STAFF NEWS
Life would not be the same without staff news. Just as I had gotten used to squeezing myself back into my vast range of novelty waistcoats and ties – remember, I had escaped the kitchen, then Richard, aka “Soufflé”, secured himself a prestigious position in the hills above Llangollen and I was back in my Big, Beautiful & Curvy T-shirts and clogs again! To be honest I missed the kitchen and on relishing the prospect of making Simon's (our executive head chef) job even more difficult than before. Sorry Simon!
Otherwise and thankfully things have been remarkably quiet on the staff front with all our usual suspects in harness, most of them having enjoyed some summer holidays.
My holiday involved camping in Switzerland under the north face of the Eiger next to a gushing torrent of glacial melt. Safe to say that the scenery matched the extreme levels of discomfort and inconvenience that life under the canvas undoubtedly is. I am accepting any reasonable and possibly unreasonable offers for a vast array of hardly used camping kit and I promise never to do it again!
Notable events of the summer included a magnificent Andy Leake Showcase, the inaugural solo concert of red-hot local singing talent, Libby Glicksman, an amazing set of appearances by the truly fabulous Lisa Mills, to mention just a few.
Final piece of staff news involves the imminent departure of our favourite human dynamo Phillipa Hughes. Phill is leaving soon to become general manager of the highly prestigious Loch Fyne Seafood Restaurant in Stockton, Heath. I’m sure you’d like to join me in thanking Phillipa for her enthusiasm and infectious insanity and wish her luck with her new job!
THE ‘X’ FILES
Christmas is really when The Walls blossoms.
Since early May the more rabid of you have been badgering me in terrier-like fashion, trying to coax me into writing menus, fixing prices and entertainment details for the silly season.
It is truly gratifying to see how quickly our prime time slots have sold out. We currently have a small waiting list for Christmas Day and very little space available for Fridays & Saturdays throughout December.
However, it is a very fluid time of year and it’s always worth telephoning just to see if we have suitable availability. New Year's Eve is always a controlled riot at The Walls and this year will be no exception.
The aforementioned Little Bit of Chaos are practicing hard and their set list for NYE will thrill all ages and musical tastes. The band will play well into the small hours ably supported by a disco and all this follows a spectacular 3-course dinner. Spaces are £57.50 per person to include dinner, the show and a champagne cocktail on arrival.
FOOD
Reading this you’d be forgiven for not realising that mostly we do food!
Simon and I are pleased to be able to bring you our new Autumn A la Carte menu. Starting from 1st October it features our usual mix of interesting new dishes and old favourites all treated with care, understanding and integrity.
We continue with our hugely popular £12.50 for 2-course offering until early in December and it will feature in next year's offering in some form or another.
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EVENTS
TWO and a Half ROCK BEHEMOTHS
There is really only one suitable venue for the truly famous and talented musical legends to perform in Oswestry, but Gibson’s was booked for those two nights!
On October 27th sees the long overdue return of a consistent star performer who has appeared in the MOJO top ten guitarists in the world and deservedly so.
Francis Dunnery is a consummate musician, raconteur and spectacular table tennis player! Francis has teamed up with a phenomenal keyboard player to produce his new album, and will play a memorable selection of new songs and possible some old “It Bites” anthems.
On November the 11th, the most magnificent, founding member and at least 50% of the inspiration behind Squeeze, Mr. Chris Difford. He is ably supported by the “Half a rock behemoth” Mr. Phil Beaumont and his multi-talented Little Bit of Chaos band.
A serious night of top drawer music performed by an artist with an impeccable pedigree – Chris’s band features Mat Deighton (Oasis) and on vocals. LBofC are always good value and are guaranteed to, at the very least make you feel like dancing even if you’re too full of supper to move much.
Neither of these events is too be missed and tickets for both evenings are an insanely reasonable £25.00 to include a 2-course dinner. Please telephone for menu details and early booking.
ART EXHIBITIONS
For the next month we feature an exhibition of work by local artist, Mary Cunnah. Her work has natural charm and is landscapes and charcoal portrayals of sheep and pastoral scenes.
This whole collection, based around the elemental themes of nature and nurture, shows a great variety of artistic interpretation and implementation. In order to further her abilities Mary has recently embarked on a Professional Print Makers Course in Yale, Wrexham.
And, in November, we feature the work of Jayne Nash.
FUTURE WSJs
Just in case I don’t manage to get another journal out before Christmas and New Year, I’d like to wish you all a splendid, jolly and healthy festive season and hope to greet and or feed most of you sometime before the start of 2006.
Thanks, Geoff!
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