We are delighted to be involved with raising money for the NSPCC by hosting a networking breakfast on Monday 6 September 2010.

The NSPCC’s Bristol Business Board, a group of local businesses, are working together to help raise £400,000 in support of the charity’s national helplines – ChildLine and the NSPCC Helpline.  The event is being held to raise awareness among local businesses for the charity’s Child’s Voice appeal and the need for funding to ensure that every child’s cry for help is answered.

The networking breakfast will also see the official launch of the region’s ‘1600 Club’ which will encourage local businesses to show their support for the NSPCC by pledging to raise £1600 to help end cruelty to children over the coming year.  All businesses that take part and reach the £1600 target will be invited to an evening reception hosted by Dragon’s Den investor, successful entrepreneur and Chair of the NSPCC’s South West Child’s Voice Appeal, Deborah Meaden.

We will be sponsoring the Networking Breakfast and providing a light breakfast of bacon rolls and tea and coffee.  Ticket are priced at £10.00 and will be available on a strictly first come, first served basis.

To book your place please contact Sue Tumelty, Bristol Board 1600 Club Co-ordinator at the HR Dept on 0845 202 1999.

We have had the most amazing responses following our networking breakfast on 27th July.  Business from north Bristol and beyond enjoyed a delicious breakfast as well as top tips from Action Coach, David Bater.

Thank you so much to everyone who attended.  These are just a few of the comments we have received.

• Thank you for inviting me.  I thought it was pitched just right. Exellent location, food and good format.
• The event was well-run and very relaxed.  There was non of the haste that seems a feature of other networking breakfasts and one felt able to spend time talking and relating to people.  The room was just the right size for the speaker and the audience.  Breakfast was superb.
• I found it well run and well presented.  The networking session was also very good with ample time to chat and the food was wonderful.
• The food was very good and the parking good too.
• Many thanks for the breakfast meeting on Tuesday.  It was great meeting so many people and getting to know about their businesses.

We will soon be announcing the date of the next event..so watch this space or better still sign up for our newsletter to get advanced warning.

Thornbury Carnival took place on 3rd July with over 11,000 people again thronging to the Mundy playing fields to soak up the fantastic atmosphere.

Ben's Delicious Scones!

Our stand was as popular as ever with local people sampling our delicious scones with jam and cream.

So Cute!

We would again like to thank the organisers who worked tirelessly to create and execute this outstanding local event.  Well done to everyone.  Roll on next year…

We were recently invited to spend a day enjoying the hospitality of the Vale of Berkeley tourist attractions.

Berkeley is only 20 minutes from the hotel and is home to a fabulous selection of the  finest tourist attractions in the area.

I was thrilled to be able to witness TV celebrity Mark Horton proudly display the latest finds during the excavaion of the Jenner Museum gardens. 

The dig at Jenner Museum Berkeley

This facinating museum tells the incredible story of the famous Dr Edward Jenner who discovered vacination in the late 1800’s.

Swans at WWT Slimbridge

Full details of these and many more attractions can be found via our links page and also from reception at the hotel.

Photographs by kind permission of Chris McHugh of Seemac Ltd.

Are you listening to Community Radio?

GLOSS FM is back on air, broadcasting on 87.7 FM from Monday 19^th April through to midnight on Sunday 16^th May and can also be heard through their website www.glossfm.org across the world.

This time, one of our Receptionists, Perry Poole, is presenting a programmed called “Have Your Say” on Thursdays from 12.00 to 2.00pm and would love to hear from you.

“I presented several programmes on Thornbury FM, but now we have a new antenna which provides a much stronger signal so we can be heard across a much wider area, hence the change of name to GLOSS FM (as in Gloucestershire South FM) ” says Perry. “But this is the first time I’ve actively encouraged listeners to phone in and have their say, live on air. I know that there are several, controversial issues being discussed in homes, offices and hostelries across the UK. Now people can call their local Community Radio and get things off their chest!”

Perry will also be interviewing members of the local community; Our Head Chef, Ben Halliday will be appearing live on the show on Thursday 22 April at 12.35 to talk about his experiences of being a chef at Alveston House Hotel.  If you would like to “Have Your Say”, why not phone Perry at GLOSS FM on 01454 412001.

The Bristol Hospitality Awards took place on Monday 22 March 2010.

In a tough category we are thrilled to announce that Alveston House Hotel was chosen as ‘Best Small Hotel of the Year’.

The dazzling event took place at the Marriott City Centre hotel and was hosted by local newsreader Peter Rowell.

Actress Pauline Quirk was also on hand to present the Outstanding Personality Award.

Julie receiving the 'Small Hotel of the Year' award

This award means so much to us at Alveston House.  We are a small team and are committed to providing the best possible service in what is a massively competitive industry.  The award is even more special as part of the judging was undertaken by a ‘mystery shopper’ who gave us an outstanding review, praising our staff and the way they went about their duties.

Having won the Small Hotel award we will now automatically represent Bristol in the South West Tourism Excellent Awards later this year.

Our 2nd networking event was held on Thursday 19th November. It was again a super evening with many people taking advantage of this free opportunity to network with a variety of businesses from across Thornbury and the Bristol area.

Networking Evening

During the evening a number of new business relationships were formed resulting in some genuinely exciting new business leads.

We would like to thank all who attended for their input and also for their kind comments about the hotel and staff.

We will be holding another networking event in the new year and would be delighted to hear from you should you wish to attend. 

 Watch this space for more details.

We are really looking forward to this years Christmas lighting display organised by Thornbury Christmas Lights Association.

This year the lighting display will include Castle Street and will use all low energy lighting units.

Castle Street and The Plain will house the Community Christmas Market where local charities have been invited to set up stalls selling cards, wrapping, gifts, sweets, cakes, etc.

There will be lots of games and activities to take part in as well as the Albert Rogers Funfair.

The fun begins at 5.30 with the big switch on at 7.00pm so don’t be late!

We were pleased to welcome the Alveston Litter Busters to Alveston House Hotel on Saturday. 

The litter busters are a group of local residents concerned about litter spoiling the environment.  Their aim is to keep Alveston looking clean, tidy and litter free resulting in a more pleasent environment for everyone and its wildlife to live in.  

It was a horrible day weather wise and we were pleased to offer a well earned hot drink and biscuits.

More volunteers are always welcome.  For further details please contact Shirley at http://www.litteraction.org.uk/alveston-litter-busters

Thornbury was celebrating this week after achieving a double first in the national Britain in Bloom competition.

Not only did Thornbury win gold in the national competition but it also earned the accolade of Best Town in Britain.

Thornbury won its category of best town, defeating tough competition from Ilkley, Morpeth, Oakham and Rustington.

After 18 years of entering the South West in Bloom competition, this was the first year Thornbury had been entered at national level, which was part of the prize for coming first in the regional heats last year.

What a fantastic achievement – well done to all involved!