Margaret from the production team shares more Warners weekend insight.
Are you a fan of hotels? I am. I love everything about them, from the crisp, clean bedsheets and tiny tea-making facilities to the amazing breakfasts. Why is it that I am happy with cornflakes every other time but suddenly tuck in with relish to hash browns and sausages at 8 am?
My other great love is meeting “Friend” readers. So my weekend in Alvaston Hall Warner Hotel on our very first “Friend” break promised to be lots of fun.
And boy, did it deliver! Warners know how to give their guests a great holiday, with well-trained, friendly staff, super food, and wonderful entertainment. Their attention to detail is top-notch, so for them to host our weekend was the perfect choice.
It meant our readers could enjoy all the amenities as well as take part in some exclusive “Friend” activities with me, Jacki and Kirsty, such as making Easter cards and pom-pom chicks, thanks to careful instruction from Liz, our craft editor.
This was a great session, and the tables were full of happy chatter as folk got to know each other and the more experienced crafters helped those trying it for the first time.
Coach trip to Nantwich
We also went by coach to Nantwich, a pretty market town which looks straight out of a period BBC drama. A lovely couple, Janet and Tom, were good enough to pose for me outside the church with a copy of a Special.
On Sunday our popular travel writer, Neil McAllister, came to talk to our readers about his career and of thirty years writing for the “Friend”.
Then the weekend was rounded off by afternoon tea with Angela, our editor, who travelled down especially to meet the readers. Accompanied by lots of tea, coffee, and Dundee cake, as well as shortbread provided by Dean’s, this was a super chance to talk to everyone and hear how they thought the weekend had gone.
Whether in the beautiful pool and spa pool, getting fit with aqua-aerobics or calming the soul with an introduction to meditation, to me this weekend felt the furthest thing from work possible.
I can’t wait to meet more of you on our next break.
Don’t just take my word for it, here is Jacki & Kirsty’s thoughts. And book for our next weekend away here
Margaret Scott Margaret is a sub-editor within the Production Team on the "Friend". Her main job is to work on the stories and make sure the magazine leaves us in its best possible guise. When not doing that, however, she either has her head buried in the old “Friend” volumes or is out and about giving talks or going on Warner trips (fab!). She hates cheese.
