IN JUNE, 1994 I chose the Llyndir Hall Hotel as the venue for P and I to celebrate our wedding anniversary. I remember the warm welcome at reception, after travelling from our then home in London; the light and airy bedroom we stayed in for two nights; and the rather swish food served and gratefully received in the restaurant that evening.
 But what stuck in my mind most of all, as we sipped wine in the chintzy surroundings, was P's statement that 'if you think we're moving back to live up here, then you've got another think coming.' And just to remind him of that, I thought we should celebrate ten years living 'up here' in Chester with Sunday lunch at Llyndir Hall, this time with the whole family. It was a beautiful spring day; a day for celebrating Englishness - except that we were in Wales of course - in the village of Rossett, to be precise. The hawthorn was in flower, the breeze was just beginning to blow the blossom into pale pink drifts and the cows in the adjoining field were looking a little less mournful than cows usually do. I thought then, as I did ten years ago, what a lovely setting this is for a hotel. 'I wonder if it's changed much inside,' I said, recalling vague memories of flowered wallpaper and pastel emulsion. Well, where shall I start? Llyndir Hall hasn't so much changed, as metamorphosed into a boutique-style city hotel, smack bang in the middle of a pretty Welsh field. Whoever was responsible for the hotel's revamp can decorate my lounge any day of the week - in fact they can have free rein over the whole house. The high ceilings, perfect proportions and airy conservatory are all shown off to great effect by the two colours of matt paint on the walls and woodwork - a rich cream and a soothing earthy green. There are polished floorboards, upholstered dining chairs and decorative touches, including specially commissioned modern paintings and two huge mirrors on the walls; one a gothic design in gold, the other a classy, simple art deco-style that had both me and the twelve-year-old pointing like Andy and saying in unison: 'I want that one.' (And if you think this is stylish, you should see the drawing room. I got carried away and made a comment that: 'P's shirt was a lovely shade of blue, although not as deep as the blue of the walls.') Well, perhaps the food would be terrible and I'd have to say something negative? But it wasn't and I can't. | 
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