Trending at number 1

#Yorkshirehour: Week 16 – Number 1 trend in the UK

I think this says it all… #Yorkshirehour was the number one trending topic in the UK from 8.30pm onwards and still going strong in the number one spot after 10pm!

We were trending above #Jimmy Carr – (and Jim Carrey too, strangely) by about half past eight tonight and then we trended at number one from just after that – and we’re still the number one trend as I type this at 10.20pm, which is pretty good going seeing as how #Yorkshirehour is only really 8-9pm.  We’ve had 4,223 tweets and retweets using our hashtag since we kicked of this evening.  It’s not the most tweets we’ve had in a night – but it’s the best we’ve done in terms of trending!  Helen and I are amazed by the success of this idea we started pursuing 16 weeks ago.  Thank you for joining in. #Yorkshirehour – What’s it all about? For those of you just looking up #Yorkshirehour to see what it is, please see the previous posts on here, especially the first one on this #Yorkshirehour which explains all about this weekly business to business networking event.

Thank you

I’d like to say a huge thank you to all the regular #Yorkshirehour tweeters for sticking with us each week – and a big ‘hello and welcome’ to all the newbies.  Please add a comment below if you’ve gained followers, made business contacts and done some useful networking.

Best photo with a tweet tonight:

Sinéad Sopala‏@Ramsdens #Yorkshirehour join us at our monthly @midyorkshirenet meetups @themediacentre look who joined us today. Next one 18/7 http://twitter.com/Ramsdens/status/215534669582708736/photo/1  (Sinead – I wish I had a prize to give you for that one!)

Here are some of my other favourite tweets from tonight:

Welcome to Yorkshire‏@Welcome2Yorks @Aspinall_Ink fantastic place to get lots of Yorkshire folk talking to one another and long may it continue! #yorkshirehour

HoneyApple‏@HoneyAppleCoUK Rite, time for me to catch up on Eastenders (by that I mean shout at the TV for an hour – “Stop lying Michael!!”) Nite all #yorkshirehour x
Michelle Victor‏@MichelleVictor My favourite hour of the week on twitter is #YorkshireHour

These from #Yorkshirehour regulars:

Jolene Rae-Walsh‏@JoleneRaeWalsh When does an hour only last half an hour? When you’re at #yorkshirehour

Rudi the Camper‏@RetroHolidays Good night #yorkshirehour! Thank you so much for RTs and new follows – you are great and I love being part of such a great networking event

Todmorden’s LuckyDog‏@LuckyDog_Tod Don’t forget to tune into #yorkshirehour next week and I will tell you about the Lucky Dog Picnic in July!

Karen Hand‏@HandyArcher Best and fastest #Yorkshirehour yet!   Always a pleasure.  Thank you to new followers.  See you all again same time,same place next week

New businesses spotted:

Train2drive‏@train2drive Hi everyone we are a driving school based in Yorkshire #Yorkshirehour First time on Yorkshirehour. We offer pocket friendly driving lessons

Wolds CottageKitchen‏@woldscottage Handmade award winning artisan preserves from Wetwang East Yorkshire http://www.woldscottagekitchen.co.uk retail& wholesale enquiries welcome #yorkshirehour

I look forward to more tweets with you next week.  Please post a comment below if you think #Yorkshirehour is good for your business. Or, even better hop onto our business website and the official Yorkshirehour blog and post a comment there.  (As this blog will eventually be phased out.)

Cheers

Angie

#Yorkshirehour: Week 4

Well, that took my breath away!  What an hour.  The tweets were fast and furious and, according to Topsy, there were 826 tweets featuring our hashtag in the hour (although I know there were also quite a few in the run up to the hour – and just afterwards as well so the total by 10pm was 850 tweets).  I noticed that @LuckyDog_Tod tweeted, “STOP! my paws are burning!” at one point.  Sorry Tod!

Guest star tweeter this week has to be Denise Howard OBE, who gained quite a few followers, I see.  Great stuff!  And a special mention to @RipleyCastle (Just in case it was Sir Thomas Ingilby himself doing the tweeting!)

@Yorkshiredays asked people were asked to give three words to sum up Yorkshire.  Here are my favourites:

@Gedff - #yorkshirehour really, really big

@Msbailz - #yorkshirehour never ending tea-making

@yorkshirebusmkt #yorkshirehour ’champion by ‘eck’

@dragonheat only one is needed, perfect #yorkshirehour

And this gem from co-founder of Yorkshirehour, @RomanticCotHols My 3 words for #yorkshirehour? “Love Yorkshire people”  And for that, you really must show her some Twitter love and follow her!

I got sent to Twitter jail (for being up to my daily limit on the number of tweets you can do in a day) so, I’m sorry if I didn’t get to tweet with everyone.  I’ll try and catch up with you in the week.

It was great to see people tweeting about the fabulous event organised today by Welcome to Yorkshire at the Barbican in York.  We were there and it was great!  (Touching standing ovation for the Yorkshire Regiment too.)  I’m also pleased many people retweeted my plea for support for Welcome to Yorkshire’s ‘back le bid’ campaign to get the Tour de France to start in our glorious county.  As a long time fan of le Tour, I would love to see it come to my home county.  How great would it be to see Cav in the Yellow jersey at the end of the first stage?

Thanks to all of you who posted comments last week.  Again, I’d love to hear your comments about how #Yorkshirehour is working for you so, please get posting!

See you next week – 8-9pm Wednesdays.

#Yorkshirehour- You saw it here first

Thank you to everyone who took part in the first #Yorkshirehour tonight.  There were 193 tweets using the hashtag in the hour, including tweets from Welcome to Yorkshire, Yorkshire Business Market and Yorkshire Life magazine.

Events publicised in the hour included:

• #RT4TOWNS
• #local4lent
• #ybm12
• @Welcome2Yorks: 28/03/12, Y12, the UK’s biggest tourism conference
• 10th Anniversary – Jane Tomlinson Appeal #anniversarychallenge Paris-Yorkshire-London
• #IWDY http://inspiringyorkshirewomen.wordpress.com

People were promoting everything from flooring to food hampers and babywear to management consultancy.

I loved the fact that people were also promoting other people’s businesses who weren’t actively tweeting with us during the hour!

I discovered 21 new Twitter contacts to follow and I got 27 new (local) followers.

I discovered:

•  You can learn how to make Sushi in Calderdale: http://www.sushi-tuesday.co.uk/
• There’s a Haven breast cancer support centre in Leeds: http://www.thehaven.org.uk/how-we-can-help-you/where-we-do-it/haven-leeds
• Fancythatfromwharfedale.com makes “Funky delicious  preserves handmade in Burley-in-Wharfedale.” Hmmm, think I’ll need to do a taste test, they do sound good!
• And you can’t have #Yorkshirehour unless someone mentions Dukestudioleeds‘ #motherfrickinlaser !

See you again next Wednesday!

The Farm is on

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Is there anything you don’t like about going on a self catering holiday? Well for me, there’s always the dilemma of, “Shall we do the food shopping before we go – or take pot luck at what’s open/available where we’re going?” I usually opt for the ‘better safe than sorry’ approach and shop before we go, but that usually means rushing around trying to think of everything we might need.

Well, I think I’ve found the perfect solution to my problem: Farmison (short for ‘farm produce is online’), an internet shopping site for foodies.

After sampling some of their goodies at home, I had a ‘lightbulb moment’. “Wouldn’t it be great to arrive at your holiday cottage say, 3pm and then have all this lovely fresh produce delivered about 4pm?” Shopping done and holiday started all in one fell swoop.

In addition to their cheese, meat and veg boxes, Farmison does a range of meal deals for 2-8 people; providing everything you need for a roast dinner. For example, there’s a ‘Rare breed Pork Sunday lunch’ for five adults (easy to roast and it makes perfect crispy crackling). As well as the middle loin roasting joint, you also receive potatoes, three types of seasonal vegetables and a complimentary condiment or gravy selected by our chef. How perfect for a weekend or week away to have some well thought out meals with all the ingredients delivered to your door? And at only £24.95 for five adults, that’s amazing value for restaurant quality produce.

And, restaurant quality it certainly is, for the produce they have sourced comes from the same farmers who supply some of the top restaurants in the country. (Their website namechecks Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck and Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, to name but two.) Yorkshire chef, Brian Turner, is one of many heralding Farmison as a ‘foodie heaven’ – championing the site for promoting independent farmers and producers and increasing the availability of great British produce.

What I really enjoyed about my first foray into online shopping was that, I knew all the meat was high welfare British meat and, not only could I choose the breed of animal (delicious Dexter fillet steak and Gloucester Old Spot pork), but I could also choose which farm they came from – and there were even photos of the farm or farmer.

So, next time we go holidaying in North Yorkshire, we will be able to choose produce from farms in the area and support the local economy without the hassle of having to drive around looking for a shop!

Taking delivery of our first boxes was a bit like receiving a lovely surprise present, as we didn’t know what to expect in terms of packaging and presentation – but there was so much attention to detail that opening each box was a delight. There was straw packing and brown paper bags with cellophane widows – and things were clearly packed so that they would have instant appeal to the recipient. (Unlike some other veg boxes I’ve seen which look like you’ve just pulled stuff up from your allotment and stuck it in a box.)

I’m sure that canny accommodation providers will soon be adding links to their websites and offering to take delivery of your boxes for you so they’re all unpacked and in the fridge for when you arrive. I know it’s exactly what I would do if I owned a holiday cottage!

What could be simpler for a weekend or week away than to order it all in advance and have it delivered to your door?

Check out www.farmison.com

If Farmison offered a ‘Breakfast box’ meal deal (eggs, bacon, sausage, black pudding, mushrooms and tomatoes) would you be interested in buying it?  And, what about an ‘essentials’ kit (milk, butter, bread) – and English wine? Please post a comment below and I’ll pass your comments on to Farmison. Thanks.

Well, that was 2011

What a year! Despite serious health issues, redundancy and new jobs we still managed to keep this blog going.  Thank you for visiting!

This blog was viewed about 2,500 times in 2011.  Most visitors were from the UK, but there were also visitors from USA, Australia, Asia and South America!

The busiest day of the year was 2nd October. The most popular post that day was Helping to save the Loggerhead turtle.

In 2011, there were 36 new posts, with 338 pictures uploaded – that’s about 7 pictures per week.

Please ‘sign up’ for all our posts in 2012 when we hope to feature more fabulous days out and holidays in the UK and abroad.

In 2011, we loved working with/for the following clients:

Anthony Hartley (Furniture designer)

UltraMarine Magazine

Marine Habitat

On: Yorkshire Magazine

Earth, Sea and Sky (Turtle conservation charity)

Biteback (Shark Conservation Charity)

The Deep (Hull)

Swaledale House, Swaledale, Yorkshire

Agra Cottage,  Nidderdale, Yorkshire

Tea & Cake Cafe (Almondbury)

National Federation of Women’s Institutes

Tea & Tarts WI (Huddersfield)

Cafe Nouveau

Birkby Lodge Dining Club

Yo Yo’s Restaurant (Shipley)

Bettakultcha (Leeds)

Culture Vulture

What’s on up North

Smallholder Magazine

Yorkshire Evening Post

If you have accommodation you’d like to see reviewed here, please contact us.

Likewise, if you have places, products or food to be photographed, please drop us a line.

If you’d like to buy canvas or framed prints, please visit our galleries: www.aspinallink.co.uk

In Deep

Many of us are opting for holidays in the UK this year so we, at Aspinall Ink, thought we’d give you some inspiration for a great value day out ‘up North’ – whether that’s with – or without kids.  And, as ‘we Northerners’ are known for liking value for money, we thought we’d start with a tourist destination guaranteed to make your money go a long way…

The Deep is in Hull – only a couple of hours’ drive from our home in West Yorkshire – and even less time from our holiday base near Whitby, which is where we were staying when we visitied this time.  

The Deep opened in 2002 and it has been continually updated with new fish, art exhibitions and interactive learning resources so, there is always something new to see.  This was our third visit to this amazing public aquarium – or submarium, as they like to call it – and we’ve seen something new each time.

Unlike its rival ‘Sea Life’ centres, The Deep is a registered charity and all the proceeds from admissions go into running The Deep – and its many conservation, research and education programmes.

The largest tank at The Deep is one of the biggest in Europe, known as ‘Endless Oceans’.  It is ten metres deep; so deep in fact, that there is a glass elevator taking visitors from the bottom to the surface, pausing at regular intervals so you can see the rays and the sharks from different angles.

When it comes to feeding the fish, the staff have a strict regime of food preparation (of sustainably sourced and, where possible, locally caught fish and seafood) and they monitor every morsel eaten by the larger fish.

It takes over three months for the divers at The Deep to learn the safety procedures and feeding routines in order to participate in hand-feeding the inhabitants of ‘Endless Oceans’.  Each shark and ray is trained in how to approach the divers for food – in pretty much the same way you would train a dog: good behaviour is rewarded with food and bad behaviour means ‘no food’.  Like dogs, the rays have to ‘sit’ before getting fed!  The overly friendly rays, can on occasion, knock the divers’ regulators out of their mouths, so training and routine is vital, especially when sharks are present. 

As well as ‘Endless Oceans’, there are also other large display tanks such as ‘Lagoon of light’ and ‘Coral realm’.  There is also a section with intriguing ‘flashing’ creatures in the ‘Twilight Zone’, which will mesmerise young and old alike.

In addition to the marine aquaria, there are also some tropical freshwater habitats where you can see amazing Red-tailed catfish and Silver arowana.  Sadly, despite the great size to which these fish inevitably grow, you can still see them for sale in tropical fish shops across the UK.  The Deep is working with other public aquaria to educate the wholesale trade, retailers and the public to ensure that large fish are only obtained for experienced fish-keepers with the ability to keep them for life.  All too often, The Deep and other aquaria are approached by members of the public whose fish have outgrown their tanks.  The staff help where they can but it places an unfair burden on them – and their systems.  Visitors can clearly see how much effort the team has put into carefully balancing their stocks in the limited space available and adding a large fish into any mature tank is always a delicate operation.  Let’s hope their campaign is successful and that they see the number of unwanted, over-sized pets reduced in time.

Behind the scenes, the team is working with companies in the marine trade to develop nutritious food for captive fish to ensure optimum health.  They are also engaged in breeding programmes and conservation.  The Blue Poison Arrow Frogs on display in ‘Living Rivers’ have been bred in The Deep.

If you’re thinking of taking children to The Deep, rest assured that there is plenty to keep them occupied, however they like to learn.  There are audio visual learning aids in abundance, as well as the chance to get ‘hands on’ with some marine life (all carefully monitored and timed so as not to cause stress to the creatures).

For adults visiting without children, a top tip from staff is to visit in term time in an afternoon as school visits always take place in a morning.  Another tip for getting the most time to enjoy the exhibits in peace and quiet is to go on a sunny day as The Deep is often seen as a ‘wet weather destination’.  Sunny days mean no queues and great views from the viewing deck – and the opportunity to couple your visit with a trip to Hull marina.

The Deep’s ethical policy doesn’t just extend to the fish’s food; it is also in evidence at their cafe, where local produce features prominently alongside Fairtrade products.  There are plenty of healthy choices and it’s reasonably priced too.

And, if you’re looking for something that bit different as a memorable dining experience, how about dining with the sharks?  Don’t worry, you won’t be on the menu!  The food is strictly for the humans: and the menu promises ‘local produce with a Mediterranean twist’ in the Two Rivers Restaurant.  Every Friday and Saturday, staff at The Deep transform the main visitor area into a pop up restaurant, with the magnificent backdrop of the rays and sharks.  Now that’s a reason for us to go back for our fourth visit!

 

Photo Courtesy of The Deep

 

So, if you’d like your UK tourist pounds to go that bit further, then a trip to The Deep will ensure that it does.  And, if you Gift Aid your admission, you can go back as many times as you like in the year (except on certain bank holidays).  Now that’s what I call great value for money!

The Deep is open every day (except Christmas Day and Boxing Day) from 10am – 6pm (last entry 5pm).  There are sometimes special offers for booking tickets online so, please check the website: http://www.thedeep.co.uk/ 

Food fusion at Yo Yo’s

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If you’re planning a day out in Yorkshire and you’re looking for somewhere to go that guarantees you a culinary treat to tickle your taste buds, then you might like to try this stylish eatery not far from Salts Mill: Yo Yo’s bar and restaurant.

Yo Yo’s offers an exciting range of fusion foods, mixing Chinese, Japanese and Thai styles.  The menu incorporates some classic dishes such as Pad Thai noodles and some ‘never before seen’ dishes – all beautifully presented, and in generous portions.

The bar area has luxurious leather seating, providing customers with the perfect space to peruse the menu whilst sampling an aperitif – or pre-dinner cocktail.

The friendly staff are on hand to answer any questions about the dishes and, with their expert help, we made some fine choices.

To start, we shared a fish and seafood platter, which included: four prawn & mushroom baskets (light filo pastry baskets filled with sautéed prawns, mushroom, onion and peppers, topped with Yo Yo’s signature Japanese chilli mayonnaise, which really packs a punch); Thai fishcakes and a generous portion of mixed seafood selection in a light and crispy tempura batter.  These delights were accompanied by two dipping sauces – a sweet chilli sauce and a dark tempura sauce.

To accompany our main courses, we chose three side dishes, which were delicious enough to be a meal in themselves: stir fry vegetables, vegetable fried rice and noodles.

We shared two mains: the first was asparagus, enoki mushrooms, green beans and carrots wrapped in steamed sea bass on top of a banana leaf, served with a light ginger sauce.  The fish was perfectly filleted, cooked to perfection and delicately flavoured.

The second main course was a unique fusion dish – a modern take on sweet and sour chicken: chicken tempura on a bed of peppers with a kumquat and strawberry sauce, garnished with grapes and physalis.  With so many flavours going on, we were afraid this dish might not work but, we need not have worried: the sauce was delightful and the grapes and strawberries complemented the chicken in a way which even surpassed our experience of another surprising dish we once encountered whilst on holiday in Madeira – fish and banana.

All this was washed down with a large glass of Sauvignon Blanc and water, served in a bottle with Yo Yo’s own label (a nice touch, we thought).

Our desserts arrived – a traditional ice cream tempura and a quite spectacular fresh fruit tartlet, elevated to a miniature work of art, complete with a signature.

So, whether you’re visiting the area for a trip to Saltaire, or you’re a local looking for somewhere ‘a bit different’ – try Yo Yo’s and you won’t be disappointed.

 

Yo Yo Bar and Restaurant

Rosse Street
Shipley
BD18 3SW
Tel: 01274 599880

info@yoyocafebarandrestaurant.com

www.twitter.com/yoyo_restaurant

Open Monday – Saturday

 

Underwater baby photos

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Life is all about new experiences and, this week, we jumped in at the deep end – almost literally – to try something new: underwater baby photography. And, are we glad we did? What a fabulous and rewarding experience it turned out to be. Now, Richard (Triggerfish) Aspinall is no stranger to underwater photography and his images have been featured in magazines such as UltraMarine, Practical Fishkeeping and Marine Habitat as well as Practical Photography but, photographing babies underwater is a new experience.

A few weeks ago, a local mum emailed us to see if we could do some underwater baby photos for a group of mums in Huddersfield who were attending a local swimming class for babies. They had been offered the chance to have photos taken by a large company linked to the class but they found the prices inhibitive and were worried that the ‘three submersions’ rule might not give them the shot they wanted. As a small team of two photographers, we were able to tailor our ‘offer’ and come up with a package that suited everyone in the group: one hour in their local pool, for their exclusive use, with as many submersions as they felt they needed (while ever their babies were happy to play along). Consent forms and payment was sorted out in the weeks running up to the photo shoot so, once we’d all met in the health club foyer, it was off to the changing rooms, then into the pool.

After a short briefing from Richard, the photo shoot got underway and while the ‘subjects’ were busy posing, the rest of the mums, dads and babies were able to splash away happily while I captured some lovely candid shots of all the fun.