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We are approaching the final 16 hours of Come and Dine, giving only a short time to submit your entries (until 2359PT). We have been delighted to receive so many wonderful photos, videos, and descriptions of your parties, which we will have the pleasure of sharing with you during March. It has been so enjoyable to get a sneak peak at everything you have all been doing over the past month, with some truly inspiring entries!
Our senior judges are preparing to make some big decisions over the coming weeks as they will sit down to go through your wonderful submissions. Lady Carnarvon and her good friend Karine Hagen, Senior Vice-President of Viking Cruises, will be joined by Andrew McKenzie, the Managing Director of the Vineyard Group, to select the winner.
Lady Carnarvon with Karine Hagen in The Library at Highclere Castle
We look forward to sharing all the wonderful events you have hosted and of course announcing the lucky winner of the Grand Prize. It has been such a lovely experience as well as a fantastic opportunity to raise money for charities worldwide.
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I can’t wait to see the final winner !!! Thank you Lady Carnarvon for your speedy reply to my comment on your blog !!! I think visitors would love to where the servants used to sleep and get “the whole picture” of life at the castle !!! Once again thank you for your lovely posts and I hope to see many more !!!
Lots of stairs to climb so we could all do the 10,000 steps a day!!!
Dear Lady Carnarvon, I wish I could have submitted a photo of my favorite people with my entry. Unfortunately, we do not live in the same city, state or even all in the same country. If you choose my entry, we would come from the US and the UK. Thank you for opening your home for such a contest. Have a great time with whoever wins! Best wishes, Christine Michelson
Thank you for taking part !
Your idea was full of fun, friends and inspiration for not only one month of memories but we intend to continue through the year with the same verve!!! Thank you so much!! Can’t wait to enjoy others entries as well!!
It has been amazing for us as well!
It was a pleasure to be able to participate! I had a lovely dinner party, raised funds for our local PBS station – KBPS – and was inspired by the recipes in “At Home in Highclere.” Thank you for this opportunity.
Delighted!
Thank you so much for bringing about the wonderful Come and Dine idea, to benefit PBS. Our group had such a great time planning and preparing for our dinner on February 24th. We all had such a fantastic evening. Even the weather cooperated and it was a beautiful evening. It was really a lot of fun sharing a wonderful elegant dinner with good friends. Everyone joined in by wearing clothing that was typical of the Downton Abbey era, from the 1890’s to the 1920’s.
I had did have a bit of a problem with my computer while submitting my entry, but I do hope that it finally arrived and you were able to see all of our wonderful photo’s.
We’re all hoping to win, but if we don’t, it was still a great evening and a chance to experience a little of what it was like during the “Guilded Age”.
Best wishes to all of the entrants.
How amazing and you clearly has reliable weather!
Good luck to everyone who entered! Without a doubt, everyone who participated is a winner just in the sheer fun and enjoyment of it all, and I can’t wait to see some of the entries in the coming weeks. All the best! Jody.
Lady Carnarvon:
This is so exciting! I can’t wait to read all about it.
Good luck to all the entrants!!!
Regards,
Bev
Dear Lady Carnarvon ……I think climbing those is a marvelous idea !!! Visitors will get hungry and thirsty and make haste for refreshments !! Think about those poor souls that would have to walk these stairs after working all day !!! But I think they were happy to have a roof over their head, food to eat and proud to tell other people…..we’re part of Highclere !!!
I am sure everyone who participated was a “winner”.
Amongst the perfectly laid tables, the delicious food, the vintage wine and the finery, there are the joys of good conversation and conviviality with one’s dining companions, one’s friends. One of life’s real joys that can so often can be taken for granted.
And what varied topics can be discussed – even more so with a little nectar from the vine.
As so astutely written by Lewis Carroll, as the feast begins:
“The time has come,’ the Walrus said,
To talk of many things:
Of shoes — and ships — and sealing-wax —
Of cabbages — and kings —
And why the sea is boiling hot —
And whether pigs have wings.”
Best wishes to all and congratulations, Lady Carnarvon, on this wonderful initiative.
Lady Carnarvon,
Just like a plot twist from “Downton Abbey”, my lunch event came with it’s own drama! We got unseasonably warm weather this past week & I turned on my air conditioning for the first time this year. It quickly became clear that my ac unit was not working properly. Since my lunch was only two days away, I immediately scheduled a service call. The repairman felt more coolant would do the trick. Sadly, that was not the case.
During the visit, my fan motor ceased to work altogether! A picture of six women sweltering in their summer dresses and hats, flashed thru my mind. Panic, panic, panic!
I am not sure if it was the look on my face, or the stress in my voice as I explained the situation but after a few phone calls–it was deemed an emergency and my job was moved to the top of the list.
So….one day before my luncheon, I had workers, equipment and mess everywhere! I was cooking in a kitchen with no air—just a fan blowing in the general direction of my oven. But, by 6 pm, the new ac unit was installed and it was becoming blissfully cool again. And, my lunch went on as scheduled.
Disaster diverted!
Thank you, Lady Carnarvon, for inspiring me with your marvelous ideas and delicious recipes. It was such a pleasure!
Best of luck and good wishes to all participants!
Kindest Regards,
Stacey Brown
The Woodlands, Texas, USA
From Canada – Three fold thanks: to our wonderful guests who jumped right into the spirit of things, to Highclere for literally “cooking up” this great fund-raising campaign and to PBS, may the donations boost your programming which we all enjoy so much.
It was also a great pleasure to welcome you into our homes as you have welcomed so many of us.
Great fun was had by all!
Heather & Walt
It will be so much fun to see what others have done, around the world! Thank you, Lady Carnarvon, for such an inspiring event. We plan to continue in the future with round-about visits to other friends’ homes as the other “Ladies” wish to try out in their kitchens some of the recipes in your book, “At home at Highclere”. We are all winners, really, for “there is nothing more delightful” than to gather around a table, with good food, good wine, and good friends!
This is off topic to your Come and Dine, but I just wanted to tell you that I had occasion a couple of days ago to speak with one of your lovely office staff. I had a question regarding my tickets for our upcoming visit to Highclere and the lady I spoke to was very friendly and helpful. This visit is a dream come true for me. See you May 28th!
Wonderful ! They are great!
Lady Carnarvon,
In preparing for our party here at “Peacock Glen” in Arcadia, California, we thoroughly enjoyed trying out and practicing so many of your delicious recipes. If you would entertain the possibility, we should advocate for a lifestyle/cooking show for you here in America on PBS. It would be so well-received! The lovely Karine from Viking Cruises could be your first guest and you could include a segment shot at the absolutely gorgeous Vineyard Hotel.
I would love to do something like that!
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
We were unable to host a dinner but we have certainly enjoyed reading your updates in Come and Dine and about everyone’s progress and experiences! We have your lovely cookbook and we anticipate the announcement and their dinner menu. Will the winning photos or video be shared with us? Most importantly we anticipate that we may see a wee bit of the Come and Dine experience in a short video at Highclere with you and your husband and the winning group!
Sincerely,
Lindy and Jerry Voorhees
Tavares, Florida
The judging is taking place this month with our good friends from Viking Cruises and The Vineyard and we will share all of the entries (including the winners) on here over the coming weeks.
Fabulous!