April Updates.... Easter Surprises....

Hello everyone...
Finally I’ve found the time to catch up with you all and fill you in on what’s been happening down at number eighteen
Since February, it’s been full steam ahead in the office here @ eighteen. Simone & Marj have been busy working with Steve and several other members of the community to organise the Crickhowell Street Party in honour of the Royal Wedding. In addition to this, Lisa & Gaby have worked tirelessly to come up with a delicious menu to tickle all your taste buds into submission on the night with a great ‘value for money’ offering with full outdoor seating to be provided. The preparations are almost finalised now... we’ve got about 20+ stalls on the night offering everything from local farmhouse produce, to face-painting, to candy fleece... homemade ice-cream stall, an outdoor bar, and best of all.... LIVE MUSIC ALL NIGHT LONG! We are putting on an evening of entertainment for the whole family to enjoy. From 6pm the evening will kick off with renditions of Crickhowell’s Got Talent... we also have music from local acoustic artist Jim Ramsey... from the Hanky Panky Band... and THE HEEBEE GEEBIES! Why wouldn’t you..? Tickets for Adults are £10 per head for the BBQ, and £5 for children (under 5’s eat for FREE). So grab your diaries folks, and get the date in – Friday 29th April, 6pm til late, in the heart of Crickhowell, the BBQ Street Party for the whole community!
In the meantime, the brasserie has had a really busy month. We hosted local poet Paul Henry earlier in the month for an evening of poetry reading and song. It was unanimously agreed that it was a huge success. Emma & Andrew from Bookish were the instigators, and number eighteen happily agreed to provide the venue. We were delighted to host such an event, and are even more thrilled to announce that we will be doing more in the very near future. So watch this space, we’ve got plenty of Spring/Summer treats ahead.
The café too has had its fair share of events to contend with. Over the past two months the team have worked tirelessly to provide local businesses and organisations with high quality, local, seasonal & fresh buffet food as outside catering for private functions. The return clientele speaks for itself – they must be doing something right..?! In addition to this external catering, the café strategy has been evolving, and we are now making 85% of our own cakes, in house. The response from the consumer has been fantastic, and we are delighted to say that we will be continuing with the same enthusiasm over the coming busy months. Gaby has extended the retail range available in the café too, and in addition to selling our coffee, we are now also selling jams, marmalades, chutneys... hampers of number eighteen goodies (made to order and specification), alcohol, and ‘little black books’. These books offer handy hints and guides to different culinary treats, coffee &tea, wines, cocktails etc. Perfect little something to brighten someone’s day.
Last, but certainly not least... the number eighteen cellar bar has been thriving! Thank you so much to the regular faces that visit to show us their unswerving support of our team. It has taken four months to establish the bar as the place to pop in for a tipple and a chat, but we’ve got there in the end. The bar is steadily growing in popularity, and has taken a great place in rounding off the whole experience at number eighteen. We would like to formally welcome the latest addition to the number eighteen team, Louise. She is our head bar lady, and a keen cocktail maker! Pop in to say hello, she’s always keen for a chinwag.
Well folks, I think that’s all the news for now. With Easter holidays approaching I think we’ll have another busy few weeks ahead of us. Please don’t forget about the Street Party – it promises to be a night to remember. Tickets are available from number eighteen café, bar, brasserie or alternatively from certain high street shops. If you would like to reserve your tickets in advance, call Simone on 01873 811000 for more information.
We look forward to seeing you all down here soon... in the meantime, take care, have fun in the sun, and Happy Spring time! Big love all xxx