For the second time the Cookstown 100 has run in September.  It is normally held at the end of April and marks the beginning of the road racing season, but because of Covid-19 it has been held in September this year and last year.

The Cookstown 100 weekend is one of our busiest in the B&B - one where we could fill our rooms one hundred times over - but one of the best.
The same people come back year after year and have become friends.  We all love road racing and have that in common and the road racing community is a very good natured and friendly one.
There is always lots of friendly chatter over breakfast on the Sunday morning!

Road racing is a big thing here in Northern Ireland and the atmosphere at Coostown is really good and you really get to see the speed of the motorbikes up close.
Next year the Cookstown 100 will hit the one hundred year milestone, so, hopefully the Road Racing Calendar will return to normal and Cookstown, in its centenary year, will mark the start of the racing season to be followed by Tandragee, the North West and of course the Isle of Man TT

We love pancakes in this house!  In the B&B we offer pancakes, bacon and maple syrup on the breakfast menu and it is always very popular, but we eat pancakes almost every week with different toppings and not just for breakfast!

The recipe I use for pancakes (it's not really a recipe) was given to me by a good friend many, many years ago. Her pancakes were always amazing.  Most recipes start with the dry ingredients and add the wet ones but her advice was to do it the other way round.

I usually make a batch of pancakes with one pint of buttermilk, which makes quite a lot of pancakes!  I then freeze the extras.  Pancakes heat up beautifully, wrapped in tinfoil in a low oven.

 I mix one pint of buttermilk with eight eggs and a teaspoon of vanilla extract - always with a whisk, never an electric mixer.

To that I add soda bread flour, a cup at a time, until the consistency is right.  The batter needs to be quite thick, thick enough that when you spoon it onto the pan, it doesn't spread.  It can take anything up to four cups of flour.

Finally add sugar.  We like our pancakes quite sweet so I add almost a full cup of sugar but you can add more or less.

Preheat a frying pan or griddle over a moderate heat.  Brush the pan with melted butter or oil.  Spoon the batter onto the pan. You can use any size of spoon, depending on whether you want large, extra large or mini pancakes.  When bubbles appear on the top of the pancakes it is time to turn them and cook them on the other side for a few minutes.

I only oil the pan once, that way you get the lovely smooth surface of a bakery pancake!  I always use a cast iron griddle, one I bought years ago at a Pampered Chef party when they were all the rage!!

We all have our favourite ways to eat pancakes in this house - mine is spread with nutella, topped with sliced banana.  Hubby sticks with the simple life, just butter and sugar.

Pancakes, strawberries and maple syrup.                            Pancakes, bacon and maple syrup.

Pancakes and butter, Pancakes, apple sauce and cream.      Pancakes, nutella and banana

Breakfast has always been my favourite meal of the day.  I can't function without my breakfast and, for me, it is really important to provide a good, quality, freshly cooked breakfast for my guests.  We have a wide range of options available and guests can choose any one of them or they can mix and match through the options.

Cereal, yogurt and fresh fruit are always available.

Today, I want to show you some of the combinations you could pick - just to break away from the norm!

Scrambled egg, bacon and toast.  This is always a popular breakfast.

Scrambled egg, bacon and soda bread, either fried or toasted is a great alternative.

Poached egg, tomato, sausages and toast.

Poached eggs on soda bread.  One of my favourtites!

I think poached eggs are my favourite way to eat eggs.  At Manorview we have our own hens and although there is always great debate about how to poach and egg perfectly - swirl the water, add vinegar to the water - I think that when an egg is very fresh nothing needs to be done except drop the egg in boiling water and cook for three minutes.

Bacon sandwich with the addition of a fried egg

Taking the bacon sandwich to a whole new level.

Fried soda bread sandwiching bacon and a fried egg - otherwise known as an egg and bacon soda!

Manorview is lucky to be located in a beautiful area with views of green fields and the Sperrin Mountains and within a short distance there are lots of interesting things to see.

Drum Manor is literally on the doorstep, the entrance is just a short walk from the B&B and the Oaklands Room and Lounge look out on the Gate Lodge.
Drum Manor is perfect for an early morning walk before breakfast or an evening stroll if you have been sitting in a car all day.  There are different paths, all marked out, to suit everyone whether you want a relaxing stroll or a more challenging walk or run.
The grounds are beautiful, especially in Bluebell season.  There are ponds, a play park and lots of picnic areas to just stop and take in the beautiful surroundings.

Welbrook Beetling Mill is less than a five minute drive from Manorview B&B and is now owned by the National Trust.
Beetling was the final stage in linen making when the cloth was pounded with wooden hammers (Beetles) to give it a lovely smooth sheen.
Wellbrook still has all the original machinery and during tours the National Trust demonstrate the very noisy beetling process!!
Wellbrook is a reminder of what was once a flourishing linen industry here.
Wellbrook Beetling Mill has set opening hours (check National Trust-Wellbrook Beetling Mill) but even when closed it is worth a visit for a short walk and a look ate the scenery.

Travel a little further into the Sperrins and Beaghmore Stone Circles are well worth a visit.  Set in beautiful countryside, Beaghmore is a complex of early Bronze Age Megalithic features, stone circles and cairns.
It's hard to believe that something from so long ago is still there and to stand in such a quiet, peaceful spot and wonder what life was like for the people living back then.
The views are stunning and it is an ideal place for a sunset photo or even better ( if you are an early riser) a sunrise one.

Also set in the rugged mountain scenery of the Sperrins, is Lough Fea.  The combination of the Sperrins and a calm freshwater lake makes this a place of great beauty.
There is a walkway the whole way round the lough, so it is a popular place for walkers.  It is about three miles long and takes roughly an hour.
There is carparking, toilets and a childrens play are.
Lough Fea provides the drinking water for the area, including Manorview!

Tullyhogue Fort attracts lots of visitors every year and is of great cultural and historical significance.
The Fort is now just a depression in the ground, surrounded by trees but was once the ceremonial site of the O'Neill Clan and where the O'Neill kings would have been crowned.
A series of paths will take you to the top of the hill with wonderful views along the way.
A great place for a walk, seeped in ancient irish royal history.

Who doesn't love a cup of tea, especially if it is accompanied by a piece of shortbread.  It is one of the simple pleasures in life.  In this country whatever is going on in life, whether it is good or bad, we reach for the kettle and make tea!

I love a good cup of tea and much as it is very handy to put a teabag in a cup and pour hot water over it, there is no doubt that tea made in a teapot and sipped from a china cup is tea at its best.  I don't like tea leaves floating in my tea and I really can't be bothered using a strainer, so the teapots that have an in-built strainer make using 'loose tea' a lot easier.

I haven't taken milk in my tea for almost 30 years, so I do appreciate a cup of tea that has loads of flavour.  Most of the time I drink English Breakfast or Earl Grey but my favourite is Lady Grey with that slight hint of orange.


Now for the shortbread!
Shortbread is a staple in the B&B and is really one of the simplest biscuits to make.  You only need three ingredients - butter, sugar and flour.  I have used the same basic recipe for years and it works perfectly well but over the years I have adapted it to my taste.

Original Recipe (I don't even know where it came from!)
200 g softened butter
100 g sugar
300 g plain flour
Preheat oven to 150 C or gas mark 2.  Cream the butter and sugar then add in the flour and mix well until it all comes together.  Knead well, then roll out to about 1/2 inch thick and cut out.  Bake for 20-30 minutes.
This makes a crunchy shortbread, but I like shortbread that melts in you mouth, so I have changed the recipe a little.  I change the sugar to 50 g caster sugar and 50 g icing sugar and instead of 300 g plain flour, I use 200 g along with 100 g cornflour.  The combination of the icing sugar and the cornflour makes a softer shortbread.

Happily the guests in the B&B like my recipe!!

This past year has been so difficult in so many ways for so many people.  I have struggled with the lack of routine, From being busy and having to be very organised to having no purpose and few of the daily things I was used to doing.  I love my job.  I love cooking (breakfast has always been my favourite meal of the day) and I love welcoming people to my home.

I opened a B&B because it was something I always wanted to do, though never thought I would get the chance.  Our home is in a lovely area and I thought it would be a great location for a Bed and Breakfast, so when the opportunity came about ot do work to our home, I took the plunge!  An extension was added with three ensuite bedrooms, a lounge area and the garage became the dining room!!  In 2004 Manorview B&B opened.  It was an ideal time as my boys were young and although the B&B was hard work, I was working from home.

It has been so disheartening to see my lovely rooms unused and I have really missed my guests, many of whom have become friends.  I have missed hearing about them and about their families.  I have missed hearing the reasons people come to the area, whether it is because they have family here or because they are just passing through.  There are so many reasons why people stay in a Bed and Breakfast and because I only have three rooms, I have time to hear their personal stories and I love it!

Manorview finally reopened on 1st June and it was really nice that my first guests had stayed many times before.

It's so good to see the dining room set up and ready for guests to come in.

March certainly came in like a lamb and Spring definitely sprung.  The weather at the beginning of March was wonderful and the sight of beautiful spring flowers certainly lifted the spirits after a fairly dismal January and February.  The lovely weather made it feel as if winter was finally over and it was time to look ahead to longer days and getting outside more.

Breakfast outside.  What a treat!!  It is such a simple pleasure to sit in the garden on a tranquil Sunday morning and enjoy breakfast, admittedly with a coat on but who cares, the sun was shining.

We are still in lockdown and not allowed to travel too far from home.  Luckily there are many beautiful places within a short distance to visit and Beaghmore stone circles is one of them.  The air is fresh, the views are stunning and it is an ideal spot to catch a beautiful sunset.  It's amazing to think that these stones have been here for thousands of years. Life would have been very different back then!!

I always look forward to the snowdrops appearing, so it was a real treat to go into the garden on 1st February and discover these snowdrops.  Somehow, even though winter isn't over they are a sign that Spring and longer days are not too far away.

February, of course, brings Valentine's Day and we had a wee treat from Tim Hortons.  Tim Hortons opened in Cookstown just before Christmas.  Very handy and very tasty!

We also had Pancake Tuesday.  Pancakes are alway popular here both amongst the family and in the B&B.  My favourite is chocolate spread and banana. Yum!

Walking round Tullyhogue Fort there are some fantastic views into Cookstown.  Tullyhogue Fort is the ancient ceremonial site where the Chiefs of the Clan O'Neill of Tyrone were inaugrated.

Well, what a year 2020 turned out to be!!  Who would have thought this time last year that the way we lived our lives would change so much, I know I wouldn't.
Like many businesses we have been pretty much closed from last March.  I have really missed all the lovely people that come to the B&B.  I have missed catching up with those who have been regular visitors and meeting all the new people who would have crossed our threshold during 2020 and hearing their stories and why they have come to the B&B.
We have had lovely messages from former guests, checking in to see if we are all safe and well.  It means so much that people take time to do so.  It is very true to say that over the years many guests have become friends rather than customers.

January is the beginning if a new year and much as we are still in lockdown and closed, we are still looking forward and making plans.
We hope to revamp the B&B a bit so that when we finally open properly again our guest experience will be even better!
We are also spending time planning the garden and with some hard work and the help of Monty Don (his books have been read and inwardly digested) we hope to grow vegetables!

Drum Manor is always a lovely place for a walk, but in snowy weather it really looks magical.  We are so lucky to have this place on our doorstep

I love taking photos of the sun rising and setting.  The colours always amaze me!  January had some beauties, both at home and when out and about