Thinking Back on 2014 Looking Forward to 2015 But Not Tomorrow

I seemed to start 2014 FULL of energy if this blog post is anything to go by: New Nurturing Energy, but I am ending it tired. Tired after a late night, tired after an early night. This weekend we did nothing, because the previous weekend we did two much. Deliberate typo there. Two. Two Santas. Two hotels. Two "cities". It might look exciting looking back at the video footage and photos, BUT it was exhausting!

Actually, this post was started so long ago, that I can now say we've had yet another exhausting weekend and yet another Santa, with another one tomorrow: Tuesday 16th December's. Tomorrow's will be the school one, and the FIFTH one Aaron will see December 2014.

So, I think 2015 is going to have to be all about restoring my energy levels, as I can't carry on being tired all of the time like this. I'm good for no one, including myself. 

The water intake will have to be increased. The alcohol consumption will have to be decreased (although it is minimal as it is, my body cannot tolerate acidity at all anymore). My plantar fasciitis is completely affected by acidity, better or worse. I'll need to start juicing and consuming greens again. Being alkaline is always when I am at my best. The yoga that I have been going on and on about for nearly as many years as I used to do it, needs to make a reappearance.

January 2014

2014: a year where Aaron's gone from being a January pre-schooler, riding a balance bike.

He started to ride a 2 wheel bike with pedals in May 2014 a month BEFORE he turned four. Good thing he did, as he started school in September - Reception - and we now cycle to and from school every day. Both bikes have been red and black, and both have been superb. A Chicco Red Bullet balance bike to start followed by an Avigo Mischief 16 inch. Both of his bikes have been put through their paces. The balance bike went everywhere we did every day.

He's great on his bike I couldn't be more proud:

Remaining on January I have just remembered (thanks to photos) that I went to White Tantra in January, my first time doing so since Aaron was born, despite doing so when pregnant. ONE WHOLE day of yoga, and my old radiance was back. It really does me so much good. Eek they've already set the date: White Tantra London Saturday 17th January 2015, I will have to put it in my diary and this time really harness the energy I bring in. White Tantra transforms you for 40 days afterwards.

As early as March 2014, Aaron had already dispensed with a jacket (well so the photo below tells me), so that gives me high hopes that maybe I only need to be cold for just 3 more months :-) I remember how HOT it was in the run up to Easter :-) Here he is with his best mate:

May, if my photos are anything to go by, seems to have been hot AND cold. On a day to Southend with Aaron and ALL of his cousins, it was freezing, yet in the same month we had a day in the park; Aaron played in the sand and it was warm!

Those long legs. I swear my boy will tower over me one day! He can look after his Dear Mum :-)

The good thing I can say, as 2014 ends, is that me and Aaron don't seem to have changed much, as the two Harrods photos, a year apart show:

Harrods do seem to have included too much "floor" in the photo this year though. One big difference is I didn't wear makeup this year, as the morning of Harrods was just too rushed, BUT when I saw Santa again the next day in Westfield Stratford, I made more of an effort.

That jumper above and Aaron's Primark Santa shirt have been like our uniform for all of our many Santa visits.

The jumper is kind of significant as I looked at dozens of Xmas Jumpers before I settled on that one. I've been attracted to all things stags the last few weeks and as I have animal cards I have looked up what it means.

The Stag, Damh in the Gaelic tongue, is also linked to the sacredness of the magical forest. The Damh represents independence, purification, and pride. It is known as the King of the Forest, the protector of its creatures. For time immemorial people have sought to identify with the stag by ceremonially wearing antlered headdresses and imitating the deer's leaping grace. 

Those with the deer as animal totem may be inclined to be constantly on the move, being on the look out for the next opportunity. By affinity with this spirit animal, you may also be watchful of your “predators”, which translate into a tendency to be sometimes overly cautious. It takes time for you to trust someone or feel safe in your environment. 

You can invoke the power of the deer to guide you in getting accustomed to new surroundings and people. This spirit guide might show up in your life to warn you encourage you to trust your instinct. The deer spirit animal will also show up in your life to encourage you to take some time by yourself in a quiet environment to rest or in nature. It invites you to find rest and peace in silence. 

This is the time of year where I start to think about New Year's Resolutions, as I personally believe a more appropriate time to do them, energy wise, is Winter Solstice, i.e. 21st December. Think of them, rather than resolutions, as INTENTIONS. If you set them on 21st, you can have profound things happen in your life. I have done this in years gone by, but not so much since Aaron came along, but it was the energy of Winter Solstice that saw my other blog Conscious Mum be born, not that I have done nearly enough with it.

You can watch video horoscopes to see what is instore, astrologically, 15th to 21st December. There are even additional weekly zodiac videos below specific to your individual star sign. Astrology can be really reassuring as it can explain planetary happenings that have an affect on us, along with lunar cycles/changes.

But back to Winter Solstice, it really is a good time to go within, embrace your heart's desires, and then document them, send them out there, and give your intentions wings. Where your focus goes, energy flows, so they say, and it's true. And, if you don't believe in "energy" or astrology, then be glad of December 21st simply for no other reason than that it is the shortest day of the year. It is onwards and upwards from here on in! You honestly will see the daytime lengthen, and the sunsets get later, by minutes every week from 21st December onwards.

Setting my intentions for 2015 is relatively easy, and numero uno is a pink wish.

Earlier in this post I said Aaron would meet his 5th Santa tomorrow - the school one - and that is actually in addition to his Nativity at 9 am. What I did not say is that today, Monday, I have kept him off school with a high temperature, cough and sore throat. It's not looking good tonight and I am WRACKED with guilt. In 24 years of working, you can count my absence in days on two hands, no more than that. I don't do "sickies" and I don't do late. The thought of Aaron missing his own nativity fills me with dread and worse still, the Christmas Bizarre that is happening from 3 till 5 is a baby of the PTA, of which I am on, meaning I am meant to be at school from 1300 hrs, which if I am at home with a sick child, I cannot do. So as much as I can see lots of lights at the end of lots of tunnels in 2015, I am not channeling it as I finish this post, but am rather feeling awful, like there's no point going to sleep as what exactly am I waking up for. Will he be spritely? Unlikely! Yep, so it will be a cosy day on the sofa, with lots of cuddles, which ordinarily I would LOVE, but not when he and I are both supposed to be somewhere............. yikes, I don't break commitments, it's just not how I am built.

Night night :-(

4 Santas and a Christmas 2014

So Christmas hasn't happened in our house yet as we have been too busy visiting the main man Mr Claus himself, again and again and again. The post says "4" as there is one last Santa yet to come in about 10 days.

So here I will tell you the high and lowlights of each and every one.

First up, in chronological order, is the luxury Santa, which of course, in true 5 star style has to be seen at Harrods. The corridor you wander through, to get to knock on Santa's door, is extremely North Pole like:

Aaron and 2 of his cousins were very taken with it. I however, was missing last year. I am not saying the library was better, but the staff were. I "think" and it's purely speculation, that last year the staff were actors. They got in character and stayed in character. It showed. It was infectious. There was a passport and each "character" you met stamped it. They were all wonderful. The best of course being Mrs Christmas. The team this year, would chat amongst themselves, whenever not dealing directly with a child, and it showed. Don't get me wrong, the kids did not at all notice but I did and it made me a little sad. I hate when teams do it in retail and in a Santa setting it is even worse.

Actually I have just remembered there is a bit where you get to throw snowballs through holes in snowmen. Aaron and his cousins LOVED this and I think we had two fabulous staff members (elves?) helping us. That was definitely a highlight, but I'd nearly forgotten it. Spend a few minutes there, it is GREAT - don't think I got a photo though as I was too busy watching how WELL Aaron was doing!

Just reviewed my pics having already published this post, and I did capture the snowballs, just that it was on VIDEO rather than pictures. Just QUICKLY uploaded it to You Tube look:

I do love how the team take a photo for you, with your own camera, on Santa's Sleigh. At least this meant I only spent 29 pounds (gulps) on Santa photos and did not have to buy these too:

This particular scene was incredibly beautiful:

But what really took my breath away was this clock. It gave me a lump in my throat.

Upon exiting the "grotto" you find yourself in a very busy Disney department, and it doesn't mean you are in Toy Kingdom (Harrods' toy department) - no you are on the 4th floor and toy kingdom is on the 3rd floor as Santa went to great lengths to explain to me *le sigh*.

It is "such" a Disney Department that you can't help but notice The Disney Café By Harrods you walk passed to get to Santa's Grotto. I think there is some sort of deal where you go there and see Santa as a combined thing, but I did the normal ten pounds deal like last year, that you only get if you have a Harrods Rewards Card. Santa appointments sold out back in September. I was incredibly lucky to secure one. Twitter helped.

So yeah you are spat out into a Disney Department and the two highlights of that are (1) the mirror, which you wave wands at, and it interacts with you (DO NOT MISS IT) and (2) the tree with Disney ornaments on (see below) which are exactly 10 pounds, so you can spend the 10 pounds cashback that goes on your Harrods Rewards Card when you book Santa (which effectively refunds in "goods", what you paid to book him).

Above you can see the cute drawstring bag that each child who visits Santa gets. They're not great quality but adorable nonetheless.

You get a HUGE chocolate coin each (well the children do but Aaron didn't like the taste of it - and he ADORES chocolate - so let me eat his). Stupid me, before I hoovered it up I did not take a photo. But it is very large, very gold and very souvenir like. Each child also gets a small book each, which again, I haven't photographed, and we haven't looked at since. Very unlike last year where I took a snap of each and every thing we got. As you can see by Aaron, they each get a silly cardboard hat to wear. As you can also see, none of the older children wear them. Aaron wore his throughout though, so perfect for a 4 year old but not so much for a 6 year old. As you can also see in the pic above, the staff wore a pinny, which no doubt was meant to make them look as if they worked in Santa's worskhop. They're inspired in that they're in Harrods' colours, so seeing them can't fail but remind you as to where you are, BUT they are NOT at all festive, so if someone said that in a meeting, maybe back in July, then hey, I hear ya! I agree with ya! 2015 speak louder ha ha!

I haven't really spoken yet about the man himself, and that is because doing so makes me sad. He was so patient, and SO great. He spent a long time with us. You can see from the photos, that he even suggested Aaron move, as he was on the end on his own (his smiles in the photos show he didn't mind that though). He was great BUT he spoiled it at the very end.

You see, on the back of the door, to enter his Grotto, there are coat hooks. As we got down our many bags, coats and what not, at the END of our visit, he said THREE TIMES that we should not forget to visit Toy Kingdom, on the third floor, on our way out. Now this on its own might not sound very bad (although it IS) but this is added to the fact, that when he asked each child what they wanted, when Aaron said "a robot" he'd said "we have lots of them on the 3rd floor" followed by something about Mum having a look with a glance over at me. I pretended not to hear it, and hoped/prayed that Aaron wouldn't expect his Santa's gift on 27th November right there and then, bought by yours truly.

Anyway, coming out in the Disney section and playing with that interactive mirror for about 30 minutes took Aaron's mind off it, but I was left with a very heavy heart that Santa had turned into a SALESMAN. You see I go there for the magic tooooooooooooo. I spent about 6 hours on my Harrods' Santa post last year. I think I even did it on the same day, such was my excitement. The delay this year is because of that heaviness he left me with. PLUS he said it to the wrong people, as the reason Aaron wanted to go, is because he adores Toy Kingdom. Santa was singing to the choir. We did NOT need to be told to go there. In fact I have been telling everyone who wants to listen (looks at The Boy and Me) that they should GO to THE TOY KINGDOM instead of Hamleys as Hamleys is MURDER at this time of year. Good news though: Laura from Mummy's Zone saw Santa same day as me, an hour later (me 16:30 and her 17:30) and Santa had had his medication by then was no longer a Salesman. She loved him and had a positive experience. So clearly, people had watched footfall, and saw people getting in the lift and going home, and perhaps had radioed Santa, and asked him to give everyone a nudge in the right direction. Clearly it didn't sit well in his script and an hour later (or earlier) he'd stopped doing it. I am writing all of this, so that they ensure he continues to stop doing it. It's not right AND, my memory like an elephant boy, said to me the NEXT day, "Mummy you never bought me a robot in Toy Kingdom even though Santa told you to", to which I said "silly Santa, he knows he's bringing it down the chimney for it to be under the tree on Christmas Day".

Laura Mummy's Zone's Harrods' Santa's Grotto review is here and clearly shows what a lovely visit they have. I bumped into them both before and after and they clearly loved the experience.

Yes, it might mean it wasn't bought in Harrods, but hey Harrods, don't use Santa as the fall guy. He was doing very well up until that point and was terribly attentive and lovely. He did tell us that his assistant was there to take photos, and was therefore "more important than an elf" which also didn't sit well with me BUT it fitted with his script, when he asked her "what are the noisy elves up to?" when we could hear real giddiness in the corridor.

On to the photos. As you exit Santa's grotto you are given a wristband and you take it to the till to get photos.

I DO NOT LIKE the packages that are on offer this year AT ALL, and much prefer the deal I got last year. The frames are the same exquisite design, but instead of the BEAUTIFUL red velvet, they are merely blue cardboard, which the cashier tried to convince me was slightly velvety till I told him to get real. I spent 29 pounds on the photos, and I will be very honest: I resented it a little. I spent 28 pounds on photos last year, and my 2013 Harrods Santa's Grotto review had five thousand views. I thought they might thank me by making the photos complimentary this year, but no such luck :-( I got 3 photos and luckily they were allowed to be different, which can't be said of all the packages. They should take a leaf out of Westfield Stratford's book, as I prefer their photo offers. Yes, we went to that Santa too, the next day in fact, and I will review that here too, but perhaps not tonight, as I need to sleep.

These are our Harrods' Santa photos:

We saw Santa @Harrods last week. Was extremely magical right up to him telling us to visit the 3rd floor on way out pic.twitter.com/aG8PFvCVdU
— Liska (@NewMumOnline) December 4, 2014

The one far left was taken last, when Santa lovingly suggested that Aaron move and sit with the rest of us. But he was loving the experience so much that he was smiling in the other photos too!

What you SHOULD go to on the 3rd floor, to Toy Kingdom for, is this photo booth which is entirely free. The lady who runs it is incredible and even gave us THREE copies of the photos so that the cousins could have one each. That made us OVER THE MOON.

I will be back to write about more Santas in the coming days :-)

Santa Number 2 - Westfield Stratford City

This was our Santa experience at Westfield Stratford City, only the VERY NEXT DAY (28th November).  Watch the video below to the end to see which we preferred ;-)

Westfield Stratford City is extremely festive and we loved our time there despite it being Black Friday on the day of our visit:

I adored the Grotto, in a purpose built building just outside the Great Eastern Market on the Lower Ground Floor. Start to finish I had tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. Very special experience that lasts 40-50 minutes. I love the photo packages too. We bought a Christmas bauble with our Santa pic inside - beautiful.

Totally magical. Best #Santa #SantasGrotto at @westfieldstrat

A photo posted by Liska (@newmumonline) on Nov 11, 2014 at 10:15am PST

Next up we saw Santa number 3 at Bristol Zoo at Night

Santa was fab, but what blows you away is all of the animals done in lights. Really truly magical:

Aaron loved his visit with +Bristol Zoo Gardens 's Santa and told him that his favourite book is Dog on Stilts and that he would like Santa to bring him a ROBOT for Christmas. He even showed Santa how the robot should walk:

It is very festive in there, the Elf is lovely, all gifts are age appropriate and individually wrapped. The area you wait in to see Santa, is all beautifully decorated and all by Zoo volunteers, who also spent TWO WEEKS wrapping all of Santa's gifts.

The Elf asks you your child's age and name, and writes it on a gift tag, which she places on the appropriate gift she has chosen. She passes it to Santa, as you go behind the curtain to meet him. Aaron wasn't watching during this whole process.... but when we got to the bus stop he was able to tell me in great detail, how the Elf was great, as she had chosen his gift, labelled it, and passed it to Santa. He even imitated her, and did it in even more of a dramatic secretive way, than the discreet way she had done. SUCH a comedian. But he LOVED her, for giving Santa a FIRE ENGINE, which he has played with constantly since. It was great actually as we have a few Elves. Two from the Tiger shop and two from Card Factory, so her working in that way, was able to add to my stories about Elves to Aaron. Santa can't do it all by himself can he! No! Love Elves (just not the expensive Elf on the Shelf one!).

Children can meet Santa in his Bristol Zoo enchanted Santa's Grotto, which is open every weekend from 29th November until Christmas, from 11am – 3.30pm and includes a gift from Santa.

Sustainable, locally-sourced Christmas trees are now on sale in the Zoo’s West car park, on College Road until Christmas eve, subject to availability.

The magic really begins when Santa’s reindeer fly in from Monday 1^st December. 

Guests will be able to get up-close to and feed four of Rudolph’s friends:

• Rudolfina
• Snowflake
• Twinkle and 
• Dewdrop

everyday until 5^th January from 10am to 3pm (excluding Christmas Day when the Zoo is closed).

The Zoo is also offering three magical evenings of festive frolics at its Enchanted Christmas events from

 18^th - 20^th December

Plus a special members’ only evening on:

Wednesday 17^th  December.

Gates open at 4.30pm and the event finishes at 8pm every evening.

Guests will be able to sing along with the choirs both on stage and around the site and marvel at the magical light show, Christmas stilt walkers and entertainers. A compere will also be on stage to play some festive games.  

Bristol Zoo Gardens is a conservation and education charity and relies on the generous support of the public not only to fund its important work in the Zoo, but also its vital conservation and research projects spanning five continents.

Disclosure: we were guests of Westfield Stratford and Bristol Zoo, but I was a normal paying customer at Harrods.

Ox Pasture Hall Hotel Scarborough Review November 2014

Have you ever travelled many hours to get somewhere? When you arrive, you kind of flop, like a Marathon runner reaching a finish line. This is how it was when we arrived to see the very welcome sight above. 

We set off at 07:30 in the dim light of the sun trying to rise, and arrived at Ox Pasture Hall Hotel at 14:45 as the sun was about to set. I don't know was it a particularly dark afternoon or if the evenings are closing in quicker than I had realised (I normally cycle Aaron home from school before dark, even when we're delayed), but it was dusky enough that the outside lights were on, and gave the building a glow, that said come inside, you've *finally* arrived safe and warm.

We were kindly shown the way to our suite, as we had a lot of luggage, so we were taken round the perimeter of the building to the courtyard, which would be our home for 24 hours (actually my tired body wishes it was 24 hours it was in actual fact more like 20). With hindsight, we all wanted to flop, but the adrenaline that sustained me through the journey (we had several changes, at Tottenham Hale, at Kings Cross, at East Midlands Parkway, at York, and then finally jumping in a taxi at Scarborough station) had to keep pumping, so that I could keep my boys alert and awake for "high tea" at 15:30. 

Bless my loyal Aaron, he lay on the bed watching TV and fought sleep. Such was his promise to come to tea, he stayed awake for 45 full minutes. I jumped in the shower, so that I'd be fresh to present myself at tea.

So despite arriving here (below) I couldn't settle too much, as it was literally "tea time" so I looked over my shoulder at this as we were on the move once again:

The second Aaron arrived at our table, he slept (he'd reached his finish line). He's wearing a jacket, as we took the same outdoor route back to the main building as that was the way we knew, having been shown, for ease with our luggage, on arrival. His sleeping was unfortunate, as he'd been hungry beforehand, and I said "wait for lunch" so now I had the parent guilt, that my boy was sleeping on an empty tummy, something I never ordinarily let him do, but lesson learned.

The tea, would be BLISSFUL if you were local and popping in for "afternoon tea" even more so, if you had it by the open fire - we were at the table seating next to the bar but the sofas near the fire would have been a better spot to chill and unwind after travelling all day - Aaron could have stretched out there too. It would also be a warming wholesome welcome after a long journey, had you travelled by car, but given our tiring journey, I think all we wanted to do was hop into bed, and after tea, that is exactly what my two "boys" did. 

I was offered a pot of tea or coffee and opted for the latter. I was asked whether I would like milk or cream and opted for milk. Once I saw the jug of cream was already next to me, I said "no that will do fine" and I am glad I did, as cream takes the bitterness of coffee away and makes it taste fabulous (so much so that I missed it at breakfast). Only disappointment was, originally my tea was booked for 14:30. At the outset of our journey I realised this time would not be possible and changed it to 15:30 by phone, saying that I would ring from York if we were delayed further (which wasn't necessary). We didn't hesitate at any of our onward destinations, with 15:30 as our goal, arriving at 14:45, and then hi-tailing it to the main building for the alloted 15:30. The coffee did arrive immediately upon being seated but I chased the pastries at 15:53, as I was anxious that my coffee was now cold. I subsequently asked for a second pot of coffee as I knew I wouldn't fully enjoy the experience otherwise. I later realised that the reason it takes a while is because the scones are baked to order, which was appreciated as warm scones with clotted cream and jam are one of the finest things on God's Earth in this green and pleasant land. A real Yorkshire Cream Tea!

My adrenaline wouldn't allow me to sleep or relax, so I investigated our suite instead, and couldn't resist the bath. I'd read about it in all of the reviews, so had duly packed a big bottle of bubble bath (Wilko's finest).

Complimentary toiletries were in that cute ornamental bath above, but I had packed everything but the kitchen sink (hence our tiredness at lugging it all hundreds of miles) - yes I needed every ml of that HUGE bath. I did that decadent thing of adding more hot water when it went cold too.

Despite over-packing I did not have a good book with me; nor did I have a kindle, so I hopped out and grabbed a Saturday paper with supplements (that I'd rescued from our carriage on the train), and got up to speed with the world, as the water washed/soothed away my aches and pains.

If you are reading this, about to go there, have the good sense to grab one of the fluffy robes from the wardrobe and have it near the bath - you'll find out why I in particular needed it, if you read on.

I'd notified reception, by phone (dial "0") that sleeping Aaron was as hot as a radiator, running a temperature (this only happened in bed, after tea), so twice during my bath, the door knocked; it was the Manageress who is also the Event Manager for Weddings (they have 100 a year). The first knock, to ask if I did indeed want Calpol, with the offer to procure it for us. The second, to deliver it. SO INCREDIBLY kind of them. The sort of service you get in a posh hotel with a Concierge Desk. When he was younger it was ALWAYS in the nappy bag, but he is rarely ill now, so I'd left home without it. It worked! So it was hugely appreciated! Given that we'd travelled by coach and train, we didn't have a car in the carpark to nip out and get some ourselves. Daddy wanted not just a break, but a break from driving. It would have worked well, had we not over-packed, but I'd think twice before covering that many hundreds of miles again, unless it was on a plane LOL!

My Sanctuary!

I loved that the bathroom had a shower and bath. I loved that the shower was "wet room" style, that the bath was so incredibly large, and that we had his and her's wash hand basins. I also adored the tiled marble look throughout, but if you travel with little one(s) don't let them run in there when the floor is wet. It is incredibly slippery. Having said that, the 3 radiators in the suite are so incredibly powerful that the floor dries incredibly quickly.

The sofa bed was not made up for Aaron upon arrival, but I am glad as it meant I got to see the suite as intended, and not looking like we've got guests over. As we're still co-sleeping I never did make it up so it wasn't a problem, but if you are going to arrive at bedtime with a tired child (or two), it might be worth checking that it's been made up.

Also, when we were given menus for dinner, we were given 3: two adult ones and a Wine Menu. I felt bad enough that we were having a la carte food brought to our room (due to Aaron's high temperature) so I popped over myself to the main building look at the Children's Menu and place his order. I wanted to go anyway to do a couple of pics on Instagram, given the lack of Wifi in our suite. 

While in the main building, I ended up staying there to have a beer and read local papers and magazines in front of the fire. I was glad, as it meant I had Wifi, which does not work down in the suites, despite there being a booster right outside our door. For 90% of the time we were there neither of us had phone reception either, to the degree that one time when my husband's phone did ring in our suite, it gave him such a fright LOL.

I lingered in the lounge to try and post a couple of Instagram pics. I felt duty bound to share my stunning surroundings, given I was there on review purposes.

A beer A newspaper An open fire. I might just be knocking on heaven's door #oxpasture

A photo posted by Liska (@newmumonline) on Nov 11, 2014 at 11:49am PST

Beautiful Ox Pasture Hall #oxpasture #HighTea #AfternoonTea

A photo posted by Liska (@newmumonline) on Nov 11, 2014 at 11:48am PST

What I loved about my time by the fire was reading Living North which made me feel very festive and like I was indeed somewhere special UP NORTH:

Finally it was time to go back to the room and wake my boys so we'd be presentable for our "room service" at 21:15. When I got there, they were awake and had been wondering where I was, and couldn't ring me due to the limited mobile coverage.

I moved all of our luggage and bits and bobs (we do so like to spread out) so that the room would be presentable for the courses of dinner that would come.

Ox Pasture is full of beautiful doorways:

On the left is the external doorway I would walk through from our suite to reception; the last corner I would turn to get to the main entrance - beautiful huh? 

On the right is the double doorway to the master bedroom in the suite, which showcases the bed as you walk in, to give that wow effect! I was glad of the darkness; it meant we had an excuse to shut the curtains for some privacy LOL! Who wants nets to spoil that room-side view though!

So you want to know about dinner right? Ox Pasture Hall is renowned for its food! We might not have got the luxury of sitting in their restaurant (but we experienced that at breakfast anyhow) but we did get waitress service (sorry guys). The same Manageress who sourced our Calpol, delivered our food under silver covers, with Connor, who is just so lovely.

Connor asked if Aaron would like a glass of squash. I explained we still had the one from "tea" and he said he'd get him a fresh one. That was spot on as Aaron loved that his new one was cold. Later on delivering subsequent courses of our meal, he asked if Aaron might like a glass of milk. Such an incredibly thoughtful lad; thoughtfulness that took my mind off the guilt of having our meal delivered to our room (not food that is on the Room Service menu either). The small dinner you see above is the Cod, mine is the Beef. Yes Daddy did have dinner envy ha ha! But the beef was SO huge he got to finish it anyway. Aaron's cheese on toast is a starter from the children's menu, which is on the most heavenly bread I have EVER tasted!

These were the adult menus we chose dinner from:

The sleep after Afternoon Tea, and a spot of dinner, saw Aaron's radiant smile return. My Tia Maria coffee went down a treat too:

I finally got Aaron to sleep (which took quite some time given that he'd spent a long afternoon and early evening sleeping) but sleep he eventually did, and I enjoyed my well deserved wine with the hubby:

The grounds of Ox Pasture Hall are really rather lovely:

We just got a brief chance to enjoy Ox Pasture Hall's beautiful grounds quickly after breakfast and prior to tidying our room to check-out. Luckily we were allowed to extend our check-out from 11:00 to 11:30, which was much needed as breakfast finishes at 10 and we hadn't arrived in the restaurant long before. That still involved an 08:30 rise for the three of us to ensure we were all washed and dressed. I think midday would be a more appropriate checkout time, to allow for a leisurely morning.

Actually I think that pic of Aaron and I deserves to be full size :-) great to have Daddy with us to take it.

On to breakfast. By this point I was really missing my cappuccinos and lattes, so if they don't already, I would suggest that Ox Pasture invests in a barista style coffee machine, as I have noticed other reviewers also missing coffee. The coffee with breakfast was too bitter (without the cream of the day before).

The cooked breakfast was incredible, with divine poached eggs and the best bacon, black pudding and sausages I have ever tasted. That's saying something considering how good they are when I go to Ireland, which I normally do often (apart from 2014). However, you'll see in the photos that our sausages were not fully browned (didn't stop us eating them though), although when I later asked for one for Aaron it was PERFECT.

Ox Pasture Hall is a full 10 minute drive from Scarborough Train Station. It cost us 8 pounds each way in a taxi and we used 5 Star Taxi-Cabs (they even say pets welcome on their card, which is the same philosophy as the hotel!) They are on (area code) 815-815 or (area code) 810-810. I can't find them online though.

To book Ox Pasture Hall, it is best to do so directly. Actually when sourcing that link, I just looked at the booking page for booking a suite and the photos show fresh flowers and a bowl of fruit in the room. We had neither of those, so if you are a gentleman booking for a romantic weekend to impress the lady, then check those come as standard and are not optional extras.

Ox Pasture Hall is known locally as THE place to get married. It's a fabulous wedding venue with LOTS of nooks and scenery that make the perfect photo opportunity! You can't fail to notice the above at reception and when I was checking out a to-be Bride was there booking rooms for the days before and after her wedding. A lovely personal touch was that the Manageress let her go and pick the rooms, as each room is so incredibly unique. I thought that was lovely, and would really have appreciated the same when I got married. Given that we've been married 13 years our honeymoon suite was so dated compared to what is the norm now in hotels. I don't think we even had a TV or maybe I just didn't have time to watch it ;-)

This is my video tour of our room and some of the grounds:


I would recommend Ox Pasture Hall for a North Yorkshire break. I'd love to see it in Summer and go to the beach it is well known for. In fact, the break would have been just perfect as it was, with or without the beach, if it was for two-nights. One night would have been fine, had we not covered so much ground. No wonder we arrive tired, we covered a lot of miles:

We were provided with afternoon tea, dinner, our stay and breakfast, for the purposes of an honest review.

The First Day of Spring Perhaps?

Ordinarily we get our first warm, nice day in March....... last year it was more like June/July (we didn't have a Spring in 2013), BUT this year, yesterday was like Spring and boy did we enjoy it!!!

Aaron could feel the sun streaming into the house, making our sitting room like a sun trap, so what did he do? He became cat-like and decided to sun bathe! LOL!

He wasn't even doing it for attention - he didn't care whether I was looking or not, he genuinely wanted to enjoy the warmth and the "rays"!  Bless him!

The remarkable bit is not the sun-bathing itself, but rather the fact that he climbed to the highest point of the sofa to do so, and balanced himself there, right in the best sun-spot! My cat sun son!

So we weren't going to waste a day like that. So me, my BFF, Aaron and his BFF headed off to enjoy the SUN-day.

Bye for now, Liska & Aaron xx