Joanna's Blog

Archive for February, 2010

vrooom vroom, muddy speedy twistsy turns bumpedy bump!

February 24th, 2010 by joanna

Sat 13th Feb at quads for all just outside of Hartlepool near Dalton Piercy, it was raining and it was very muddy, but this quad biking was booked so we had to do it.  Needless to say, my 17 year old younger brother Daniel, was well up for the challenge.  My younger, squeamish 18 year old sister Katie on the other hand, well she took a little more persuading. 

Parking was available on the site which is just off the beaten track of a country road and we were kindly greeted by the owner.  He showed us to the terms of use which we read through then within a few minutes we were on our quads – no messing about! 250cc quads and a quick guide of how to use them, we had a couple of small practice laps guided by the lads there, then the course was all ours!  I loved the fact were allowed to just go off!  I was going rather slow, just to get the hang of it, andcoming to a complete stop at every turn, as was Katie.  Daniel was straight into it with one lap done he was trailing behind us!  Bit by bit I managed to speed up, taking the corners at a little bit of speed and really getting into it!  There are staff on most of the big corners who point you in the right direction, gradually until your able to do the whole track.  I started moving down to the 2ndpart of the track which is way down hill with lots of bumps, holding on tight and not too much acceleration I bobbled down it bouncing around and laughing like crazy!  My pace gathered – and so did the mud, it was literally to the top of my helmet and all over my face through it, I was surprisingly not bothered and very happy to get completely covered.  We had a short break and a hot drink after 30 mins to give our thumbs rest (thumbs are used to accelerate the quads and after 30 mins we sure needed the rest) and had a good old laugh at how we’d all got on!

Back to the quads, I couldn’t wait!  The scenery is amazing here and the air was countryside fresh.  This time we were all very comfortable flying around the course knowing what paths were our favourite thrashing round them and waving when we went past each other.  The second half passed so quickly, we all just felt so at ease and were having superb time.  But all good things must come to an end and so did the quad biking.  We pulled up, took our helmets off and felt ready to carry on the day after an amazing start!   We  were covered in mud and said our goodbyes to the team there who were great, and knew we would return, £30 well spent for an full hours fun!

On to the Smiths Arms in Greatham for a hearty lunch and a warm up, my Mum had to bring us all clean clothes first.  One look at the menu and I was torn, between the Tees Valley favourite chicken parmo, peppered beef strips, and mince n dumps.  I went for the latter after much deliberation.  My brother went for a parmo, and Katie went for the homemade curry.  (Everything on the menu was home made, yum!)  After a few hot drinks, the food came in good timing and we munched through every last bit. Really good, home-some goodness grub, andwith most dishes priced at £4.95, it was a really good deal too.  We decided on 2 deserts, sticky toffee pudding and jam rolly polly andall had a taste of them.  A good all roundpub withgreat all round food.  Perfect for a bite to eat!

So if you would like to go quadbiking at Quads4All you can check out their website http://www.quads4all.org.uk/, they have quads and prices for all ages and take birthday parties, stag do’s etc.  You can see more great days out in our area at www.visitteesvalley.co.uk.

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Luxury hotel, amazing meal……..and a very good bargin!

February 24th, 2010 by joanna

Sunday 31st Jan, and I had a treat in store, a hotel stay at Crathorne Hall, and £99 to spend on food and drink,  oh and breakfast the next morning.  All of this however, cost just £99.       How?  Just one of the amazing offers available with the Happening Pass and you can get yours from http://www.visitteesvalley.co.uk/site/whats-hot/happening-pass

So I arrived at 4pm in the 15 acres of land on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors on a Sunny snowy day, (check in is available from 3pm).  After a swift check in I was shown up to my room with my bags carried by the delightful concierge man, who has worked here over 20 years – a good sign if ever i needed one that this is a great hotel!   Room spacious, elegantly decorated, plasma TV, tea and coffee making facilities, and a very high standard bathroom.  Since my friend wasn’t arriving for a couple of hours I sat on the bed, and began to read the complimentary Sunday paper – absolute heaven as a hard working Mother ,who is always busy and never stops, this was just the tonic I needed.  After an hour i met my younger sister and my son Ramsay in reception (I’d accidentally taken her keys earlier in the day!) and decided they might as well stay for a warm drink and bite to eat in the drawing room, after all I had £99 to spend! We sat by the log fire and had hot chocolates and cakes, and a hearty sarnie for Ramsay.  A little while later after a great time, they left and my best mate Katie arrived.  She was in need of some relaxation time too and so I thought she was a great choice to acompany me! We got ready for dinner in the restaurant and we opted for the Table De Hoe menu at £35 per head.  Once seated we had canapes and a class of champers, we ordered some red wine from the extensive choice then indulged in the food menu.  My choice was smoked salmon to start, with creme fraiche, caviar and cucumber jelly, Sea Bream with crushed black pepper potatoes for main, and Yorkshire tart with plum sorbet for desert.  Katie chose the soup, then Seam Bream also, then Chocolate Fondue for desert.  Each and every single course was perfectly timed, perfectly cooked, super fresh and perfectly enjoyed!  Coffee and pettie foirs followed in the games room.  This really was top class food, heaven on a plate, in a n amazing, grand stately room, and one thoroughly enjoyable evening.  Even on an ordinary evening at £35 per head it was a steal, and I will most certainly return.  Retired to the room we chatted for hours after facials and milkshakes – it was like a sleepover when we were kids – except we were in a huge manor surrounded in luxury!   We sunk in to our perspective beds for a pure relaxing sleep!

In the morning Katie had work – so they delivered her breakfast early to the room.  I got up an hour later and had Ramsay dropped off as Hubby was at work, it was ok though because he joined me for a delicious breakfast!  With it being such a beautiful morning we went for a long walk around the grounds.  After returning to the room I packed my bag whilst Ramsay watched TV between gazing out of the window to the beautiful surroundings, then we checked out – which I was really sad to do so!  Thank you Crathorne for an amazing stay – I will be back very shortly :-)

If you would like to book a meal or stay at Crathorne Hall please see http://www.handpickedhotels.co.uk/hotels/crathorne-hall/, and for many more fantastic days out in the Tees Valley please see www.visitteesvalley.co.uk (and don’t forget to sign up for the happening pass for a few cheeky discounts!)

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A funny way to start the year……

February 24th, 2010 by joanna

…with a hilarious night of laughter at the Arc’s Catch22 Comedy club!      

So its January, xmas is over and its cold, snowy and a pretty dull time.  My first day out was at the Arc in Stockton for some light hearted fun!  My 2 friends John, who i’ve been great friends with since I was very young, and Andrew a fab friend who was due to leave us for Australia, and I got a cab to Carpachios on Dovecott street Stockton.  Warmly welcomed we got settled into a booth and ordered drinks, beer for the boys and a nice glass of red for me!  We were there for happy hour, which always makes the ordering a pleasant experience when you now its a bargain!   All pasta and pizzas are just £5.45  from tea time opening until 7pm.  After garlic dough balls for starter I went for a real taste of Italy with Chicken and Wild Mushroom Risotto, John had a Calzone, and Andrew a Chicken and Wild Rocket Pizza A* and absolutely delicious, rustic, tasty, fresh and distinct.  A round of applause all round, sometimes its hard to know if the food is going to be good when its a happy hour deal, but this certainly didn’t disappoint.  In fact we raved about it the whole time we were there ad all agreed we would be returning soon!!  Thouroughlly reccomended, staff were amazing, speedy and polite, atmosphere spot on, so with all our starters and mains, with chips to acompany our mains and 3 drinks each it was £48.10 – a steal!

Over the road and not far away is the Arc, a wonderful arts centre where everyone can go play!

Catch 22 Comedy Club is now on fortnightly thanks to its popularity!  You get to choose your seats when booking so we has a table, £11 per head, which is just £2 more than the standard seat prices.  Mid way in the crowd we were comfortable in the knowledge we’d get a good view but not get hammered by the comedians! First up the MC (compare) for the night, this is a different person every time and they usually make the night and Jason Cook didn’t disappoint! Straight away a rapport was built with the audience (well the ones he wasn’t ripping anyway!)  and we were in fits of laughter at his quick Sharp sense of humour, best of luck to those that try and take the mick back or don’t play along.  Don’t be afraid, just don’t sit on the from row (unless you can take it!).  We had 3 comedians, Dan Nightingale who originally hails from Lancashire and hit us of in fits of giggles within seconds, great persona and didn’t seem scripted.   2nd act after a small break was a young lad Danny Mcloughlin who spoke about everyday life situations (which we all know about) and wasn’t afraid to speak about his own, his girlfriend, mum, gran, and even recited the um bongo song!  The third act was a guy from Cheshire and kept us laughing with all kinds of impersonations of when he was a youth worker in Liverpool.  He went further and further explaining his real life encounters with people and life but adding his own twists, and at many points we were all bent forward crying laughing! Absolutely great!

Arc is a truly amazing venue, from comedy, theatre, spoken word, dance, theatre and music classes they have something on for everyone.  All events are priced really well and people come from all over the country and world to the Arc.

Arcs comedy club is run in assocation with Ten Feet Tall who also list the Big Mouth Comedy Club in Middlesbrough.  If you would like to check out one of the many happening events at Arc please see www.arconline.co.uk.  For a great variety of fab days out please check out www.visitteesvally.co.uk.

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