Innkeeper. Proprietor, The Castle at Taunton & BRAZZ Brasserie. Founder ArtsTaunton.co.uk . Books : go to myarchipelago.co.uk
Somerset, England
Based in United Kingdom
- Tweets 13,966
- Following 690
- Followers 2,631
- Likes 22,333
On Wednesday evening, we attended Requiem Mass for All Souls at #QueensCollegeOxford. Sublime singing @queenschoir some of the best we’ve heard from a university choir.
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If you come from North Petherton in Somerset and find yourself in Oxford one day, visit @AshmoleanMuseum to admire the stunning artistry of the #AlfredJewel
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* @Caterertweets Ian McAndrew was a great chef and one of the leading pioneers in the renaissance of British gastronomy in the 1980s. He featured in Volume 1 of my two-book series Great British Chefs.
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In response to @SomersetConf piece on @SomersetCouncil proposals about new car parking regime “sweating assets”. @CountyGazette
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We hear cries of despair from @BrewhouseLive @visit_taunton - threatened again with closure. 50 years ago, the theatre opened thanks to the vision and drive of councillors like John Meikle. Where is that leadership today? @SomersetCouncil @CountyGazetteEd @DanielMumby ?
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Just watched the London Marathon. Our son Dom ran it in 3 hrs 49mins. But that’s not the point. Today we saw the true spirit of our country. This was lion-hearted, kind-hearted, generous Great Britain. A rebuttal of the bitterness, divisions and grubbiness of society today.
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Our two hundred year old wisteria today 22/04/26. In full bloom @castletaunton … @visit_taunton @VisitSomerset @VisitEngland @VisitBritain @visitlondon
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In the past two days, two pubs have closed their doors in @visit_taunton town centre. For those of us still alive & kicking, April 1st will see our younger team players winning a pay rise awarded, NOT by us employers, but by @RachelReevesMP . Result? Fewer jobs for young people.
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X has accused me of using a word that promotes “hateful conduct”. So I shall try again. These are NOT meat balls. This is @VisitSomerset offal wrapped in caul. Better known as “faggots” by @guestcooks on the menu @Augustustaunton and they are the best you’ll ever eat. Delicious.
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Shortly, I begin my 80th year on Earth - 60 years working @castletaunton Saddened now that my latter years will be blighted living in a nation debased by a government failing to defend our country’s security, failing to boost our economy, failing to promote jobs for our youth.
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!!! @RachelReevesMP @Keir_Starmer @UKLabour One outcome of YOUR INIQUITOUS TAX GRAB. #TaxedOut
THE GOOD NEWS. @castletaunton is open for SUNDAY LUNCH; AFTERNOON TEA; WEDDINGS, CELEBRATIONS & EVENTS in elegant party spaces.
Join us for our first CABARET EVENING on April 10.
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Double-page spread by @martinhesp in today’s Western Morning News and Western Daily Press about @castletaunton @VisitBritain @VisitSomerset @visit_taunton Thank you Martin!
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The Mandelson scandal is an aspect of “Broken Britain”. In this case a break in the country’s moral fabric which echoes around the behaviours and decisions of those in positions of power and influence - @Keir_Starmer being a prime example. @JamesMelville ?
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* @RachelReevesMP Your sop to placate hospitality with business rates relief to pubs is a cynical, grotesque insult. This is @castletaunton - an ancient pub with 44 bedrooms that pulls pints everyday - the “lifeblood” of this local community for 75 years.
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My 18 year-old grandson told me I needed educating (gastronomically-speaking, that is). He took me to lunch @wagamama_uk today - my first experience. I chose a saku saku Duck soba (a crispy duck confection) and delicious it was too.
Where have I been all these years?
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For Louise and me, the sad death of the wonderful Prunella Scales marks the end of an era when she, with husband Timothy West, played @castletaunton in our annual theatrical weekends. Love & prayers to all the family.
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Yesterday’s top headline in TheGuardian ! I am wilting with despair at the sheer stupidity of this crass @UKLabour government @RachelReevesMP @Keir_Starmer Total ignorance about our trade @UKHospKate @UKHofficial
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On today’s @BBCNews we hear that the government is planning to make it “easier”for new pubs, bars and cafes to win licenses for their premises. It will stimulate “growth” says a minister. Eh? Don’t geddit when we are already all #TaxedOut - @UKHospKate @UKHofficial
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Just tuned into Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer taking questions from @CommonsLiaison Committee. The first point he made was to say that he wanted people feel “better off”. If this is the case, he’s going a very strange way about it.
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* @UKHospKate @UKHofficial Another below-the-belt body blow coming from @RachelReevesMP . Particularly for small independent operators in hospitality … @TelegraphNews @Telegraph
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If you care about the future of your business in hospitality, every operator should get tuned into Kate’s #TaxedOut campaign. We have briefed @GideonJAmos MP for Taunton & Wellington. Now brief yours!
If you want to get involved and tell your MP, your customers, your friends or X we are being #TaxedOut - everything you need is here. Spread and share ukhospitality.org.uk/campaig… via @ukhofficial
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@easyJet We’re on flight 2830 to Bristol. No EasyJet reps on duty at Skiathos airport. Why? It’s chaotic here … not a seat to be found …
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The drama of the Aegean Sea. Two scenes. On two days. Same location at daybreak. Just as Homer described it two thousand seven hundred years ago.
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It’s 21:00 on the Aegean archipelago. The light is fading. The bay is like a millpond. The sky cloudless. The white dots on the sea are small fishing boats preparing for tomorrow’s catch. Bliss.
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* @castletaunton is a small hospitality business. My family has run it successfully since 1950. Now in its third generation, this year we celebrate our 75th anniversary as guardians of this historic local landmark. @RachelReevesMP Jobs Tax adds £200k extra to our business costs.
Gone! Livelihoods destroyed because of Labour's Jobs Tax.
The Chancellor has failed to understand the realities of running a small business.
Why? Because Rachel Reeves and her front bench colleagues don't have any real world business experience.
We'll see more Rachel Reeves Closing Down Sales all over the country.
We can't afford Labour.
My words in today's @Daily_Express 👇🏻
express.co.uk/news/politics/…
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A serious restaurant likes to iron its table cloths. And @SeahorseDevon is a serious restaurant …
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Outstanding lunch by @DomChapman @the_crowntweet this week. Asparagus with poached egg, monks beard & morels. Line-caught sea bass with tabbouleh. Banana choux bun, salted caramel ice cream, chocolate sauce & hazelnut praline to die for!
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A sunny day out. Visit Colyton. Take the top deck on the Seaton Tramway. Fab fun. Walk Seaton’s promenade. Radiant seascape. (NB gastronomes: Seaton is not a gastronomic destination). Return Colyton on the tram. Visit the town and St Andrew’s Church. Stunning stained glass.
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Outstanding lunch today with @DomChapman & @julesgurr23 @the_crowntweet Lasagne of Wild Rabbit with Wood Blewits (world class signature dish) and a host of other brilliant goodies … @MichelinGuideUK @HardensBites @GoodFoodGuideUK @Top50Gastropubs
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By the by, and I don’t mean to wind both of you up, nor our other #STMS friends, I’m reading @BorisJohnson ‘s
political autobiography, “Unleashed”. You’ll love it, if only because it’s a terrific read …
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Mine was given to me by Louise seven years ago. Simple and supremely elegant. @TISSOT
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** @DomChapman of @the_crowntweet visits @castletaunton to cook lunch for special friends in the Penthouse. Orkney scallops; Wiltshire partridge; Treacle pudding.
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Happy Birthday,Tim. Love and warmest greetings from Kit & Louise Chapman @castletaunton - belated but heartfelt nevertheless. With fondest memories of your visits to @visit_taunton . And much love to Pru too …
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From today’s @thetimes . @RachelReevesMP @Keir_Starmer SMALL FIRMS LIKE MINE WILL STRUGGLE LIKE ALL OTHERS IN THE ALREADY HARD-PRESSED HOSPITALITY SECTOR IF YOU PROCEED WITH YOUR PROPOSALS. Please rethink. We don’t have the flexibility of big corporates. @UKHospKate @UKHofficial
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👎🏾 #ParisOlympics2024 opening ceremony … the Bridgwater @BCarnival is a fantastic event. Better than this woeful rubbish …
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Here’s a thing. Today I cut my hand badly. We’re on a small Aegean island. The local doctor sorted me immediately. 4 stitches. He prescribed antibiotics. The pharmacy was still open at 9.00 pm. In UK, I’d still be in A&E, on a trolley, waiting. #Greece #LoveGreece … @NHSEngland
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A fabulous Greek fish for supper tonight. Fagri - a relative of sea bream - caught today in local waters and spanking fresh. These are its remains …
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Loved Carl Ludwig as we cracked the shells of our pistachios, chewed on our Kalamata olives, sipped an excellent @ktimagerovass Sauvignon Blanc and contemplated this corner of the Aegean Sea - my archipelago …
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RIP Francoise Hardy, the great pinup of my youth. Went to the launch of her King’s Road club in the early 1970s where I (nearly) met my future wife Louise. “Tous les garçons et les filles” et al …
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This is #VivliaHora pink (Syrah) - Northern Greece near the city of Kavala. Like @ktimagerovass a well respected estate. But no contest compared to the Gerovassiliou rose made with the indigenous Xinomavro grape.
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First visit to theholcombe.com . Superb Sunday lunch. Fresh veg from the kitchen garden. Thank you Alan and Caroline …
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Oh dear, Chef @DomChapman of @the_crowntweet and his eponymous restaurant in Henley is in big trouble with Britain’s chippies. Page 3 in today’s Sunday Telegraph …
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Santa Maria Novella this afternoon. The young Giotto’s crucifixion (1288/90) hanging in the centre of the nave struck me particularly. Slender arms and legs depict an unusually feminine Christ. Fabulous frescoes tell their own biblical stories.
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Magnificent … Wondrous Santa Croce … Michelangelo’s tomb. Dante’s cenotaph. Machiavelli’s tomb.
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The 14thC monastery of San Francesco, Fiesole, overlooking Florence. A place of quiet serenity. And breathtaking frescoes.
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The inaugural dinner of the @castletaunton PUDDING CLUB met @TheNewBrazz this evening. 46 members attended. They tasted 5 scrumptious puddings. This Seabuckthorn Posset was declared the winner. Congratulations to Pastry Chef Kerry!💓
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On tonight’s menu @TheNewBrazz Apple Tart made by Kayla, our Pastry Chef. Mmmm … deli deli deli …
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Can anyone identify the provenance of this intricately crafted copper(?) plate. Quite heavy. Diameter 25.5cms. Passed down to me from my Greek grandmother!
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Essential reading for anyone who cares about the development of @visit_taunton Read @levellerlive @SomersetConf “Taunton’s Titanic Tax Take”. @Taunton_TC £5.9m budget is full of “very large unknowns” with zero allocated to the TIC & @BrewhouseLive Neither have specific provision.
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Brilliant public relations … But the sad reality is that Le Gavroche in Upper Brook Street (arguably London and Britain’s greatest gastronomic institution) is closing. A cautionary tale, symbolic of the state of good restaurants in today’s reduced world.
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At year-end, I find myself pondering about @visit_taunton For 45 yrs I’ve campaigned to make the County Town of @VisitSomerset a DESTINATION. But our politicos are bereft of ambition. @Taunton_TC @SomersetCouncil Our town remains invisible. Where’s the promised MPV? That’d help!
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Stellar Christmas Day lunch The Crown at Burchett’s Green. Big thanks @DomChapman and all the Team @the_crowntweet
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Six sublime voices. And a perfect acoustic.
A happy Christmas to you all. Time to escape this wicked world for a moment. Time for peace and goodwill.
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This #ChristmasEve @BarryHavenhand will be leading @tauntondeanemvc in carols around the Christmas tree @castletaunton
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Greece is named The Economist’s country of the year 2023 … 🇬🇷@TheEconomist Congratulations to Prime Minister @kmitsotakis
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Important reading for those of us who love Somerset. Our beautiful countryside is being strangled by massive housing developments - destroying the peace and social structures of our communities. This from Somerset Confidential, a supplement to @levellerlive
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If you’re getting stressed with all your preparations for Christmas, book yourself lunch @guestcooks @Augustustaunton … HAPPINESS 🎄😀🥰🥂💓
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Our Christmas trees @castletaunton look forward to helping you celebrate the Season with your family, friends and work colleagues. Louise & I, @MrRonanHunter and Team Castle know how to show you a good time. And … don’t forget Adam’s fab cocktails @TheNewBrazz
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The @quantockhills should also be awarded National Park status (perhaps joined with @ExmoorNP ). @julian_glover @thedonaldrice @ArtsTaunton
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“The biggest business tax cut in modern history”, says @Jeremy_Hunt That’s tosh ref the hospitality sector. Extending business rates relief is no big deal given the other pressures on our trade. After decades of trying, governments still don’t geddit @UKHospKate @UKHofficial
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Three elderly, bewildered, frightened poppy sellers outside a London tube station yesterday. What does this say about our country? Is it ok to allow the mob to rule? Have we lost all sense of leadership? Are our values now rendered valueless? Yet these three stood their ground.
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Vienna - a city where it’s easy to OD on art and music. The Albertina today for Michelangelo, Picasso and the Impressionists. The Folksoper this evening for Mozart’s Zauberflote. (BTW, for lame Oldies like me, the Albertina is disabled-unfriendly).
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Paid a return visit to the Belvedere. Not just to admire its magnificence, but also to pay homage to Gustav Klimt. Took the brilliant “hop on, hop off” tour bus. Awestruck by the sheer grandeur of Imperial Vienna’s Baroque architecture and its devotion to promoting the arts.
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Visiting the magnificent Schonbrunn Palace where Franz Joseph 1 died in 1916. He decorated my grandfather for services to the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, making him a “von”. But that’s another story. Read myarchipelago.co.uk
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.@Taunton_TC Your output on X (Twitter) is all very worthy, but desperately anodyne. Why don’t you tell us how you are trying to develop @visit_taunton What’s your vision for the County Town of Somerset? Where’s your imagination? Where’s the ambition? Tell us!
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Lunch yesterday with friends @BeckfordArms Pastry Chef Chris delivers our most perfectly delicious Tarte Tatin …
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Warmest thanks @Giles_Adams for your splendid encomium @TheNewBrazz @castletaunton … BUT “Parthenon Marbles” please! (Elgin was a vandal). And I think your delicious tastings touched your palate, not your palette? 😖
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