The history of Mother's Day goes back to the times of ancient Greeks, who held festivities to honour Rhea, the mother of the gods.

The early Christians in celebrated the Mother's festival on the fourth Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading up to Easter) to honour Mary, the mother of Christ. Interestingly, later on a religious order stretched the holiday to include all mothers, and named it as the Mothering Sunday. People working out of their homes were expected to return to the "mother" church (the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm).

In 1872 Julia Ward Howe organized a day for mothers dedicated to peace. It is a landmark in the history of Mother's Day.In 1907, Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948), began a movement to set up a national Mother's Day in honour of her mother, Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis. She solicited the help of hundreds of legislators and prominent businessmen to create a special day to honour mothers. The first Mother's Day observance was a church service honouring Anna's mother. Anna handed out her mother's favourite flowers, the white incarnations, on the occasion as they represent sweetness, purity, and patience. Anna's hard work finally paid off in the year 1914, when President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as a national holiday in honour of mothers. The second Sunday of May has become the most popular day of the year. Mother's day has spread to various countries of the world. Many countries throughout the world celebrate Mother's Day at various times during the year, but some such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium also celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May.

Mother's Day is one occasion that gives you the opportunity to do something for your mother.

Why not join us and celebrate Mother’s Day at The Bull Hotel in Gerrards Cross. We offer a 3 course carvery lunch with a glass of Bucks Fizz and a gift for Mum at 29.95 per adult and 15.95 per child (4-14 years). Please contact our Meetings and Events Team on 01753 885 995 to book your table.

The Bull Hotel has just launched its brand new cocktail menu which is guaranteed to blow away those winter blues and get you ready for spring. The sophisticated and elegant Lounge is a perfect place to sample each of the six scrumptious new offerings.

The true creation of a popular cocktail can be traced back to the nineteenth century. One early written reference to the term "cocktail" (as a drink based on spirits with other spirits and additives) can be found in an American magazine, published in May 1806. It stated that a "Cocktail is a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters..."

The cocktails available at The Bull Hotel will appeal to all different tastes and moods. There is the fruity Sex on the Beach which will leave you reminiscing about that memorable holiday, or the gorgeous and powerful Slow Comfortable Screw – be careful with this one – Gin, Vodka and Whiskey can sometimes be a dangerous combination !!

My favourite however and one I have had quite a bit of practise in both making and drinking is the Kir Royal - a simple but excellent classic.

Kir is named after Cannon Felix Fir, a priest and hero of the French resistance during World War 2 and major of Dijon from 1945 to 1968. He was very fond of the local white wine mixed with Crème de Cassis (blackcurrant liquor). This fondness has been attributed to

His desire to promote local products
The fact that local wine was often acidic, so the sweetness of the liquor would pleasantly rectify this
Or perhaps just because he liked to drink it like myself!!

Whatever the reason, it became the official aperitif at town hall receptions and gained increasing fame. Prior to this point the drink was simply known as ‘Vin Blanc Cassis’ However during this period it became widely known as Kir, the term which is now commonly used within France and worldwide.

In time new variations were developed with the Kir Royal being one of them. Instead of white wine champagne is used – heavenly!!

The drink certainly seemed to agree with Canon Kir as he was well into his nineties when he died in 1968. You might say that the blackcurrants in his famous cocktail creation had something to do with it as they have about seven times as much Vitamin C as oranges, much of which is preserved within the Crème de Cassis.

Why not order one now from the Lounge bar – and you could prolong your life by years!

Submitted by Michelle Mayes – Reservations Manager at The Bull

The 'Jack Shrimpton' Bar at The Bull

Before the Inns, Public Houses & Hotels were built, as we know them today, it was primarily the monasteries that gave lodging to travelers. However, an enormous strain was placed on such monasteries as the followers of Christianity increased and so a new type of establishment was needed. Monasteries and private entrepreneurs funded and set about building Inns. By the end of the 16th Century there were about 6000 across the country. The Bull Hotel was one of these, built in 1688 amid times that had just seen the Great Plague (1665) and The Fire of London (1666).

The name The Bull is said to derive from the surrounding grounds that date back to 1200 BC. The Romans under the instructions of Caesar occupied it during their great invasion of Britain. To defend their territory in this time the locals used Bulls which is another reason as to why The Bull Hotel got its name.

The Bull Hotel, all these hundreds of years ago was a sanctuary of wayfaring strangers, cutthroats, thieves & political malcontents – a far cry from the international business men and women and lavish leisure guests that we receive today.

The Inn, as it stood then, was a common haunt for the famous highwaymen that would travel up & down the A40 road that The Bull stands on, linking Oxford to London. The infamous Dick Turpin was just one of these thieves as was Mr Jack Shrimpton.

Shrimpton regularly stayed at The Bull seeding refuge & only 1 mile away held up an entire coach party of all their guineas. A regular at our bar he was eventually convicted of both murder & countless robberies. It is said that he took his last drink at the hotel before being executed on the 4th of September 1731. Our front bar is named after this “gentleman”.

It was English law that imposed social responsibility for the well being of travelers & therefore, made sure, that such Inn’s & hotels received travelers in reasonable condition. This was the first instance of the hotel inspectors that we know today.

By Royal Act selected Innkeepers, The Bull Hotel included, were required to maintain stables for the use of travelers. These stables were originally at the front of the building on the left hand side. With the many extensions that the hotel has seen over these hundreds of years you can now find us in the Guinness Book o Records for the Longest Single Frontage of any Coaching Inn.

Over the years it has seen many interesting owners and visitors. The infamous “Hanging Judge Feffries” was one such owner. The Hanging judge was a close friend of king James II & became Lord Chancellor in 1685. He was famous for his brutal & relentless treatment of criminals & had a strong belief in the death sentence.

He was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of men & sent thousands to Barbados as Slaves. His life came to an end when siding with King James II who was rebelling against the government, continuously dissolving it. They were captured trying to escape into exile & later died in The Tower of London.

The surrounding areas have grown considerable in both wealth and volume of the inhabitants. The construction of the Great Central Railway in 1906 gave a fast link to London Marylebone, which has attracted commuters from all over the World.

Gerrards Cross has a reputation for being upmarket and exclusive, with houses prices being considerable greater than the average. Outside of London, it had the most expensive postcode in the UK. The like of Sharon & Ozzy Osbourne, Angelina Jolie, Noel Gallagher, Cilla Black and many more homes are occupied by various celebrities.
The entertainers of yesteryear includes the likes of Sir John & Lady Mills - who lived in Denham and the great poet laureate John Betjeman – taught English at the local school.

The Pinewood Studios is a short distant away, which was the home of the “Carry On” and the world famous “James Bond” movies.

Enid Blyton, Terry Pratchett and Benjamin Disraeli had their homes in Beaconsfield, the oldest model village in the world, is only 10 minutes away.

Buckinghamshire is also the county of “CHEQUERS”, the country residence of the Prime Minister.

Submitted by The Reception Team at The Bull

Every February, across the country, chocolates, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday?

The history of Valentine's Day — and its patron saint — is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognises at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.
One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men — his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realising the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.
Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.
According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl — who may have been his jailor's daughter — who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasise his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.
While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial — which probably occurred around 270 A.D — others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'Christianise' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.
To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification.
The boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goat hide strips. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because it was believed the strips would make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would then each choose a name out of the urn and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. The Roman 'lottery' system for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February — Valentine's Day — should be a day for romance. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. The greeting, which was written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England. Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.
In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.
According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)
Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.
Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages (written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400), and the oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. The first commercial Valentine's Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colourful pictures known as "scrap".
Spoil the special person in your life this Valentine’s Day with a 3 course meal in a truly romantic setting.

The Bull Hotel will be hosting Valentine’s Day dinner in Beeches Restaurant on Saturday 13th February and Sunday 14th February 2010. £29.95 per person including a 3 course meal and a glass of Sparkling Rose. Stay the night from £109.90 per couple which includes Valentines dinner, accommodation and full English breakfast.

Beeches Restaurant

Beeches Restaurant is open for breakfast and dinner every day and lunch weekdays and Sundays. The menu is Modern European using fresh, seasonal produce, complemented by a well balanced wine list. Click here for the sample restaurant menu and wine list.
Join us every Sunday for our famous Sunday Carvery in Beeches Restaurant. It is a long standing tradition at The Bull to have an English Carvery every Sunday including rib on the bone and turkey crown, marinated with the freshest herbs from our very own herb garden and guaranteed to tickle the most demanding palate. Come along with family and friends and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere, good food and some excellent wine.
Why not make a day out of it and enjoy a refreshing drink before your lunch, while enjoying the breathtaking views of the gardens from the patio, before partaking in a walk around Chalfont St. Peter.

If however you would like to see the restaurant for yourself why not book on one of our breaks and relax. At the Abbey Hotel we strive to offer our customers value for money in specially selected packages with an added interest. You will remember we introduced the Body and Sole package at the end of 2008. We combined luxury extras in the bedroom with maps of the hills for the energetic ones, followed by a relaxing meal and a bottle of wine in the restaurant. We have added a little culture with our Elgar route package combining maps of the Elgar Route and a CD of his music perfect for spring break. The museum is not open in January.
There it is then; time to book a holiday so armed with the latest fad diet book and a bunch of self help books to prop up my laptop I sip slowly at my glass of red wine and surf the net for a holiday on which I will read more and oh yes swim to get fit.

I hope you had a great Christmas. I know I did. Each year it seems to get better and better. I was very pleased with how well our Christmas Package Operation went given the current economic challenges. We ended up with a delightful number of guests with 100% satisfaction rate. It was a very pleasant Christmas for me. It took us about 3 weeks with the build up to Christmas to prepare The Abbey for the festive activities it was about to hold. Malvern is no North Pole, but we can always hope for a White Christmas, to make the atmosphere that little bit more Christmassy! (Better late than never!) The staff were all working like elves to prepare for Christmas and the chefs were kind enough to prepare a celebratory Christmas Dinner for all our hard work in preparing for the big day. After Christmas Lunch the guests took a 4 hour nap, but there was no rest for the elf like staff, who to their credit carried on working, preparing food, entertaining those guests that had opted out of their nap taking, serving sherry and mince pies. Throughout the afternoon, guests were waking; sharing tales of their gifts from Santa, sipping tea and desperately awaiting to see what entertainment The Abbey were putting on for them next. They thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas Quiz, hosted by me, and the Race night that Sarah and Marco had put on for them. I think they were relieved when a nice Christmassy, feel good film was put on the big screen for them, and enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere and were delighted with the choice they had voted for – Casablanca!!! Late into the evening I sat for hours with the guests drinking coffee, sharing memories, and making new friends. I hope all of you had a chance to connect with friends and family the way we were able to that night.After everyone left and the Abbey Elves were still hard at work preparing for the next day, replenishing coffee stations and ensuring the hotel bar, lounge and dining area were clean and welcoming for the next day. At around 1:00am we turned all the lights off except the Christmas tree lights and the lights in the garland that draped all the windows and retired to our own beds but not before soaking in every last precious moment of Christmas. I didn't think about old memories or make plans for the future... I was just truly in the moment. I don't know about you but it’s rare I do that. I am always thinking about what's next... two, three, four moves down the road. I don't think much about the past other than to consider what I can learn from it but thinking about "what's next" often keeps me out of the moment. So Christmas night was special. It is something I need to apply more often. If you haven't taken time to just sit and enjoy a quiet, still moment during this very special... even magical... time of year, I encourage you to do so when the time comes around again. You will be amazed at the pure joy it provides.Merry Christmas to all and to all a very blessed night!

Written by Reception at The Abbey

In September 2009, the Windsor Festival will be celebrating its Fortieth Anniversary as one of the countries’ leading arts, music and literary festivals. Running from 19th September – 4th October, this autumn’s Festival will play host to some of the world’s most gifted musicians and writers.

Along with events featuring John Lill, Michael Parkinson, and Roy Hudd, the main 2009 programme highlights include:
The 40th Anniversary Gala Concert – Welcoming back the Philharmonic Orchestra, this concert will be held in Windsor Castle’s Waterloo Chamber on the 21st of September and will feature world renowned conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy. Brian O’Kane, the winner of last year’s International String Competition, will also be on hand to wow audiences as the solo cellist.

The 2nd annual International String Competition – In the spirit of Lord Menhuin, a festival founder whose desire to provide more opportunity to young musicians remains core to its ethos today, this competition will seek out the next budding young string talent from a pool of 50 entrants worldwide, 8 of whom will battle it out to be crowned the winner of this unique prize. The final will take place on the 4th of October at the Theatre Royal, Windsor.

Henry VIII 500th Anniversary – Events will take place through the Festival to will mark the King’s 500th accession to the throne. Activities will include exploring Windsor Town in Tudor times focussing on the pageantry and religious turmoil which characterised his reign. Quintessential Voices will present Pass Time With Good Company, a programme of words and music on both evenings in the unique setting around the King’s tomb in St George’s Chapel, and the Castle Dungeon to celebrate his love of music and the arts, and David Starkey will give a special talk there to conclude the Festival.

“Back in 1969, Robin Woods, the then Dean of Windsor, proclaimed at the very first Windsor Festival that there was a need for more artistry in this town,” says Martin Denny, Windsor Festival Director. “He went on to declare that the Festival would provide the perfect opportunity to bring a new depth of music and culture to Windsor. These same sentiments ring as true today as they did four decades ago.”

“Steeped in history, Windsor continues to provide the perfect backdrop for this cultural event, with top-quality concerts within Windsor Castle offering the rare opportunity to spend an evening in the stunning surrounds of the Waterloo Chamber and St George’s Chapel,” continues Denny. “Now in its fortieth year, there is just as much to celebrate as in previous years. It is our sincere desire that the local community and those from further a field will find pleasure in partaking in the Festival’s wide variety of events celebrating the arts.”

By Saskia Meyer, Front Office Shift Leader at The Bull