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Archive for February, 2011

Review of this weekend’s Six Nations Rugby

Monday, February 28th, 2011

England v Italy at Twickenham

England v Italy at Twickenham

From an exhausted armchair!

Well the weekend feast of rugby sure lived up to its promise! Your reporter called correctly for two out of the three and was closer than the score suggests with the Italy/Wales encounter. The French came to out muscle and to bully us. Three months ago South Africa did just that to put a spoke in what was becoming a rapidly spinning wheel. But not this time. Despite a few flaky moments, particularly in the first half, we were level at half time, made a few tactical adjustments during the break and looked and performed as the better side in the second half. The couple of tries we squandered with a forward pass and a wild pass when the try line beckoned would probably have represented a more true match score. Twickenham was at its best just accommodating a capacity crowd and the well behaved fans, French and English alike, made their customary sedate progress via various watering holes to the delights of the west end. Read the rest of this entry »

Post by John Buncein Sporting Events

Calling All Rugby Fans

Thursday, February 24th, 2011
6 Nations Rugby

Rugby at the Six Nations

The Six Nations championship has so far been a great feast of fast moving rugby. But now we approach the defining weekend! Only two teams are unbeaten after two matches, England and France, and they meet at Twickenham this Saturday! A full house is guaranteed but who will be victorious?

England are going up a gear every game and the French, unlike their wine, do not travel too well. However, England can still be bullied into mistakes (South Africa in November!) and the French flair can be ignited at any time and for any reason. This is not just a game; it is a weekend of drama and enjoyment.

The bed and breakfasts are doing a roaring trade and self catering apartments near the city centre are being taken by groups of ticket holders and people who want to watch the match in one of the hundreds of pubs that will be showing the game, but still be in the heart of the pre and post match action.

Oh yes, I nearly forgot! Italy are also at home to Wales in the Stadio Flaminio. Italy were not allowed to play by England last Saturday, but are a formidable proposition at home as Ireland found out on the first day of the season, only just scraping home by a couple of points in the dying seconds of the game. Wales have the talent, but the organization and the drive sometimes desert them – Italy to win I reckon! Read the rest of this entry »

Post by John Buncein Events We love.., Sporting Events

Getting ready for Ladies Day at the Races

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
Racing at the Cheltenham Festival

Ladies Day Races

Whether you are going to Royal Ascot or the Cheltenham Festival, preparing for Ladies Day is a must!  I have never been before but I’m going this year and I am panicking – what do I wear?  So research began…first off I googled what to wear at the races and gained some inspiration from that.  Then I spoke to some of my friends who have been before. It seems, ladies, that it is the perfect opportunity to put together your best outfit! Your favourite dress, designer heels and hat are the perfect combination.

The races are the ideal place to glam up and really look sophisticated. However – do not panic if that pair of Jimmy Choos is still on the shelf in Selfridge’s! Our advice is to buy one statement piece and work the rest of your outfit around it using items you’ve bought on the high street. After all, if you’ve splashed out on a gorgeous dress or pair of shoes, as long as you keep the rest of it plain and your accessories classy, that it what people will be looking at! Biba for House of Fraser have some fantastic summery pieces in at the moment that are still fairly affordable, but will knock everyone’s socks off!

How strict the dress code is for the races does depend on which enclosures you will be entering, however, in general it is smart dress code for both men and women. A lot of walking takes place at the races so there is also a potential issue with your heels and comfort – yes you want to wear your best heels, however, all of us know that sometimes beauty equals pain when wearing your favourite shoes! More to the point, we all know someone (Camilla!) who wore a silver pair of designer sandals to the races and completely ruined them by sinking into the mud all day! Luckily, this season’s trend in footwear is on our side! Architectural shapes are in fashion, so it’s either block heels or flat sandals on the shopping list. Phew!

Another vital aspect when considering your outfit is of course the weather forecast!  For the races that occur in the spring/summer time, we always hope for a pleasant day, however, when considering the Cheltenham Races in March for example the weather could do anything!  So keeping on top of the forecast around the event is vital, because it will have to be taken into account when choosing your outfit! We recommend teaming a feminine blazer with your dress for that all important warmth factor!

The races are such a huge date on the calendar, whichever one you choose to attend, so having somewhere stylish to stay afterwards is a must! That way, you won’t have to worry about getting home in your heels after a long day and you can plan to go for a meal afterwards – hopefully to spend your winnings! If you are attending the Cheltenham Festival, then Cheltenham has a wealth of places to eat, but one of our favourites for a truly special meal is Le Champignon Sauvage. Our recommendation for a classy glass of wine afterwards is definitely John Gordons Wine Bar in Montpellier – bags of character and in a great location!

The Eventful stays Preparation for Ladies Day Check List:

  1. Shoes
  2. Dress
  3. Hat or Fascinator (although hats are back in, we hear!)
  4. Book accommodation.
  5. Book a restaurant

Time to go shopping….

Post by Alysia Kearnsin Event & Holiday Locations, Events We love.., Our Favourite Places to Stay...

Eventful Days – the Eventful Stays Newsletter: February 2011.

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011


One of Eventful Stays' Top 5 Places to Stay of the Month

Well if anyone had told me a few months ago that not only would Eventful Stays be receiving great National press coverage – in the Daily Mail, the Telegraph and City AM to name a few – but that we would have launched our Blog, Staywatch, have a company Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn page and also have launched a Managed Booking Service, then I would have laughed!

So much has happened since we went live at the beginning of December that I can hardly keep track! Having said that…nor can some of the team it seems; when Camilla tried to send her first tweet on behalf of Eventful Stays, she managed to send her tweet back to herself! We’re all learning fast!

It just goes to show what you can do from an office near Banbury where the sun shines brightly on our Summer House and an office in our other camp in Cheltenham  that we fondly refer to as Harry Potter’s Cupboard!

Top three events for the coming month

Read the rest of this entry »

Post by Fran Langdonin Events We love.., Our Favourite Places to Stay...

The Buzz about Cheltenham in the run-up to Gold Cup Week

Friday, February 18th, 2011

The thing I love most about Cheltenham is the fact that there is always a buzz about the place.  People abound on the High Street whilst others meander amongst the beautiful boutiques, restaurants and delis in the Montpellier district.

Whilst the winter months haven’t been good for trade generally, there is a spark in the air, not just brought about by glimmers of sunshine and patches of blue sky that herald spring is on the way, but because the town waits with baited breath for the arrival of the Cheltenham Festival.  For those who are unsure of what the Festival is all about, let me tell you that it is one of the most exciting horse race weeks in the UK calendar. If you live in London you must have seen the Cheltenham Festival posters that cover the walls and escalator runs on the London Underground and the posters at Bus Stops, to name but a few.  The poster sports a young man in blazer and tie who has obviously just won the ultimate bet!  I believe the new ‘in’ expression is a ‘face spitting’ moment – just to prove that I too listen to Radio 4’s AM programme in the mornings (if you want to know more …tweet us or comment on our blog – I might just write more about what it means!)
Read the rest of this entry »

Post by Camilla Shaughnessyin Event & Holiday Locations, Events We love.., Sporting Events

Literature Festivals in the UK

Friday, February 18th, 2011

March is a great month for you literature buffs to indulge yourselves all over the country. Do you realize there are no less than 14 Literary Festivals taking place, all at locations where there are also lots of non literary things to enjoy when your day at the festival has ended? Of course some of these festivals deserve more than a day and quite often the venue itself deserves some time to be enjoyed. There will of course almost certainly be some Eventful Stays accommodation nearby for those who want to make a couple of days of it and explore their literary festival of choice at leisure!

We get off to a cracking start this year at the ‘Aye Write’, Glasgow Book Festival with fiction and non-fiction, poetry and prose, crime, comedy, politics and debates on the agenda from March 4th to March 12th. For Alasdair Gray fans his presence following the publicity surrounding his book ‘Lanark’ will ensure an interesting discussion. There is also so much else to do around Glasgow so why not extend your visit to the ‘Aye Write’ Festival and take a couple of days’ holiday in Scotland? We have some great places to stay in the historic city of Edinburgh, which would be a good way of seeing both of Scotland’s most famous cities! Read the rest of this entry »

Post by John Buncein Event & Holiday Locations, Events We love..

Olympic Schedule Revealed!

Friday, February 18th, 2011

This week the schedule for the 2012 Olympic Games in London was released, not just to the public, but the athletes also. This marks the true commencement of the games, giving the athletes their deadlines to make their final preparations as the run-in to the Olympics begins. For the spectators, we have been given our first opportunity to see not only when the major ‘blue riband’ events like the 100m sprint and the men’s eights rowing take place, but also when Team GB has its first opportunity to bring home a Gold Medal.

On  15th of March, the 6.6million Olympic tickets will go on sale, with prices ranging from £20.12, to a rather less wallet friendly £2012. Spectators will be hoping that they can grab a ticket for the opening ceremony of the games on Friday 27th July. The opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics in 2008 was a truly spectacular occasion, with regimental drummers not missing a single beat, and traditional Chinese dancers wowing the capacity crowd of 91,000. I am, however, slightly suspicious of what may be waiting for us at the London 2012 opening ceremony. When I asked myself what a traditionally ‘British’ dance was, I could not think of any that did not include men jumping around in blouses, braces, and with bells around their ankles. Now that is not to say that Morris Dancing is not an enjoyable pasttime, and I must admit that I took part in a Morris Dance myself for charity many years ago, but I don’t think that the world would be too amused!

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Post by Tom Kingin Events We love.., Sporting Events

CityAM: Click to save: Websites that stop you losing out

Thursday, February 17th, 2011

CityAM: Click to save: Websites that stop you losing out

CityAM publication and online.
17 February 2011.

Started by Camilla Shaughnessy, a former management consultant who invested in property just before the credit crunch, this site allows people to rent out their homes for special events…

To view article click here:
http://www.cityam.com/markets-and-investments

Post by Camilla Shaughnessyin Press Coverage

Top Tips for renting out your home

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

Well it’s one thing to rent out a holiday cottage and quite another if it’s your own home.

I write from an informed point of view as not only do I run Eventful Stays but I also rent out our home.

A little bit of background; the recession hit my husband and I hard some 18 months ago and our once robust pension and investments disappeared almost overnight.  I am not saying this for the sympathy vote, more to illustrate why Eventful Stays was born.  I looked at the tattered shreds of our investments (excuse the mixed metaphors) and wondered what could I do to find additional ways to make money.  And then it struck me that I was sat on our biggest asset – our home!

We are lucky enough to live in one of the most beautiful parts of England and in a house that is nestled into a little valley on the edge of the Cotswolds.  It sleeps 14 people (16 at a push) and is ideal for our family get together’s (and I come from an Irish family so gatherings are large) and friends who come to stay for the weekend.   So, like any professional I did my homework and after quite some research I realised that the bigger opportunity was not about just doing holiday lets i.e. a minimum of a week at a time, but short rentals of 2 or 3 nights for special occasions, family reunions, weddings and accommodation for nearby events.  Short lets, as you may well imagine, is much more appealing if it is your home you are renting out as you can probably manage to visit friends or family for a couple of nights but relocating the family for a week or more is not quite so easy.

So let me tell you of the fun we had preparing for our first rental. Read the rest of this entry »

Post by Camilla Shaughnessyin Our Favourite Places to Stay...

Valentine’s Day is here – what are you doing this Valentine’s Day?

Monday, February 14th, 2011

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Some people hate it, others find it the perfect excuse to go out for a nice meal and get spoilt rotten by their partner and many just see it as another day on the calendar and don’t see what all the fuss is about.

However, a word of advice to all you fellas out there is, no matter what your girlfriend or wife says about Valentine’s Day, they would still love to receive a bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolates or, if you are feeling really generous, a piece of jewellery from you. If you really want to be in their good books, why not treat them to a night or romantic weekend away somewhere, either in a hotel or a self-catered apartment?  Even though Valentine’s Day falls on a Monday this year you can surprise them with your plans to take them away and look to book a weekend away in the coming weeks. There is so much choice, from romantic city breaks to cosy retreats in the countryside you can find something that suits both your tastes. Read the rest of this entry »

Post by Alysia Kearnsin For Those Special Occasions...

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