tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83249585619015677322024-03-13T14:12:09.879-07:00View from upstairs - the daily challenges of the Chief ExecutiveI'm John Hoy and I am the Chief Executive for Blenheim Palace and for the Blenheim Estate. As such I have involvement across all activity on the Estate as well as leading on many key external relationships and topics.Blenheim Palacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03699361177864224528noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-80239076568594410772010-07-17T05:38:00.000-07:002010-07-17T06:40:14.847-07:00Summer fun at Blenheim Palace!Apologies for the significant pause since I last blogged - no excuses other than time racing by at a frighteningly fast pace.<br /><br />I last wrote on the morning after the Awards evening when we were celebrating winning the 'Oxfordshire Business of the Year' Award. We have been enjoying this accolade and there is no doubt that it will help our profiling going forward - it raises the bar on everyone's expectations (quite rightly) and hopefully it will draw business to us as we pop into mind and onto radars. Would be good if it helped to draw in new conference and banqueting business as the space we have to offer in the Palace and in the Orangery is absolutely stunning - as good as anything available in the County or even further afield.<br /><br />A lot has happened since I was last on here - pretty much all positive - the headlines and highlights are below:<br /><ul><li>My daughter Louisa turned 8, on American Independence Day (highly appropriate for a very independent young lady) and we had a lovely lunch followed by a visit to Giffords Circus with a bunch of her friends. Great entertainment and a fun day.</li><li>Our summer Trustees meeting went very well - great to get their positive and enthusiastic support for how we have performed over the previous period/year and to work with them for future opportunities and future strategic ambition going forward. It is so exciting that after 8 years or so at Blenheim Palace that there is so much still on the agenda - in every area of the business.</li><li>England slid out of the World Cup with hardly a wimper; Andy Murray fell under the weight of expectation at Wimbledon; and an Australian won the British Grand Prix - we expect so much and so often we fail to deliver. The media should talk down our chances and we should celebrate any surprise victories that then may happen!</li><li>The new Destination Management Organisation for tourism delivery across Oxfordshire is up and running - at least in its "shadow format" under the City Council - and I am honoured to have been asked to chair the Shadow Board through this initial phase. It is going to be tough as funding cuts kick-in but there is no doubt that this structure is the right structure going forward - the first year or so will be critical to its long term success and it is vital that everyone across the public and private sector supports its arrival and invests in its success.</li><li>Attended Annabelle's sports day and enjoyed watching her and her class mates strive for glory in everything from tug-of-war to 4x100m relay - her class came second in their year and they all had a great day.</li><li>Attended Louisa's Barn Dance as she moves on from her pre-prep school - great fun although both Tracy and I wished that we had done some practising beforehand!</li><li>Attended the Vision XS annual conference in Oxford - an excellent gathering of industry professionals and a good line up of international/high profile speakers. Blenheim Palace was the case study workshop session in the morning - great fun to have 140 people chew over the business and to discuss the "opportunities" - we came away with some ideas that could work well - watch this space!</li><li>We had our "fun" staff golf evening at Kirtlington Golf Club last Thursday - a great evening with a mixture of golfers and (very) non-golfers. The non-golfers so enjoy the short 9 hole course and it is an evening that works very well with some super prizes (including 'best dressed' and 'shortest drive' - both incidentally either won or shared by Cathy) and the Tony White Cup in memory of our late construction manager who instigated this event a few years ago. The Cup was won by Andy Gunn with a score of 30 - not bad given the high winds! My team - "Hoy's Heroes" - came last! The non-golfers in my team played OK; I think it was the golfers in my team that let them down!!!!</li></ul><p>Blenheim Palace continues to trade well and the "Buy One Day Get 12 Months Free!" annual pass offer continues to be very popular. June numbers were broadly on target and July has started OK - at least until it rained on St Swithin's Day - don't panic!</p><p>We have much to look forward to and hopefully the critical months of July and August will deliver in terms of fine weather and good numbers.</p><p>The gathering of Massed Brass + Silver Bands in the Great Court on Sunday 25 July should be an amazing spectacle (and a great sound!); this is followed by three days of jousting and falconry on Friday 6 to Sunday 8 August; which is then followed by the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club Championship Dog Show on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 August (you would be barking mad not to come and see that!!) and then August closes with the Annual Classic Car Show on Sunday 29 August and Monday 30 August. Now that's what I call variety - especially when you add everything else that is here to enjoy each day. </p><p>Please make sure that Blenheim Palace is on your "to do" list this summer - we look forward to seeing you here and we look forward to giving you a very memorable experience - everyone is awaiting your arrival! And don't forget to get your annual pass!</p><p>I am now off for a few days holiday and I will write again when I get back.</p><p>Have a great summer.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-10721868201176816592010-06-19T01:36:00.000-07:002010-06-19T02:02:27.285-07:00A very special night!Last night we attended the 16th Oxfordshire Business Awards and we took a full table of managers from across all sectors of the business - a few could not attend this year due to holidays/other engagements but we had a good turn out and we were set for a good evening.<br /><br />We were up for two awards:<br /><br />>> First up was the Sustainability Award and we were up against The Big Bang Restaurant and Fired Earth. The Big Bang Restaurant won the award (well done Max!) and thus we picked up the Runner-up Award. A huge credit to everyone on site who has driven the sustainability agenda so aggressively over the last year or so - virtually from a standing start.<br /><br />>> Next up was the Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure Award and we were up against West Oxfordshire District Council and Witney Lakes Resort. We were delighted to win this award and it reflects the success of the "Buy One Day Get 12 Months Free!" scheme through 2009.<br /><br />All of the award winners are then assessed for the overall "blue ribbon" Oxfordshire Business of the Year Award and we were stunned and delighted that this was awarded to Blenheim Palace! <br /><br />What a huge credit to the Duke and to everyone who works here; what a huge credit to a hugely talented team of people - well done to them all!<br /><br />We celebrated with a glass or two of bubbles; we hit the dance floor and the mini-bus finally dropped us all home - tired, proud but massively happy.<br /><br />Blenheim Palace is a unique and wonderful resource and it is very special to have our business recognised by our peers across Oxfordshire - thank you to the organisers for a wonderful awards evening and well done again to an amazing team at Blenheim Palace.<br /><br />Where do we go from here?John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-29753781054229338602010-05-31T01:36:00.000-07:002010-05-31T02:18:25.494-07:00Roll on June!The last day of May and the last day of our three day craft fair - "Art, Design and a Taste of Summer" - a wonderful collection of exhibitors and displays.<br /><br />May has been a topsy-turvey month with some very good weather/numbers and some very untimely poor weather. We started the month with the May Day Bank Holiday Jousting weekend hugely affected by damp + miserable weather and the Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend at the end of the month has also been weather affected - with Saturday virtually washed out by the rain. Despite an underwhelming start and finsh - the middle has performed OK with some lovely hot weather at times and some strong weekends - not least the glorious Aston Martin Owners Club gathering which sat spectacularly across the front of the Palace.<br /><br />Hopefully June will enjoy good weather and good numbers - so important that these critical summer months perform at or above expectations as once they are past there is not enough "volume" in the remaining months to pull up any shortfall. The month has a variety of sporting and cultural delights for everyone to enjoy - on the sporting front we have the Triathlon weekend (5 + 6 June) and this is followed by a Junior Sculling Regatta on the Main Lake organised by the Hinksey Sculling School (12 June) - culturally the month is dominated by a series of outdoor theatrical performances by the Oxford School of Drama at the Pleasure Gardens. From 9 to 12 June and then from 14 to 19 June performances of "The Comedy of Errors" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" will be staged on alternate nights - a great setting for some inspiring outdoor theatre.<br /><br />June is also annually dominated by preparations for our summer Trustees meeting in early July - this meeting is held on site here at Blenheim Palace which adds to the pressure for all concerned. Papers and Agendas are beginning to be drafted and these include the accounts from the prior year - which mean that Dom's desk is covered by even more paper than usual! We are on track at this early stage and hopefully the month will run smoothly and that the pack of papers will go out to the Trustees on time at the end of the month - always a sigh of relief to get to that stage but not there yet!<br /><br />On the national/international front, it has been a weekend of mixed fortunes for the Brits. Success in the Grand Prix with Lewis and Jenson storming to the front courtesy of the "fighting bulls seeing red" and the England Football team scraping a dodgy win in Austria thanks to the generosity of the Japanese defence - on this form the England team won't last long in South Africa but I have a hunch that we will actually do quite well - semi's or even the final should be in our grasp! On the failure front, Andy Murray skidded out of the French Open with hardly a whimper and our entry in the Eurovision Song Contest achieved a glorious last place on the night! We almost expect this outcome - but then Pete Waterman was successful several decades ago so why should we expect him to deliver the right formula for success in 2010 - we need a fresh young approach to have any chance of overriding the voting prejudices across Europe. And the jury is out on the England Cricket team - currently struggling to beat the mightly Bangladeshi team at Lords - could be an exciting last day's play.<br /><br />Enjoy your bank holiday and say goodbye to May - lets hope that June arrives in positive mode and that it delivers on every front!John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-20408798534559643732010-05-21T03:39:00.000-07:002010-05-21T04:30:30.607-07:00Enjoy it while it lasts!The sunshine, warmer weather and blue skies lifts our spirits and visitor numbers each day reflect this improvement - a good, positive measure is that ice-cream sales are soaring! Fingers crossed that it lasts into the Whitsun weekend so that we can finally enjoy a sunny bank holiday.<br /><br />The political horizons are trying to settle down with the new coalition still finding it's feet - only time will tell how it performs but I feel positive that the "can do" attitude will prevail and that collectively we will hawl ourselves out of the hole that we were left in by the last government. I am sure though that there will be some collective pain for us all to go through - both personally and from a business perspective - to get there and we will no doubt better understand this once we have seen the Emergency Budget on 22 June. I suspect that we will face some tough times for two or three years and that we may well have to again look carefully at costs, etc across the business. Lets hope that the continued sunshine mitigates the pain!<br /><br />The working weeks seem busier than ever with a multitude of engagements throughout each day and into many evenings - the new Destination Management Organisation for Oxford and Oxfordshire (to drive a joined-up tourism message) is looking very positive and the "invited" Shadow Board is due to meet for the first time early next month - this will then formulate the work load around the launch of this exciting new venture for the County. It has taken a while to structure this public/private sector partnership but it will be good for the tourism sector once it is up and running - not long now!.<br /><br />The managers from the various <a href="http://www.treasurehouses.co.uk/">Treasure Houses </a>met yesterday in London for one of our regular meetings and it was sad that two of the managers - Simon Seligman from Chatsworth and Celia Deeley from Woburn Abbey - are both moving on this summer to new challenges and thus this was their last meeting. Both will be hugely missed and both have contributed massively to the Treasure Houses group - we gave them both a good send-off over a yummy lunch! Always interesting to get feedback from the other houses as to how they are faring on the business front - we are all broadly faring similarly on the visitor front other than Harewood who had a storming bank holiday event with <a href="http://www.peppapig.com/">Peppa Pig </a>- clearly a very popular little piggy given the crowds that descended on Harewood over two days in early May! Most sites reported strong wedding business and "recovering" conference + banqueting business - we certainly have a steep recovery line to achieve for our <a href="http://www.blenheimpalace.com/hospitality">conference + banqueting</a> trade which has been hit hard by the economic downturn - but there are signs that the range and extent of our stunning space, both within the Palace and at the Orangery - is drawing business back slowly.<br /><br />We had a planning meeting for the Triathlon on Thursday - the big weekend draws closer (5 and 6 June) and several of our staff (but not me!) are in the final stages of their tough training regimes - will they all survive and will they improve/achieve their times? I will report the full gory details post event!<br /><br />This weekend we have a stunning event lined up for Sunday under the sunshine and blue skies - the <a href="http://www.blenheimpalace.com/whats-on/events/aston_martin_club.html">Aston Martin Owners Club are staging their 75th Anniversary Concours </a>and they are going for the largest gathering ever of Aston Martins in one place. Around 400 cars are expected to be parked up in and adjoining the Great Court in front of Blenheim Palace - what a wonderful spectacle it will produce. HRH Prince Michael of Kent is attending and Carolyn Grace will be bring back her Spitfire for a stunning air display over the Lake at 2.50pm. Definately an event not to be missed and we hope for big crowds to enjoy this spectacle.<br /><br />Enjoy the weekend; enjoy the sunshine; enjoy the ice-creams and enjoy the Aston Martin event.John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-65502112157777514832010-05-11T07:26:00.000-07:002010-05-11T07:49:25.641-07:00Uncertainty!Much has evolved since my last blog and as I sit here writing this we are still facing so much uncertainty.<br /><br />On the political front, the Lib Dem flirting with both parties goes on and we all await news - currently the Conservative/Lib Dem "deal" looks the most likely which will hopefully soon see David Cameron in at No 10 and some stability returning to Westminster. So much needs to be done and the uncertainty needs to be removed as soon as possible.<br /><br />On the economic front, the situation in Greece has created much turbulence but hopefully the recently announced 750bn euro stabilisation package will have calmed nerves and lessened the contagion risk into other countries - but clearly the ongoing uncertainty in Westminster continues to fuel the worries and doubts and keeps matters unstable until there is an outcome.<br /><br />On the tourism front, we face a raft of uncertainty caused by the volcanic ash clouds still affecting air travel coupled with the recently announced raft of strikes dates within BA - all very negative and unhelpful to a business that relies upon smooth inbound travel.<br /><br />On the meteorological front the weather has been bitterly cold and very non-condusive for tourism and visits to places like Blenheim Palace. The Bank Holiday weekend was hugely affected by the cold/wet/dreary weather and it has stayed cold ever since - hopefully it will warm up soon as we need certain dry hot weather to pull in the crowds and to drive business levels.<br /><br />On the sporting front, there are as always many distractions from Formula 1 to F A Cup to the summer World Cup and much much more - and locally we will be impacted by Oxfordshire descending upon Wembley Stadium next Sunday to watch Oxford United take on York City in the Blue Square Premier play-off for promotion into the Football League. Good luck Oxford!<br /><br />So much uncertainty - but we must keep working hard to get our key messages out to the market and to continue to showcase Blenheim Palace for everyone to enjoy.<br /><br />We have a whole raft of wonderful events this summer and we look forward to welcoming everyone - not least to take advantage of our "Buy One Day Get 12 Months Free!" special offer.<br /><br />Cheer yourself up through all this uncertainty and enjoy a wonderful day out here at Blenheim Palace!John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-90954515795394109592010-04-29T23:30:00.000-07:002010-04-30T00:37:36.795-07:00Joust for you; Joust for fun!So the second bank holiday has arrived - and true to form the weather has taken a depressing dip after a couple of weeks of blue sky and sunshine. The colder, damper weather is hardly condusive to spending time outside but hopefully the appeal of our <a href="http://www.blenheimpalace.com/whats-on/events/jousting_tournament.html">Jousting Tournaments and falconry displays</a> will draw big crowds each day.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.knightsroyal.co.uk/">Knights of Royal England </a>led by Jeremy Richardson provide fantastic entertainment with two displays each day - both preceded by stunning falconry displays. A great day out for all the family with the Palace as a fantastic backdrop to the activities - hope to see you there!<br /><br />The last couple of weeks have raced by and we are now less than a week away from the "big" election. The leaders debates have provided great prime time viewing and at least the 3rd one last night was a little more feisty - and a little less stage managed - than the first two on ITV and Sky. Brown seemed to be immensely negative and defensive throughout, not surprising after the events of the previous day in Rochdale, and he does seem to be wounded/damaged beyond repair which leaves Clegg and Cameron fighting for the floating or the switching voter. The fear of Labour securing the most seats with only the 3rd highest share of the popular vote terrifies me and hopefully the fear of this, and the uncertainty that it will create, will push votes towards the Conservatives so that they can secure both the seats they require and a working majority - probably too late to get the three leaders to Blenheim Palace this weekend for the jousting tournament - last man standing wins - sounds like an attractive proposition! Only time will tell but we will know the outcome a week today!<br /><br />The Duke and Duchess have finally managed to return from a short break in America - they like many others were delayed by the volcanic ash cloud - but they got back in time for the <a href="http://www.churchillmemorailconcerts.org/home.html">Churchill Memorial Concert</a> at Blenheim Palace last Saturday evening. The numbers attending were slightly down on prior years but it was an excellent evening with the main address being given by General Sir Richard Dannatt GCB CBE MC - very thought provoking and very clearly hugely inspired by the memory of Sir Winston Churchill. An excellent, high quality, event that raises good money for local charities.<br /><br />On Monday evening we had a launch event to celebrate the publication of Margaret Forster's first book called "Churchill's Grandmama" - Margaret is married to John Forster (the Archivist and former Education Officer at Blenheim Palace) and this interesting book looks at, and celebrates/reveals, the life of Churchill's grandmother, Frances, 7th Duchess of Marlborough. Published by the <a href="http://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/">History Press</a> it is a great book that has been fully embraced and supported by the family - a "must read" for all of those interested in Churchill's life and his roots. Hopefully it will do well for Margaret.<br /><br />On Wednesday I was in London for a meeting of the Tourism and Commercial Development Committee at the <a href="http://www.hha.org.uk/">Historic Houses Association</a> and we covered a wide range of topics including the political situation, the olympics and much more. One topic raised related to comments posted on websites and the apparent lack of controls to mitigate what is said about your property - this is a risk in today's open social media world but all we can all try to do is to ensure that everything is run and delivered to the highest possible standard every hour of every day so that we lessen the likelihood that negative comments will be posted. That said, we do know that some people will never be happy and that some people will always find fault and that some people will always just seek to complain - probably to see what they can get out of it - sad, but true. We monitor as many sites as we can and I am pleased that the vast majority of posts about Blenheim Palace are very positive - those that are negatively slanted are often price/value related but we have hugely lessened this area by way of our <a href="http://www.blenheimpalace.com/whats-on/news/annual-offer.html">"Buy One Day - Get 12 Months Free!" Annual Pass offer.</a><br /><br />So with an eye on the weather forecast we hope for a busy/successful weekend and with lots of families here to enjoy the bank holiday events - a perfect day out (even if the weather is less than perfect) to have some fun and to be entertained by the Knights.<br /><br />The Knights of Royal England at Blenheim Palace - joust for you, joust for fun!John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-56214836481361353322010-04-17T03:34:00.000-07:002010-04-17T04:16:24.496-07:00The forecast?It seems some time since I last had time to post a blog but a lot seems to have happened in that time.<br /><br />The party leaders have held their first much heralded TV debate and the pundits seem undecided as to whether much has come from it - Clegg (with nothing to lose and everything to gain) appears to have sparked some voter interest but only time will tell as to whether this will translate into votes on 6 May; Brown seemed robotic and fairly underwhelming; and Cameron appears to have done himself no harm but has probably not made the progress that he would have hoped for going into the programme. We missed watching it live as we were out but it seems to have been too much stage managed, pre-prepared and stilted - a bit like the first leg in a football match - and hopefully it will all get more feisty and off-the-cuff as they move into the second and third debates and as the finishing line draws closer. Will be interesting to see if viewer figures (around 9.9 milion) can be maintained - if not for Sky next Thursday then for the BBC debate on 29 April - as I suspect that the buzz around the first one may weaken by the third? It will be interesting to see and no-one can predict or forecast the outcome at this stage.<br /><br />Work has been busy with lots of activity surrounding the emerging Destination Management Organisation for tourism delivery across the county - this is virtually ready to launch and the real work will now start to get the initial board in place; to get the staffing structure established; and to get pledges for membership turned into reality. Interesting times, positive times.<br /><br />On Wednesday I took a rare day off and we went over to the <a href="http://www.wmsp.co.uk/">West Midlands Safari Park </a>near Kidderminster. We had a great day and the particular highlight was the drive through the safari enclosures - lots of animals, lots of healthy/active animals, and the ability to actually feed some of the animals. Both Annabelle and Louisa were enthralled to see such a wonderful variety of animals in such pleasant surroundings - despite the crowds and the convoy of cars, it was very impressive - most particularly the white lions and giraffes - especially as we virtually drove through the legs of a huge bull giraffe!<br /><br />We missed the leaders debate on Thursday evening as we were invited to join the <a href="http://www.ridge.co.uk/">Ridge</a> party at the <a href="http://www.oxfordshire.org/">Oxfordshire Community Foundation</a> Gala Film Premiere for <a href="http://www.beyondthepole.com/">"Beyond the Pole" </a>directed by David Williams and starring Stephen Mangan (Green Wing), Helen Baxendale (Cold Feet and Friends), Rhys Thomas (Fast Show) and Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood). It was an excellent film that I would recommend - funny, moving, sad and thought-provoking in a "climate change/global warming sort of way. <br /><br />Roger File (our Property guru) and I lunched yesterday with our friends from <a href="http://www.cornburypark.co.uk/">Cornbury</a> and <a href="http://www.greattewestate.co.uk/">Great Tew</a> - both these near neighbouring estates share many of the same issues that we face here at Blenheim and it is valuable to chat through such issues and to better understand the threats and opportunities that we all face moving forward. <br /><br />On the football front - the anxieties caused by following "your team" were never more highlighted than by the Spurs performances in the last week or so. Beaten badly by "relegated" Portsmouth at Wembley in the F A Cup Semi-Final last Sunday and then a storming victory over North London rivals Arsenal 3 days later! The high's and low's - next up Chelsea at home and Manchester United away - it doesn't get any easier on the nerves!<br /><br />The warmer weather, the blue sky and the sunshine (despite the threat of volcanic ash invasion!) lifts our spirits and visitor numbers have been good through the school holiday week - hopefully we will have a strong weekend and that the tone will now be set for a positive few weeks into the summer.<br /><br />Have a good weekend - enjoy the weather - a good forecast for once!John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-25469082681487138542010-04-07T02:16:00.000-07:002010-04-08T08:46:57.032-07:00Re-capturing our mojo!<a href="http://www.cherylcoleofficial.com/">Sheryl Cole </a>has apparently re-captured her mojo following her split from Ashley - apparently some dance instructor may have helped this turnaround!<br /><br />Blenheim Palace needs to re-kindle it's mojo after some mixed results over the 4 day Easter holiday. Overall customers were broadly flat year-on-year but the mix was heavily skewed towards annual pass holders with a worrying year-on-year drop in paying customers. The buzz that existed a year ago around the annual pass product - and the very positive word of mouth recommendation - seems to have faded and we need to take steps to understand what is going on and what we can do about it.<br /><br />Easter falls early in the season and thus it is an early opportunity to test performance - with plenty of the season ahead of us if action needs to be taken.<br /><br />We are going to quickly survey those annual pass holders who visited us over the Easter weekend (nearly 7k in total) and find out everything we can about their visit and their feelings; and we are also going to reach out to those annual pass holders from February and March 2009 who have not as yet sought to renew for 2010 - in order to understand their feelings and their motivations with the summer months ahead. Armed with feedback from these quick surveys (hopefully as early as next week) we can then look at some tactical steps to make sure that we pick up the pace through April and into the key summer months.<br /><br />We are not dispirited - but we are very determined to understand what we can control., what we can influence and what we can drive forward.<br /><br />We want our mojo back and we will go out to get it!<br /><br />The Easter Egg hunt was very popular and the egg supply just lasted until around 4.30pm on Easter Monday - excellent planning or just plain lucky! My girls enjoyed searching for the clues and managed to find them all with hardly any help from Daddy - who was secretly armed with the answers in case of a crisis!<br /><br />Annabelle came back from her Choir Tour to Portugal last Wednesday evening in excellent spirits and clearly enjoyed the trip - very excited though to be home and it was good to see her.<br /><br />We had a good day out on Sunday and took my mother out to lunch at the <a href="http://www.sheenemill.co.uk/">Sheene Mill Restaurant</a> in Melbourn - great for her to see the girls and good to see that she is recovering well from her recent operation. Tracy then spent a couple of days with the girls at her parents in Abbots Langley and came back yesterday - I came back on Sunday so that I could do some work on Easter Monday; look after the cat and keep an eye on the builders - such responsibility!<br /><br />So finally the suspense is over and Thursday 6 May 2010 has been confirmed for the General Election - no doubt the country will go into meltdown for 4 weeks which is never good for tourism but at least the phoney campaigning can now stop and they can get down to some serious stuff - including the Leaders TV debates (on Thursday 15 April at 8.30pm on ITV; on Thursday 22 April at 8pm on Sky; and on Thursday 29 April at 8.30pm on BBC) which should make compelling viewing. Cameron goes into them with everyone expecting him to score heavily (so he has everything to lose) whilst Brown goes into them with everyone expecting him to hit the floor (so anything positive will be hailed as a triumph) whilst Clegg will come across well but will that really influence voters away from the main two parties - fascinating stuff.<br /><br />And so we will hunt for answers regarding "our mojo" - if you are a current annual pass holder, or even more relevant if you are a lapsed annual pass holder, then let us know what you think as you are vital to our success and vital to the future health and stability of Blenheim Palace.<br /><br />Watch this space and watch the bounce back!John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-11713210677378561802010-03-29T06:55:00.000-07:002010-03-29T07:35:01.088-07:00Sunshine - please!Computer at home is poorly so this update has had to be delayed into Monday - hopefully the engineers will soon get us fixed at home - something to do with the mother board (whatever that is!) and/or the power supply - as Tracy is going bananas without access to her emails!<br /><br />Last week was incredibly busy - highlights included:<br /><p>>> 8 of the 10 staff team briefings - each of an hour duration with lots of questions and feedback. Hopefully valuable and inspiring for all of those present - only Operations and Blenheim Hospitality to go - phew!</p><p>>> Delivered one of the <a href="http://www.oep.org.uk/">Oxfordshire Economic Partnerhip </a>monthly seminar's at <a href="http://www.brookes.ac.uk/">Oxford Brookes </a>on "Marketing and Managing Blenheim Palace" - pathetically small audience (which depressed me hugely) but I hope that those present felt it was worthwhile</p><p>>> Attended a managers meeting for the <a href="http://www.treasurehouses.co.uk/">Treasure Houses of England </a>- always valuable to sit around the table with colleagues/managers from the other 9 Treasure Houses - we all learn so much from each other.</p><p>>> Attended an <a href="http://www.hha.org.uk/">Historic Houses Association</a>/<a href="http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/">English Heritage </a>dinner at the House of Lords - only a very select few present and very honoured to be invited as a guest of the HHA. Lots of interesting ground covered and hopefully relationships between these organisations will be even stronger going forward. Tourism and "our heritage" are rising up the political agenda - finally!</p><p>>> Attended an Oxfordshire 2012 Torch Relay committee as we try to understand the opportunities that may exist to get the torch relay into and through the County. Hopefully Blenheim Palace, as a world heritage site, and Iffley Road, as home to the first 4 minute mile, are strong assets in bidding for the torch relay - we shall have to wait and see!</p><p>.........and socially the week included:</p><p>>> Watching both my girls perform in the <a href="http://www.stagecoach.co.uk/">Stagecoach</a> production of "<a href="http://www.billyelliottthemusical.com/">Billy Elliott</a>" on Friday evening - one was a ballet dancer and one was a policeman!</p><p>>> Watching (finally!) Avatar in 3D - what an amazing film!</p><p>>> Attending the Gala Finale Dinner of <a href="http://www.oxfordliteraryfestival.com/">The Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival </a>in the Great Hall at <a href="http://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/">Christ Church College</a> and hearing <a href="http://www.lynnetruss.com/">Lynne Truss </a>give a very entertaining after dinner speech. A wonderful evening - good food, good company and a stunning setting steeped in history.</p><p>>> Getting up at 2.30am on Saturday morning to get my daughter Annabelle to her school for 3.15am so that she could leave with her Chamber Choir colleagues to go off to Lisbon, Portugal for a short choir tour. Amazingly uncivilised time to depart - but Annabelle went off with a huge excited smile on her face and we look forward to welcoming her back home on Wednesday evening - no doubt tired but hopefully in one piece!</p><p>And so we are counting down to Easter and hopefully the weather will be kind to us as it is such a vital 4 day period that can set the tone for the whole year. </p><p>The forecast does not give rise to much optimism with talk of snow, etc but hopefully it will be dry and good fortune (and some sunshine) will favour us as everyone descends upon us to hunt for easter eggs at the Pleasure Gardens. </p><p>The "Hare-Brained Hunt" here at Blenheim Palace should be fun for all the family - come and join us!</p><p>Have a restful week and an enjoyable easter!</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-25170128785569634022010-03-22T07:51:00.001-07:002010-03-22T08:42:30.144-07:00Baaathing sheep and straining dogs!Apologies for being late with this but the weekend raced by and Monday arrived before I had time to hit the keyboard! Part of the explanation may also lie behind the fact that we were out at a party on Friday night (yes I can still party even at my age!) and out for dinner on Saturday night (to <a href="http://www.crazybeargroup.co.uk/">The Crazy Bear </a>in Stadhampton for a delicious thai meal with old friends from Hertfordshire) and driving children around to parties and sleepovers for any spare time in-between!<br /><br />Highlights from last week included the <a href="http://www.cla.org.uk/">CLA</a> Oxfordshire Branch 'Question Time' event at <a href="http://www.milletsfarmcentre.com/">Millets Farm</a> near Witney which I was asked to chair! I think the event was a success and it was interesting to co-ordinate the questions and answers (some planted!) amongst the panel which included the CLA President plus four prospective parliamentary candidates from Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green parties - and to make sure that everyone had a equal slice of the action! Feedback has been positive (but I don't think David Dimbleby need lose any sleep!) and hopefully those who attended went home happy - they certainly went home well fed and watered after a delicious spread was provided for everyone by the team at Millets Farm. As to whether it will influence voting tendancies in Wantage or nationally only time will tell - frightening to think that the election in all probability is a little over 6 weeks away!<br /><br />Fresh from Question Time success, it was into London on Wednesday to visit the first day of the <a href="http://www.britainandirelandevent.co.uk/">"Best of Britain and Ireland Travel Trade Forum"</a> at Olympia where we were sharing a stand with colleagues from <a href="http://www.bicestervillage.com/">Bicester Village </a>and <a href="http://www.bicestercountryclub.com/">Bicester Hotel, Golf and Spa </a>- this show was previously the British Travel Trade Fair ("BTTF") held at the NEC in Birmingham and this was the second year of the re-born/re-branded event. It was far too quiet and I was grateful for the fact that we were sharing our stand with two other partners as this helped to spread the cost (but hopefully not to dilute the message) and I do think we will need to analyse the event costs and the event returns carefully to support such decisions for the future. As I have said before, I think people are working differently and using other channels to source and secure business - the days of such events could be numbered unless we and others can see good leads, capture good enquiries and real firm business arising from our time and effort to be there. Interesting to chat to colleagues and to see what others think as there is a risk of a "me to" attitude being taken to attend rather than a decision based on sound business logic.<br /><br />All of this was wrapped around <a href="http://www.britishtourismweek.com/">British Tourism Week </a> ("BTW") which seemed to come and go with very little fuss - not sure whether anyone would have really noticed it was BTW but hopefully messages reached the appropriate corridors of power (e.g, Westminster) and hopefully awareness surrounding tourism and it's importance will have been rammed home where it matters!<br /><br />The week ahead is dominated by Staff Briefings - this round is on a team-by-team basis so Roger File (our Property guru) and I will attend 10 presentations to update all staff on how we have performed and our targets going forward - a very useful opportunity to get out and talk to everyone face to face, to answer any questions and concerns, and to hopefully inspire everyone on the opportunities that lie ahead. <br /><br />The weeks always start with an Operations meeting on a Monday morning which is attended by all customer facing teams - highlights this morning included the figures for the weekend which were "just about OK" given the horrible weather on Saturday but also anything "out of the ordinary" is raised. The report from Sunday included the following incidents (i) One of our sheep diving into the Lake and needing to be rescued!; (ii) A dead rabbit in the Secret Garden that needed to be quickly and discretely removed and (iii) some hot tea being poured onto a dog - which was fine after some first aid and some TLC. <br /><br />Another entertaining day at Blenheim Palace!<br /><br />The staff briefings finish with a line which says "......and above all ENJOY working in this remarkable place!" We are very fortunate to have an excellent team across all areas and I believe we are very fortunate to work here - Blenheim Palace, with all it challenges and excentricities, gets inside you and no two days are ever the same!<br /><br />Through all the high's and the occasional low's we are helping to keep this priceless world heritage site standing and vibrant for future generations to enjoy - not a bad task even on a wet day or on a day when sheep are trying to drown themselves and dogs are trying to bathe in hot tea!<br /><br />Onwards and upwards!John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-8066865239481314252010-03-14T10:34:00.000-07:002010-03-14T11:36:17.877-07:00Creating our destiny!What glorious weather and what a perfect springlike Mother's Day - Blenheim Palace was busy with families celebrating together and both lunches and teas were heavily subscribed - but numbers were slighlty down year-on-year which was disappointing. <br /><br />We lunched with Tracy's parents over at <a href="http://www.thebutchersarms.com/">The Butchers Arms </a>in Priors Hardwick and had a delicious meal (they were incredibly busy - thank goodness we were in the first wave/sitting as I am sure the staff would have been suffering by the time the 2nd and even 3rd wave of guests arrived!) but our thoughts were also over in Royston with my mother who had to pop back to hospital with some post-op problems - thankfully merely a small infection and so she is back home both resting and continuing her recovery. She had lunch with my sister Tricia so hopefully will have still had a happy day despite her obvious worries.<br /><br />Last week was busy at work but also productive. We had Jac Windsor back with us doing another burst of strategy work around the visitor business - important to set out our future path and to try to control some of our future destiny. Jac lead the previous work 5 years ago whilst with <a href="http://www.edenmccallum.com/">Eden McCallum</a> but now had joined <a href="http://www.pwc.co.uk/">PricewaterhouseCoopers</a> - who the Estate have used for many years for accounting + audit services - a small world but great to connect again with Jac. This first early burst of strategy work - phase one - has already achieved a great deal in only a few days and hopefully the final outcome will be a valuable template for the next 5 years or so. A very interesting time to dwell on the success of the Annual Pass scheme; to review visitor segmentation and how to look after the "Friends" scheme; and what targets to set for the business alongside what agreed development agenda. Exciting stuff!<br /><br />Thursday saw me over at <a href="http://www.burghley.co.uk/">Burghley House </a>in Lincolnshire for an <a href="http://www.hha.org.uk/">HHA</a> Seminar looking at house opening and connecting with the public. I chose to travel to Burghley House via Royston so that I could call in and see my mother on the way and I got there in time for the lunch break - this worked as I was speaking at 3pm to the audience of about 100 HHA owners and members. It was a very successful event which I think was valuable for everyone present and should help everyone to better control their future destiny - my talk appears to have been well received and it was nice to be the last main speaker of the event - a good chance to wrap up much of what is needed to "Build a Fruitful Relationship with the Visitor" - which incidentally was the title of my talk! I love the opportunity to give talks and presentations - with the one caveat that I am comfortable with the subject matter - and it is always flattering to get positive feedback from the organisers and from those in the audience. <br /><br />Incidentally - the "caveat" reference above is being tested next week as I have agreed to chair a <a href="http://www.cla.org.uk/">CLA</a> Question Time session over at <a href="http://www.milletsfarmcentre.com/">Millets Farm </a>near Witney with the CLA President, <a href="http://www.vaizey.com/">Ed Vaizey </a>(MP for Wantage) and the prospective parliamentary candidates for the Wantage seat from the Labour, Liberal Democrats and Green parties. Should be an interesting couple of hours - I will report next week assuming I survive the ordeal.<br /><br />Next week is <a href="http://www.britishtourismweek.com/">British Tourism Week</a> - a very important few days to showcase this important industry and to continue the drive to get the Government (and indeed all parties) to better value all strands of tourism activity - and to mould/adjust taxes, etc to boost and support tourism rather than to put barriers in the way at every turn! Hopefully the message will finally get through as we try to shape the future and our destiny.<br /><br />Must go outside and see if the new moon is visible on this beautiful clear evening - my late father always wanted to avoid seeing the new moon through glass as this brought bad luck for a month! <br /><br />Superstitious - yes of course I am - and we all need all the help we can get in helping to create and shape our destiny!<br /><br />Have a great week and be lucky - be very lucky!John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-36809987694789291092010-03-07T09:14:00.000-08:002010-03-07T10:35:05.475-08:00Springtime at Blenheim PalaceWhat a glorious week - lots of blue sky; a springlike feel in the air; and many more visitors each day into Blenheim Palace. It is frustrating that the weather is such a strong factor in our trading success or failure - but we certainly walk with a spring in our step when the weather works in our favour which has been the case since March arrived.<br /><br />The week has gone well - my mother came through her operation on Tuesday in good spirits and has today gone home to carry on her rest and recuperation. I went over to see her at the <a href="http://www.nuffieldhealth.com/Individuals/Centres/C/Cambridge/">Nuffield Hospital</a> in Cambridge on Wednesday and she looked remarkably well given that her 3 hour operation was only 24 hours earlier. She will need to take it steady for the next couple of weeks - not an easy task as she hates being idle and hates being dependent on others. Together with my sisters we will do our best to make sure she does as she is told - for once!<br /><br />On Thursday, I attended the latest <a href="http://www.oxfordinspires.org/">Oxford Inspires </a>Cultural Platform at the <a href="http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/">Said Business School</a> in Oxford. The event was very well attended - not surprising really - as the guest speaker was the author <a href="http://www.philip-pullman.com/">Philip Pullman</a>. He spoke passionately and eloquently about the breakdown in some of our core values - citing school lunches as an example as to how children now eat from a self-service cafeteria (or even take their own packed lunch) whereas in the past they sat at tables with elders or teachers to supervise conversation, manners, etc. A small example but I do share Philip Pullman's concern at the loss of pride in our core values - wherever I go I see graffiti and litter, I hear swearing, I witness bad manners and I see broken signs, traffic cones lying around and general neglect. So much more needs to be done to better showcase ourselves - especially with 2012 looming - and we should all take greater pride in presenting any areas that we can control or influence in a better condition - but ultimately the uplift in core values needs to be driven from a generational perspective - good manners (especially good table manners), respect and good behaviour begins at home and if we can inspire our children to aspire to improve then I believe society's core values will be uplifted. <br /><br />Incidentally, there is an opportunity that Oxford Inspires and the emerging Destination Management Organisation ("DMO") for Oxford and Oxfordhire could end up co-joined as one organisation to deliver the cultural and tourism programme across most of the county. A great prize and a great opportunity - watch this space!<br /><br />Tuesday sees the Churchill family descending on Bladon and Blenheim Palace for the private funeral of Winston Churchill - Tory MP, journalist and grandson of Britain's wartime leader - who died on 2 March 2010 aged 69 after a long battle with cancer. It must have been difficult for Winston to carry the name of his famous grandfather but he made his own mark through a varied life and he accomplished a great deal. Tuesday will of course be a sad day for the family.<br /><br />Today we have welcomed the Tombling family from North London to Blenheim Palace - they will forever be known as our "100,000th annual pass holders" and we gave them a special day with our compliments to mark this milestone - hopefully they will spread the word and tell everyone about our "Buy One Day Get 12 Months Free!" amazing ticket deal for 2010!<br /><br />Enjoy the rest of the weekend and hopefully the fine weather will last into the week ahead and through to Mothers Day next Sunday.<br /><br />If you are still looking at ideas for "Mum" then bring her to Blenheim Palace for the day and enjoy springtime at this wonderful world heritage site.John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-37885126201849188052010-02-28T11:07:00.000-08:002010-02-28T11:51:50.785-08:00Goodbye February; Goodbye Rain?What a horrible wet, windy and miserable weekend to finish February - visitor numbers have suffered as have spends in our shops and cafes - but it is no surprise that numbers are low in such weather and given the extensive live sport on TV to keep people at home - assuming of course you like a diet of rugby, football and winter olympics!<br /><br />Roll on March and hopefully better weather as our start over the first two weeks has been decidedly average - as they say, things can only get better!<br /><br />Last week raced along with a few interesting occasions including a visit on Tuesday to <a href="http://www.international-confex.com/">Confex</a> at Earls Court. This event for years has represented the main show in the UK for the Conference and Events business and I have attended in some guise or other for more years than I can remember. This year we were merely represented on the <a href="http://www.uk.sodexo.com/">Sodexo Prestige</a> stand (as they carry out all of our catering at Blenheim Palace) and the show on the Tuesday/the first day was worrying quiet. The aisles were too empty and a number of regular exhibitors were not present this year - the doom merchants would cite the economy as the primary reason and I have no doubt that this was a huge factor - but I also think that people are generally working in different/smarter ways to engage with clients and to secure business. Familiarisation visits; one-to-one meetings and the power of the website (and other more modern media streams) are replacing the traditional slog (and expense) of standing at trade shows for days on end. We enjoyed a reasonably good Confex over the three days but it has in the past been much stronger - does this signify a turning point in how we do business? It will be interesting to watch and see.<br /><br />Wednesday saw Roger File (our Property guru) and I joining the <a href="http://www.carterjonas.co.uk/">Carter Jonas</a> conference at Blenheim Palace where we talked to them before lunch before hosting them on a tour around the Estate after lunch - Roger and I hosted a coach each as we visited the Bottling Plant and various development sites in varying stages of completion. All went well - well, all finally all went well! The coach route took us out of Combe Gate on the western side of the Park - a gate which normally works on the button press of a remote control - simple! - but on Wednesday the mechanism was faulty and the gate was locked with a huge chain and padlock. No problem, Roger gave me the four digit code - with various complicated instructions about what to squeeze and when! - and I got out of the coach to quickly open the gate at around 2.09pm - or so I thought. Unbeknown to me, the gate code had been changed at 2.00pm and a message had been left on my phone which was on silent in my pocket! I radioed Roger - with a slightly desperate tone in my voice - to find out that the code had changed. Roger supplied new code; Graham, one of our excellent managers, arrived on cue to open the gate and we carried on with our tour. The 50 on my coach thought it was very funny to see the CEO temporarily locked in; the 50 on Roger's coach were highly amused to hear the slight strain in my voice over the radio; and generally it was an entertaining moment for everyone on our radio system. Ho ho ho - we did laugh!!<br /><br />On Thursday morning it was into Oxford early to attend the <a href="http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/">County Council</a>/<a href="http://www,oxford.gov.uk/">City Council </a>Business Breakfast - a good gathering and a very valuable opportunity to network with colleagues in the public and private sectors. Especially important as the emerging Destination Management Organisation ("DMO") for Oxfordshire moves closer - exciting/interesting times. We are going to host the next Business Breakfast at Blenheim Palace in June - frightening to think that this will be AFTER the General Election which is now only a few weeks away. Poll predictions are swinging fast and furiously - it should be an interesting campaign.<br /><br />The week ahead looks busy both at home and at work. The builders arrive to start work on the long awaited kitchen project (so we need to prepare ourselves for many weeks of chaos!); various meetings should move the DMO forward and most worryingly my mother goes into hospital for a fairly major operation on Tuesday. She is a remarkably tough 85 year old and I am sure she will be fine - but it will be a relief to know she is through the operation on Tuesday and I will go over to Cambridge on Wednesday to see her. Luckily my sisters both live very close to my mother so they are able to be more "on-site" if needed.<br /><br />Roll on March; roll on some sunshine and lets hope the week ahead goes well - especially for my mother.John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-25221249534705120052010-02-20T01:56:00.000-08:002010-02-20T02:33:50.200-08:00High's and low'sWhat a frustrating week - such a variety of high's and low's amidst generally depressing weather!<br /><br />The high's included enjoying "<a href="http://www.lesmis.com/">Les Mis</a>" in London on Wednesday with Tracy and the girls (such a powerful and emotional musical) and a number of very positive meetings for future events at Blenheim Palace - including the first <a href="http://www.orvis.co.uk/">Orvis Fly-Fishing Fair </a>to be staged on Sunday 11 April 2010. There was also a very positive meeting to look at the future restoration of the Willis Organ in the Long Library at Blenheim Palace and some fund-raising efforts to be launched over the coming months.<br /><br />The low's, apart from the weather, were particularly centered on Thursday - when it also managed to rain virtually all day. They say things come in three's - well that was certainly true on this particular day.<br /><br /><strong>Incident one</strong> was two of our retail staff crashing one of the staff cars into a tree into the Park and writing it off - the car that is! Thank goodness both members of staff survived virtually unscathed, as did the tree, but the car is a mess. Still not entirely sure what caused such an outcome as no other vehicles appear to have been involved - but not a good start to the day.<br /><br />Roll forward to lunchtime and <strong>incident two</strong>. I was concluding a lunchtime meeting with Kelvin Thomas (the Chairman of <a href="http://www.oufc.co.uk/">Oxford United Football Club</a> who are closing in on promotion from the Conference) when Grace from the office ran into the dining room at <a href="http://www.macdonaldhotels/bear/">The Bear Hotel </a>(where we were lunching) to announce that there was a fire at the Palace and the fire service were on site! I can move fast when I need to and so I departed quickly from the Bear (promising the staff that I would return later to pay - which I did!) and I raced over to the Palace to catch up with the incident. About 10 appliances were in the Courtyard and the full evacuation procedure had run smoothly - within minutes of my arrival (no connection) it was determined that there was no fire and that the incident was indeed merely a false alarm - caused by burnt toast in one of the flats on the west side of the building. The all-clear was given and staff/visitors were allowed back into the building - panic over! Much will always be learnt from such rare incidents - access to keys, the whereabouts of residents in the staff flats, etc are all ways that we can improve - but fundamentally the evacuation procedures where handled superbly by all of the staff on site and the response from the fire service was first class.<br /><br />Having returned to The Bear Hotel to settle my lunch bill, the day was finally topped off around 5pm when <strong>incident three</strong> was reported from our retail team. They feared that some French school children had stolen some books from The Churchill Shop next to the Palace and our review of the CCTV footage proved that their fears were correct. We will trace the group, we will sent them the footage and we will hope to get a sensible response from them with regard to the behaviour of a few members of their party - but a depressing end to a long day and not the first time that we have had problems with groups of French school children!<br /><br />Friday seemed to pass off very smoothly after the challenges of the previous day and some blue sky and sunshine was even spotted - let's hope the weather maintains a more spring like air for the weekend so that we can get a final positive half-term surge before the children go back to school on Monday.<br /><br />The high's and low's of life do excite and challenge us every day - but it is true that Blenheim Palace creates so much diversity and opportunity because there is so much going on each day around the Palace and around the estate.<br /><br />It certainly is a wonderful place to work and it is a wonderful place to visit - we hope to see you soon and at least we got everything out of the way last Thursday!<br /><br />Have a good weekend.John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-70141431304838440442010-02-14T02:51:00.000-08:002010-02-14T03:17:15.145-08:00Up and running!And so we are now open and visitors are returning to see the Palace and to see the stunning photographic exhibition (depicting the winning gardens from the Historic Houses Association/Christie's Garden of the Year Award from the last 25 years) in the Long Library - always good to get re-open and to see everyone slightly relax and go back into the normal mode of daily business.<br /><br />Visitors yesterday seemed in good spirits (although it was very very cold!) and hopefully the warm glow from Valentine's Day will produce another good crowd today.<br /><br />Despite it's size and scale and despite it's battle victory connections - Blenheim Palace exudes a romantic air - perhaps best typified by Sir Winston proposing to Clementine Hozier here in the Temple of Diana. The Saloon table is laid for a romantic dinner for two and hopefully many visitors will enjoy either lunch in The Orangery or a Champagne Tea in the Water Terraces - both memorable ways to connect with Blenheim Palace.<br /><br />Today is an interesting day as it is the first day when annual passes from 2009 could be out of date - we launched the "Buy One Day - Get 12 Months Free!" offer on 14 February 2009 and our desire into 2010 is to get as many of the 98,000 annual pass holders to come back and re-join as well as continuing to spread the word and to find new members to experience and enjoy everything that Blenheim Palace has to offer. We still believe that it is a powerful offer - especially for those who live within an hour of Blenheim Palace - and hopefully this offer (and it's focused promotion through press, radio - and even maybe regional television) will drive good results for us this year.<br /><br />The plans for the season are exciting and we have a full calendar of events - hopefully something for everyone and for every taste - and we are looking forward to lots of sunshine - yes, I am an optimist!<br /><br />Most children are now on half-term and thus work pressures need to be balanced with entertaining the family at home - Tracy has a busy week with the girls - various trips out and sleepovers/play dates, etc - and on Wednesday we are taking them to see "Les Miserables" - one of the best ever London shows and one which we hope they will enjoy. Annabelle sang "Castle in the Cloud" on a couple of occasions at school last term and thus seeing it sung as part of this musical on the London stage should be especially powerful for her.<br /><br />Enjoy half-term and don't foget to enjoy Blenheim Palace - now "up and running" for the 2010 season!John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-44479049050860099092010-02-06T01:41:00.000-08:002010-02-06T02:17:23.985-08:00One week to go!Life at "the Palace" is a hive of activity as the countdown to the 2010 season reaches it's last week.<br /><br />High level/low level cleaning is reaching a crescendo (not sure if cleaning can reach a crescendo but it feels as though it is?!) and everything is being cleaned, polished and painted ready for the doors to open next Saturday. There is always excitement around opening and there is always a keen anticipation for the months ahead - we have the same excellent core team in place and we go into year two of the annual pass scheme.<br /><br />A year ago we were treading unknown ground with the annual pass scheme as it was a totally new initiative & product for us to trial; this year we open with 98,ooo annual pass holders out there and the uncertainty this year surrounds how the scheme will perform in year two. We are maintaining the scheme pretty much unchanged - a very clean and simple message - "Buy One Day - Get 12 Months Free!" - and we hope it will be popular again with high levels of renewals and high levels of new subscribers driven by positive word of mouth.<br /><br />We have produced an excellent annual pass holders booklet which summarises a whole raft of initiatives, discounts and offers across the year - there really is a wonderful array of ways for an annual pass holder to connect with us and to derive excellent value from the relationship. <br /><br />We hope year two will exceed our expectations - watch this space!<br /><br />We are also looking to refresh and re-launch our "Friends" scheme and to run this through our charity - the Blenheim Palace Foundation - which will be very tax efficient through the gift aid scheme and which will allow us to demonstrate a direct linkage between our Friends support and the extensive repair and restoration agenda that lies ahead. Friends will have a dedicated hospitality space on site as well as a special programme of evening lectures and talks - we hope this 'product' will appeal and that "Friends" numbers will grow over the coming months.<br /><br />We open with a 6 week exhibition in the Long Library showing an amazing collection of photographs depicting the winning Gardens from the last 25 years of the Historic Houses Association + Christie's Garden of the Year Award. Around 80 framed photographs, commissioned from a number of the country's leading photographers, will grace the Long Library and will look stunning - a "must see" once we get open next weekend.<br /><br />At home, the girls are working hard at school and making us very proud with their achievements whilst Tracy is hard at work planning our forthcoming project to refresh/enlarge our kitchen. Only 7 years in the planning and now finally about to become reality - will be glad to get it underway and to get it completed - and to maintain our sanity throughout!<br /><br />The weather yesterday felt positively spring-like (but the forecast talks of more snow and ice - aaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!) and we hope to launch next Saturday with a positive start which then carries us through with positive momentum for the whole season.<br /><br />Come back and see us very soon; use and renew your annual passes; explore and connect with the updated Friends scheme and make full use of everything on offer this year at Blenheim Palace.<br /><br />We need your support and we value the contribution that you make to the long term restoration of this priceless world heritage site.John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-16827163152118078412010-01-23T00:32:00.000-08:002010-01-23T01:00:05.548-08:00Busy times!Too long has passed since I last was able to blog - apologies for that but it has been a busy two or three weeks.<br /><br />Our week in Lech, Austria was just perfect - all four of us had a great week's skiing and all four of us returned unscathed - well, apart from a bruise the size of Africa on Tracy's leg from a mightly crash into one of her ski school colleagues! Both girls were brilliant in adapting to their full week of ski school and they exceeded expectations in the end of week ski school races with Annabelle winning Gold and Louisa winning Silver - they were so chuffed!<br /><br />We returned to a snowy Britain - in fact much more snow fell here than in Austria that week - and we have been hard at work in preparing everything for opening on Saturday 13 February 2010 and in preparing generally for the season ahead.<br /><br />The calendar of events for the year ahead is virtually complete but we still hope that a larger corporate booking or two, plus some potential film location business, may be achievable.<br /><br />Work surrounding the emerging new organisation for Oxfordshire to drive forward tourism is progressing well and the next couple of months will be critical to determine whether this baby will be born and as to whether it will thrive - hopefully the private sector will engage with enthusiasm!<br /><br />The last week has been dominated by my birthday and by the ongoing work to get the papers ready for our next Trustees meeting in early February. Turning 53 does not really seem much cause for celebration but, as always, Tracy and the girls have spolit me with lots of presents and we are off to London this weekend with the girls to see "Billy Elliot" and to do some other fun things.<br /><br />And finally, yesterday saw closure on the prosecution of one our former employees for fraud. This has been one of the most depressing things that I/we have had to deal with - the fact that she is now behind bars for an 18 month jail sentence is some comfort but it has been distressing at so many different levels. The support and work from Thames Valley Police has been fantastic; the resolve and grit demonstrated by all of our employees has been impressive; and the determination to get justice and to recover a substantial amount of the money stolen has been appropriate given the huge breach of trust. This has hurt us all but we have a fantastic, loyal and dedicated workforce on the Estate and in a strange way it has actually made us all stronger and even more united us in our resolve to drive the business forward to new heights in 2010. This chapter is closed and we move on.<br /><br />2010 is going to be an interesting year at many different levels - world cup; general election; new DMO for Oxfordshire; year 2 of our Annual Pass scheme; and so much more.<br /><br />Please engage with Blenheim Palace in 2010 - we need your support and we value your input.<br /><br />Have a great weekend.John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-2608416950450165382010-01-01T04:16:00.000-08:002010-01-01T04:24:36.564-08:00Happy New Year!Christmas has flown by in a blur and 2010 has already arrived - best wishes to everyone for a very happy and prosperous new year.<br /><br />We have had to do an early christmas clearance at home as we head off to Austria tomorrow for a week on the ski slopes - everyone very excited but tinged with sadness to see cards coming down and a sorry looking christmas tree stripped bare of its sparkling lights and decorations and already banished to the rubbish heap at the end of the garden.<br /><br />Hopefully we will survive our week in one piece and we will post again when the real work for the year ahead starts from 11 January onwards.<br /><br />Much was achieved in 2009 despite the gloomy predictions a year ago; lets hope that we will all fare well in 2010 and lets hope that we all enjoy much happiness and success.<br /><br />Cheers one and all - be happy, have fun and be safe!John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-39595774840802209212009-12-18T06:16:00.000-08:002009-12-18T06:57:34.107-08:00Not many "sleeps" to Christmas!This time of the year adopts a rather unreal feel as the "big day" looms closer and less work seems to be done each day!<br /><br />The excitement is building in the Hoy household and my girls break up from school today - not a moment too soon as they are both pooped after a long and busy term.<br /><br />This week alone has seen the following highlights:<br /><br /><p>>> <strong>Monday</strong> - Seasonal Staff Christmas Lunch in the Orangery. An excellent and well-earned opportunity to say a very big thank-you to the army of part-time staff who work within Operations and Retail. Every one of them makes a full contrinution towards delivering a wonderful experience to every visitor - their knowledge, their passion and their loyalty towards Blenheim Palace is first class. We again thank them for all their hard work through a busy year.</p><p>>> <strong>Tuesday </strong>- sneaked off to London to do some shopping - but don't tell the wife in case she gets too excited!</p><p>>> <strong>Wednesday </strong>- a busy day in the office - "Secret Santa" visited and delivered a much needed new pair of skiing socks (will be put to good use in the New Year) followed by a lunch out in Woodstock with the Marketing Team to say thankyou for all their hard work this year. The evening saw us heading in to London to see Annabelle sing with the Dragon School Choir in the Nordoff Robbins Christmas Concert in St Luke's Church, Chelsea. A fantastic event - with stars such as Alexandra Burke, Bill Nighy, and many others performing - but the real stars were the Dragon School - of course! Annabelle was very pleased to get Alexandra Burke's autograph and is very chuffed to have sung on the same stage as an X-Factor Winner! </p><p>>> <strong>Thursday </strong>- a day of mixed emotions - started in the dentist's chair, continued with the Christmas Managers Lunch (at which the Hoy Christmas Quiz was "enjoyed" by all - well by most anyway!!); carried on with the Middle School Christmas Concert at the Dragon (with Annabelle both singing and playing!) and ended exhausted on the sofa watching "Gavin and Stacey"</p><p><strong>>> Friday </strong>- and into Friday when the girls break up from school. Both are on sleepovers tonight (but Annabelle has another Chamber Choir Concert at St Andrews Church in Oxford beforehand) ahead of the Dragon Sale back at school tomorrow. This event raises a staggering £100k or so for charity in 4 hours - amazing generosity - but Tracy will be glad to get it behind her as she is involved in running the sale for the first time this year. We are both off to a lovely party near Cheltenham this evening (weather permitting) so she can forget about the sale for a few hours!</p><p>After Saturday, Tracy and the girls can rest up until the "big day" and the "sleeps" countdown gets very exciting!</p><p>The year has flown by but I hope that everyone reading this has a well deserved break over christmas and that the christmas and new year time is both happy and rewarding for all.</p><p>Enjoy everything and re-charge batteries ahead of the new year challenges.</p><p>Many thanks for all the support that we have enjoyed from so many sources this year - not least the 97,000+ annual pass holders who have connected so positively with Blenheim Palace in 2009 - hopefully your new year resolution will be to connect again in 2010.</p><p>Take care and have fun! </p>John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-38446522218654619392009-12-12T00:43:00.000-08:002009-12-12T01:37:33.588-08:00Last weekend - the 2009 Awards!As we enter the last weekend of the Palace season, it is appropriate to look back on a busy year and to reflect upon the highlights - and challenges - through the year.<br /><br />A summary of the 2009 Awards follows:<br /><br /><strong>The Newcomer of the Year Award </strong><br />Awarded to the amazing Annual Pass Scheme that has blown us all away during 2009. We are currently at around 95,000 members since this was launched back in February - a fantastic achievement and a very positive relaunch of our local profile - we hope everyone will re-connect with us and with an Annual Pass in 2010.<br /><br /><strong>The "bounce-back" Award</strong><br />Goes this year to the International Horse Trials held in September which "bounced back" from a washed-out event in 2008 - 4 days of fine weather delivered a very successful horse trials from everyone's point of view.<br /><br /><strong>The "Little and Large" Location Award</strong><br />Goes to 2oth Century Fox and their filming of Gulliver's Travels here at Blenheim Palace. Jack Black will star as Gulliver when this film launches Christmas 2010 but the real star will be Blenheim Palace - we enjoyed having them with us and we will enjoy being portayed as the Lilliputian Palace - home to Billy Connolly (King) and Catherine Tate (Queen)<br /><br /><strong>The Umbrella Award </strong><br />Is shared between a very wet Triathlon in June and the whole month of November - which was apparently over 200% up on the 27 year average for rainfall! The Triathlon was a phenomenal success despite the weather - but we hope for slightly better weather in 2010.<br /><br /><strong>The "Wish you were here" Award</strong><br />Goes to the "Festival for Heroes" event which tried to stage a concert in June to raise monies for the Royal British Legion but which failed to sell enough tickets and which ended up being cancelled - a great shame as it would have been a great day and it would have helped a very worthwhile cause. Maybe they will try again?<br /><br /><strong>The "don't mention The Caravan Club" Award</strong><br />Goes to The Camping and Caravanning Club who held their annual "Feast of Lanterns" rally at Blenheim Palace in August - a very well organised event and a great pleasure for us to host them this year.<br /><br /><strong>The "could have done better" Award</strong><br />Goes to Lancelot "Capability" Brown for not building the crest of the Blenheim Dam slightly higher (in the 1760's) so as to ensure compliance with the Reservoirs Act 1975! But he does get many commendations for the excellence of everything else he achieved! <br /><br /><strong>The Environment Agency Award</strong><br />Goes to all internal and external staff who worked on the restoration work surrounding the Blenheim Dam - a well organised and a well delivered project that has secured the future stability of the Dam for many future decades. Well done to Roger File, Chris Keeler and everyone at Bentleys.<br /><br /><strong>The "cool dude" Award</strong><br />Goes to Sean - the Bentley's Site Manager on the Dam Project - totally unflappable - and now on his annual sojourn in the Caribbean<br /><br /><strong>The Bravery Awards</strong><br />Tony White's wife and family, Paul Duffie, Veronica Thorneloe, the Frost Family - our thoughts and prayers are with them all as they remember loved ones at Christmas<br /><br /><strong>The PR Award</strong><br />Goes to David Cameron - our local MP - for quickly involving the Chinese Ambassador in a tree planting ceremony here at Blenheim last month and quickly naming the tree as the "Chinese Friendship Tree" - inspired thinking and we look forward to many visiting groups for China to see the tree as it grows!<br /><br /><br />The list could go on - but it has been a very memorable year where much has been achieved. We started the year not quite knowing what would happen but a combination of the "staycation" factor alongside the strength of the annual pass offer has delivered some fantastic results.<br /><br />This has stretched our resources at times and it has certainty stretched our staff resources (and their patience!) through a long season - a huge thankyou to all of our staff for their huge input in delivering such high levels of customer service excellence throughout the year.<br /><br />And so the Palace closes on Sunday evening and we then have two months to deep clean every nook and cranny - to both pass and satisfy any Ducal inspection - before we open again on Saturday 13 February 2010!<br /><br />And so the cycle continues ........... <br /><strong></strong><br /><strong></strong>John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-3723162576949652712009-12-03T00:23:00.000-08:002009-12-03T01:34:34.368-08:00Great man!Since my last post, the anniversary has been and gone surrounding the birth of Sir Winston Churchill.<br /><br />On 30 November 1874, 135 years ago, Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill arrived into the world here at Blenheim Palace - Blenheim's most famous son actually arrived several weeks early as his parents, Randolph and Jennie Spencer-Churchill, were weekending here at Blenheim - a very happy "accident" from our point of view and one that we 'celebrate' as actively as we can.<br /><br />Much has been written about Sir Winston and he was of course voted as "our Greatest Briton of all time" in a poll conducted a few years ago. He was also the first man to be made an honorary citizen of the United States - by an Act of Congress on 9 April 1963 just two years or so before his death in January 1965.<br /><br />His curls are on display in the Palace alongside other exhibits surrounding his very close ties with the Palace and with the family but it is on the wider international stage that his fame will stand forever.<br /><br />He entered parliament at the age of 26 in 1900 having already distinguished himself as a soldier in several wars - he proceeded to hold a number of important ministerial posts over the next 55 years.<br /><br />When World War II came to Britain in 1939, his authority and his oratory held great sway and his time as Prime Minister (1940-45) helped to turn the tide - who will ever forget his "We shall never surrender" speech on 4 June 1940 following the evacuation of trapped Allied Forces from the beaches at Dunkirk.<br /><br />Sir Winston achieved so much and he possessed a sharp wit; he achieved a world reputation not only as a gifted strategist and inspiring war leader but also as a great orator, a talented painter and a stylish writed with a profound sense of history.<br /><br />History will forever record his importance on the world stage and his influence today is as powerful as ever - his connection with Blenheim Palace (he was born here; he proposed to Clementine here; and he is buried nearby in Bladon) still acts as a powerful magnate to so many. <br /><br />We receive many visitors from North America, and increasingly from the Far East/China, all hungry to explore the Churchill connection and we hugely value every visit and we strive to make every visit as memorable as we can. Indeed a recent delegation from China suggested that we should drop any reference to Blenheim Palace and merely promote Winston Churchill!<br /><br />The Churchill influence also manifests itself in other powerful ways. <br /><br />I met this week with a serving RAF Officer who wants special permission to propose to his girlfriend in the Temple of Diana in the Formal Gardens to the south of the Palace on one of our remaining open days before christmas - this is where Sir Winston proposed to Clementine on 11 August 1908. I need to be careful not to spoil their surprise by revealing too much, but both of them are serving officers in todays armed forces and they are both still hugely influenced and inspired by Sir Winston Churchill and his heroic deeds - wartime deeds that is not just the 'getting engaged bit!'.<br /><br />We will make a very special exception for these special people - we feel it is our duty to do so - partly in memory of Sir Winston but also in recognition of the many challenges faced today by our armed forces around the world - and particularly in Afghanistan.<br /><br />We will make it a very special moment for them and one that they will remember forever - I am sure that Sir Winston and 'Clemmie' would approve - and of course I hope his 'intended' says yes!<br /><br />What a special time of the year as we remember a Great Man.John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-64610465745615019342009-11-27T00:05:00.000-08:002009-11-27T00:57:24.691-08:00The Annual CycleAs we head out of November and into the final month of the year, it is frightening to think how fast 2009 has raced by - <em>just where has the year gone?</em> - and that 2010 is virtually with us.<br /><br />We are heavily into setting our budgets for April 2010 to March 2011 and we are hard at work sorting out our leaflets and our marketing materials to support the 2010 season - but before that we have a few weeks left before we close followed by a very hectic two month period when the Palace is closed (mid-December 2009 to mid-February 2010) and this heralds the annual deep clean when we try to reach every part - however high, low or hidden - and leave it sparklingly dusted, polished and gleaming ready for the new season.<br /><br />2009 will always be remembered for the sensational success of the annual pass scheme; for the significant surge in visitor numbers (an extra 200k in the year!); for a number of iconic and memorable events and for the extensive location filming for 'Gullivers Travels'.<br /><br />Looking into 2010 we start again from zero visitors and we must now be looking for a minimum of 500k visitors to maintain momentum from the current year and to maintain performance - sounds daunting but I have no reason to believe that the annual pass scheme will be any less successful in year two and thus this must represent a realistic and achievable target.<br /><br />Next year will for certain see a General Election and a Football World Cup - who will win in each case and how will these "events" impact upon the country's mood and desire to enjoy their leisure time? General Election's can distract the country and World Cup's can either absorb our total attention (at the exclusion of all else) or it can put us into a deep depression! We shall see what evolves and I shall resist trying to predict outcomes or winners + losers!<br /><br />What will the weather be like in 2010; what will happen to the strength of the pound, where will bank interest rates track during the year; and how will the recovery from the economic downturn pan out into the coming year - all factors that we cannot control but all factors that may (or could) (or will) have a significant influence on the performance of our visitor business through the coming year.<br /><br />All of our managers are knee deep in budgetting - <em>they love it really! - </em>with excellent support and encouragement from Dominic and his team - and it will be tough to keep the focus on cost containment/control after such a positive year of trading whilst also driving repeat/new income streams for the business.<br /><br />It will be interesting to see the first cut of the budget figures next week and to get an early insight into how things are looking - our progress over the last seven years has been exceptional but we cannot rest on our laurels and we must continue to push for 'growth with stability' so that we can continue to reinvest in the repair, restoration and conservation of this unique world heritage site for future generations to enjoy.<br /><br />2009 has been a ground breaking year for so many reasons but that year - with only a few weeks to go - will soon be consigned to the history books and then we face the new challenge in making 2010 even more impressive!<br /><br />It never ceases to amaze me how hard everyone works across the Estate and how unified we are as a team in both understanding the challenges across the business and in supporting + encouraging each other to drive the business forward - we are very fortunate to have such a talented and dedicated workforce at every level. <br /><br />And so we must focus back onto the tail-end of the 2009 season - the Palace stays 'dressed for christmas' through to Sunday 13 December with our theme "Christmas Nostalgia - Toys, Treats and Treasures" bringing the Palace State Rooms to life and the fnal weekend (12 + 13 December) will see lots of choirs and singing in the Palace to give the season a good sewnd-off! <br /><br />Our shops are full of wonderful gifts for christmas and from Tuesday we start selling our home-grown christmas trees - if you want to buy a "Blenheim" tree then call 01993-813196 or visit <a href="mailto:christmastrees@blenheimpalace.com">christmastrees@blenheimpalace.com</a> to place your order.<br /><br />Christmas is coming and so is the next year - enjoy this special time and thanks for all your support!John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-4671245771448996712009-11-20T05:06:00.000-08:002009-11-20T05:54:19.923-08:00Wow! What a week that was!Since I was last able to write early on the morning of Friday 13 November, it has been an extremely busy few days - a brief summary follows:<br /><br /><p><strong>>> Friday 13 November</strong></p><p>A wet and windy day (highly appropriate for Friday the 13th) heralded the arrival of various dignitaries to celebrate our various awards this year - but particularly the Siver Award for our Green Business Tourism Scheme entry. Lady Penny Cobham (Chair of Visit England) and John Williams (Chair of Tourism South-East) joined the Duke in welcoming David Cameron (our constituency MP) to Blenheim Palace for these celebrations. At the last minute we were notified that David Cameron was being accompanied by Her Excellency Madam Fu Ying, the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the UK - she apparently wanted to shadow a British MP to see how they worked in their constituencies. Now this was a huge opportunity and after discussions surrounding Plans A, B and C, we eventually agreed to go ahead with the planned tree planting despite the rain. An inspired David Cameron (down to his shirt sleeves in the rain!) set about the tree planting and then invited the Ambassador to join him to signify the "Chinese Friendship Tree" at Blenheim Palace. A plaque will follow (well why wouldn't we!) and hopefully many thousands of Chinese tourists will flock to see the tree at Winston Churchill's birthplace! What had seemed a wet and miserable day turned into a triumph and everyone went away inspired and happy.</p><p><strong>>> Saturday 14 November</strong></p><p>A calm/sensible day which culminated in a delicious dinner at The Grove Hotel in Hertfordshire where we met up with the Keane's and the Woodies - very old and very special friends from our Knebworth days. The Grove Hotel was heaving - wedding, parties and diners everywhere you looked. Almost too busy with car parks overflowing - but who says there is still any recession?</p><p><strong>>> Sunday 15 November</strong></p><p>An early return from Hertfordshire in time to get Annabelle to school for the Chamber Choir to perform in the Sunday morning service. Always moving to see Annabelle sing and she is thoroughly enjoying being in the Choir - they have lots of exciting engagements including being in the final 6 for the BBC Songs of Praise School Choir of the Year and also a choir trip to Portugal next Spring - lucky girl!</p><p><strong>>> Monday 16 November</strong></p><p>Tracy and I headed into London for a special treat - we were invited to attend the Christies Dinner in their Great Rooms off King Street. A stunning evening where we were also able to see the HHA/Christies 25th Anniversary Garden of the Year Award Photographic Exhibition - some amazing photographs and an amazing exhibition - which incidentally moves to Blenheim Palace for 6 weeks when we re-open on 13 February for the 2010 season - assuming we can figure out how to display it!. With Victoria very very kindly looking after our girls at home, Tracy and I spoilt ourselves by staying at the fabulous Goring Hotel in Beeston Place. One of London's hidden delights and without doubt one of London's finest hotels - we had a wonderful evening and just for a change it was nice to pamper ourselves!</p><p><strong>>> Tuesday 17 November</strong></p><p>Attended the 36th AGM of the Historic Houses Association at The QEII Conference Centre in Westminster - an interesting and valuable day to network with owners and colleagues from across this important and valuable heritage sector. Saw many friends and enjoyed a very positive day - rushed back to pick up Annabelle from school at around 6pm as the choir were putting in extra hours in readiness for the BBC challenges that lie ahead next week!</p><p><strong>>> Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 November</strong></p><p>Up to Castle Howard in Yorkshire for the annual Treasure Houses of England Owners and Managers meeting and AGM. 450 mile round trip (carefully avoiding A1(M) closure courtesy of sat nav route through Doncaster and Selby) for a very positive gathering - for once our stunning performance this year through our Annual Pass scheme put us top of the class for visitor performance - something which both the Duke and I quietly enjoyed! We were looked after in sumptuous fashion - black tie dinner on Wednesday in The Garden Hall at Castle Howard; overnight at The Worsley Arms Hotel in Hovingham, meeting on Thursday back at Castle Howard in The Long Gallery followed by lunch in the Grecian Hall prior to departure and the long drive home. </p><p>Got back to Blenheim Palace just in time to attend the christmas reception for our press/media contacts as well as for our Friends of Blenheim Palace. A warm and friendly event which seemed to be enjoyed by all of those present - well done to all of those here at Blenheim Palace who worked hard to set up and deliver this important annual event. </p><p><strong>>> Friday 20 November</strong></p><p>And so the cycle completes and I am back at my desk and finally able to catch up on emails, etc. Today is the first day of our "Living Crafts for Christmas" event - we pray for sensible weather as we have to park cars on grass and nobody wants the underfoot conditions to become too severe. Last nights rain has not helped but we will keep our fingers crossed!</p><p>Phew - what a busy days - but throughout I have been inspired by how positive, how generous, and how engaged everyone is with regard to moving themselves and their business interests forward through the remainder of 2009 and into 2010.</p><p>Hopefully the "Chinese Friendship Tree" will flourish - and hopefully our fortunes will flourish alongside it!</p><p>Have a good weekend</p><p> </p>John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-20029320615883728502009-11-12T23:12:00.000-08:002009-11-12T23:51:52.966-08:00Christmas is coming!October half-term out of the way, children back to school, in the midst of a very wet November and the christmas decorations are once again adorning our gates, courtyards and Palace.<br /><br />Saturday sees the launch of our Palace Dressed for Christmas season with our theme "Christmas Nostalgia - Toys, Treats and Treasures" bringing the state rooms to life. Many toys have been kindly loaned to us (or should that be 'invited to stay') and loads of teddy bears, meccano, lego, cars, etc are carefully positioned amogst the trees and decorations so as to enhance a magical time to see Blenheim Palace. At this time of the year we are open Wednesdays to Sundays inclusive (through to Sunday 13 December) with various special christmas highlights for all to enjoy incding the "Living Crafts for Christmas" event from 20-22 November, Handel's Messiah performed in the Long Library on 6 December, and Festive Music and Carols over the final weekend - 12-13 December.<br /><br />A great time to visit Blenheim Palace - and don't forget that the shops are full of tempting christmas gifts and our christmas trees are also on sale through most of December.<br /><br />It has been a busy week having been away in Cornwall for a few days. <br /><br />Cornwall was great fun - we rented a big house in Gillan (near Helston on the Lizard) with 2 other families from school and it was great fun throughout. 6 adults and 6 children got on brilliantly and we had great days out to the Maritime Museum in Falmouth, to St Ives, to the National Seal Sanctuary in Gweek, to St Michael's Mount + Porthleven and down to LIzard Point for some bracing fresh air! The slightly dodgy weather seemed an irrelevance and the evenings were filled with laughter and games (particularly some very feisty rounds of Scattegories!) - plus lots of food, wine and too much washing-up!<br /><br />The only slight disaster occurred on the Thursday when all 12 of us were having fun on a large kids playground near St Michael's Mount (as you do!) and inspired by yours truly the adults were trying to run up a childrens slide - very irresponsible! All achieved it (eventually!!) but R (to maintain his dignity!) decided that it would be clever to moonwalk or surf back down the side and he ended up in a heap at the bottom with a badly damaged, bruised and swollen ankle. Not sure anything has broken but it was still very swollen (and turning a wonderful shade of deep purple) by the time we left on the Saturday - his wife, T, was singularly unimpressed as she was most likely going to have to drive all the way home whilst R "rested"! If only grown-ups could behave better!<br /><br />A great week with fun people - would be good to return as Cornwall is such a pretty county and it was blissfully quiet having missed the main half-term crowds.<br /><br />It has been a productive week but also a sad week as Remembrance Day this year seemed to carry so much more significance with Afghanistan dominating the headlines each day and all three remaining First World War veterans having passed away in the last year. So important that we never forget their sacrifices.<br /><br />The weather forecast is dire for the next few days - hopefully we will all survive and that the weather will be kinder for our festive craft fair next week - this event needs fine weather and dry conditions for car parking - fingers crossed.<br /><br />Have a good weekend and I will update you next Friday on a very busy week that lies ahead.<br /><br />Have fun.John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8324958561901567732.post-23252443254590818952009-10-30T00:24:00.000-07:002009-10-30T01:15:39.158-07:00Half-term; Halloween and holidays!The mild weather has given us a very strong half-term week with many visitors enjoying spooky Palace tours; ghostly trails around the Pleasure Gardens and (most spectacularly) the amazing autumnal colours and hues throughout the Park. We hope the dry mild weather will last through to the end of the weekend but the forecast implies rain + gales are on the way - of course they are as the Hoy Family heads off to Cornwall on Saturday for a week's holiday!<br /><br />On Tuesday we "celebrated" the completion of the extensive works surrounding the Blenheim Dam and Cascade and we had a photocall with the press so that the Duke could thank the contractors/project team and so that we could announce that the area is open again and visitors can complete the walk around the lakeside and see the "new" cascade. I say "celebrated" but that may not really be the most appropriate tag as we have had to sink around one million pounds of our hard earnt money into ensuring compliance with the wonderful Reservoirs Act 1975 - with no government support or grant money available for this world heritage site - shameless! Roger File - our property guru - has led this project with great skill and all of our on-site teams (particularly Chris Keeler and his maintenance team) have supported brilliantly. The area looks fantastic and well worth a visit - and it came in under budget - phew!<br /><br />Wednesday morning saw a crew from GMTV on site doing some live links from Blenheim Palace to showcase the mild weather and the stunning scenery - well I say 'live links' but it actually became a 'live link' (singular) as any slots between 7am and 8am seemed to get lost in the ether and we ended up doing one extended piece/interview at around 8.40am. Those that saw it say that Blenheim Palace looked amazing - strangely silent about my appearance - maybe it was my wrong side!! Always fun to get a chance to do "live TV".<br /><br />Yesterday it was over to Broadwell (near Stowe-on-the-Wold) to give a talk to the North Cotswold Probus Club - a mixed "Ladies Day" gathering and a very full room to entertain. I hugely enjoy giving talks to Probus Clubs as the members are almost without exception absolutely charming - and in most cases they have had fascinating careers and they remain very interested and willing to learn/explore new things. Yesterday was no exception as they were a lovely audience but I am kicking myself that I was unable to stay for lunch due to meetings back here at Blenheim Palace as they had a mobile Fish and Chip Van delivering them their lunch. I had to walk out of the Village Hall past the Fish and Chip Van parked up outside to get to my car - the smells, the wafting aroma of fish and chips; the hint of vinegar - yum yum - it did smell delicious! I drove back to Woodstock feeling very very hungry.<br /><br />And so I need to get my desk and inbox reasonably clear today as we are off down to Cornwall on Saturday morning for a week - bizarrely my girls get two weeks half-term holiday - and we have rented a lovely house on the south coast and a couple of other families from school are joining us - 6 adults and 6 children in total - should be fun! Lots of long walks and sightseeing - hopefully the weather will not be too unkind.<br /><br />Tomorrow - halloween - is our wedding anniversary! 11 years ago Tracy and I got married and we had a very special day despite the fact that it rained cats + dogs for most of the day!<br /><br />Here we are and 11 years on and our wedding anniversary again lands on a Saturday - lots of memories from that special day - not least Tracy arriving 30 minutes late for the service because she forgot her flowers and had to go home to get them! Not sure what the vicar thought as Tracy and her father in a vintage car drove into the church car park and (without stopping or saying anything!) drove out again to return to our home to get her flowers - whilst inside a nervous groom plus 200 guests were waiting patiently! The vicar kept his silence but he must have thought "she's done a runner!"<br /><br />It all ended very happily and we will celebrate tomorrow!<br /><br />Have a good weekend and I will write again after our short break in Cornwall.John Hoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00015526939399971463noreply@blogger.com0