www.pryordurkin.com

We are both completely hooked on Coach Trip, the reality TV programme from Channel Four.  When I get home from working away during the week, we both sit down to watch back to back all the episodes that have been aired since last time.  The basis of this programme centres on a bunch of strangers joining a coach trip as it spends 50 days travelling around Europe.  As the trip play out, they each vote for who they would like to evict from the coach.

This is simply brilliant and addictive TV for people watchers like us.  You are able to watch how complete strangers interact with each, and how the smallest of issues can result in a contestant being voted off.  The tour guide called Brendan is a genius.  He is as camp as christmas and smart enough to handle all manner of people who take part.  If you haven’t seen it, give it a go. You will be hooked.

Alderley Edge is famous for the number of footballers who live here and work in nearby Manchester.  Last Tuesday evening I dined at the Gusto Restaurant and Bar which is on the main London road that runs through Alderley Edge.  With two colleagues I arrived at 8pm and despite booking a table we had to wait in the busy bar area.  This was no great inconvenience because the eye candy on offer and the people watching opportunities available could have entertained me for hours.  This large open building is very stylish indeed and I could imaging that at weekends, would quickly fill with the beautiful people who surround Alderley Edge.  As it was tonight, there were a few of them in already and judging by the cars parked outside, some of them most have had a bob or two.

We eventually took our table (nicely set with linen napkins – I was happy) and ordered up our food.  I went for a chicken on small skewers starter wrapped in bacon and melted mozzarella cheese. It was small and disappointing on taste.  It had little by way of flavour and I hoped for better with my main, which was a fillet steak served up with mushrooms on a bed of spinach.  The flavour of the steak itself was lost among the mushroom sauce and again I was slightly disappointed with my lot.  Thankfully my colleagues were good company and the eye candy around me, meant I was still amused by the whole experience.

In summary, don’t go here for fine food, but do go, if you want to mingle with fine people.

Pryordurking rating 3 stars.

Last Saturday we stopped at Piccolino Italian Restaurant at 18 Bridge Street in York for a late lunch.  The place was quiet when we arrived and despite this we were shown to a small ‘just big enough for two’ table.

The table was however well laid out and I was pleased to note that it came with linen napkins.  After ordering up a couple of Peroni beers (£3 each), we chose our food.  I opted for the Pizza Pollo Parmigiano at £10, while Paul went for the Tagliatelle Bolognese at £9.50.  As a side I ordered up the Rocket Parmesan at £3.75.

As we sat waiting for our food we were able to watch the good looking guys in the open plan kitchen cooking up the various dishes that had been ordered by us and other customers.  The kitchen was spotless and along with the restaurant this place certainly seemed to warrant it’s five star cleanliness rating that is proudly displayed near the entrance.

After a suitable wait our food arrived and we were both very pleased with what turned up .  My pizza was excellent.  I especially like very thin pizzas and this one must have been one of the thinnest I have ever come across.  It was wafer crisp thin and cracked as I broke into it.  In the name of research I also tried some of Paul’s bolognese and this also was very nice with good flavour, seasoning and fresh made pasta.

With the mains being such a success we decided to give the desert menu a try.  I opted for the cheesecake while Paul went for the Semifreddo a combination of hot chocolate spooned over Italian Ice Cream.  I was not impressed with my cheesecake (£6.45) but we both thought the Semifreddo (£6.15) was simply delicious.  We could easily have ordered it up again, were it not for keeping an eye on our figures!

Finishing off with two Lilly Espressos at £4.10, it was indeed a very nice lunch.

Pryordurkin rating 4 stars.

I made a return visit to the Holiday Inn on Carburton Street in London on Thursday and discovered little had changed.  The same tip tray sat on the bar, even though they add a service charge to every order.  The rooms looked the same in terms of layout and size, only this time they looked even more tired. The air conditioning chugged away with little effect but thankfully I could actually open the windows on my inner courtyard room.  I checked out the next day, still wondering how they can charge £140 per night for such a basic hotel.

Original Post. 4th Aug 2008. Checking in was fairly straight forward but there was no warmth or ‘make you feel at home’ welcome from the trainee staff on reception. The much heralded Priority Club loyalty scheme was not much in evidence either. Being a platinum member doesn’t account for much it seems. A complimentary newspaper was never offered let alone a sniff of the room upgrade they constantly promote in the priority club literature.

I headed off to my room in the concrete square that is the Holiday Inn Regents-Park. The room was OK and looked like any other Holiday Inn room. Closing the curtains on the building site outside, you could be almost anywhere in the UK.

The TV worked and the air conditioning chugged away. The selection of pillows was plentiful and the room was functional and clean although it amazed me just how small one bathroom can be while still being functional.

Ordering room service I recalled the quality of the food served at the Radisson Edwardian Grafton Hotel and hoped this would be of a similar nature. Within half an hour I was to be disappointed. The food was crap.  What I don’t understand is on top of the inflated meal prices they also add a ‘Tray Charge’ of £2.50 onto your bill.  The room service waiter was friendly enough though and I felt a momentary pang of guilt as I said goodnight without tipping.

The bed is comfortable and I hope a reasonable night sleep lies ahead.

I’m not holding out much for breakfast though as it will no doubt be the same quality as my room served food.

Score: 3 Stars.

Last night was like any other Wednesday night, except for one thing.  I was at home, rather than stuck in a Manchester Airport hotel.  It all started quite well.  Paul actually cooked dinner; we settled in front of the television to dine on it and when finished I decided to do a little cleaning up.  Feeling happy in myself I was quite surprised by what came over me next….

I entered the garage as I usually do, letting the door bang behind me.  I was feeling fine….

I approached the utility section where both our washing machine and dryer happily chug away (normally when I’m at home).

I picked up the basket from the top of the machine and bent down to kneel on the floor, so I could take out some clothes from the dryer.  As I bent down, I rested my arms on the side of the basket to take my … err… weight.  (Well I am getting on a bit),   and SNAP,  the ends of the basket gave way and blood started gushing from my right hand wrist…..

Not being one to panic ( I saw my life flash before my eyes — it took a couple of seconds because I am still so young), I managed to pick myself up and stagger into the lounge where Paul was giving Tia a big cuddle .

Paul calmly looked up and said “It’s only a scratch… get over it”

On Wednesday evening I went along to the Frozen Mop on Faulkners Lane in Mobberley near Knutsford.  This is about 15 minutes drive away from the Marriott Hotel at Manchester Airport where I was staying with some colleagues.

We arrived at around 8pm and were shown to our table by the waitress who made no attempt to take our coats.  The restaurant and bar areas are very large and extend from one end of the building to the other (see photograph).  Despite the place being quiet, it had a nice atmosphere (at first) and we quickly settled in for a quiet (I wish) relaxing meal.

The first thing that caught my attention was the paper napkin, my glass, my side dish and my cutlery all placed on the right hand side of where I sat.  Odd I thought, but it was the paper napkin I focussed my dislike on.  Anyway, I picked up the large menu card and ordered up a Cream of Mushroom Soup to start with and when it came, I was immediately convinced that it was Covent Garden Mushroom Soup, something I buy quite regularly at home.  The bowl and serving was huge and despite my knowing Mushroom Soup is relatively low in Calories, I decided not to try and finish the whole thing, given I still had my main meal to come.  I had opted for the Spit Roast Chicken but need not have worried.  Thankfully the portion size was small so I would not blow my calorie counting budget for the day.  Although when the waitress served it up to me, she barked an order at me to move my side dish which I had (god forbid) moved back to the customary left of my setting.  Anyway I wasn’t convinced the chicken had actually been spit roasted; I could be wrong, but I would have said it had been prepared in a straight forward oven.  The chips that accompanied the meal were a major disappointment.  They were the frozen catering variety and a real let down.  If you are going to eat chips in my book, you should eat them freshly cut and cooked.  For a pub restaurant setting out to impress I was genuinely surprised by this and especially so, given they were not even hot.

During all of this, the kids in the far end of the bar were fantastically well controlled by their attentive parents but the two women sat to our right, in between temporary exits to smoke outside, increased the loudness of their voices as the night (and wine they were quaffing) moved on.  By the end they were extremely irritating, especially given most of the ‘talk’ was about shopping, holidays and other such materialistic things.

Before I left I noted a few other things that caught my attention, because by this point (to be fair) I was being picky.  The waitress serving our wine allowed the bottle to touch the glass, there were cobwebs on the ceiling and a couple of light bulbs were out across the restaurant.

Pryordurkin rating 3 stars.

Opening times are:
Monday to Sunday from 11am
Dining room from 12 noon, last food orders at 10pm
To book a table call 01565 873 234

With a bottle of Clos du Duc Chateauneuf du Pape we settled down to watch the BBC Your Country Needs You 2010 Eurovision Selection Contest on television tonight.  The programme aims to select the person or group who will represent old ‘Blighty’ in this years Euro-vision contest.

Well what can we say; it was awful.  We had to check the television listings on Sky to see if this was actually a karaoke competition with rejects from ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent.

Without exception, none of them could sing.  Even if I say it myself, my singing in the shower on a morning would beat this motley crowd of wannabes.

If I were you, I wouldn’t hold out much hope for the UK winning the Euro-vision Song Contest in 2010.

We went along to see Morecambe at York Theatre Royal last night and although as it turned out, it was not what I expected (don’t ask), we had a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Written by Tim Whitnall, Directed by Guy Masterson and acted brilliantly by Bob Golding it was the story of Morecambe as in Morecambe and Wise.  Bob Golding was masterful with his acting and impressions, so much so, that at the end of the performance he got a well deserved standing ovation from the people of York.

Well worth watching if you get a chance. Pryordurkin rating 5 stars.

We had both been thinking about buying an iPhone for some time, so last weekend when we were doing our usual thing, by wandering through York City centre, we stopped by the Orange mobile phone shop and made a couple of impulse purchases.  Paul’s existing mobile was already on the Orange network, so having bought his iPhone they transferred his number there and then.  I hadn’t had a personal mobile for a number of years, given my company provides one to me, but I also bought an iPhone and now have a personal number as well.

The more we get to know the iPhone and the Apps that are available to download the more we like it.  It has some great easy to use features and for me, I especially like the utility applications like National Rail, Wordpress, Highways Agency and Weather.  It also synchronises with Microsoft exchange for email, calendar and contact entries.

However the big disappointment which almost got me to the point of throwing the thing away was that it does not synchronise Microsoft Exchange Tasks and Microsoft Exchange Notes, both of which I use extensively. The Apps that are available like IMExchange, just don’t cut it for me, because they don’t actually synchronise your iPhone, they only act as an intermediary and I am not keen of having my data passed through a third party who i don’t know.

Having searched the web, I find I am not the only one who is at a loss to understand why Apple only allows part synchronisation with Exchange and I think Apple and Microsoft should get their heads together and put their customers first by allowing full synchronisation. I don’t know who is to blame for this massive flaw, but the more people who complain to Apple the better in my view.  Perhaps they and Microsoft will get their heads together and allowing Apple to release an upgrade to the iPhone giving full Microsoft Exchange synchronisation.

If you agree, let Apple know by sending them feedback here:  Apple iPhone Feedback Form.

On Wednesday gone, I spent the night at the Marriott Forest of Arden Hotel and Country Club near Birmingham.  This is a large sprawling hotel set in acres of beautiful Warwickshire countryside, yet only 15 minutes away from Birmingham Airport.  I arrived at around 5pm and was quickly checked in by a friendly receptionist.  I made my way up the two flights of stairs (there is a lift available) to my room which was large, clean and airy.  It had a huge queen size bed and a great flat screen TV.  If only I had the time to watch it.  I dropped my bags and then made my way to the main bar area near Oaks restaurant where I met some colleagues for a little ‘work’.

We were offered drinks by a small friendly waitress and having ordered it, my decaf latte soon turned up from the Costa concession that seems to be a regular feature of Marriott hotels these days.

We dined in the restaurant later that evening.  A large brightly decorated contemporary space, I was happy to discover linen napkins on the tables.  The food served up over the next two hours was very good by hotel standards and I was pleased with the way they cooked by Sirloin steak. Served up with ‘almost’ home cooked chips, it was seasoned perfectly and medium cooked as requested.  The service itself stood out.  The staff were very attentive and seemed almost put out, if you found yourself reaching for the water jug, to top up your glass.  They were friendly and professional to the point of being available, but not getting in the way of the conversation around the table.  I think most of  my colleagues were equally pleased as well.

Opting for a reasonably early night, I had a really good sleep.  The window in my room opened wide and the fresh freezing Warwickshire air filled was wonderful to breathe as I tucked myself under the white crisp duvet.

Breakfast was served up in the main restaurant and was very tempting.  A chef stood by waiting to cook your morning eggs just the way you liked them.  The decaf coffee I ordered up though was a bit of a disappointment.  It had little by way of taste.

Later that day, we made use of the conference facilities for a meeting and were well looked.  Coffee, Tea and cakes were on offer throughout and lunch was a freshly served buffet with hot and cold dishes.  The chocolate profiteroles in a glass were particular welcome by me but not my waist!

All in all a great hotel.  I just wish I had the time to explore more of its facilities which included a spacious spa, leisure centre and golf club.

Pryordurkin rating 4 stars.