Well here we are again, folks; it’s the end of the year. Give yourselves a congratulatory pat on the back for surviving the ups-and-downs of it. We lost our Queen, Elizabeth II, the longest reigning monarch of all time and, for me, the only one I’ve ever known. It felt a bit strange if I’m honest. I thought that she would just go on and on, so formidable was she – there’s not many people in their 90’s that would be able to maintain the schedule she did. Whether you support the royal family or not, you’ve got to give her late Majesty some respect in that regard, surely? Then we had the invasion of Ukraine to contend with and its consequence of higher energy prices for us all, especially restaurants and pubs that have to have the heating and lighting on!
As I sit typing this, I’m reflecting on the venues sadly having to close their doors due to energy costs, or the ones that are owned by folks that have been thinking of retiring for a while and have decided that they’re sick of swimming against the tide anymore. Our poor Food and Beverage and Hospitality trades have already had to contend with the Covid pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns, now this. They say bad luck comes in three’s; well, I say the third thing can just get lost!
On a personal note, it’s not been a bad year, with the Blog going from strength-to-strength. I know this is going to sound trite and cliché (when it really isn’t) but there’s not much I can do about that, so I’m just going to go ahead and say it. From the bottom of my heart, I want to say a massive thank you to each and every one of you lovely peeps that takes the time to read, comment and make suggestions; whether it be on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. You’re all amazing, and some of you interact each and every time; which is brilliant... if slightly mind-boggling! I still get a kick out of seeing new ‘Top Fans’ displaying their badges and getting weekly updates about new followers. You might not believe it, but you do all make me smile and stay determined to deliver content in my own eccentric/bonkers/off-beat humoured way. Keep being you, you’re ruddy fabulous.
I should also say a massive thank you to my long-suffering hubster aka ‘The Man Bird’, because without his amazing tech- and photography- skills, the blog wouldn’t exist as it does...plus it wouldn’t be anywhere near as much fun to do as it actually is. So thank you, handsome, for all you do; your cheque isn’t in the post, so don’t bug the postie for it, ‘k?
Huge thanks and gratitude to all the PR folks, the owners, managers and Chefs that invite us along to review your offerings; literally, without you, we couldn’t do the blog (at least not on the same scale). You’ll never know the amount of ‘pinch me’ moments I have when the invitations come through from you!
I know some folks gripe about the fact that we continue to do positive only reviews, but that’s our USP, so it ain’t gonna change. And to those that like the sniping and drama, there’s always that other platform (TA); just don’t expect the comments to be that informative, however popcorn-worthy they can be sometimes.
That reminds me: just because we don’t publish a review, doesn’t mean we haven’t visited; it means that we a) wouldn’t recommend it to friends and family – which is our yardstick for writing a review, and b) we will have fed back, privately, to the venue to explain why we haven’t published a review so that they can use the info. in a constructive manner, perhaps to do staff training etc.
I’m also going to mention a bunch of other people, who the vast majority of folks won’t realise the work they put in to what they do either; the ‘Spotted’ sites. Behind these sites are other ‘Joe Publics’ like me, who sit there typing, editing, policing/approving contributors; all to keep their local communities connected and informed. Throughout this roller-coaster known as 2022, the majority of these fab sites have allowed my blogs and reviews to be shared on their platforms, so I just wanted to say thank you for your generosity and support, it is very much appreciated.
His Nibs has just collated all the monthly stats and we have, without fail, had at least 10,000 visits to the site for the previous 12 months. That’s for the entirety of 2022!! So once again, massive thanks to you all.
Right, enough rambling; I’ll sign off by wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year. Come on 2023, let’s be having you!
