Overwood Bed & Breakfast High Quality Accommodation for the discerning guest Footer Text Brian and Barbara Palmer Overwood - Woodcote Lane - Woodcote Green - Bromsgrove - Worcestershire - B61 9EE Telephone: +44 (0)1562 777193 Mobile: +44(0)7941 188652 Bed and Breakfast Bromsgrove ~ B and B Bromsgrove ~ B & B Bromsgrove ~ Guest House Bromsgrove ~ Guest Houses Bromsgrove ~ Accommodation Bromsgrove ~ Places To Stay Bromsgrove  Just about managed to get a picture of the full house before it was whipped away and enjoyed by Rob   Havard, the son of another of our local Farm Stay members, who rears mutton which is absolutely delicious, including mutton sausages. 11 December 2009  Food glorious food I spent an enjoyable day at the BBC Good Food Show at the NEC on Thursday 26 November performing a demonstration of the Great British Breakfast, with my friend Helen, another Bed and Breakfast proprietor nearby.  We had a lovely audience, not quite the same numbers as in the Celebrity Theatre, but they were very appreciative. 13 January 2010  Our first walk of the year with our friends on 3 January was a beautiful sunny, but very cold day.  We started off at Hanbury Woods and made our way across the fields to Tardebigge Flight, the longest stretch of locks in the country on Worcester and Birmingham Canal.  The canal was already frozen over in many places, except under the bridges, so the ducks and swans were alternately skating and swimming.  A brief stop at the Boat and Railway pub for a drink and then we were on our way completing the circular route of 7 miles.   Just the ticket to deal with the excesses of Christmas and New Year.  Two days later the snow arrived and here it is again today. Watching the antics of the varied birdlife as they consume the contents of the bird feeders in record time has become our daily entertainment.  Despite the fact that we have feeding stations spread about they still squabble incessantly.  The fox has become a more frequent visitor looking for food so we have to keep a careful eye on the hens, although they are very reluctant to venture far from their hen house in this weather, but still manage to lay a few eggs each day. 6 February  Time for tea I have been experimenting with a tea bread recipe containing All Bran given to me by our good friend, and guest of nearly 8 years, Elaine, who stays with us most weeks.  I’ve modified it to use Oat Bran, soak the fruit in apple juice or tea, and as it contains no fat or eggs it is ideal for people with some diet issues.  The next step is to use gluten and wheat free flour and it may even suit a Vegan, but I will have to check that.  Some friends came to visit so I quickly made some scones and had to take a photo very quickly before it all disappeared.  Nearly finished making this year’s marmalade.  I make a few different sorts and this year have sent a couple of jars off to Dalemain House at Penrith as an entry in The World’s Original Marmalade Festival which raises funds for Hospice at Home.  Quite a few of my colleagues around the country in Farm Stay have submitted entries and the judging is on 14 February, but I’m not holding my breath for a prize.  the first snowdrops are poking their heads out, a welcome sight after the recent nasty weather. Welcome to my blog.  All manner of things will get recorded here.  Please feel free to make comments and send me any questions via the Contact button at the top of this page . 6 March  Spring is Sprung Primroses are beginning to push their heads through, the rhubarb is already sprouting and the rabbits are doing what they do best Wonderful news.  We gained a Silver Award and the recently introduced Breakfast Award in our recent Quality Assessment by Enjoy England.  Both a rewarding acknowledgement of our hard work to promote the high quality of Bed and Breakfast, and the homemade and locally sourced food we serve our guests. To put the icing on the cake a few days later I received a Silver certificate from the Marmalade festival for my Dark and Chunky Seville Orange Marmalade - quite unexpected. Worcestershire Prize Winners 15 May 2010 Its been an eventful time since I was last here.  Last week I was on a stand at the Spring Gardening Show, the first of the RHS shows of the season located at the Three Counties Showground with a back drop of the glorious Worcestershire Malvern Hills.  The stand was for Farm Stay, the accommodation organisation that we are part of, and we were surprised and delighted to get Third Prize for our stand in the Gardeners Shopping Pavilion.  The free cake we were giving away, made by the fair hands of my Farm Stay colleagues, went down very well, particularly Sandy’s chocolate tiffin. At last the temperatures are warming up and today, Brian and I have had a lovely circular walk of about 7.5 miles, partly along the banks of the River Severn starting at finishing at Ashleworth where there is a fantastic example of a Tythe Barn. Why go abroad when we live in such a lovely country! A walk in the Worcestershire woods - 6 June 2010 The bluebells have come and gone, and what a wonderful sight they were this year.   Carpets of blue in Chaddesley Woods, just a 10 minute walk along the lane from us where you can enjoy glorious views across the land as far away as the Malvern Hills.  These woods are the subject of a survey about supplementary feeding of our birds being carried out by Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, who manage them.  As you walk through the woods there are many different roosting boxes and if you are lucky you may catch a glimpse of a deer. Now, we are finding our first Strawberries from the area around us and are deeply into Asparagus that we buy straight from the grower at Harvington, less than 4 miles away.  Asparagus is on the breakfast menu at the moment together with Asparagus Jam provided by Wickhamford Farm Shop