farmer jones at Hyden Farm, Clanfield, to catch a chiken or two and snaffle a bit of well pearled barley to show Lee what her recipe could do for our menu here at The Inn. You may remember she won our competition for the Dish of the Year competition (yes, yes, and her recipe was good too, thankyou Tony) and will finally have her day of glory. The trip was nearly bazzookered yesterday when The Inn van did a bit of coughing and spluttering but nothing that our freinds at West End garage couldn't fix with a bit of sticky stuff and a man that knew how. We look forward to tasting the finished product today - not the sticky stuff, the chicken with Pearl Barley.
On the tasting note, don't forget we are having a wine tasting supper on Sunday October 23rd to try out six wines with a two course supper. Dan is going to scrabble round the dark recesses of the cellar to see what he can find to challenge your taste buds. At just £29.50 it is a bargain so why not nobble a few friends and book a table.
Our vine here at The Inn has produced well and Johnny, our very own naked chef, is going to make a grape chutney from them in the next few days. They are almost enough in quantity to think about making a bit of Chateau West End, so that's my project for next year.
Well, enough of this Tuesday morning drizzle. I have wages to pay, people to meet, leaflets to design. Must dash, see you later.
Gerry, your touchy feely landlord |
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