Church, Bistro and Theatre

Image taken on 2007-05-05 21:32:18 by Steve Rhodes.

Due to the incredible emergence of the online restaurants, there are now more places than ever where you can buy food online.

It can really drive you crazy deciding on which one to order from. But I guess you can say the same about the bricks and mortar restaurants that we are all used to. I suppose the point is, we should all love choices, especially if you are a fan of gourmet food.

Deciding on the best gourmet food site is difficult, but the one who has arguably built the best reputation would have to be Home Bistro.

It’s very highly respected and is well known for high quality food as well as service.  You can even research online to see how many people just rave about them.

They hire only the best chefs from the best restaurants to prepare their food.  The majority of which have over twenty years of experience.

Their dishes are not only beautiful to look at, but more importantly are absolutely delicious. There are absolutely no preservatives in the ingredients.  All ingredients are fresh.

I know many don’t expect food that was delivered by UPS to look as good as the food you see in most high end restaurants.  But Home Bistro definitely knows what it is doing.  All the food is professionally packaged so there is almost no chance of ruining your order during transit.

Should, by any chance that might happen, Home Bistro really stands by their replacement refund.  Should anything be wrong or unsatisfactory with your order, they will ship out a replacement dish immediately.

You don’t have to worry about the freshness of the food either, because everything is flash frozen to lock in the freshness.  So by the time it gets to your home, all you have to do is heat the dish up and you’ve got a delicious meal.

If you are not in the mood to eat the meals then and there, you can just throw it in the freezer and it will keep for over a year.

Image taken on 2008-05-06 11:39:23 by Claudio.Ar.

Image taken on 2008-07-08 17:43:15 by kevindooley.

Image taken on 2009-12-15 15:03:04 by Maggi_94.

 

The collection of Willow Tree has made a massive impact on collectable retailers ever since it’s beginnings in 2000. One such company, Church’s China, has found Willow Tree to be their best selling brand, and helping them to build upon the successes found in their past.

 

Church’s China began life as a little china and crystal retailer in Devizes in Wiltshire. Before long it moved to Northampton and, as the twentieth century progressed, it grew to become the UK’s premier retailer of collectable brands, such as Willow Tree

 

The fourth generation of the family business was represented by Wilfrid Church, known by his middle name of Vivian. Having inherited his mother’s outgoing temperament; Vivian played an altogether different role in the business from his father, the shy Wilfrid. Vivian was (and still is!) masterful at employing his tremendous sense of humour in selling to customers. There are literally hundreds who can vividly recall him demonstrating the strength of fine bone china by hurling plates to the floor or pirouetting on upturned tea cups, admittedly not a trick that would be attempted with something from a collection such as Willow Tree

 

Vivian was also been innovative in his business planning. In his design of the Emporium Arcade expansion in the mid sixties and the move into Welsh House in the seventies, he showed tremendous imagination. Furthermore, his concept of developing a cookshop side to the business in 1965 was years ahead of its time. Customer care had always been a fundamental consideration. To this end, his introduction of free gift wrapping (hitherto unheard of) was a major innovation.

 

In the early 1970’s, in an almost eerie repetition of what occurred at the turn of the century, Church’s China were informed that they had to vacate their position on the Market Square. Again, they were forced to make way for a new shopping development, and again they took temporary refuge in Sheep Street. In fact, during this second period of exile from the Market Square, Church’s occupied two shops; one in Sheep Street in a converted garage showroom currently occupied by Durham Pine. The other shop was at the top of the Drapery from where Thomas Cook now operates.

 

1975 witnessed another exciting move for Church’s, as for the third time in 105 years the business took occupancy in Northampton’s Market Square. The town centre had developed beyond all recognition; the entire area known as Newland had been replaced by an extensive two storey shopping mall, the Grosvenor Centre. The Market Square entrance to the centre was overlooked by the recently restored Jacobean frontage of Welsh House, a building that has a colourful history. It was built towards the end of the sixteenth century for a firm of lawyers, and in 1675 featured in the Great Fire of Northampton. The town centre was destroyed and one of the few escape routes for the inhabitants of the Market Square was through Welsh House into the fields beyond.

 

Welsh House stands as a reminder of Northampton’s historic links with Wales. There is more than one theory as to the origin of the name, Welsh House. One is that the firm of lawyers for whom it was built were of Gaellic extraction. An alternative idea is more agricultural. In the sixteenth century, Welsh drovers would herd sheep, cattle and even geese down the old Roman road of Watling Street (the A5), to sell them on Northampton’s Market Square. On occasions, these drovers would stay overnight in the building. Whatever the reason for its name, the welsh link is indisputable, for even today, if you look at the crest on the front of the building, you will see the Welsh Dragon, the crest of Llewelyn, Prince of Wales and the Welsh Motto “Heb Dyw Heb Dim, Dyw y Digon” (Without God Without anything, God is Enough).

One of the key roles played by Welsh House was that, for many years in the eighteenth century, it housed the original offices of the Northampton Mercury (now part of the Chronicle & Echo). This newspaper proudly holds the record of the longest surviving provincial newspaper in Britain.

 

Church’s not only occupied three floors of Welsh House, but had also taken a unit on the first floor of the Grosvenor Centre, offering the unique opportunity to present alternative faces to the buying public; one a contemporary, modern feel displaying the likes of Willow Tree, the other having a more traditional feel.

 

This window display of Willow Tree certainly helps to boost it’s sales, but this may not be necessary, as the Willow Tree collection has captured the heart of the nation. As Stephen Church, current MD of Church’s China, puts it, “one reason for the success of Willow Tree is their versatility as a gift. You can give flowers or chocolates for almost any occasion, but Willow tree figurines don’t fade and they don’t melt. They’re a gift that expresses an emotion that simply lasts forever.”

 

 

 

To explore our range of Willow Tree collectibles further, please visit our website at http://www.theukgiftcompany.co.uk

London today teems with so many theatres at the well-renowned West End. Many talented artists who want to get their breaks and begin their acting careers seek the spotlights of the West End theaters for the promise of brilliant and shining show business careers. The London theatre is where all things can begin for actors so every hopeful has his eyes on the high profile roles, the applause, and that chance to perform on these famous theatres.

I was in 1597 when an actor decided to put up his own theater and launch himself as a star. Richard Burbage established the Globe Theatres when he took over the lease of The Theatre, which was the first ever playhouse in Shoreditch, that was put up in 1576. The Theatre started the rich history of the London theatre and the West End. When the lease expired, Burbage took over and launched much more ambitious efforts to push the industry and the craft. Soon enough, Burbage became a big name as a great actor and he came to be known too, as the first to play Shakespeare’s Hamlet, King Lear, as well as Othello.

In 1663, the West End legacy of artistic excellence in stage performance soared with the opening of the first London West End venue at Drury Lane. This very famous venue witnessed careers of the earliest icons – the likes of Charles Hart and Nell Gwyn. The old theatre, unfortunately, suffered during a fire in 1672.

Since London already had a taste for the theaters, it didn’t take much time before a new venue rose on the very same spot in 1674. The Theatre Royal of Drury Lane came about and picked up after where the former theatre left off. This theatre, designed by Christopher Wren managed to survive for the next 120 years. That was quite a long-standing record especially those days. Along with other theatres that sprung like the Theatre Royal Covent Garden (Royal Opera House) and the Haymarket, The Theater became a catalyst in the evolution of the West End Theatre.

In 1737, a wine seller by the name of David Garrick got magnetized to the call of London’s West End at Drury Lane. He became the legendary manager of the Theater Royal and made his mark on the theatre scene. He soon became famous for playing the roles of Richard III and became a very great influence in the London Theatre scene in the next 20 to 30 years. The Garrick Club and the Garrick Theatre are memoirs of his great contributions to theatre arts in London.

Most of the beautiful buildings that house the modern theatres were built during the 19th century. The middle and upper classmen in London have somehow made theater-going an enduring fashion trend in the city. Many of the theaters started to appear along Shatesbury Avenue too, at the end of the 19th century and soon, this area became the focal point for London Theatre. Many of the buildings are still around and well maintained these days for everyone to appreciate.

Theatre-going never ceased to be a fashion statement and more and more talented actors are being born in these theaters. The London Theatre scene continues to attract so many people from around the world.

I just bought a couple of the new packets of Ronzoni Bistro pasta meals. They come in plastic bags that don’t have to be refrigerated or frozen. I was just wondering why they don’t because there is meat and dairy products in them. Just curious as to how it wont go bad.

the appearance that made her famous in the Big Big talent show, presenting her aunt. She was 11 years old here.

Image taken on 2008-08-10 21:52:53 by tomfs.