Election fever!

The one certainty looking into 2010 is that a General Election will be held and just like christmas cards and Easter Eggs appearing in shop windows, the early manifestos are landing on board/committee desks for sign-off, for approval and for launch. With around 8 months to go - good money on Thursday 6 May 2010 - it does seem excessively early but then the Government is frozen into inactivity so I suppose everyone may as well look forward and plan accordingly! There does seem to be an absurd desire to be "first out" in this respect - presumably in the belief that this will help shape policy.

In the last week alone I have seen documents from the National Farmers Union, the Country Landowners Association and the Historic Houses Association - all promoting their corner across their sector area. I fail to understand why industry sectors do not try to work more in harmony to structure one powerful manifesto rather than allowing a plethera of weaker manifestos to sit on the table with little chance that their demands will be taken fully on board. The Tourism Alliance exists (yes it does what it says on the tin - it tries to be an alliance across the tourism sector) and a strong and focused manifesto from them should be all that the tourism sector promotes - a clear set of demands carefully articulated and structured for the benefit of the industry. Will that happen - I doubt it, as every component part of the Tourism Alliance will no doubt also feel that it is their duty to churn out their own manifesto document (if only to justify their existence) which will then dilute the impact of the alliance document and the overall messaging. Let's wait and see but I am sure there are many many more manifesto documents in the pipeline!

On the election front, my 9 year old daughter has decided to run for office. Well actually the Middle School Council at school where she feels she can "represent" her class mates in a fair and balanced way. She has to make her campaign speech on Saturday morning to get chosen as her classes candidate and then elections will be held - probably this won't make the national news but I will let you know how she gets on.

It has been a strong week here at Blenheim Palace with good daily numbers - over 1,000 visitors each week day - in fine early autumn weather. The Horse Trials and Lilliput Lane event areas are virtually clear from their events and we have a very short breather before the Bike Blenheim Palace - "A Festival of Cycling" - event on Sunday 4 October. Numbers for this look very good so we pray that the weather stays settled and fine - for at least another week! Get the bike out of the garage; get the tyres pumped up; and get here to Blenheim Palace to enjoy a wonderful opportunity to cycle around the Park on that one day.

The Independent Woodstock Literary Festival last weekend has been hailed as a great success with around 100 talks/events from a wide range of literary stars across 4 days - ticket sales were healthy and the event has now established a good loyal following - certainly an event that is rising up the league table of "literary festivals" in the UK.

Autumn is a wonderful time to visit the Palace, Gardens and Park as the seasonal colours can take your breath away. The golden Palace, the rolling landscape, and the great lake spanned by the Grand Bridge contrast beautifully with the autumnal border of majestic oaks and chestnuts (not forgetting the "Harry Potter" cedar tree - but that stays very green!) turning from amber to golden brown over the coming weeks.

A perfect time to visit - we hope to see you here soon.

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A week on ......

It is clear that writing a blog is no guarantee of reality - even one week on we are faced with the fact that Spurs did not beat Man U (much to the "bean counter's" delight next door) and that England did not bounce back against the Aussies in the One Day series. Indeed Spurs now go to Stamford Bridge where a second defeat on the trot must be likely (how quickly that bubble has burst!) and England are 6-0 down against the Aussies with only pride to play for in the final match at Durham on Saturday.

Staying with the sporting front, the world of FI is in turmoil with the meltdown at Renault. Flavio Briatore and his Director of Engineering have gone and the team are in shame for conspiring to crash one of their cars to facilitate victory for Alonso. Too much money swills around F1 which makes rational thought sometimes impossible - it drives teams and individuals to make irrational calls of judgement and to break the rules. Victory for the sponsors must come at all costs within a sport that is pregnant with excess - no doubt the sport will try to polish its image and bounce back but you can't help wondering how much else goes on that we are not aware of or which has not yet surfaced?

Back here at Blenheim (and into a more realistic world) we are basking in the success of a dry and very successful horse trials last weekend - Mandy Hervieu can take great pride in delivering a great event and in re-moulding and re-shaping much of the event from 2007. The additional things to do and see have lifted attendance significantly and have provided an excellent platform for 2010 and beyond. Well done to all concerned.

This weekend we are very busy with a multitude of different events taking place - in no particular order we are a primary venue for The Independent Woodstock Literary Festival (with a wonderful array of speakers - from David Cameron to Zac Goldsmith; from William Shawcross to Julian Fellowes; and many many more); we are hosting the Lilliput Lane Annual Collectors Fair, a Riding for the Disabled Event today and charity runs/walks on Saturday and Sunday for the Woodstock Harriers and Combe School; as well as prestigious dinners and functions throughout the weekend. We like to keep ourselves busy (!) - good luck to all across our Operations, Retail and Catering teams and thanks in advance for all your hard work in delivering efficiency and customer service excellence at all times. We have a great team in every area.

At home we are finally getting back into the swing of the girls being back at school and trying to get into a workable routine to accommodate homework, music practice, school clubs, tennis and swimming lessons and stagecoach. Already they look exhausted but hopefully they will get into their stride as it is a long term! My 9 year old has launched into latin this term and it certainly took me back to my school days when I helped her with her latin prep on Wednesday!

This week we have sadly lost Keith Floyd (who enjoyed a drink or two or three in the kitchen) and Patrick Swayze (will pottery ever be the same again after that infamous scene with Demi Moore in Ghost) - at breakfast on Tuesday in the Hoy Household Mr Swayze was described as a gorgeous hunk (I suppose the fact that he was once voted the world's sexiest man is some small justification for this) by my wife (!!) but at least it was encouraging (perhaps promoted by my loud and immediate protests) that both my daughters quickly endorsed the fact that I was a much more impressive hunk! Where would we be without the unquestionable love showered upon us by our children - thats not to say they are of course absolutely right in their judgement!

With so much activity going on around Blenheim Palace and Woodstock this weekend it will be busy but hopefully fun and problem-free - enjoy any connection you make with us and stay in touch - we hugely value all the support we get in trying to keep this wonderful world heritage site restored for future generations.

Have a good weekend and a great week

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Sporting Fruit

Sporting pursuits have been a strong feature of the last week and will dominate the next few days as the Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials take place under blue skies and glorious weather - a marked contrast to the mud and gloom 12 months ago. The site looks amazing and we should have a fantastic event weekend.

The week has seen mixed sporting fortunes at home and abroad - Andy Murray crashed out of the US Open to a Croatian; England stormed into next years World Cup Finals with a thumping victory over Croatia at Wembley; England's ladies failed at the final hurdle against the old enemy, and England's cricketers (without a Croatian in site) lost again to Australia in the One Day series.

I was invited down to the Rose Bowl in Southampton to watch the ODI on Wednesday and it was fun to watch my first day/night match. Still not quite sure I approve of players in pyjamas with a white ball and a black sightscreen but it was an entertaining and jolly day despite the result. We had the mandatory streaker (not one of our party!) who was spectacularly tackled - despite his fairly unmemorable tackle! - by a security guard before being led away to raucous jeers by the police; we had numerous "super heroes" entertaining the crowds by running like banshees through the grandstands - Batman was rather portly and slow; Buzz Lightyear rather shy and reserved; and Superwoman far too hairy for anyones liking (both chest and chin!)

The atmosphere was great throughout - despite a rather dull and one-sided match - but it does stagger me at the quantities of alcohol consumed - and the money spent - at such occasions. In just the area around us, people must have consumed upwards of 15 pints through the day (at times we felt like we were on a rollercoaster as we continually had to let them out to release the previous intake and purchase the next batch!) but what does distress me is the language and general tone with some people as the alcohol fuels their spirits - with young children nearby, the language drifts into the gutter. Quite how such standards can be addressed I don't know but such people are hardened drinkers and gamblers - how do they fund such pursuits as they must be spending vast sums each week - following England or their team - whether football or cricket. I know this all sounds very prudish but I have never condoned such language or such loutish behaviour - it spoils the occasion for so many others, it influences the young in earshot, and we seem powerless to influence change going forward. The English abroad - and indeed the English at home - have a reputation that needs polishing and improving - lets keep the good spirits and the healthy banter - but lets drop the alcohol fueled bad language, anger and abusive behaviour. End of speech!

So England's cricketers go on to Lords 3-o down in the 7 match series - of course mathematically they can take the series 4-3 but they were outclassed by the Aussies on Wednesday in every department of the game - most sadly, the Aussies "wanted" it more than England - they fielded with passion and energy throughout whereas England looked slow and listless - why is that given the money they get paid and the expectations of the watching public? I think we deserve better - watch out for the fightback!

Away from sport our attention today turns to fruit! The Worshipful Company of Fruiterers - whose motto is "God gives the increase" - are here at Blenheim Palace today presenting an Apricot Tree (the Duke's choice) to the Duke of Marlborough. Annually, the Company recognises the winning HHA/Christies Garden of the Year with the gift of a fruit tree and today around 100 members will attend a lunch in the Orangery as the tree is both presented and planted. The Livery Company was founded back in 1463 and it does a vast amount of good work within the fruit trade - it is also a very active charity carrying out much good work in and around the City of London.

Good luck to all on every front - whether sporting or non-sporting - the weather forecast is great for the weekend and it should be a good one!

Who knows - Spurs may even beat Man United for once!

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That was the week that was!

The last week has seen the end of August (and summer!), preparations for the annual Horse Trials, my wife is a year older and we remember the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of WWII.

The August Bank Holiday weekend ran smoothly with a wonderful turn out of classic cars and a good crowd - the weather certainly affected attendance but the month overall has been amazingly strong - up 52% on last year. For the first year for many we have 'banked' very good numbers across the critical June to August period and this should now hold us in good stead for the rest of the year - the primary driver continues to be the annual pass scheme and we now have nearly 75k annual pass holders on our database. The target was always to hit 100k in the full year and this looks as though it could be achievable - an amazing outcome and great to see the Palace and Gardens busy every day - sometimes even despite the weather!

There is now a brief interlude on the events front until the International Horse Trials take place next weekend - the site is a hive of activity and the ground (touch wood!) is in superb condition at this stage. The memories of last years muddy cancellation are horribly fresh in the mind and we are all praying that the event is luckier this year as everyone - especially Mandy Hervieu the Event Director - has worked incredibly hard to 'recover' the event from last years cancellation and to deliver it successfully this year. The signs are all reasonably positive - weather permitting! It is a fantastic event and one of the crown jewels in our events calendar - even the non-horsey person has a vast array of things to do and enjoy - not least the shopping arcades!

The week saw my wife get a year older - always potentially a stressful occasion but at least she can take comfort in knowing that I am 10 years ahead of her! We had a great day out in London with the girls and I hope that we celebrated her birthday in fine style - and the highlight was seeing the matinee performance of Oliver! - what a fantastic show - great songs, great sets and great actors. Memorable stuff - I strongly recommend it to anyone.

This week many have remembered the 7oth anniversary of the declaration of war on Germany back in 1939 - a sobering reminder of those darks times. Neville Chamberlain set up a War Cabinet with nine members including two new ministers - one of them being Winston Churchill as the First Lord of the Admiralty - and it was only a matters of months until he took the helm of the coalition government on 10 May 1940 following Neville Chamberlain's decuision to stand aside - and the rest, as they say, is history.

Important to never forget our past as this has helped to shape the world we live in today - and even more important to remember that our actions and decisions today will shape our future and the future for our children.

Easy to be negative in the current climate of war and debt - but we must all work hard to shape the future as we can all make a difference - the glass is half full not half empty!

Have a good week!

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