We had 27 entries for the competition and which raised £245 for the Helen Rollason Cancer Charity. The standard of entries were superb and the judges ( Danielle and Bob Longley) found choosing a winner very difficult. The winners are as follows:
Traditional
1st Sara
2nd Chelsea Dave
3rd Neal (Kwak)
Novelty
1st Nick White Wild Boar and smoked chilli
2nd Val Shrimpton Full English breakfast
3rd Julie Roberts Carribean
Overall winner with “Breed of Breeds” is Nick White with his Wild Boar and Smoked Chilli.
Congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone for making it a great afternoon
This will be definitely be appearing on the calendar every year and I’m sure will grow and grow. Rob will be working on the rules for next year.
We started our trip in Barr – where the Harvest was being celebrated with a festival. On our arrival we found the flea market well under way with people selling a multitude of weird and wonderful items. Rob managed to purchase an enamel sign for the pub – this expresses his love for both the pub and his football team – I’m sure I don’t need to tell anyone who the team are.
We stayed in a Chateau for the first 2 nights and unfortunately this didn’t rate very high with Rob nicknaming the owner ‘’Les Miserables’’ – we were not made to feel welcome, in fact quite the opposite with a lecture on arrival of what we could and couldn’t do. It was a shame as the Chateau had a real ‘’wow’’ when first seeing it. Never mind it certainly never affected our stay in Barr – with the whole town celebrating with processions through the streets and some fantastic bands. The happy band was the best –‘’Tresner Moschtgugeler’’ – if you having a party this is the band to invite.
We then moved on to Beblenheim – a very small village to the south of the Route de Vins. We stayed at a ‘’Beirstub’’ where the welcome was wonderful. The place had a wood burning stove and were producing the local specialty ‘’Tarte Flambee’’ which can be savoury or sweet. Good job they didn’t understand English or Rob would have been giving them ideas on creating their own Pizzas. If you every stay in Beblenheim the restaurant located here is wonderful ‘’ Auberge Le Bouc Bleu’’. French cuisine at it’s best and you would never expect this level of food excellence in such a small town.
We visited Ribeauville and managed to find a Belgium Beer Café – a great place to watch the world go by.
In Aslace, beer and wine live very happily side by side! After all this is the only region of France where both beer and wine are consumed and produced. Traditionally beer was produced in the monasteries then independent breweries started up and brewing became an official trade in Strasbourg in 1268. In the mid 19th Century specialised breweries took over from the small family businesses and introduced major innovations. Today in Alsace five breweries ensure 50% of French production (Fischer, Heineken, Karlsbrau, Kronenbourg and Meteor). We managed to visit one of the micro breweries which is situated in Sain Pierre.
The Alsace wines are as follows:
Gewurztraminer Fruity Floral
Muscat d’Alsace Dry – highly aromatic
Pinot Blanc Gentle delicate (my favourite)
Pinot Gris Full bodied
Pinot Noir Fruity taste (reminiscent of cherries)
Reisling Dry delicately fruity (Rob’s favourite)
Cremant d’Alasace Sparkling …………this went down well ……………..
On the way home we managed to visit Achouffe in Belgium and we toasted a very dear friend, Norman. While we were away on holiday Norman passed away. We will be celebrating his ‘’life’’ over the next week or so with the many people that he loved. He was a true ‘’Prince’’ character and will be missed very, very much.
Our recent trip to Belgium – August 2009
It was great to be back in West Flanders again – visiting friends and finding new locations to share with everyone. Having a 5 day trip made this into more of a holiday than the quick visit that we usually make over a weekend.
Our first visit was to the Snook Brewery museum – a fascinating insight into the brewing world of Belgium with a small and a welcoming bar attached. Even though the museum was shut when we arrived – we were allowed to go around on our own exiting through the kitchen of the bar – a refreshing world away from the British strangle hold of ‘’health and safety’’.
We arrived at Guy and Bea’s bed and breakfast in Poperinge early afternoon. Rob usually stayed with them when they run the Palace Hotel – they decided to retire but recently decided to open up part of their lovely home to a Bed and Breakfast. The hospitality was second to none with a wonderful breakfast laid on and lots of tales about local life. You can find the link to their website on our home page.
On Friday we travelled by local transport taking the train into Kortrijk. We found ‘’the Beguinage’’ which consists of 40 small houses that date back the the 17th century. Female followers of a purer more mystical form of religion were allowed to live in these houses – having similar vows to nuns. The area had not been touched for many years in some places and had a very calm feel to it. Well worth a visit. Heading off for lunch we found the brasserie t’Mouterijtje – Rob was given some napkin holders and details of the ‘’local cash and carry’’ which I’m sure he will be visiting in the next couple of weeks. We then carried on to Ypres and visited the Menin Gate Memorial for the Last post. In the First World War tens of thousands of men took this main road to the front line and lost their lives – looking at the many names printed on this memorial will take hours and will leave a lasting impression.
One of the many places to see in Poperinge is Talbot House which has a story to tell about the many men that past through the doors during the First World War. Well worth a visit.
On the Saturday we visited De Kauwackers bar – up in the hills. They have a large beer range which pleased us all – especially as we found the last remaining bottles of Vondel. At 8.5% this led to a ‘’giggly’’ afternoon. Fantastic food yet again and the owner was very attentive telling us of all his plans. Three years ago he planted a vineyard which should be ready in another three years. I’m looking forward to going back and seeing the progress.
Onto Hetlabyrint in Kemmel which has every traditional bar games. Playing ‘’life size’’ draughts in the garden with everyone giving their advice was memorable – took a while to remember how to play (how sad is that) !!! The shop next door had many of these games for sale – look out in the Prince for these.
On the Sunday we visited an Artiesten Markt – more like a craft fair with some interesting pottery being made. We then fulfilled a life time promise of visiting ‘’Wallys Farm’’. Wally does a very good imitation of Elvis……..with many French crossing the border to see him ………….for some reason no Belgiums!!!! A good laugh was had by all.
Just down the road to Guy and Beas is a bar called ‘’’the Mystery’’ – another wonderful bar full of traditional games and again a very hospitable owner who took the time to explain many of the games and we again enjoyed the afternoon.
The last day we visited the beach – De Panne – a beautiful sunny day helped explain why a large proportion of shop/bar owners were on holiday with the establishments well and truly closed for 2 weeks. The beach stretches for miles and we enjoyed watching people flying kites and the children hiring trikes to ride along the front. We found a kitchen shop which we lost Rob in for a while as he made some purchases for the kitchen at the Prince.
I’m sure Rob will fill in the many gaps that I have missed ….. when you next visit us at the Prince – I hope you enjoyed reading about our recent trip.
Rob’s surprise visit – if you’re not sure who they are I’m sure Rob will love to tell you.
- Rob’s surprise visit