Over the last month British Gas have been challenging me to use their new Remote Control Heating System. A very simple little app installed on my phone allows me to monitor the temperature in my home, and switch the heating on or off, or adjust the temperature as I need to. Brilliant.

This Week’s Challenge

So they challenged me to put this to the test by sending my out on some very lovely trips. Who can forget the chance to take my 8 year old up in a helicopter! This week has been equally memorably as a friend and I took ourselves off the amazing Coombe Abbey to a Medieval Banquet. What a fantastically fun evening!

Coombe Abbey in Warwickshire is amazing. A four star country house hotel, steeped in history, located in 500 acres of parkland, tranquil gardens and formal lake, it was formerly a Cistercian Abbey in the 12th Century. It even has a moat!

The Medieval Banquet

If you’ve never done a Medieval Banquet before (and we hadn’t) then be prepared. Waiters and waitresses are in full costume, as are some of the guests actually, and provide full entertainment throughout the evening. Bawdy humour, silly songs and plenty of interactive merriment set the tone and buoy the atmosphere right from the beginning.

The scene is set as we, the local peasants are invited in to share a meal – “A feast fit for a King”. But then time shifts forwards and the de Clapper family are in residence at Coombe Abbey and ‘noble guests’ are invited to a ‘great feast’.

A Noble Night

Elevated in status for the evening we sat with the Baron and Baroness no less at the head of the room (think wedding top table) which did mean we were on full show, but meant we giggled for much of the evening. The addition of a terry towelling bib did nothing to dampen our silliness.

The food of course comes minus the cutlery, just as it would have in medieval times. But eating half a chicken and jacket potato with your fingers is no mean feat. Particularly after several glasses of mead and red wine. However silly we looked the bib came in handy. The lovely couple next to us, celebrating their retirement, took on the Baron and Baroness roles beautifully, making speeches and joining in the acting scenes with full enthusiasm. I guarantee you will meet the most unlikely people at an event like this.

Baby, it’s Cold Outside

And so as the evening came to an end, following a rousing version of The 12 days of Christmas (medieval, bawdy style) we made our way out into the icy air and my thoughts turned to the heating! Knowing everyone at home would be in bed, and not wanting to return home to a cold house, I flipped the heating on ready for my arrival.

It’s been great fun using the Remote Control Heating System and being challenged by British Gas through these fabulous treats. I would highly recommend the system; we’re analysing how much money it might be saving us at the moment. It costs £149 to install and I think you’d need to know that it was going to pay for itself in the longer term. This weekend we were away and switched the heating off for 2 days. On the long journey home we switched it back on again and the house was lovely and warm for our arrival. I’m sure that saved us a fair bit!

It’s convenient, incredibly easy to use, and unobtrusive once installed. Thank you to British Gas for challenging us in this way, and for allowing us the chance to review the system.

Blog of the Month

If you want to head over the British Gas Blog you may notice that a certain home blog has been nominated their ‘Blog of the Month’ for December. Ahem, not saying any names of course!

I was given the RHC system free of charge for the purposes of this review, and sent tickets for the Medieval Banquet via lastminute.com Experiences.