Yebbut the Express/Corbyn were predicting a Big Freeze starting in late November and lasting till late March! A bit of a cold snap in February is par for the course.
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It was a beautiful sunny day here in Wrexham, but what mattered most was that the weather was going to be nice where we were going for the day (Abingdon, near Oxford), to the 'Miele Experience' showroom (see here: https://www.miele.co.uk/domestic/mie...ngdon-2912.htm), as we're in the middle of designing a new kitchen and would like to use Miele appliances throughout, simply because in terms of quality, they are in a league of their own (pure German engineering excellence).
Trouble is, go along to your average electrical showroom, and you'll find hardly any Miele products represented, so it's hard to get an idea a) what stuff looks like, and b) any proper aspects of its functionality.
Anyway the weather was even better down in Oxford than at home, so all good! In the Experience showroom, every Miele product is represented, and you're allocated a trained member of staff to show you around, tell you everything you need to know, and give you live demonstrations of cookery, etc, which was all very useful and so well worth the trip! We now know exactly what to buy! :)
After that, we found a lovely little pub for lunch, The White Hart at Fyfield: http://www.whitehart-fyfield.com/pwp...php?pwpID=7110
For anyone who finds themselves in the Oxford area, or who lives there but was unaware of The White Hart, I'd thoroughly recommend it. The pub itself is lovely, with bags of olde worlde charm and character, the selection of local ales extensive and of the highest quality, and the food top notch, where all the produce is sourced locally.
All in all, a great day out! :cool:
Marco.
Excellent. Sounds like a nice wee day out.
It's good that there are still quality goods available if you're prepared to spend.
Pulled a piece of kitchen roll off one handed the other day but it was one of the last sheets and was glued to the last piece around the inner tube or something which meant it didn't "roll" but pulled the cast iron stand over.....onto the ceramic job :doh:
Looked at the induction hobs but would have had to replace both sets of (good) saucepans. Also *far* too complicated. Takes about 10 seconds to unlock and switch on. Went for the best quality standard one with knobs on (Neff) K.I.S.S.
The icy, foggy gloom persists. Wonder if it'll brighten up later? Yesterday was almost springlike in the afternoon.
Temp about same at moment at 8c, but a strongish southerly wind
Hi John,
All in all, it was. Nearly a 6-hour round trip though, just to go and look at some kitchen appliances... At least she can't say I don't love her. lol! Well, I've certainly spent enough on hi-fi over the years, so I guess fair's fair...;)
I actually quite enjoyed the experience, and it was an education discovering just how much attention to detail goes into the design of Miele products, which is still after all these years a family-run company, with the accent on producing the best and most up to date kitchen appliances possible, driven from the ground up by quality, not price, which picks up on your second point.
We're the type who like to buy something really good ONCE, which hopefully will last a very long time, than something less good (and cheaper), which will likely need replacing sooner rather than later, as for us that's a false economy and not very environmentally friendly. We were chatting to some other people there, some of whom have owned Miele products for over 25 years, and their stuff is still going strong!
That's another reason why we chose Miele, because they have an A+++ efficiency rating on most of their products. Del's a massive 'greeny'!
We're also not fashion victims, driven by the latest 'must have' fad, so are quite happy to 'soldier on' using something (as long as it continues to function perfectly well) that's eventually considered as 'obsolete'. It's only 5 years ago, for example, that we've got rid of our Sony CRT TV! :eyebrows:
Feck - bit of a nightmare, that. You sound a bit like Mr Bean! :DQuote:
Pulled a piece of kitchen roll off one handed the other day but it was one of the last sheets and was glued to the last piece around the inner tube or something which meant it didn't "roll" but pulled the cast iron stand over.....onto the ceramic job :doh:
Induction hobs are exactly what we're getting. Couldn't believe how quickly a pan of water was boiled!! You really wouldn't need a kettle... Del was thinking about getting one of those instant hot water taps, which fit beside the sink, but that'll no longer be necessary, such is the efficiency of the induction hob.Quote:
Looked at the induction hobs but would have had to replace both sets of (good) saucepans. Also *far* too complicated. Takes about 10 seconds to unlock and switch on. Went for the best quality standard one with knobs on (Neff) K.I.S.S.
Dunno what you mean about far too complicated, as even I (who rarely ever go near cookers) could use it, as it was a piece of piss! Maybe the Miele one is more user friendly than the Neff? No idea. All I know is that the hobs couldn't have been easier to use, along with the superb steam oven, which also almost makes microwaves redundant! :)
Marco.
Miele steam ovens are reputedly very good. Dont gum up like most as the steam is produced elsewhere. Always liked Miele gear.. buy cheap, buy twice was my grannies motto
And mine, lol! TBH mate, I don't think Miele make a duff product. The steam oven we're getting is touch-control and even has presets for how long to cook various types of fish! Their coffee machines too are, for me, almost in a league of their own.
That 'quality first' policy is also why we bought our chairs, sofas and curtains from Laura Ashley (that and the cottage-style look suits our house), as everything is handmade to your spec, and the quality of the carcasses superb - an area often overlooked by many people in their superficial quest for what simply 'looks nice' from the outside!
As with hi-fi, with furniture, it's what's 'under the hood' that matters most... ;)
Most of these things from DFS/SCS, or whatever, lose their shape and start to look scruffy in about 12 months. We wouldn't give them house room. But then if you're going to be changing your sofa almost as often as your underpants, I guess that doesn't matter... :eyebrows:
Marco.
Changing underpants? What a fanciful idea ;)
Ha - you sound like me. Only change them if, when you throw them against the wall, they stick - and even then they might still be good for another day or so!! :lol::D
;)
Marco.