The Pryordurkins

Posts Tagged ‘furniture’

I seem to be working at home more and more these days, so we (I) decided to turn the small single bedroom into an office.  Since we moved here two years ago, I don’t actually recall any of our guests having ever used this room, so it shouldn’t be too much of a loss.

Anyway, the nice men contracted by Furniture Online turned up as promised and installed the new desk and storage bookcase.  Having carried up the chair Paul assembled last night and pushed in the filing cabinets we had elsewhere in the house, the Small Home Office is now up and running.  With views out across the fields at the back of the house and the chair being very comfortable I should be able to resist watching day time TV while working at home.  The other (and to be honest this was the main ) reason for this is that I was starting to get aches and pains in my arms from typing on the laptop while it was balanced on my knees, so this should be better for my health as well.

Since moving to York early in 2007 we have become regular customers of Dean’s Garden Centre on Stockton Lane in Stockton-on-the-Forest near York.  It is a family run business with a second branch in Scarborough and is celebrating it’s 40th anniversary this year.  We have bought quite a few things from here over the couple of years since, including garden furniture, wood fencing, a large water fountain and of course lots of planting.  Having tried a number of other nurseries and garden centres around the area, including Homebase and BBQ, Paul always seems to think the plants from Deans are just that much better for quality.  Although they may be just a little more expensive, they in the end, prove to be better value by far.   Paul was particularly pleased to discover that in December 08, all Hardy plants are for sale with a straight 40% off the price and to celebrate their anniversary you also walk out with a free Ruby Rose.

The service over the time we have shopped here has always been friendly and professional.  When looking for advice or information they are happy to spend time talking to you.   The old guy who seems to work in the portacabin is an especially interesting character.  Worldly wise and canny with it.  A really nice man.

While Paul meanders around the outdoor planting area, I can usually be found trying to persuade him to join me in the on site ‘Brothy’ for tea and cake.  A cafe that serves up hot and cold snacks and fine looking cream cakes, which are clearly popular with the old dears of York.   Although not the best Cafe I have attended at a Garden Centre, it is certainly not one of the worst either and is worth a visit.  Be aware though it gets very busy.

Finally, as was the case over the last couple of days, if you need to return anything or have a query on a product, they go out of their way to help.  Many who know me will know, I am not a gardener, but if I quite like this garden centre, then it must have something special going for it.

Pryordurkin rating. 4 Stars.

Tel 01904 400 141
Fax 01904 400 157

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

Since we moved to York last year, Barnitts Home and Garden Store on Colliergate has become one of our favourite shops.  There is a common saying in York  ”If Barnitts haven’t got it, you can’t get it anywhere!” and we agree.  Over the two years gone, we have bought a range of goods and furniture from this shop.  When you enter through the front floor, as if entering the Tardis, this large extensive department store opens up in front of you.  It has bags of character, lots of nooks and crannies and stairs leading somewhere and nowhere for the adventurous to explore.  We particularly recommend the furniture department on the top floor, where we have over time, bought an extensive range of dining room and bedroom furniture.  Our latest pieces being made by hand in Vietnam using reclaimed Oak.  They are beautiful sturdy pieces of furniture that will no doubt see both of us out!

Today as is usual when I am looking for something unusual (it’s not unusual for me to use two many words like usual in the same sentence), I went into Barnitts to wander around it aisles.  I came out with some discounted Christmas lights (wait till Paul sees them hanging on the outside of our house flashing away!), some picture hooks and a rubber stopper for the bottom of my umbrella!  What a range!  Not always the cheapest, but when you weigh that up with the convenience then it gets our vote.

Pryordurkin rating 4 Stars.

Telephone 01904 629429  Open Monday to Saturday 9.00 – 6.00pm.  Normally Open Sundays in the run up to Christmas.

Livingston nestles just outside Edinburgh. It is a cold and soulless place. Cold both physically and in appearance; soulless as the corpses in the council graveyard. A concrete shopping centre nestles in this town – a cold and soulless centre that is not out of place in its surroundings. In fact, there is nothing here but the shopping centre. And in a corner of this place nestles an Indian restaurant. Not, I should say, the archetypal Indian restaurant, but of a style more akin to the MacDonald’s next door – the Drive-In MacDonald’s next door. Mind you, the furniture was different: not slatted wooden benches but moulded plastic chairs. Yes, those you used to have at school in the seventies. And laminate tables.

I ordered safely – an onion bhaji, chicken korma, pilau rice and popadoms. The bhaji came in ten minutes.  It was flat. Indeed, it came in two halves, both flat, skirting a piece of limp lettuce, yesterday’s tomato and a slice of cucumber.  The main attraction were the two dip-in bowls of fluid. One was pink – shocking pink – and lived up to its colour.  It tasted roughly of vinegar and strawberry sherbets. The other was white and made no pretence about only tasting of the vinegar.  The bhaji was warm. I give it 1/2 (half) out of 5 purely on the basis that it survived the microwave. The plate for my curry came shortly after.  If it had been warm, which I doubt, it wasn’t now.  Ten minutes later the korma, rice and popadoms appeared. The korma looked yellow as normal; the rice looked similar to the fine gravel at the bottom of a fish tank. Unfortunately the korma was the most bland and soulless korma I have ever come across. Perhaps it, too, was getting in on the soulless act that defined its surroundings. No hint of coconut. Indeed, no hint of anything at all. Ugh!  I didn’t finish it and made no excuse about getting the bill and leaving fast.  And the restaurant had been recommended to me by my Scottish taxi driver! I should have known better.  After all, wasn’t Scotland the home of that most English of Indian cuisine, the tikka masala?

I give it an overall score of 1 out of 5. Why 1? Well, I had laughed when I first saw the shocking shocking pink dip. And I felt a warm glow inside me on leaving – a heartening feeling that the next one just had to be better.

Pryordurkin rating 1 Star.  Tel 01506 416622

We had been looking for the perfect 12 seat dining room table for nearly 10 months when we came across Gateway Antiques of Burford.  We wanted a traditional farmhouse or refectory style hand built table that would last a lifetime.  Michael Ford and Paul Brown who run Gateway Antiques of Burford both went out of their way to make sure we had the table that exactly matched our needs.  We eventually chose their best seller; a hand built oak refectory table which was duly ordered up and delivered in two months.  Michael insisted that he would not accept full payment for the table until we were entirely happy with it in our home.  To us, that confirmed their confidence in the quality of the build and the professionalism of their business. The table was delivered on Friday between 11am and 1pm, which was exactly within the time agreed. 

You sometimes worry that when you see furniture in a show room, it will not quite look as good in your home.  This is sometimes as a result of the lighting used and sometimes because of the context in which you view it.  Not with this piece.  If anything, it looks even better than we remember and having enjoyed our first meal that evening on our new dining room table we were over the moon with the purchase.

If you want something built to last, crafted with great professionalism and you want to deal with a company that really does care, then go to Gateway Antiques in Burford.  We recommend them without any hesitation.   Don’t forget to say hi from us.

Score. 5 Stars

We’d just finished buying some furniture and were ready (as usual some of you might say) for a spot of lunch.  We headed down into the local village centre with the in-laws and came across, The Lamb Inn on Sheep Street in Burford.  We took a table outside in the garden at the rear.  Walter and Dusty headed off to the bar to place our order, while Mavis and I sat chatting. The gardens themselves were reasonably busy with other couples and families enjoying a lite lunch.  The planting (even I noticed) was very good indeed and had been clearly put together by someone with an eye for detail.  I took quite a few pictures and you will be able to see them in our photograph gallery soon.

Our food quickly arrived,  three of us opting for the Ham Sandwich and Mavis going for Thai Fishcakes.  The ham was very nice indeed and we all felt very satisfied with our lot.  Mavis tells me she thoroughly enjoyed her Thai Fishcakes as well.  They did look nice.  All in all, a very nice place to stop for a rest.

Score: 3 Stars. Visited May 08

Telephone 01993 823 155