Chaplin House B & B

Woodland Umbrellas and Parasols

Chaplin House B & B Fungi Foray

 

This seems to be a brilliant year for fungi.  We visited Ostler's Plantation in Woodhall Spa twice the other weekend, once with friends and returned the next day with our camera to capture some of the stunning fungi we had seen. They were everywhere. Every footfall seemed to step into another fungi vista.  The good, the bad, the ugly... and the beautiful were all around.  Had we a deep expertise we would have been tempted to pick some but rest assured that, although we do serve mushrooms for Chaplin House breakfast,  we did not gather any fungi to experiment with on guests!  All were left, appetising or not, in situ.

Just to peak our excitement, an adder slithered between one of David's strides, completely indifferent to us, and eased smoothly way on its own reptilian business.  This has been one of our most interesting walks this year - highly recommended.

If there any fungi experts out there, we would love some input on identifying what we saw.  Apart from the four photos below, there are nearly a hundred shots of possibly twenty different species.

 

A Peek into Chaplin House Visitors' Book

When they arrive, many of our guests sit and read through Chaplin House visitor's book.

We thought we would publish a few.

These are all from August 1010, in date order:

'Fantastic service, made to feel at home... made a fantastic weekend.'

'Many thanks for such an excellent stay. Hope to come again.'

''A lovely welcome, a beautiful room, and the best breakfast in Britain.' (translated from French)

'This is our fourth annual trip for Ma's birthday and it is as good as ever, if not better.'

'Our first English breakfast was amazing.'

'Lovely, lovely time, Thank you very much.'

'We just can't stay away.'

'We love staying that is why we come back.'

'Lovely to be welcomed with coffee and plum bread at the end of a long drive, and fantastic breakfast.'

'What a lovely haven of tranquillity. Many thanks. Hope to see you again.'

Garden Photos

We've just been downloading some lovely photos of the gardens here at Chaplin House B & B.  It's that beautiful time of year when everything is beginning to look lush but is still fresh and verdant, so we thought we'd share a few of them with you.

Part of the back garden, with David's Writing Pad in view

Tree peony in flower

View of the Courtyard Garden and barn from the House

 

Apple blossom

Lancaster Birthday Treat

Many Chaplin House guests have thoroughly enjoyed the Lancaster taxi run at Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre at East Kirkby (www.lincsaviation.co.uk)  David has long been intrigued by their enthusiastic feedback and was rewarded with his own trip by a combined birthday and Christmas present in one wonderful package.

David enthused:  'What an aeroplane!  Gripping history, all the attention you require, good food and as near to walking in the footsteps of those World War 2 heroes, without being one  of the crew, as  you can get.

And don’t be put off by threatening weather... a spot of rain on the Perspex bubbles adds an air of authenticity.

You are given a full and extensive tour of the aircraft before you settle into your chosen spot. Mine was the bomb aimer’s location (see photos) ...  not easy to get into – though not as confined as the rear gunner’s.

Our group had a bonus aboard in the form of a real rear gunner: 31 trips and not  a scratch on him or the aircraft.  Listening to this dignified gentleman, complete with recent new hip, revealed a great deal about matter of fact bravery.

An informative and  ‘where they crawled I crawled’ experience to remember for a long time.

Gre....at!'

Chaplin House Special Offer

Book a 3 night midweek stay in August and enjoy a complimentary bottle of wine worth £10!

Snowdrop Time Special Offer

Snowdrops are still with us to cheer the spirits after such a long weary winter.  There is a lovely walk almost from Chaplin House B & B front door along Car Dyke to Metheringham on which to enjoy the spectacle of lots of snowdrops.  So it's possible to delight in history - Car Dyke is of Roman origin - and nature at the same time.  Who knows, the Romans might also have enjoyed the spring message of snowdrops in the woods in these cold northern climes.

Snowdrops  by David Lockyer

Welcome yawns of waking,

Snowdrops snow freckle the woods

Allowing winter one last stir

Transferring snowfall from drear to promise

Why not enjoy a late winter break at Chaplin House B & B?  There is plenty to see and do nearby.  Book a 2 night stay and receive a complimentary bottle of white wine to toast the snowdrops!

Chaplin House New Awards

Tastes of Lincolnshire Award

With a B & B business you are often only looking forwards: Who is coming?  When are they arriving? What rooms have they booked?  So, apart from the data of the economics, you seldom make time to review the whole perspective of how successful you are.

In January we were away on holiday, while Chaplin House hibernated, and couldn't attend a Tastes of Lincolnshire Awards event to which we had been invited. On our return were delighted to learn that we had a new award.

This Tuesday, 23 February, at a Visit Lincolnshire Tourism Conference, we received our award as runners up.  This led us to review past success resulting in the realisation that we have reached the Taste of Lincolnshire finals four years on the trot.

2006 Runners up

2007 Winners

2008 Runners up

2009 Runners up

(Olympic wise that's one gold and three silvers!!!)

Breakfast Award

             

Keeping to the theme of success, on our return to business as usual, our first guest turned out to be our quality assurance inspector.  As you might imagine, this was an an abrupt re-entry! On reaffirming our FOUR STARS and SILVER AWARD, she also told us that we were in line for a breakfast award which we duly received.

So, visit Chaplin House B & B for FOUR STAR accommodation and enjoy a FIVE STAR breakfast.

Remember to check our Blog and website for special offers!

Prize Winners at Chaplin House

Pictured below are Nick Cooke and his partner Tracy who won the Chaplin House prize draw for a free two night stay, including a three course evening meal.  Here they can be seen enjoying their main course.

Find out what they thought about it all by reading their review on www.tripadvisor.com

and search for Chaplin House B & B Lincolnshire.

Watch this space for our forthcoming offers!

Awards and Competitions - and Seals!

Award News

First of all, wonderful news for us that we won a Silver Award at the East Midlands Enjoy England Excellence Awards last month.  We were delighted to be shortlisted again this year, but even more delighted to have won Silver!  The ceremony was at the Athena in Leicester at a glittering evening  with BBC One Show host Des Coleman  overseeing the night’s festivities.

Competition News

In the Spring, we ran a prize draw for all guests who stayed 2 nights or more during February, March or April.  The prize was a complimentary 2 night stay and a 3 course evening meal.  The lucky winners are actually coming this weekend and we have been in close consultation about the menu!  Local produce features prominently, with the main course being Lincoln Red beef cooked in red wine.  We will post photos after the event.

Donna Nook Again !

Once again, we've been on our annual visit to the grey seal colony at Donna Nook.  It is always a magical experience being so close to these beautiful mammals and seeing the bond between mother and pup in the first few days of the pup's life.  It is one of the wildlife treats of Lincolnshire:  the pupping takes place during November and December and gradually tails off by mid January so if you want to visit you need to plan it now!  Useful link:http://www.lincsuk/donnanookseals.htm

 

Award News!

Autumn Break Special Offer

Enjoy a complimentary bottle of wine on your first night when staying at Chaplin House for a two night weekend break in October or November.  Stay for a long weekend (3 nights) and take a second bottle home with you!

Good News

Last week, we were delighted to hear that once again Chaplin House B & B is through to the finals of East Midlands Enjoy England Excellence Awards 2009.  This is doubly satisfying as we won our category (Guest House accommodation) last year.  Now we await the mystery shopper!  Whatever happens, we know we'll be part of an excellent awards evening in October, when the winners will be announced.

The Jammy Dodger!

David has been out in the fields picking vast quantities of strawberries, and some raspberries, and making jars and jars of jam - yes, even in this very hot weather we have had the jam pan on.  Additionally, noticing that the ripeness and quality of pineapples suddenly soared, he experimented successfully with making pineapple jam: limited quantity only.

Cats, competition and broadcast

What a glorious day!  Every cloud has given up trying to stifle the sun.

News! News! NEWS!

At last Chaplin House B & B has its own publication: David’s book of poems, Catamorphosis, is on sale at £6.00 plus £1.10 p&p or collect from Chaplin House.

As yet, it’s still a kitten of a book, less than three weeks old, but  selling well.

Superbly illustrated, including two pictures by David’s daughter,

Kimberley, the book has already attracted a fan club.

Lee Parsons, a Chaplin House B & B guest from the Isle of Wight, having read a couple of preview poems immediately ordered a copy. This was seven months before publication. After receiving the book, he took photos of his two cats reading a poem or two.  They are now brilliant advertising.  Enjoy the photo!

If you want to hear more about Catamorphosis, you can click onto Listen Again, and listen to David being interviewed today around 2.30pm by Melvyn Prior on BBC Radio Lincolnshire http://www.bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire/local_radio/.

New! News! NEWS!

We have a winner for our springtime Chaplin House B & B competition: Nick Cooke from Spalding has won two free nights stay and an evening meal.  Congratulations Nick we look forward to pampering you and your partner.