We are starting to reap the rewards of the vegetable garden and over the weekend we ate the first of our broad beans and spinach.

The spinach made a delicious goats cheese and spinach omelette and I have a lovely recipe for broad bean pate which is delicious on sourdough toast.

Its really simple to make:  simmer the shelled broadbeans for 3 minutes and then plunge into ice cold water to stop the cooking process.  re-pod by removing the lovely little green bean from the outer coating and smash these up with a couple of cloves of garlic, juice of half a lemon, one shredded sprig of mint, 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and a good shaving of parmesan.

Dollop on hot buttered sourdough………..

yum……..

The weather has been fantastic here all week here in Dulcote and there is more to come for as long as we can see with temperature set to continue at 28 and 29 degrees.

While its lovely to be outside in the sunshine, its often good to also spend a bit of time in a cool shady place and we thing the Wells Cathedral High Parts Tour is just the ticket.

This 90 min tour of the upper areas of the cathedral comes highly recommended and includes:

• hidden spaces, galleries and chambers, including behind the Wells clock
• one of only two surviving tracing floors in the country where masons drew templates on the floor
• a walk along the singing gallery and the history of why the Cathedral has trumpet holes!
• the south transept roof space
• and a very different perspective of the nave

Tours run regularly but if you wish to pre-book you can find tickets at  https://www.wellscathedral.org.uk/visit/tours/highparts/

We had a full house again this weekend and whilst our guests had a great time at the Bishops Palace Garden Festival, Cheddar Gorge and mooching around the Market, they also spent a lot of time enjoying the garden here at the White House.

There was lots of wine, laughter and good company and this was even more enjoyable as my friend Janet had also come to visit us for the weekend.

I’m always showing photographs of the gardens and back of the house but very rarely show photos of the front of the house so thought you might enjoy this one of The Wells Suite.  Its  looking really good at the moment and unsure what the hanging white flowers are on the left of the photo so if any of you have any idea (they are definitely not Wisteria) then please let me know!

The year is passing by very quickly and this morning is the official start of summer.

Walking Bob (our miniature schnauzer) early this morning I bumped into some of our guests returning from the hills just opposite The White House.  They had woken early to see the sunrise and were delighted at just how spectacular the view had been, with clear blue skies  to watch the sun pop up over the valleys and Glastonbury Tor.

With a bottle of bubbles to help them celebrate the Solstice, they were extremely content and ready for their White House breakfast – what a great way to start the day

Next weekend (22nd – 24th June ) the annual Bishops Palace Country Garden Festival opens in the Palace Gardens.

This is the 4th year that the event has taken place and the stunning 14-acre grounds of the Palace will feature guided tours, live music, expert speakers, BBQ food, ‘have a go’ skills and crafts and over 40 stalls, including a fabulous range of nurseries selling unusual and popular plants.

Jo Thompson is opening the festival this year and for the first time, the Royal Horticultural Society will also be in attendance on Saturday 23rd June to hold a “Gardener’s Question Time”

Tickets are reasonably priced at £7.95 or £23 per family and you can find out more at https://bishopspalace.org.uk/whats-on/the-english-country-garden-festival/

Whenever any of our guests visit Longleat Safari Park they always return with great reviews.  And on the 23rd and 24th June there is even more reason to visit as their  second annual Food and Drink Festival will take place during these dates.

Some of the country’s top chefs will be there, including James Martin and The Hairy Bikers who will be cooking in a series of live demonstrations; as well as a showcase of the best local produce and an assortment of delicious cuisines.

Visit https://www.longleat.co.uk/food-festival to find out more

Must be almost summer……

The mix of warm sunshine interspersed with just a little bit of rain has really brought out the roses in our garden and they are looking spectacular this year. Thought you might appreciate seeing them and interested to see if you can recognise the original York rose, which I’m particularly proud of.

I was interested to read about Somerset’s first food trail event which will take place from Friday 20th July – Sunday 29th July.  The event “Taste the Landscape” will be focused on dozens of food producers opening their doors to the public.

It celebrates the best of locally produced food, showcasing farmers and producers as well as retailers, cafes pubs and restaurants and participants range from goat herders, cider makers, dairy farmers, cheese makers, pubs, vineyards, artisan bakers and vegetable growers.

Doors will be opened at set times during the ten day period with special menus offered by pubs, cafes and restaurants to feature locally sourced food.  In addition there will be activities including picnics, pizza making, vineyard and mill tours.

Further details can be found at www.somersetfoodtrail.uk and this is definitely one for my own diary!

One of the best things about running a bed and breakfast is the vast number of really interesting people you meet and I’m always saying to Rod that I learn something new from our guests every day.  Well this week, I have to say that we met someone who probably has the most interesting job on the planet.

A space detective!

Have you ever heard of a space detective?  Did you even know they existed?  Well I didn’t….

This guy actually solves murders and high profile crimes through interrogation of satellite images and can actually go back in time to find out who did it.

How cool is that?  And can anyone beat it?

We are once again at the end of the comedy Festival and each your this event just gets bigger and better.  It began in 2015 to celebrate 10 years of the city’s Long Paws Comedy Club and his year featured comediens in 60 shows over 6 venues.

The majority of our guests this weekend visited Wells because of the festival and each morning at breakfast swopped stories about the best gigs.  There were some big names as well as up and coming comedians and already some of our guests are planning their return trip next year.

Take a look at the festival site for further details at https://www.wellscomfest.com/