The Pryordurkins

Posts Tagged ‘curtains’

After a weekend that took an unexpected and unfortunate turn for our friends who had originally planned to spend it with us, we woke this morning to find a very nice covering of Snow over much of the UK.  Listening to the excited BBC News presenters (makes a change from the credit crunch I suppose) you would think this was a completely new phenomenon.  However I can remember having to dig my car out of several feet of snow when I was a lad, not so many years ago.

With Priscilla taking ownership of the garage Paul was not best pleased at having to scrape down his car from the snow and ice that had covered it overnight, before taking her off to the garage for some minor repairs.  However the scenes in and around our home in York more than made up for the mild inconvenience.   The picture to the right was taken ‘out back of house’.

We did momentarily think while enjoying what is turning out to be a fantastic British winter, about Marg in Australia and the recent reports over here that they are enduring their hottest summer for many years.  So we thought we’d share a few winter pictures as a little light relief to all those down under.

As the evening sets in, we hear on the news that tonight we can expect another 20cm of snow, so while Paul prepares the evening meal, having taken a few pictures, I’ll now be busy closing all the curtains, turning up the heating and lighting a few candles for an evening in front of the box.

Of course, tommorow is where all the fun starts because I need to get to Reading by 2pm and Paul has ‘volunteered’ to take me to the train station for just after 8am.

We’ll see….

We like this shop in the centre of York.  It is quite traditional in style and while some might say it is old fashioned, we say it is based on customer service and quality.  The staff are friendly and attentive except for the odd weekend teenage member of staff but they are quite rare.  It has the usual range of departments from men’s through to women’s clothing, furniture, beds and bedding, curtains and kitchenware.  We especially like the card sections, as they sell very good quality greeting cards, many of which you will not find anywhere else.  They are also very competitively priced.  The clinique counter is also a favourite of ours and we regular stock up on the mens clinique three step products!

It has a couple of tea rooms, both of which seem popular with locals and tourists alike, but we have not got round to trying them ourselves just yet.

Browns have even got themselves onto TV recently with BBC News broadcasting from their shop floor this morning, covering the recent drop in VAT. Apparently Browns computer systems can’t cope with fractions so they have reduced all their prices by three percent which will be deducted at the till.

Rating: 3 Stars.

T: 01904 611166
F: 01904 636583

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.

Situated within the infamous Yumbo Centre, this restaurant for many many years was regarded as one of the best on the island serving quality food to men (and women) of a particular persuasion.  We arrived at around 7pm and were pleased to find they had a table free.  As it happens, they had several tables free, but we just assumed because it was early.  Anyway, the decoration befits the general style of the Yumbo Centre, with flashy lights, tacky signs and lots of swishy curtains.

We ordered up a bottle of wine (Marques de Riscal Sauvignon) and some food.

Lets just say the wine which was cheap and drinkable was the best thing about the whole experience.

My tomato and rocket soup was very salty and not in the least bit enjoyable.  Dusty went for the Chicken coated in Sesame seeds.  Yes it was a strange combination and frankly it tasted worse than it sounded.  Think cardboard coated in straw and you will start to get the idea.

Next came the mains.  I went for the special of day, a roast pork based something or other which is exactly what it turned out to be.  Along with some warmed up Pork (read the earlier review, it wasn´t the drink that made me bad, honest!) it was served with potato croquettes.  Yes potato croquettes.  If that were not bad enough, it was also accompanied by watery (previously frozen veg).  The sauce was some kind of sweet sickly affair, which even now, three days later makes me want to gag.

Dusty’s Fish dish was no better and I could see he was struggling to eat it.

So, although we decided not to do any reviews while on holiday, we just had to write about our experiences at this once well regarded restaurant.  It was absolutely horrendous and should be avoided at all costs.  The food was foul.

Score: 0 Stars. Avoid. Visited April 08.