Part of a historic and scientifically significant lake in the grounds of the Grim's Dyke hotel has been restored in a unique collaboration between the hotel, Harrow Council and Froglife, a wildlife charity which is committed to the conservation of amphibians and reptiles.
It follows the discovery by Sivi Sivanesan of Froglife, and Claire Abbott of Harrow Nature Conservation Forum of a rare great crested newt on the site of the old lake. The newts are rare in the UK and their numbers have decreased dramatically during the last century. In partnership with Harrow Council, Claire had been searching for evidence of great crested newts in the Harrow area for three years until her search led her to the former lake at the Grim's Dyke.
The lake was created by Sir William Gilbert, one half of the world renowned operetta partnership of Gilbert & Sullivan, whose home was the Grim's Dyke before it became a hotel. Sir William swam in it every day until it claimed his life 100 years ago while trying to save the life of a young local girl who was bathing in the lake and got into difficulties. Following his death, his wife instructed that the lake should be drained and since then it had become so overgrown with vegetation that it was barely recognisable.
Froglife, Harrow Council, and the Grim's Dyke agreed a programme to fund the removal of the vegetation on part of the lake and the digging out of the silt that had built up on the bottom of the lake to expose the clay bottom which originally retained the water. Commented Sivi Sivanesan: "We have done this to create an aquatic and terrestrial habitat for what we hope will become a more established great crested newt colony. The great crested newt is a rare and European protected species but thanks to the funding from the project, the Grim's Dyke hotel and Harrow Council, they now have a perfect environment in which to live".
Commented Claire Abbott: "Hopefully, the future of great crested newts in the grounds of the Grim's Dyke is now secure. The work being done at this historic and scientifically important site will also benefit many other forms of aquatic life, such as dragonflies and water birds as well as amphibians".
Portfolio Holder for Environment and Community Safety Cllr Phillip O'Dell said: "This is a very exciting opportunity to develop and support an area of great wildlife significance in the borough. We started last year by opening up a new path to the pond to ensure residents had access and this is a continuation of this on-going programme. We know that supporting and leading initiatives like this one is important to our residents who are proud of their green borough".
The restored site will be accessible to the many thousands of visitors who come to the Grim's Dyke formal gardens and grounds each year and is expected to become an important and exciting new feature for the visitors.
For further information, click here
The West London Jazz Quartet have given several performances at the hotel recently, much to the delight of local jazz aficionados, and they will be making a welcome return on August 18 for another gentle afternoon of classic, modern, Latin and Brazilian and soul/funk tunes.
The Quartet's line-up is Jose Sacristan on drums, Feng Bao on guitar, Diego Balba on bass and sultry Spanish singer Daida Carbonel on vocals. They will be playing from 6.00pm until dusk. Tickets are £29 per person which includes a glass of Pimm's and a two-course barbeque dinner with tea and coffee to follow.
For further information call 020 8385 3100.
Motivational Trainer Jane Hirst will be the guest speaker at the next meeting of the Grim's Dyke Business Club which will be on Monday 12th September from 6.00pm until 9.00pm in the hotel's Music Room. The title of her talk will be ‘MAD With Service' and the subject will be how to make a difference with exceptional customer service.
Jane has a real energy and enthusiasm for working with people and truly believes that a business achieves its potential through its staff. Having led Operational areas as well as Learning and Development, Culture and Internal Communications, Jane has not only experienced what makes people ‘tick' but has used this knowledge to enable them to become more self-aware and foster their own resourcefulness and resilience throughout the process. Whilst having excellent inter-personal, one-to-one management skills and being able to effect change within the front line, she also has the experience and gravitas to influence and develop change within entire senior management teams.
After her talk, members can enjoy a two-course dinner with wine during which there will be lots of opportunities for networking!
The cost for members to attend a Business Club evening is £20.00 plus VAT per person or £50 plus VAT for two people from the same company. There will be no Business Club meeting in August.
To book, call 020 8385 3100.
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Another of the hotel's popular Wedding Fayres will be held on October 2nd from 11.30 until 4.00 when couples will be able to meet the in-house wedding team headed by Sarah Hayes and local suppliers who offer anything else that might be needed to ensure their Special Day really is special.
Among the suppliers who will be on hand to offer advice are:
| Peter Jones |
Toast Master |
| Gerry Brant |
Impeccable |
| Lilian Kelly |
John Lewis |
| Mr Slade |
Smooch Jewellery Collection |
| Geeta Khatri |
Heaven on Earth |
| Martin Emerson |
Photopro Photography |
| Amanda Kaye |
Make Up Artist |
| Les Cooper |
J & L Video |
| Rob Puzey |
Oberon String Quartet |
| Barry Rafferty |
D-Lite Disco |
| Santy Salamone |
Brides 2 B |
| Tony Allen |
Transart Promotions |
| Christina Andrews |
Romeo & Juliette |
| Mike Wollard |
Paul Rose Photography |
| Lyndon Bedwell |
Classic Wedding Cars |
| Marie Sinclair |
Genuine Cakes |
The Fayre follows the huge success of the hotel's first Wedding Open House last month when the Music Room was laid out the way it would be for a Wedding Reception to give couples an idea of how their Reception could look.
The hotel will also be using the opportunity to promote some winter and spring 2012 special offers. Couples booking the hotel for next April and opting for the Lily banqueting package at £99 per head will receive a free upgrade to the superior Rose package which would normally cost £125. Also, couples booking between January and March next year will be guaranteed that their event is the only wedding at the hotel that day.
The Grim's Dyke is one of North West London's premier wedding venues and has three different rooms licensed for Civil Ceremonies - the Music Room, Gilbert's Restaurant and the Drawing Room. All three can also be used for the Wedding Breakfast and Reception and are available all the year round subject to availability.
Click here for further details
The Grim's Dyke's reputation for fine food combined with the elegance and history of the hotel and its beautiful location not surprisingly makes us a very popular choice for Christmas Day lunch. A pink sparkling wine reception will be followed by a sumptuous 5-course menu of traditional Christmas fare with a free gift from Father Christmas for all children aged under 12. No effort will be spared to make this a memorable Christmas for all the family so book early to avoid disappointment
Chef's Selection of Canapés
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Jerusalem Artichoke Soup With Almonds (v)
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Homemade Gravlax
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Pear Sorbet
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Traditional Roast Norfolk Turkey
served with apricot stuffing and chipolata, slow braised red cabbage, lemon scented brussel sprouts, maple and grain mustard parsnips and roast potatoes.
or
Roasted Venison
with juniper jus
or
Line Caught Sea Bass
with veloute
or
Wild Mushroom Pie (v)
with parsnip mash, wilted greens and glazed root vegetables
••••
Grand Assiette Of Desserts
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Tea, Coffee And Cocktail Mince Pies
To book, just call 020 8385 3100
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