Into the winner's enclosure! A lovely rural pub with a great local rep, near Banbury and the Northants border.
Close to the chi-chi village of Deddington in North Oxon, and for the more practically minded, a couple of miles from Banbury (and 25 minutes from Bicester Village), The White Horse nestles on the green of the pretty village of Kings Sutton, with its thatched cottages, dark honey stone and 12th century church. Conveniently, the village has its own train station so it’s perfectly possible to hop on the Chiltern Line and have a boozy lunch before being woken by the conductor (or possibly your children) on the way home.
The pub has a shallow verandah at the front of the pub for outdoor drinking and eating – a lovely spot in summer – but no garden to speak of, so most of fun here is to be found inside the pub itself.
Relaxed, friendly, local, but professionally run – these guys know what they’re doing. Owners Julie and Hendrik (who is also chef) opened in 2013 and have won 2 AA rosettes for the food, but I think you’ll also like the look of the place, particularly the bar area with its sofa corner, gin collection and sweeping bar.
The atmosphere in the restaurant area to the back of the pub is more grown up, reflected by the design elements of muted walls and a kind of farmhouse dining vibe – think wooden tables, mismatched chairs, a logburner on the go and art on every wall, largely of the white horse or local photography variety.
You’ll be pleased you ate here – it definitely puts the gastro into pub, doing the basics well and also creating a twist on the classics so steak and chips becomes a beef fillet with roasted bone marrow, beer-braised onions and beef-dripping chips, and the ham, egg and chips I ordered for lunch was presented as a maple cured gammon ‘rib eye’ with fried hens egg, pineapple chilli chutney and chips. Just a bit more interesting and showing some thought in the kitchen.
But first the entree. The White Horse version of a Wardorf salad with Oxford Blue cheese, apple, celery, walnuts and endive (£5.95) and it was absolutely delicious with the walnuts candied and crisp and a beautiful presentation, below.
The gammon, egg and chips could have done with an extra egg for me – I’m a bit piggy like that – but I loved the pineapple chilli chutney as a the sweet, fiery balance to the meat.
Dessert was Elderflower cream with strawberries, lavender, white chocolate and strawberry sorbet. I think the inclusion of lavender cinched it for me when I ordered it as it sounded so fragrant and unusual and it was delicious, if a little sweet for my palette. Next time I’ll order the vanilla and passion fruit cheesecake with coconut ice-cream.
The restaurant is open Wednesdays to Sundays, including lunches, but the Deli Bar is open every day from 10.30am – 10.30pm – think charcuterie platters, cheeses, that kind of thing.
For kids, there’s a limited but well-chosen menu of palette pleasers, from cottage pie to fish and chips.
Let’s get this rural party started! What’s that, you just want to find a nice stately home to visit? Well OK, one of my favourites, the privately owned Broughton Castle (above), one of the filming locations for Wolf Hall, is 10kms away and the stunning Rousham Gardens, again privately owned and only for those 15+ (sorry those of you with young children keen on pulling heads off roses), is a 20 minute drive. The village of Deddington is definitely worthy of your attention, with Nellie & Dove fashion boutique going great guns, plus Wychwood Art Gallery, Cedar Therapy beauty salon and its own lovely 13th century church. Soho Farmhouse is 25 minutes away if you can wangle your way in.
Good for: Relaxed Sunday lunchers, groups of friends, beer-and-crispers and gin-and-tonic fiends. Anyone looking for a stylish, warm rendering of a high quality country gastropub.
Not for: Those looking for ample gardens for kids to run around in – you’re opposite the green if you’re desperate but the main sell of The White Horse is within the pub itself. The ‘white horse’ art theme might tire some eyes.
££: Good value I’d say. Most starters are between £6-7, and on the mains fish and chips cost £12.50, hake bouillabaisse is £16.50, though á la carte fillet is more pricey at £25 and lamb ‘pie’ is £22. The set course lunch is a steal, £12 for two courses or three courses for £14.95.
Well, this has been an interesting week in the market… Even with Facebook’s IPO and some apparent stabilization we had 5 straight losing days. I’ve opted to move out of the position I initiated last week for a loss. But in the end, with the uncertainty I really don’t see us recovering by the June 16th date previously established. As of now, I’m sitting mostly on cash and will try to “net” money as a colleague would say by not losing money.
In travel news, I flew Alaska Airlines today from LAX-PDX. It was a pretty uneventful flight and I must say that I really enjoyed flying them. Granted as an American Airlines Executive Platinum you can’t get an upgrade, but I can still book an exit row. It was a short flight and I got to sit next to a nice couple who would also be running the Rock ‘n Roll Portland Half Marathon. This is race #2 in my quest to obtain Rock Idol Status with the Rock ‘n Roll Program.
I’m a little tired this week as I did a mattress run at the Hyatt Regency in Irvine last night, caught the 6:00 flight to Portland, Oregon, so today is definitely a rest day. My friend Matt and I will be exploring the city today so that’ll be my small “workout” for the day and I’ll just go to sleep early for the run tomorrow. I’ll be taking it slow as I’m still in training mode for the Berlin Marathon, but it’ll be a great way to pick up some extra miles for my training plan.
I’m currently in the Radisson Portland Airport after a quick stay at the Country Inn and suites Portland Airport. Both of these stays utilized the Cash and Points option. Basically Club Carlson let’s you book a room using cash and points and in this case it was 5,000 points + $60/nt. Thanks to the Club Carlson promotions for the Big Night Giveaway and Stay one get One, I’ll get an extra 50,000 and 44,000 points for my stays at the Radisson and Country Inn and Suites respectively. So I’ll net approximately 85,000 points for 120 in cash, what a deal! And I actually needed one of the rooms. These hotels are really not that bad and I may have to rethink my loyalty to Hyatt…
So my Rookie Mistake was that on my flight I went through security as usual showing my boarding pass and ID to the TSA agent. Unfortunately I have the bad habit of keeping my ID and ticket together until I get through security. After the rush of security, I was able to get my ticket and grabbed my things and went on my merry way. Fortunately, saw a Bank of America ATM and thought that I could use some cash for my upcoming trip. So I casually walk up to the ATM and pull out my wallet and flip out. My ID is missing! I frantically look in all of my belongings and nothing. I head straight back to the secure area and look at the bins where I had put my stuff. Thank goodness, after only 15 or so bins I see my ID sitting in the bottom. I was soooo thankful that it all worked out. But lesson learned, always put your ID back in your wallet even if you have to hold up a line!
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Putting a roof over your head is often costly, but a necessity. Making repairs comes along with owning a home. Roof repair, restoration and roof recovering fall into the reroofing category. At the time of publication, the Internal Revenue Service does not offer any tax credits to help offset reroofing costs. Under certain circumstances, however, you may be entitled to a deduction.
The lifespan of your roof depending on several factors. The type of material used will affect the how long your roof lasts. Asphalt shingled roofs typically last 18 to 30 years. Some types of shingles are guaranteed to last longer than others. Slate, tile or clay roofs last 50 years or more when installed properly. Regardless of how long a roof can last, environmental factors can significantly shorten the life expectancy.
According to the IRS, replacing an entire roof is a home improvement. Home improvements are generally not tax deductible expenses. Although you may not be entitled to a tax credit, replacing a roof is a capital gains improvement. If you decide to sell your home in the future, the cost of the roof is applied to your cost basis to reduce the capital gain amount.
When a roof sustains damage from a major disaster, such fires, hurricanes and tornadoes, you may need to replace the entire roof. The IRS allows you to deduct loss resulting from a casualty. You can deduct the loss of value on your tax return. The value is often equal to the cost of replacing the roof. If you are reimbursed for the loss by your insurance company, you must deduct that amount from your loss.
If you take out a home equity loan or home equity line of credit to pay for the cost of replacing your roof or making additional home improvements, you are able to deduct the interest from your taxes. At the end of the year, a 1098 form is mailed to you listing the amount of interest you paid on the loan. Interest paid on a personal loan is not tax deductible.
How would you like to hear David Sanborn, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, The Manhattan Transfer or any number of amazing musicians perform live in concert for FREE? Volunteering is a great way to have fun, attend an event you are interested in and get free admission. Some events have formal volunteer programs, some you just need to call and ask. Here is one amazing and very well organized volunteer opportunity coming up in San Jose worth checking out.
The Comcast San Jose Jazz Festival represents a unique opportunity to volunteer. Over 88,000 music lovers will converge on the heart of Silicon Valley to enjoy over 1000 musicians on 10 stages performing three days of jazz, blues, salsa, Latin and many other forms of contemporary music.
All volunteers receive a San Jose Jazz T-shirt, drink tickets good for a soda or water, and a wristband that allows free access to the festival on the day of work. There are many great opportunities to volunteer at the festival: at the stages, admission booths, volunteer booths, transportation, membership, recycling program, and others. The shifts are 4 hours, so there is still plenty of time to enjoy the surround sound.