There are a few companies out there who do a fantastic job, have excellent standards, brilliant environmental policies and are just generally nice to deal with. I would like to think that we aspire to be like these people. Here is some blurb, firstly from Signspeed www.signspeed.com and the second from Howies www.howies.co.uk, who made the ‘Do’ lectures happen www.dolectures.co.uk.

Signspeed
“Environmental Policy
Based in the heart of Pembrokeshire, we work from an old milking parlour complex, we’ve restored them, using traditional materials, over a number of years. Whilst the buildings retain their original good looks they’ve neen insulated to reduce energy consumption, and provide a valuable habitat for wildlife, including bats, birds, bees, lizards, wildflowers and native hedgerows.

Our key environmental commitments are
-prevention of pollution to air, land and water
-effective waste management, including recycling wherever possible
-energy conservation
-commitment to wildlife

Our specific objectives include
-compliance with all relevant environmental legislation
-increasing awareness of environmental issues amongst Signspeed workers
-aiming to reduce use of all raw materials, energy and supplies
-recycling materials wherever feasible, including paper, cartidges, newsprint, packaging, metals and plastics.
-continuing to manage the wildlife habitat surrounding us”

Howies
“This is where we are now. We set out to do something. To run a company that we could be proud of. To have a point of view. To find lower impact ways of making our clothing. To try and make us all think about this crazy, mad, beautiful planet we live on.

We don’t pretend to know all of the answers. But we know some of the questions. We are dreamers. We are optimists. We are naive. We make mistakes. Plenty of them.

But we are also tough on ourselves. We know we have a great deal to do before we can run howies the way it appears in our dreams. We know where we are now isn’t where we want to be.

Can we do things better? For sure.
Will we keep trying? Always.”

Please smile when you are reading this

Hello

I am Ian Gravell and I live in Narberth in West Wales.

When I was 26 years old I suffered a terrific car crash, shattering both legs, which left me in a wheelchair for a long time. Nevertheless, 18 months later I had competed in the World Surf Kayak Championships in Brazil leaving the wheelchair behind and earned the title ‘Disabled Sportsman of the Year’ for Carmarthenshire, where I was living at the time.

That was over a decade ago. Currently, I run the Pembrokeshire division of Gravells – a Motor Dealership, a café bar and restaurant called The Carreg and I am also involved with ‘I Dream of Surfing’- a surf clothing shop in Narberth with Wendy Meredith, who is my second wife.

Recently, I have had cause to reflect on aspects of my life and how fortunate I have been: In many areas of my life I have benefited from having had a ‘second chance.’ I am shocked how many friends of mine are suffering from cancer, many of whom will not get the benefit of a second chance.

As a well known local businessman, throughout the year I get many letters pleading for financial aid for all manner of causes and it is extremely difficult to consider which is worthy of my support. Therefore, I have decided to set up a Charity Fund at The Carreg myself and cut out all costs so that more money can be directed directly to the cause.

The Carreg Cancer Charity Fund will be holding its’ first New Year’s Dinner on the 15th January in my restaurant in Narberth as a fundraiser. By hosting the Dinner at The Carreg we ourselves will be able to make a substantial donation to the cause.

The reason for writing is I am looking for whatever help I can get. A ticket to the New Year’s Dinner will cost £27.50 which will include a three course meal and entertainment (£10 of which is immediately donated to the cause); however I am also looking for raffle prizes and items to auction in order that I can raise as much as I possibly can. The ball has already started rolling! Thanks to the Carreg Crew for donating their tips and wearing pink on Breast Cancer Awareness Day in October and Wriggly Tin for raffling a signed Simon Munnery canvas, which means we already have £250 in the pot.

If you are able to help in any way, whether it is by purchasing tickets for the Dinner, supplying a raffle prize or an auction item, spreading the word about this excellent cause amongst your friends, family, work colleagues or anyone else you know, or simply by lending your support, it will all be very much appreciated.

Progress will be regularly updated on the News/Blog section on our website www.thecarregrestaurant.co.uk. Please feel free to comment on what is displayed.

Thanking you for taking the time to read this and for any support you are able to give us.

Yours sincerely

Ian Gravell

Another first for The Carreg!! We are now starting a cocktail menu! But in brilliant teapots. Read on….

“The History of the Cocktail Shaker

By the beginning of the twentieth century there was a growing interest in cocktails on both sides of Atlantic, but 1920 Prohibition Act in America banned the production, sale and serving of alcohol. Strangely enough, rather than being the death of the cocktail, prohibition led to more ingenious concoctions being invented – mainly to disguise the taste of the home-made, crudely-produced moonshine that was available!

Indeed, at this time New York City hotels were still serving five o’clock tea as was customary in England. When cocktails replaced tea at five, some shakers looked very much like the innocent teapots which they had replaced and people could disguise their drinking habits during Prohibition.

Teapot Cocktails are a first at The Carreg. Whilst Prohibition never proved a problem on Narberth High Street, we still think teapots are a terrific look and a fantastic way to enjoy your favourite cocktail!”

We are now also doing fantastic chocolate lollies which you dip into hot milk and they melt to give you delicious hot chocolate! These come in milk, dark and white chocolate flavours and there is also a Cointreau flavoured chocolate lolly!

Please call us regarding the new exciting stuff we are doing so we can tell you more about them and the brilliant cocktail nights we have planned!

Take care!

Ian

The Carreg Cancer Charity Fund is now in full swing. Thanks to the Carreg Crew for donating their tips on Breast Cancer Awareness Day and Wriggly Tin’s genius and generousity in donating a signed Simon Munnery Canvas at the Queens Hall Comedy Night, which has resulted in us having £250 in the pot so far.

We would also like to extend our thanks to Radio Pembrokeshire www.radiopembrokeshire.com, span arts www.span-arts.org.uk and the Resolute Chapter of BNI www.bni.com for their help so far and their anticipated help in the future as we get, and keep, this wonderful thing going.

Special thanks to Paul and Glenda for being wonderful friends.

Please keep watching this space for updates and any suggestions to snowball the whole thing will be gratefully received.

Ian

Thank you so much for linking to SAS on your restaurant’s website, your support and help raising awareness about the organisation is really appreciated.  

As always we are insanely busy campaigning hard on water quality issues and have recently celebrated some huge successes!  We are delighted with the news that six major retailers have agreed to implement new labelling on cotton bud packaging following persuasive action by both SAS and the Marine Conservation Society.  The new labelling will encourage customers to ‘Think Before They Flush’ and will help prevent these items washing up on the nation’s beaches!  And with the help of over 400 volunteers, SAS collected a massive 1.2 tonnes of marine litter from 6 UK beaches on the 2008 Barefoot Beach Clean Tour. 

You can keep up to date with our most recent campaign news at www.sas.org.uk!

Thank you again for your support.

Best Wishes

Siobhan Graney, SAS Fundraiser

The Carreg Experience has never been just about food. We have worked long and hard to make sure the entire experience is as enjoyable as possible, from the initial booking to your departure. It has been stated that it is a different view on dining.

Wriggly Tin are based in The Carreg Courtyard and they provide the wonderful pictures hanging on the walls in The Carreg. Last night there was an exhibition of “Pembrokeshire historic landscapes from the air” by Toby Driver at the Wriggly Tin gallery in The Carreg Courtyard. Wendy and I went over and spent the evening admiring these fantastic works and trying to see if we could recognise familiar places from fantastic new angles. There were some places which were completely new to me and I have spent years hanging around the county! Nevertheless, different views completely.  

Plum (The Carreg’s daytime chef) prepared a buffet of wonderful canapés for the evening which went down so well that Toby Driver took some to sustain him on his journey home!

Thanks to Paul and Glenda of Wriggly Tin for bringing this fantastic exhibition to Narberth and to Toby for taking the time out of his busy schedule to talk to us about it.

I’ll bet there are very few people who can say they have had such a fantastic exhibition in their own back garden!

And a Happy Birthday to my daughter Abigail!

Ian

Did you know that the amount of butter exported from Britain is almost equalled by the amount of butter imported in? These actions produce a subsidy both ways. Butter isn’t unique in this, there are a plethora of foods which are exported out and imported back in to Britain in huge amounts. The Little Earth Book is a fantastic read which tells you more about this. Importing food obviously needs to happen but the facts shown in The Little Earth Book are eye opening. I am proud of the fact that, at The Carreg, we keep as much of our business as we can in Pembrokeshire, more importantly in Narberth. Locally sourced, organic food and drink, whenever possible, is what The Carreg  and The Carreg experience is all about.

Our beautiful, troubled country and planet obviously need significant change and I hope we’re all praying and willing to work towards that.

Have a fantastic weekend

Ian

Remembrance Day is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war. The day was specifically dedicated by King George V on7 November 1919,  to the observance of members of the armed forces who were killed during war.-Wikipedia

The following is taken from The British Legions website on the significance of poppies:-

“This November marks the 90th anniversary of the end of The Great War. The Royal British Legion is honouring the memory of the War’s heroes with a unique tribute.  We’re planting a Flanders’ Field of Poppies at the Menin Gate in Flanders.”

We will be open for lunch on Remembrance Sunday and we are displaying a poppy on the front of The Carreg this week in honour of those who fought on our behalf.

War is always a difficult subject to broach but, whatever our personal views, I am sure that everybody wishes their loved ones safely home and away from the battlefield. The following is an exerpt from a Bruce Springsteen song. 

Bring ‘em home

If you love this land of the free
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home
Bring them back from overseas
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home

The church bells will ring with joy
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home
To welcome our darlin’ girls and boys
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home

We will lift their voice and sound
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home
Yeah, when Johnny comes marching home
Bring ‘em home, bring ‘em home

I was extremely fortunate to attend an inspiring lecture given by Dame Tanni Grey Thompson www.tanni.co.uk last night on Social Inclusion. Social Inclusion means that, whenever possible, disability must be incorporated into day to day living which means facilities must be in order for everyone to use. 

Sadly, we don’t offer this kind of inclusion at The Carreg. We came across some initial difficulties in changing parts of the building as it is a listed building, therefore we will always need agreement that the buildings fundamental look will not change. However our problem still has no solution.

I spent close on a year in a wheelchair some years ago and found nothing more frustrating then, than lack of wheelchair accessible facilities, so you think I would be the first to deal with this problem.

I am ashamed to admit that I haven’t knuckled down to solving this problem. Until now.

The Carreg will be transformed into a place where Social Inclusion will be incorporated on a day to day basis, starting immediately. All progress will be recorded on this blog.

If anybody has any ideas to help us achieve this, please leave a comment in the appropriate place.

Take Care

Ian

We had another e-mail from Australia over the weekend! Someone had seen the ‘Cazuela Acustica -hootenanny’ video on the Blog and commented on it. Not only that but we also had a comment from Billy Bragg! I don’t know if it is the legendary singer/songwriter but surely there cannot be that many Billy Braggs www.billybragg.co.uk about! I have sent a message back so who knows?

The hootenanny. What can I say? It was a roaring success, the band were excellent, the food superb and the company fantastic. It was so good to see people who were there last year returning for the event. It really is good to see events like that at The Carreg, keeping live music at the forefront of entertainment. Cazuela Acustica will return for our New Years Charity Dinner on January 15th-Because they are Very Carreg!

We are aiming to do some more videos (perhaps recipes etc) on the blog in the not too distant future; maybe this is the start of Carreg TV? Any suggestions, please e-mail me info@thecarregrestaurant.co.uk

Stay Happy!

Ian