The Little Book of Adversity

Once again Jan Hoy booked us an entertaining and interesting speaker when the members of the Wessex Women's Network heard David Sullivan talk on 'Life as a Shepherd' on Wednesday April 24th. These meetings are always well attended and it is so nice to see so many regular members attend each month. I think as well as listening to some very interesting speakers we have a lot of fun at the meetings and have developed many friendships over the years. I founded the Wessex Women's Network in 2003 and we will be celebrating our 10th Anniversary later in the year. Details to follow once I have a date.

Talking of dates we are holding our annual charity cream tea at the Cloud Hotel on Sunday 14th July at 4pm and the all proceeds will be shared between the Variety Club Children's Charity and Jack's Place at Naomi House Children's Hospice. Please put it in your diary, booking is essential and we hope to attract alot of people and raise much needed funds for both the charities.. Linzi Luker who is one of our members will donate the scones as she does every year.

I had the pleasure of attending the launch of Women 1st's  book 'The Little Book of Adversity' at the Cafe Royal in London on Monday 29th April. It has taken Sam Mercer, Sharon Glancy [the founder of Women1st] and Karen Roberts  2 years to write and is a practical guide to supporting women in the workplace. There are lots of tips and advice for women and I have the honour of being one of the case studies in the book along with some very influential women. Jo Fairly the co-founder of Green and Black's chocolate told her story on how she and her husband had founded the company. The evening was very well attended, alot of networking took place and the champagne flowed. A thoroughly enjoyable evening was had by everyone and I left the event feeling inspired and motivated once again! The book is not on general release just yet but I will let you know when you can buy it if anyone is interested.

As I write this the sun is shining and I've noticed how everyone's spirits have been lifted. I really do think the better weather is here at last. Our secluded garden is a very peaceful place to enjoy morning coffee or afternoon tea with family and friends. We are now serving Taylors of Harrogate coffee, the same as they serve at Betty's Tearooms in Harrogate.

The next Wessex Women's Network meeting is on Wednesday May 29th. The speaker is Richard Burton who is a salesman and the title of his talk is Perfect Perfect!! Something us women are all trying to be!

I came across the following quote from Winston Churchill which I thought was very appropriate in these difficult economic times.

'Success is not final, failure is not final, it is the courage to continue that counts'

Enjoy the sunshine


Avril

Summer Time?

With the weather being so cold and unpredictable it was very apt to have Trevor Guymer as the speaker at the Wessex Women's Network at our March meeting. Trevor is a meteorologist and climate expert from Southampton's National  Oceanography Centre. He explained to us about the interactions between the the oceans, atmosphere land and ice. Apparently waves and storms are always a risk for coastal communities all over the world as well as those working at sea. It was interesting to hear how the oceans both moderate and drive climate variability. You could hear a pin drop during his talk as it was so fascinating. It was a full house and the Wessex Women are very seldom that quie

I attended the re-dedication of the updated Buckler's Hard Museum by Lord Ivar Mountbatten on March 26th. It was bitterly cold with a biting wind but I warmed myself up by going round the museum that is well worth a visit. I have lived in the New Forest for 38 years and had no idea about the history of Bucklers Hard. It was also interesting to see Sir Frances Chichester's yacht Gypsy Moth which was moored in the river.

One of the charities the Cloud Hotel supports is Vitalise and 3 times a year we give the Carers of Alzeimer's sufferers a night out and treat them to dinner. Last Thursday 19 people came from Netley Waterside House and had an added surprise as David Bonney Magician and member of the Magic Circle entertained them with some wonderful magic.

Easter was cold but dry which was a bonus and even the sun came out just to let us know it is still around. I was lucky enough to have my whole family with me this Easter, all 12 of them and we did manage a long walk in the forest although the wind was biting cold and we were all pleased to get back home to the warm. This time last year we were all sitting out in the garden and enjoying barbecues! 

For the second year running the Cloud Hotel sponsored the Napkin Folding competition at the Salon Culinaire held at Brockenhurst College and I have just returned from judging today's competition. It is always a pleasure to see young people enthusiastic about their chosen career and to be encouraged by their tutors to do their best. I am very passionate about encouraging young people to train and go into hospitality and help to raise the standards that are much needed in certain areas of the industry.

The next Wessex Women's Network meeting is on Wednesday April 24th when David Sullivan will be speaking about Life as a Shepherd. I look forward to welcoming you to this event which promises to be another very interesting talk and again quite topical after how this cold weather has affected the farmers and their flocks.

Business is tough for everyone at the moment and not helped by the weather but don't lower your prices to compete with your competitors. It devalues you and sends a message to your customers that you are prepared to reduce your prices at any cost to the business.

'It's a funny thing about life: If you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it"  Somerset Maughan

Although it's hard to believe it is officially summertime so keep your fingers crossed that we will soon be enjoying some warmer weather.

Avril

International Women's Day

International Women's Day is a day for women all over the world to first of all to be proud of being a woman and also to give each other support. I hope you are having a good day and doing one good thing to support a woman you know either in business or just personally. Wishing all the members of the Wessex Women's Network a life of good health, happiness success and respect.

Avril

It's Magic

Last night members of the  Wessex Women's Network were entertained by Dave Bonner and Martin Middleditch and what a brilliant evening it was too. Dave is a member of the Magic Circle and was assisted by Martin. They told us the history of magic as well as amazing us with some of their magic tricks. They really lifted our spirits on a cold and gloomy evening and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. It is so important for us women to get out and have some fun especially at the moment when everyone seems so depressed! We definately need some sunshine to cheer us up. It's only 3 weeks until the clocks go forward and hopefully Spring will be here with a hot summer to follow. You have to stay optimistic or you wouldn't get up in the morning.

On Monday evening I attended the Fellows Dinner for the Institute of Hospitality at the Landmark Hotel in London. I am actually a Fellow of the Institute but I can still wear a skirt! I find it so disappointing that these events in the hospitality industry are still so male dominated. Us women have a long way to go before we are on an equal footing with the men and are recognised as a force to be reckoned with. However it's onwards and upwards and never give up is my motto.

Business is tough for everyone at the moment but when the going gets tough the tough get going and it's the survival of the fittest. It's an opportunity to take that small step towards achieving something you never thought possible so ladies get out of your comfort zone and take that first step towards achieving your goals. It takes courage but if you never do it you will never know what you might have achieved.

I'm off to the ballet tonight. I'm going to see the English National Ballet perform Sleeping Beauty at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton. It's one of my favourite ballets with fabulous music. My ambition was to be in a ballet company and the nearest I got to my dream was to appear many years ago in Sleeping Beauty as a rat with the Royal Ballet Company when they visited the Mayflower Theatre! They used to use children from a local dancing school as extras in those days and I was teaching ballet at a dancing school in Southampton at the time and being small myself I was able to join the children as a rat! 

Finally remember in these difficult times

Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.

The daffodils are out so Spring must be on the way.

Til next time

Avril

Photos in Hampshire Life

I expect you are surprised to read another blog from me only a week after I posted my last one but I have some news for you. Hampshire Life have published the photos of some of us who attended the Christmas Dinner held in December at the Cloud Hotel in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support and I thought you would like to know.

Today was a lovely sunny day and everyone's spirits were lifted and people began to leave their homes and come out for lunch and tea. Hooray!

Today's quote;

'Go as far as you can see and when you get there go farther'

Until next time

Avril

A New Year

I can't believe I wrote my last Blog for the Wessex Women's Network 2 months ago. Time just flies by when you are having fun. Christmas at the Cloud Hotel is always so busy and this year was no exception.The pre-Christmas functions started on December 1st so by the time Christmas Day came we all felt like eating fish and chips because we had served so much turkey but tradition is tradition so I still cooked turkey on Boxing day when my family came and joined me for our family celebrations.  

So here we are with a New Year a fresh start with endless possibilities ahead of us. The Wessex Women's Network started the year with a full house to hear Shay McConnon give us an inspirational and amusing talk on leadership and how to lead your people. It was a great start to the year and raised all our spirits on a dark and cold evening. And talking about raising your spirits I love this quote from Oprah Winfrey.

'Surround yourself with people who are going to lift you higher'

My spirits are always raised after an evening with the vibrant and fun loving members of the Wessex Women's Network.

Lin Clark came to the meeting for the first time and brought samples of the delicious marshmallows she makes. We all drooled over them, her company is called Little Delicious and they certainly were. We devoured them.

The next Wessex Women's Network meeting is on February 27th when Dave Bonner who is a member of the Magic Circle is going to tell us about the History of Magic.

With romance in the air why not persuade your loved one to bring you to the Cloud Hotel for a romantic candlelit dinner in our intimate Encore Restaurant. Add a little sparkle to your life and enjoy a 4 course dinner £39-50 to include coffee and a small gift.

With all the doom and gloom reported in the media it would be easy to let your spirits drop but I'm always optimistic and I have discovered that positive people are a magnet for positive results so I'm looking forward to another busy and successful year and hope you are too.

'You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do'   Henry Ford

So get out there and do it and live your dreams.

Until next time and I won't leave it so long.

Avril

Six weeks to Christmas

With only 6 weeks to go until Christmas I'm sure like me you are wondering where the year has gone? I have just returned from 2 weeks relaxing in Tenerife before the Christmas rush and while I was away the clocks went back and the trees changed into their glorious autumn colours. How lucky we are to live in such a beautiful part of the country and after watching the devastation that hurricane Sandy brought to New York recently I feel we should never complain about our weather again but I expect we will!

I haven't been able to report on the last Wessex Women's Network meeting that we had in October before now as I left for Tenerife the following day. Our speaker Viv Oyolu gave us a very interesting and entertaining talk about her life and how she came from Nigeria to England to make a career for herself. Her ambition was to always be a radio presenter and at last she has achieved her ambition because she is the presenter on Dream Corner a radio programme and online hub inspiring women of all ages to follow their dreams and passions. Her bubbly personality lifted all our spirits.

Our next meeting is on Tuesday November 27th when Charisma of Fawley boutique is presenting another fashion show and if it is anything like last year's fashion show it is an event not to miss. It is getting booked up so if you want to come and see this year's autumn and winter fashions book soon to avoid disappointment.

There are still some places available for the Christmas Dinner that is being held at the Cloud Hotel on Friday December 14th cost is £30-00 and all proceeds go to Macmillan Cancer Support. To get us into the Christmas spirit the Highcliffe Junior Choir will start the evening with a selection of Christmas Carols. There will be a raffle so come prepared to buy some tickets and boost the funds.

Our pre-Christmas lunches and dinners start on December 1st until 24th so if you want to give a member of your family or friends a pre-Christmas treat in true traditional style book before it is too late. The menus can be seen on our website www.cloudhotel.co.uk

In spite of all the doom and gloom reported in the papers [that's if you read them, I try not to] there is alot to be thankful for in this country and I really do believe that positive attitudes create positive people and positive people create positive results. I personally love the challenges of running a business even though some days can be very stressful but with the twin elements of knowledge and power anything is possible.

If you are bored with life, if you don't get up every morning with a burning desire to do things then you don't have enough goals.     Lou Holtz

Every day you should get up, dress up and reach for your goals.

Bye for now

Avril