£25 WINNING LETTER
DOUBLE CELEBRATION AT CLUB TAHITI
Two more successful celebrations at a Seasons resort were enjoyed to the full by Trevor and Ann Janes of Barnstaple, Devon, who stayed at Club Tahiti recently for two weeks:

ïWhere to go? The need for sun, fun and great company to help us celebrate my birthday and most of all our 25th Wedding Anniversary?  Well, it just had to be Club Tahiti in Lanzarote!
And yes, we made the right decision.  I had a wonderful birthday with a nice meal and champagne.

Our Wedding Anniversary is one we wonÍt forget. Everyone was great and made this a very special day, from the time we stepped out of our apartment as Mel, Andy and all their staff at the Pool Bar wished us well, and Michelle who was looking after us for the two weeks made it special, as did Melissa and all the other members of the Guest Relations Team.  We were also very lucky to have Seasons European Entertainments Director Ricky Francis and European Sales Director Drew Murdoch with us for our first week.  Steve and Scott, the latest additions to the Entertainments team, both do a superb job and together make a fantastic team.  What a find they are excellent! On the day after our anniversary, we decided to purchase our fourth Red Week, as a present to ourselves.

Our second week also had an excellent start, when our daughter Katherine and son Kevin arrived to join us, which was a great surprise. We would like to give the bar staff a mention, as the service was excellent in the Clubhouse.  In fact, our holiday was superb from start to finish. We always enjoy ourselves wherever we go with Seasons and look forward to our next experience. Thanks to all who make Seasons the great place to be.Í

Our picture shows Trevor and Anne, together with Michelle Little from Guest Relations and Drew Murdoch

HOLIDAY BOOKINGS FILLING UP FAST
Just to keep everyone up to date, there is very little Summer school holiday time left available at any of the Seasons resorts, and June is also filling up fast.  If you have any specific dates in mind, it would be wise to book your late Summer break for September and early autumn now.  In the UK, Wales and Cornwall are both already nearly full during September and October.  But the good news is that there is still good availability at Brunston Castle and Whitbarrow Village during this period, but again it is filling up fast.   So hurry up and make your bookings with Reservations on 01994 426000 as soon as you can!

WONDERFUL FLORIDA HOLIDAY
It sounds as if Alison and Alan Cork and family, of Lewes, East Sussex, had a really memorable holiday in Florida and as always, itÍs great to hear about our membersÍ adventures!:

ïWe would just like to say a huge thank you to Seasons, especially Leela, for arranging two weeks in Florida for us earlier this year. We are new to Seasons, having been members for just over a year, and now own two peak weeks. We explained that we wanted to exchange one of our weeks for two in Florida at Easter so that we could ïDo DisneyÍ. We stayed in a wonderful place called Vacation Village at Parkway, which was five minutes drive from Disneyworld. We had two units, as they were one bed sleep four and we owned two bed sleep six. The units were wonderful, they were all lovely and clean, air-conditioned and to the childrenÍs great delight, had a TV in all bedrooms and lounges! The other outstanding feature was the spa bath in the main bedroom!

The picture above shows Alan, Jodie and Adam in front of the castle at Magic Kingdom. The children have ïlanyardsÍ round their necks, for which they bought some badges (pins) which they could trade with Disney staff and other people. They found out they could get special ones that you can only get by trading with the staff so they were really chuffed to come back with quite a few that not many other people will have. The lanyards are rather heavy now!

We also enjoyed Big Thunder Mountain and the ride on the rapids at Animal Kingdom.  We were also really impressed by the topiary ïstatuesÍ of characters like Pooh Bear when we were walking around the world showcase at Epcot. There were lots of others too, not just from Winnie the Pooh, all round the world showcase. Once again a big big thank you for this holiday, as it was absolutely wonderful and the children are going back next year (apparently)!Í

DYLANÍS DAUGHTER MAKES HER MARK
Dylan Thomas's daughter Aeronwy will read from her own and her father's work during a concert by the London Welsh Chorale at the Laugharne Arts Festival in September.  An accomplished published poet herself, Aeronwy will also lead a Creative Writing Course during the Festival for budding writers together with Poetry Monthly editor Martin Holroyd and Seventh Quarry publisher and Swansea poet Peter Thabit Jones.

The London Welsh Chorale is a mixed voice choir of some 75 members, performing at major London venues such as the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southwark Cathedral, The City Temple and Dukes Hall at the Royal Academy of Music.  The Chorale, now in its 23rd year under the direction of Kenneth Bowen, the distinguished Welsh tenor, has a considerable repertoire of works by composers from Bach, Handel and Mozart to Faure, Britten and Janacek.  Their most recent work being "In My Craft" by Geraint Lewis, to celebrate the life of Dylan Thomas.

Concert 7.30 pm Saturday 22 September Laugharne Millennium Memorial Hall. Tickets £10 Concessions £7.

Further details of the Laugharne Arts Festival can be obtained from the Corran Bookshop
King Street
Laugharne
Carmarthenshire
SA33 4RY

Tel 01994 427 444
email laugharneartsfestival@btconnect.com
 
TWO NEW ITALIAN CHEFS AT CLUB TAHITI
The good news from Club Tahiti is that two new Italian Chefs have joined Joey and his team.  Andr³ (23) and Fabio (24) have moved to Lanzarote for a change of lifestyle and culture. They are both from Vicenza in northern Italy, capital of the Veneto province.

Andr³ has seven years experience as a chef and has previously worked in England for one year, at ÍThe Stone in The WallÍ restaurant in Witcombe, Somerset. Fabio, who comes from a long line of wine growers and connoisseurs, has been a chef for four years in his home town. Both have been working at Club Tahiti for just over a month and are thoroughly enjoying their new challenge.

Our picture shows (left to right) Rafael Gopar (Resort Manager), Fabio, Joey Dent (Club House Manager), and Andrea

ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS AT CLOWANCE
We were delighted that Seasons could provide the ideal venue for a very important celebration for Janice and Bob Quest, of  Ivybridge, Devon and would be happy to hear of any other birthdays, anniversaries or any special celebrations that our members enjoy at Seasons resorts.  Just email your story (preferably with a photograph) to insight@seasonsholidays.com and who knows, you might win £25!:

ïWe live near Plymouth and decided to have a short break at Clowance in February to celebrate our Ruby Wedding Anniversary.  Our son Mike and his family live in Cornwall, so it was nice that they were able to join us and our daughter Sarah, with her family.  We all enjoyed the facilities, especially the swimming pool and the boating lake.  The men enjoyed playing golf on the 18 hole course.  The treehouse was wonderful for our grandchildren, as was the play park.  The accommodation was so spacious and luxurious and it was altogether a wonderful weekend. The other aspect of Seasons that we enjoy so much is that because we own two red weeks, we became Elite Members and because we like cruises, we are also members of the Ice Gallery.Í

ITÍS ALL HAPPENING AT WHITBARROW VILLAGE!
ïBy George itÍs MallardsÍ
Guests were taken by surprise during St GeorgeÍs Day week last month when Nichola and Wayne Robley, the franchisees, transformed WhitbarrowÍs Mallards Restaurant into a medieval banquet room to celebrate our patron saintÍs day. Traditional Olde English fayre was served, with dishes dating back centuries to the days of King Arthur being prepaid by the kitchen team and served by wenches in traditional regalia.

This is just one of the many theme styles that the couple are developing at Whitbarrow and when asked to comment, Nichola said: ñWe spend hours decking the place out for the theme and all the staff really get involved. They love it, but more importantly, all our guests have a fantastic time and always comment on how good we make their experience with us. On St GeorgeÍs Day, the flagons of ale were flowing and over the whole weekend, so many guests made friendships with others, it was just one great big happy family atmosphere. ItÍs what Whitbarrow is all about, great northern hospitality.î

Resort Manager Alasdair Sunter went on to say: ñThere are many more themed nights and weekends planned for Mallards which will also be carried on when we move over to ïEDENÍ Æ our new restaurant venue,  during the winter. So whenever you come to Whitbarrow - watch out ƒ.you just never know what exciting antics our franchisees will have planned for your visit!î

Cumbria meets Cheltenham
What a great time some of the Whitbarrow team had at Cheltenham festival when Seasons sponsored the Queen MotherÍs Cup in March. Tony Halsall was promoting Seasons Estates on the stand in the tented Village and he is pictured above with Alison Watson (left), Whitbarrow Assistant Resort Manager and Helen Borradaile, a member of WhitbarrowÍs reception team.

Commenting on the event, Alison said: ñIt was a fantastic experience being part of such a wonderful festival and also being immensely proud of representing Seasons Estates, as the company grows and develops its profile and portfolio.î

Helen was deeply disappointed that Prince William did not manage to stop at the stand and say hello, but she did manage to catch his eye and got a wry smile from him! They both returned exhausted yet exhilarated after their four day experience and cannot wait to go back again next year. As mentioned in last monthÍs eNews, the event was an enormous success for Seasons and the Lake District team members were delighted to be a part of it all.
 
Whitbarrow on the move
Guests coming to Whitbarrow Village in the next few months will be met with an enormous Portakabin in what was the front car park. For, as part of the £1.4million refurbishment programme of the leisure building, staff have been moved into their temporary home for the summer. By December, the resort will boast a new extended pool area with wet seating, a new reception hall, an integrated changing village, new sauna and steam room and a fantastic new state-of-the-art gym.

Upstairs, a new bar and restaurant is being created, with seating to include the outside decking with electronic retractable roof for 2008. A new entertainment area with stage and lighting system will also be incorporated upstairs to bring a whole new feeling to the village and will be the hub of the resort.

Resort Manager, Alasdair Sunter commented: ñW are very excited about the developments here at Whitbarrow. We are going to have something really spectacular to be very proud of by the end of the year. So many of our members have booked already to be part of the ïNew WhitbarrowÍÍ.

NEW LOOK FOR FOREST HILLS
As part of Seasons on-going programme aimed at maintaining the highest standards throughout the resorts, some apartments at Forest Hills will be closed for major refurbishment and improvements from the end of September until late Spring next year.  This will naturally result in availability being more restricted during this period. However, we will do our utmost to ensure that these improvements will not in any way detract from the enjoyment of our guests and we are confident that everyone will continue to have their usual great holidays at this popular resort throughout. 

SEASONS IMPORTANT EMAIL ADDRESSES

To make bookings at any of Seasons owned or affiliated resorts, or to book value for money Seasons midweek or weekend breaks, and for any general enquiries about your membership, simply email reservations@seasonsholidays.com.

For unrivalled service and advice on getting to and from your holiday destination, including low cost carriers, charters, scheduled flights, car hire, ferries, please email travelclub@seasonsholidays.com or call 01253 299044. All tickets are fully protected through our association with Vacation Travel Seasons Travel Club.

The Travel Club online enquiry/booking service is open 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year. For more details click here.

Generous offers are always available for friends and relations of members to come and experience Seasons for themselves - plus incentives for members! For the current special offers email referrals@seasonsholidays.com.

If any members wish to contact Seasons Owners Consultative Committee email mail@socc.org.uk.