Fingals News

Cooking with weeds the Fingals way.....

We've all been out picking the wonderful wild garlic which is covering the lanes around Fingals. One of the dishes you missed last week - Slow-roasted Devon lamb shank with rosemary and wild garlic in a rich gravy - it went down a storm! Another recipe we've discovered involves adding toasted pine nuts, virgin olive oil, parmesan cheese and sea salt to create the most delicate pesto - superb with pasta or in a risotto. We're still offering a free meal for two if you book more than two nights with us before the end of June - the wild garlic may not last but we promise to have some other delicacy to tempt you with!

Jonny Nance and his Jumbos

What an evening we had with the ever-enthusiastic Jonny Nance regailing us with tales of his re-invention of the St. Ives Jumbo - as sailed and fished by his family for generations. Musician, boat-builder, sailor extraordinaire and all-round renaissance man, Jonny has fired the imagination of his local community in St. Ives and won the admiration of his peers by reinventing the marvellous Jumbo and in doing so, bringing back traditional boat-building skills and reinvigorating the old spirit of his home port. A fantastic talk with lots of chatter to follow.......

Fingals wakes up from winter!

Welcome tyo the Spring .... we are warming up for our 32nd season as the snow blows across the tennis lawn towards the newly extended Folly - Sheila and I look at each other and say "Dammit, let's go skiing!" We are off to Zermatt (not Dartmoor) for a few days before we settle down for another nine months of Fingals fun.

What have we been up to apart from going to Burma for three glorious weeks to recharge our batteries and get inspired, as well as spending a few days on the lovely warm, sunny north west coast of Scotland? Most of our time has been spent on 'deluxing' the slightly rustic Folly, apart from the routine of keeping the property up (or up with the property as it seems to be leading us!).

Another season starts up this weekend on the 14th March. We still have roomns available for Easter so why not put on your spring clothes and come on down to Devon - we promise to have the snow cleared!!

Later in the spring 'Ways With Words' are returning for their third writing course - a week of peace and quiet to stretch your imagination. Do get in touch with Kay Dunbar if you would like to book a place 01803 867373.

We are going to be doing some theatre/opera again this season but more anon.

Ways With Words Comes to Fingals

For the last 3 years Ways With Words has organised a holiday course at Fingals. Non residents are very welcome so local people can come as day students. However even if you only live a short distance away do consider staying for the sheer self indulgence! This year the Course Theme is STRUCTURE AND FORM with Writing Tutor Mark McCrum and Photography Tutor Kate Mount. There will be workshops, two book groups, films, talks, readings, leisurely meals and wonderful hospitality but also time to find private space and work on your own project if you prefer. To find out more or to book a space please call Kay Dunbar on 01803 867373

HAPPY NEW YEAR WISHES FOR 2014 MINUS 1!

We love putting up the Christmas decorations and now send all our wonderful Friends lots of good wishes for a

HAPPY 2014 MINUS 1! It’s not that we are superstitious it’s just that we thought it best in the interests of all our triskaidekaphobic

guests to cut out the year between 2012 and 2014 and just start 2014 a bit earlier.

Like all our fellow hoteliers you will have noticed that we don’t have a room 13 - possibly because we only

have 12 rooms - and likewise we don’t have a thirteenth floor.

We never lay our communal 12seater table for 13 - or if we had 13 guests Le Patron would sit in as a

quatorzien (as the French called the freeloading socialites in Paris who offered their services to parties of

13 to ensure bad luck would not befall them).

Tintin, our black cat, has left us – a victim of his own bad fortune – and we now provide slippers so that

you can see which side of the bed you climbed into when you get up next morning.

To follow 12 isn’t easy – as any numerologist will tell you 12 is a “complete” number. Hence 12 months

in the year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 apostles, 12 tribes of Israel and of course the

12 days of Christmas. So we had it right with 12 pennies to a shilling and 12 inches to a foot.

One past completeness is associated with bad luc….. oops…. trying not to mention the phrase.

Nevertheless we are not going there – especially when it is super-bad luck for all you Fingalophiles out

there as next year is very possibly the last year of Fingals as you knew it. Fingals has now been running

for 31 years, which is 13 backwards and like 13 indivisible and unique (like Fingals).

Why not come on down here in 2014 (minus 1) before it is too late. Thereafter the really exciting news is

that we shall become a smaller b&b with more self catering….. but more of that anon.

We are now closed until March 15th but you can still call to make your booking for the last year of Fingals as a HOTEL!

THE STRONGER

Before we shut down and rush away for our holidays we are hosting a performance of THE STRONGER by August Strindberg at Fingals on Saturday 12th January. An opportunity to see this short masterpiece performed by the Dittisham Players and directed by Paul Vincent. Come and enjoy a good supper in convivial surroundings and decide for yourselves who is 'The Stronger'. Tickets are £25 each to include the play and food so do call us on 01803 722398 to book a ticket - just a few remaining.

Nature File.

Spotted by guests from the Fingals pool balcony in August ....not just one but a pair of otters.... swimming upstream!! They were smartly followed by a pair of brightly coloured kingfishers...what other hotel can offer you these treats on site?

The Red Arrows

Enjoyed a beautiful trip down river on Friday evening to watch the fabulous Red Arrows and their brilliant display over Dartmouth and Kingswear - the weather was kind and got even better on Saturday for more displays, races, review of Classic Craft - well done Dartmouth Regatta!

www.dartmouthregatta.co.uk

Grayhound Lugger

This beautiful brand new lugger, the "Grayhound', was one of the loveliest visitors to Dartmouth for the regatta. Launched just three weeks earlier at Millbrook, she is a whopping 63ft and carries 3,500 square feet of sail. Can't wait to see her in action!

www.grayhoundluggersailing.com

Tour of Britain

Well done Dartmouth for another great Regatta! Now we're getting ready to cheer on Jon Tiernan-Locke from Devon as he powers into Dartmouth at the end of the tough 170 km race from Barnstaple in the Tour of Britain 2012 on Saturday September 15th.

www.southwesttourofbritain.co.uk

Tour of Britain win for Devon

Hey - all the cheering worked - a home win for the first time in 19 years, Jon Tiernan Locke takes the title for the Tour of Britain.

Free Autumn Nights

Come and enjoy some chill out time at Fingals. The gardens are still flowering (picture taken late September) but we will be lighting the big log fires very soon. We would love you to come and stay with us for four nights mid-week in September or October (except half term) and we will only charge you for three.

Indian Summer days

More Nature File.....a glorious September afternoon on the boat out at the Mewstone by the mouth of the River Dart where the friendly seals were keeping an eye on us - maybe you could join us on another if the weather holds!

Breakfast al fresco

Hurrah - we are finally serving breakfast on our lovely sunny terrace - what could make toast and marmalade taste more delicious?

Why not come down and enjoy a lovely sunny weekend away in Devon!

Now that the real summer has arrived why don't you come on down to sunny Devon - our beautiful four-poster room has suddenly become available from tonight for the whole weekend! The forecast is perfect

Spring is in the air ...!

Sheila's white doves...

If the summer's going to be wet.....get wet in style!

Our new hot tub is up and working - laze in the warm bubbles, watching the stream rush by with maybe a little drink to hand! There are still a few rooms available in July so why not pop down and give it a go -we highly recommended it - quite the best tonic to go with your gin!

Anyone for Tennis?

The court is looking particularly green after all this WEATHER - give us a call to book your own personal Grandstand and enjoy a game or two!

La Morera in Andalusia - our Finca in Spain

We still have some weeks available in our beautiful house in Spain from 30th June for 2 weeks until 14th July and from 21st July for two weeks until 4th August - if anyone is interested contact us or go to the website

www.fincalamorera.com

The Fingals Self-catering Barn and Millhouse

We have some gaps for the self catering Balcony Gite Suite and The Barn this autumn (from September onwards)- lovely places for a short break in the Indian summer we hve been promised!

Celebrate the Spring

What a summer that was over the last few weeks!! So hot that we forgot all about Spring and have already got the grass tennis court up and running! It wasn't just us who were fooled, the daffodils are already nearly over and the camelias and tulips are in flower earlier than ever. The magnolias have just been frosted with the return of the early Spring weather.Signs of the changing season are everywhere - and the wildflowers are just beginning in the hedgerows making for wondrous walks in the lanes and fields. There are tender shoots all around, buds and more buds in the garden, the birds are singing and the woodpecker is tapping, and we are back in business at Fingals!

We've been doing the usual renovations in January and February including the kitchen - we sold the 50 year old Aga and now have a sparkling new Everhot!

We had a very relaxing holiday in Egypt, in spite of all the troubles, we sailed down the Nile from Luxor to Aswan in a Dahabiya which was just the best holiday ever, you must have a look at their website www.nourelnil.com, and then we had a week of sunshine and skiing in Austria. How lucky are we! http://www.nourelnil.com