 |
| Tasters! |
Blackwell's Walking Tours
Running in conjunction with the celebrations of Oxford's 1000
year history, Blackwell's Official Walking Tour Guide, Peter Berry
is hosting a series of special Millennium Tours. Starting from
Canterbury Gate, Christchurch, and ending at Blackwell's Bookshop,
the free one and a half hour tours are scheduled to run on
Fridays July 6th, August 17th, September 7th and October the 26th.
Blenheim Palace - The Untold
Story
A ground breaking new visitor experience has been
unveiled in the heart of Vanbrugh's awe-inspiring Palace, in
an area which has never before been open to the public.
Through this exciting new offer, the untold stories of Blenheim
Palace will be experienced using state of the art film
projection and screen technology.
The new experience lasts approximately 45 minutes, and is
included in the current Palace, Garden and Park ticket price.
Creation Theatre Company returns to
Oxford Castle
Following yet another sell-out Christmas show, Creation Theatre
Company are now selling group tickets for their 11th open air
summer season at Oxford Castle.
Opening the season on the 1st June, 'Hamlet' will be staged
within the atmospheric walls of the Castle Garden formerly the
prison exercise yard. 'The Taming of the Shrew' follows at the
Unlocked Courtyard at the foot of the Castle Mound, and 'The
Oxford Passion' closes the season, this is a new venture which uses
an original script to tell the story of Christ and promises to be
one not to miss!.
Groups can save 25% on room and breakfast at the award wining
Malmaison Oxford Hotel, and discounts are also available for groups
of 10 or more.
Eynsham Hall opens the Gun
Room
The Jacobean-style manor, set in 30 acres
of parkland on the outskirts of Witney was built at the beginning of
the 20th Century and sensitive renovation plans, developed in
conjunction with English Heritage, will retain the Hall's classic
features, enhancing them with an elegant and contemporary twist.
The Gun Room emphasises Eynsham Hall's
traditional past as a fine country manor and brings it up to date
with canary yellow leather sofas and Pop Art fabric upholstered tub
chairs, and is a great venue for meetings and business
lunches.
|
|
|
Welcome to the first edition of the Destination
Oxford Newsletter.
Destination Oxford is a FREE venue finding service to help you
source a venue for any event in or around Oxford. The
conference desk was appointed by Oxford City Council who we
still work in conjunction with today.
View our website, www.destination-oxford.com to find
out about the possibilities that are available to you and
to find out further details about our planned autumn
familiarisation trip.
|
| Oxford City Centre's first 5 Star
Hotel |
|
Oxford's foremost hotel, the Macdonald Randoph Hotel has just
been awarded five star status becoming the only Hotel in
Oxford City Centre to offer this level of opulence and
comfort.
Built in 1864, the Hotel is located in the heart of Oxford on
Beaumont Street, directly opposite the World famous Ashmolean
Museum.
Speaking of the hotel's achievement, Michael Grange, General
Manager said "We are absolutely delighted to have gained our fifth
star and I am sure it will drive even more business not only into
the hotel but Oxford itself. Many guests seek five star treatment
when they visit a hotel and whilst we believed we were the only
place to offer this in the city, we now have the stars to prove
it".
Please answer the following question to be entered into
a draw to win a nights stay for 2 people on a B&B basis at the
Macdonald Randolph Hotel and Spa. (Subject to availability) Answers
must be received by........
Q. In what year was the Randolph Hotel
built?
|
| New City Centre Conference Facilities due to open
Spring 2008. |
 In the very
heart of Oxford, a new conference, meeting and function centre is to
be ideally located to take advantage of everything Oxford has to
offer.
The facility will be one of the first new ventures in Oxford's
West Quarter redevelopment and is being undertaken by Cantay
Investments Limited and it's sister company, Apartments in Oxford
Limited.
Only a few minutes walk from the Oxford rail and bus stations,
the venue will specialise in events for 20-300 delegates. The centre
will be fully air conditioned, with a built-in wireless network,
in-house audio visual services, webcasting and an online
conference service.
|
|
|
| Oxford Paramount's new GM gets thrown in at the deep
end!! |
|
 The 11th April
2007 saw the Paramount Oxford Hotel beseiged
by 370 computer software programmers for the Annual ACCU
conference. It is the first time that the Paramount hosted the event
due to a considerable increase in attending delegates year on year.
Spanning four full days, the conference had exclusive use of
the Cranmer Conference Centre within the Hotel.
Amidst all the hustle and bustle of the conference, the
Hotel's new General Manager had only started his role that same
week!
Prior to joining the Paramount Group, Anthony Cox was General
Manager at the Hampshire Court Hotel in Basingstoke.
Anthony's chief aims for the hotel are to build in the existing
facilities and work closely with his team to become the 'must have'
venue for conferences and meetings in the Oxford area. He added "We
aim to do this by learning more about our customers objectives and
tailoring our service to ensure that they are met".
We wish him all the best in his new
role.
|
| Swopping quad bikes for
quadrangles! |
|
Oxford is
proving one of the most popular destinations for organisations
looking to combine team training days with the opportunity to learn
new skills.
Locally-based team development specialist City Challenge uses
the historic city centre as a 'virtual classroom' for a series of
tasks designed to help build morale, empower employees and improve
communication skills.
Managing Director, Jane Read said, "Organisations are
increasingly looking for ways for their employees to have fun
but to learn new skills such as leadership and negotiation at the
same time. By mixing some physical activity, giving people
challenges which they have to solve on foot with the need to get the
brain working as well, we offer the best of both worlds in a safe
environment. In addition, people get to explore the wonderful city
destination and in the case of Oxford, they are absolutely bowled
over by what they see - making it top of the list of requested
places to hold an event."
City Challenge will put together bespoke
packages.
|
| Seared Scallops |
| The Head Chef
at the Oxford Paramount Hotel has provided us with this delicious,
mouthwatering recipe for Seared Scallops....Enjoy!!
Seared Scallops
with Crushed Peas, Pancetta and Truffle
Viniagrette.
Serves 2
6 x Fresh Scallops (preferably Driver)
4 x Pancetta Slices
30ml of Clarified Butter or 50ml of Olive Oil
100 grams Fresh Green Peas
10 grams Finely Chopped Shallots
20ml of White Wine Vinegar
10ml Truffle Oil
5x grams Tarragon
1 x Lemon
Freshly Milled Pepper and Salt to taste.
1. Clean the scallops and set on a kitchen towel
2. Heat the clarified butter or olive oil in a pan and place
the Scallops in the pan
3. Let the Scallops caramelise to a golden brown colour, turn
over and repeat
4. Squeeze the lemon over the Scallops and season with the Salt
and Pepper
5. Cook the peas until tender in boiling water and then
crush
6. Chop the Tarragon and add to the crushed peas. Season
with Salt and Pepper, then set aside
7. Lay the Pancetta slices onto a tray and cook in the oven
at 140 degrees celsius for 10 minutes. Once cooked set aside on
a kitchen towel.
8. Blend the Truffle Oil and Vinegar together with a whisk and
season.
9. Saute the chopped shallots in a little olive oil and add to
the dressing.
10. Serve the Scallops with the Crushed Peas and Pancetta
Crisps and dribble over the viniagrette. Accompany with mixed green
leaves and rustic
bread.
|
|
|
| |
|
