Summer Edition

DOLPHIN UPDATE . . .

Dear all friends and patrons of the Dolphin Inn and Village store,

At last the rain seems to have arrived and all the gardens can recover and hopefully the farmers are now a little happier. Since Easter weekend we have received an enormous amount of visitors into Thorpeness, day visitors, walkers, bird watchers, fisherman all who have enjoyed what Thorpeness offers. The Village shop has broken a few records selling masses of biltong, sausage rolls, cheese, pork pies, tons of newspapers, flowers and lots more. Carole and Kerry have done an extraordinary job coping with all the stress and demands the extra work has created. In the Dolphin we now have a new smoker and ice cream maker all ready for the summer. The success of our hog roasts and barbecue's last summer has led us to incorporate even more hog roasts with live music into this coming summer's diary. Sunday roasts are still proving to be very popular and with a choice of roasts and our crumble posing good value for money at �9.95 per person.

We are all looking forward to another busy summer with Thorpeness offering a large variety of activities, sailing, tennis, golf and lovely walks on our beaches. Please pop in and pay us a visit.

Again a big thank you to all of you who managed to pop into the Village shop or visit us in the Dolphin, your support is always gratefully received.

Warm regards

David

NEWS FROM BY THE LAKE . . .

Lake1 For weeks it seemed as if Easter would never arrive- it was a very long winter- then we skipped spring and suddenly it was summer season! Well that's what it felt like, one day we were twiddling our thumbs wondering how to keep busy then 'the world & his uncle' arrived in Thorpeness for the extended holiday. We opened the Meare Shop and Tearoom 25 years ago and I can honestly say that was the busiest Easter ever, but after that hard winter, we needed it. The spring flowers around the Tearoom are looking wonderful and should last until the bedding plants are in full bloom. The teapot display is particularly beautiful with burgundy and yellow violas- at least the breakages are put to good use.

At present we are not planning anything new�our drinks, ice-creams, quiches, cream teas, panini's etc, are still the price range of our customers to feel that they have had a treat without breaking the bank- and we all know how the banks have faired over the last few years- especially losing HSBC in Aldeburgh and having to drive to Saxmundham.

Last week I was privileged to act as steward to Aldeburgh Primary School at the Schools' Day at the Suffolk Show Ground. The children, staff and I had a great day learning how food is produced by Suffolk Framers, watching Gun Dog and Sheep Dog Trials and tasting delicious local produce. The ferret was a great hit with the children!

Now I really must get down to serving a few customers myself . . .

With best wishes Liz, Jeroen and the team

NEWS FROM ALDEBURGH . . .

Sean Morrison, Front of House Manager at the newly refurbished White Lion Hotel, Aldeburgh, is climbing Kilimanjaro in October to raise funds for the East Anglian Air Ambulance.

Your sponsorship would be much appreciated, please visit:

www.virginmoneygiving.com/SeanMorrison

BEACH CLEAN

This year's Thorpeness big clean up exceeded all expectations. 100 volunteers met at The Dolphin Inn on Good Friday and went out to collect 60 bags of rubbish picked up from Thorpe House to the Wardens, approx. one mile of beach. David and his magnificent team at The Dolphin, the main sponsors, served much needed free refreshments and snacks. The event was also supported by Bedfords and Thorpeness Hotels. Over �120 was collected on the day for St. Elizabeth Hospice. Job well and truly done!

Thank you all, Bill Crow

WHATS IN STORE . . .

I am pleased to say we have seen more people coming into the shop over Easter and half term compared to last year, which is a credit to all the hard work we have been doing to place the right products into our shop. I now like to think that we not only are a facility in our local community but also something different that allows us to show Thorpeness and the area for all the great products its has to offer. From the infamous Thorpeness leaves and Olga's fudge, jams and marmalades, to Zim Tim's increasingly popular biltong.

Thanks to Hugh and Penny Butterworth we not only have a unique selection of postcards but also some bone china mugs of the House in the Clouds and the Windmill. Watch this space as Hugh is kindly adding a display of his art works in the shop to brighten up the place ready for the summer. Take a peek in to our deli and you'll find fresh Lowestoft crabs, hot smoked salmon and some hand raised pork pies which are especially good for those picnics on the beach. Our ever popular sausage rolls (especially amongst the builders) and Carol's own cheese straws have been flying out the door as we try and keep up with demand.

I have been dabbling in the art of "quiche making" which I am pleased to say has gone better than expected. With summer just around the corner we intend to add a pannini machine and increase our selection of ice-cream in the shop to drive away the hunger in those summer afternoons after lounging on the beach. With a busy season expected please remember to not only pop into the shop and say hello but also reserve your newspaper to avoid the rush first thing and disappointment.

Lastly just a big thanks for all your support , we hope to see you all in the shop again soon!

Carole and Kerry

KITCHEN DIARIES . . .

Hello again everybody. The past couple of months have been exciting for me in the kitchen. Firstly let me welcome David back into the kitchen after a 10 year absence. It's funny, through all the years I have known David we have never worked alongside each other in the kitchen. So now hopefully everyone will feel the full force of what the kitchen has on offer. We have recently acquired a new digital smoker and ice cream machine. I have been having lots of fun with the smoker, experimenting with different meats and fish. Our own smoked salmon has gone down a storm as a starter. The ice cream machine has been busy making some very scrumptious chocolate truffle ice cream, again proving popular with our cheesecake and our cinnamon ice cream, which is a favourite of mine, is going down a treat. I've also been busy putting together the new BBQ menu for the summer, and whilst some popular dishes have stayed, there are a lot of new items to be tried out this year.

All the plants in the garden are flourishing well in all this sunshine we keep having. The hose pipe has been out on a regular basis. Hopefully with all the berries produced this year I will be able to make some more ice cream with them. Yum! My blog is becoming more and more popular every week now. You can take a read of it at www.cheftheobald.com . Also you can follow what I'm up to in the kitchen on a daily basis by following me on twitter@funky_banana. Enjoy the sunshine everybody.

Chris

ON THE PUMPS . . .

Last year we had a good selection of beers with just three pumps, but over the spring we have added an extra two pumps added to give an excellent selection of local real ales. We now source direct from Woodfords Wherry and Once Bittern which will be regular over the summer, and for the first time ever we have had St Peters Golden Ale, which has proven popular. Not forgetting Adnams, we will have a regular guest Ale, Lighthouse is doing very well but Regatta and Ghost Ship are proving popular. Chris has been growing a vast amount of mint to keep up with the demand for Mojitos, which are now back and made with our own mint syrup. I am looking forward to seeing you all over the Summer.

Stuart

LOCAL ELECTRICIAN PEST PROBLEM

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.Rewires approaching, please call Andy and Ryan for

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. Additions and alterations Twenty years in the business, fully insured,

Tel: 01728 831282 very reliable with competitive prices.

Mob: 07773784285 Andy Noy, 14 Buller Rd, Leiston, IP16 4HA

westy2111@btinternet.com Tel: 01728 833236 or 07966073222

"Roast and Crumble"

at the Dolphin Inn

every Sunday

A choice of roasts and crumble for only

�9.95

Please book a table

THORPENESS HOTEL AND GOLF CLUB

Relax in the scenic hotel gardens or on the terrace overlooking Thorpeness Meare

and enjoy a traditional afternoon tea. A pot of tea, finger sandwiches,

homemade cake and freshly baked scones with cream and jam, �9.95 per person.

To make a reservation

Tel 01728 452176

Thorpesport

RUGBY

The season has finished well for the adults, we finished in 4th place in the Suffolk Merit league, Division 2.We would like to thank The Dolphin and all of our sponsors for the fantastic support we have had in our first year. Thank you to the residents of Thorpeness, visitors and ex players for great support at all of our home games, attendance reached up to 100 people on a couple of occasions. We have started Junior training sessions again at the Ogilvie sports ground and hope to run them most Saturdays 10am - 12 midday until July, any age and ability welcome.... We hope to see you all again next season, which will start for us in August.

Dale Hoffman, Thorpeness Rugby club

www.thorpenessrfc.co.uk

GOLF

The course is in fantastic condition and changes to this excellent course have certainly enhanced the experience of playing on a top golf course and if you do happen to need any help at all two PGA professionals, Frank Hill and Christopher Oldrey, offer a full range of Golf Tuition packages.
Frank Hill is a playing professional on the European Seniors' Tour and a very experienced teacher. Christopher Oldrey is the other half of the Thorpeness Golf Academy and Pro-Shop team and is also a qualified PGA professional.

BOULES

The Thorpeness Dolphin Boules Team are sitting mid table in The Suffolk Coastal Petanque League at the halfway point in the season after a win in the last match away to The Bell Inn, Middleton. A doubles pair from the Dolphin team will beplaying for the league in The North Sea Trophy Tournament which is being played in Ipswich later in the season against a visiting team from Belgium. The remaining match dates are posted on the notice board at the Dolphin. For any further information r.e. playing boules please contact Steve at the Dolphin, or Andy Street 07967 759601