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Trying to find an overall winner for Come and Dine has proved to be a very difficult process. The variety of entries we have seen while reading through all the submissions means we want so many of you to be winners. Such creativity, dedication, and loyalty to a charity or cause has been shown by so many amazing people around the world. Thank you all for participating and being part of this very special competition.
The aim of Come and Dine was to engage with everyone who loves Highclere, PBS, Egypt, Downton, food and dining. The response to all these themes has been wonderful. Despite this we have had the difficult decision of having to choose one Grand Prize winner.
This person went above and beyond everything we were expecting from people entering Come and Dine and we will be thrilled to announce fully to the public who this is next Thursday (5th April).
Instagram
We’re anticipating this great announcement Thursday, and we are so excited to see the grand prize winner. It’s been a delight to follow along and see all the different contestants and their entries.
Sincerely,
Lindy and Jerry Voorhees,
Tavares, Florida U.S.A.
Doing good is rarely easy. I am excitedly waiting to congratulate the winner.
Good Afternoon Lady Carnarvon,
I just want to stop in and wish ALL of you and the Earl a very Happy Easter Season. I hope that you find all of the baskets and may they be filled with your finest eggs and candies from around the world.
Please be sure to have them placed high enough so that all of your dogs will not be able to reach them.
Enjoy,
John L. Roberts
Amherst, N.Y. U.S.A
There really are no losers in such a contest; the overall theme of sharing and giving was entered into willingly and joyously by so many. Quite a tribute to you all!
H&W
I hope to visit someday! It must seem like heaven! Happy Easter!
From my house to your castle, ‘Happy Easter’ and a little humour for the weekend:
A man is driving along a highway and sees a rabbit jump out across the middle of the road. He swerves to avoid hitting it, but unfortunately the rabbit jumps right in front of the car.
The driver, a sensitive man as well as an animal lover, pulls over and gets out to see what has become of the rabbit. Much to his dismay, the rabbit is the Easter Bunny, and he is DEAD .
The driver feels so awful that he begins to cry.
A blonde woman driving down the highway sees a man crying on the side of the road and pulls over.
She steps out of the car and asks the man what’s wrong.
“I feel terrible,” he explains,
“I accidentally hit the Easter Bunny with my car and KILLED HIM.”
The blonde says, “Don’t worry.”
She runs to her car and pulls out a spray can.
She walks over to the limp, dead Easter Bunny,bends down, and sprays the contents onto him.
The Easter Bunny jumps up, waves its paw at the two of them and hops off down the road.
Ten feet away he stops, turns around and waves again, he hops down the road another 10 feet, turns and waves, hops another ten feet, turns and waves, and repeats this again and again and again and again, until he hops out of sight.
The man is astonished.
He runs over to the woman and demands,
“What is in that can?
What did you spray on the Easter Bunny ?”
The woman turns the can around so that the man can read the label.
It says..
(Are you ready for this?)
(You know you’re gonna be sorry)
(Last chance)
(OK, here it is)
It says,
“Hair Spray – Restores life to dead hair, and adds permanent wave.”
Happy Easter!! !
Lady Carnarvon:
It is so exciting to hear that the winner will be announced in a matter of days. I am thrilled for the winner in advance; however, based on the number and quality of entries it seems a runner up or two would be quite appropriate. Oh well, I feel certain that there will be other opportunities to participate in such a contest in the future.
I am a huge social history enthusiasts and as such have been reading and collecting any book I can find on the subject and of course the history of your husband’s forbears is all part of it. I am interested in visiting Highclere in the future and I am just curious as to whether one will be able to see all of the interesting places and exhibits etc. as they pertain to Highclere, that you have written about on your blog . For example, will a tour of the castle include, the Egyptian finds, the silver, the gorgeous library or will one have to chose between tours? In addition, is there a day versus an evening tour?
Thank you in advance for your response.
Have a Blessed Easter.
Bev
My husband and I visited Highclere last summer. Yes, you can see all of the rooms you mention. There is an extra charge to see the Egyptian finds, and we chose not to, so I can’t speak to that.
The grounds are lovely and you can stroll around those without paying an admission fee. I’m sorry, but I don’t remember the cost.
I believe if you go to their website, you can see when it is open to the public.
Enjoy!
Our party will be so happy for the winner knowing what a great time will be had by the lucky and blessed 8! We are so excited for the announcement!!!!! We know it had to be a touch decision!!! In the end we are all winners for getting to participate!!!
We had such a marvelous, magical time during our party. I am sure all the participants felt the exact same way. Thank you for the inspiration for the party and the opportunity to compete.
We are so thrilled that a decision has been made and understand that it was a very hard one to reach. Just by seeing the sample photos you sent before we know just how difficult the choice was. We can imagine, since it was hard for us to choose which photos to send to you, it must have been even harder for you to agree on who the final winner would be. For example, we did raise quite a bit of support for our local PBS station, but I forgot to include that information in the frenzy of choosing photos! We hope Finse was helpful all along. We’ll keep checking here and enjoying your blog in general. Hope you and the dogs, lambs, horses, gardens, ancient trees and buildings are all doing well with Spring now upon us…..
Margaret
There were amazing entries and in the end tears! I will share on Thursday.