We left the M6 and crossed the country via Sedbergh and Aysgarth. I had not seen Aysgarth since the late 60's and was glad to see that the Falls were as lovely as I remembered. We stopped at Masham for a light lunch and had a desultory wander around the town centre but noticed nothing of real interest. We then went to Ripon and had a bit of a mooch around for an hour, the cathedral has the most stunning pulpit I have ever seen. Totally incongrously in a Gothic building it has a beautiful Art Nouveau pulpit made from bronze and copper - it is worth going to Ripon for that alone. There are some lovely windy streets with very interesting architecture and an imposing main square.
We then went to Fountains Abbey and had a good walk around the grounds. I particularly wanted to see the stained glass window which is a memorial to the Vyner daughter who was killed whilst serving in the WRNS during the second world war. I last saw it when I was doing my army trade training at Catterick in 1968, a nasty cold Wednesday afternoon was too bad for any sports so we were all piled into a bus and taken to Fountains. At that time I became very emotional - I suppose because I was seventeen (she was eighteen) and in uniform and I could identify with her. I still felt the same way over forty years later. I got quite choked up.
We then headed for York and found a Travelodge on the Tadcaster Road which could fit us in for one night - we had reservations from the following day at a posh hotel. The Travelodge was fine, clean and basic as usual. However, the adjoining Little Chef was a revelation, it was brilliant. I ordered steak and chips with no great anticipation but it was extraordinarily good by any standard. The steak was perfectly rare, the chips were crisp and hot, the wine (a Chardonnay) was delicious and the salad dressing perfect. The following morning's coffee, toast and marmalade were also perfect. I have not been in a Little Chef for years but will certainly try them again after this experience.
We drove into York proper and straight into the car park of our hotel, The Royal York which is right next to the station. The car remained parked for the next three days and we walked everywhere.
Sunday, 3 July 2011
Saturday, 2 July 2011
The Hill House
I have wanted to go to The Hill House at Helensburgh for about twenty years and this trip built in a day to ensure that I got there. It was well worth the effort. I am a big fan of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and have seen most of his major commissions already but The Hill House has eluded me. It is furnished in typical Mackintosh detail with some beautiful glass and light fittings, pale plain walls with the odd frieze of stylized roses and fantastic wooden floors. As a contrast to the overwhelming sumptuousness of late Victoriana it is absolutely brilliant.
We had seen enough by about 1530 so instead of looking for a hotel for the night we decided to push on down the M74 until we were tired and ended up staying at a Days Inn just north of Carlisle. The first Days Inn we have ever stayed at and I was very impressed.
We had seen enough by about 1530 so instead of looking for a hotel for the night we decided to push on down the M74 until we were tired and ended up staying at a Days Inn just north of Carlisle. The first Days Inn we have ever stayed at and I was very impressed.
Skye
We left Aviemore on Saturday morning and took a very leisurely drive via Inverness, Strathpeffer and Achnasheen to the Kyle of Lochalsh and crossed to Skye over the bridge. We had not actually booked any accommodation in Skye but were reassured by many guest house signs showing "Vacancies" on the road from Kyeleakin up to Portree and did not doubt that we would find somewhere to sleep for the next four nights. I had previously established that Portree has a municipal swimming pool and it seemed to be the only one on the island so I wanted to stay in Portree in order to keep up my early morning swim. We found a twin en suite room at The Portree Hotel in the main square just a ten minute walk to the pool and it was excellent value. Basic, but clean and with comfortable beds and a good full breakfast. We just pottered around Portree on the Saturday afternoon and had a very good fish and chip lunch on the harbour.
Someone obviously had vandalised the parking meters in Portree so we ended up with free parking for our entire stay. All the ticket machines had signs on them saying "Out of Order" so we parked right outside our hotel within view of the Police Station without problems.
On the Sunday I booked a boat trip out into Raasay Sound to see some wildlife and it was absolutely brilliant. We saw both sea and golden eagles, seals and a porpoise. We went past some salmon farm pens and the salmon were leaping in them, they were round pens instead of the early rectangular ones and it seems this enables the fish to swim better and results in more exercise and therefore less flabby flesh. Apparently the fish are not fed for the last seven days which ensures a lot of the fat is lost naturally. We went to The Prince of India for supper and had excellent popadums followed by decent curries and rather nice Peshwari naan bread. The portions were much smaller than our local Indian restaurant, but adequate, and on reflection we could probably have managed a starter too.
Monday dawned bright and sunny and we went off early to visit Dunvegan Castle which has the chattiest guides I have ever come across. Every single one wanted to be my new best friend and it was one of the most interesting castle tours I have ever done (being married to Onslow who is a castle nut means I have done hundreds) and gave a really good insight into the Maclean clan and Scottish history generally. We left and went off to do what for me was to be the highlight of the trip, lunch at The Three Chimneys. The last five miles or so are done on a single track road with passing places, truly destination dining, you don't pass it on the way to anywhere else. We started with the most fantastic bread, I chose rosemary and sea salt which tasted superb. The texture of the bread was almost cake like, very soft and dense but light as a feather. Questioning revealed that the rosemary is pounded in a pestle and mortar and olive oil added, this is then left to steep before being strained into the bread dough so you get all the flavour and none of the woody bits. Malden type salt was evident on the crust. It was worth going there for the bread alone and I did an Oliver Twist and requested more. The waitress proudly told us that the butter was churned on the premises - the implication being that it was local produce. However, I had not seen any cows on Skye so being awkward I asked where the cream came from. She returned from the kitchen and said "Scotland" so that was that. I felt it a bit unnecessary and the butter was not that good, certainly not on a par with Lescure or Echire. I had braised blade of beef as a starter which was served with a side dish of very finely sliced cauliflower (I suspect with a mandoline) mixed with pickled onion. The pickled onion was not the usual small onions we see but about the size of an apple - it had been sliced into long thin shards and mixed with the califlower, it was lovely. Onslow had what was described as fish soup which was more like a stew with a deliciously flavoured broth with huge chunks of monkfish and langoustine in there. We both had the seafood platter which was in the main lovely but neither of us was very keen on the mussels which had been marinated in a tomatoey vinegary oniony cold sauce. The potted crab was fabulous, the oysters and scallops fantastic, the winkles superb but the langoustine had not been deveined - quite a failing in my eyes. Mind you, it did not stop me eating them, I just deveined at the table. I ordered the cheese board which was excellent, my first crowdie but I knew the Dunsyre Blue, the Mull cheddar and the camembert type . The oatcakes were made in the kitchen and were the best I have ever tasted. Onslow was driving but I had a glass of Chilean Rose with the starter, a French Sancerre with the main and a Banyuls with the cheese. All perfect. Onslow had a coffee and was brought with it a plate of petits fours which neither of us had room for. They were put into a little box for us to take away and eat later. At £109 for the two of I did not think it bad value at all.
On Tuesday we had a nice drive around the rest of the island, some fantastic views and I quite see why Onslow wanted to go there. We ate that night at the Bosville and had really gorgeous mussels in a cream and garlic sauce with good bread.
And the following morning was dull and dreich and we did not mind leaving for our next stop at Helensburgh.
Someone obviously had vandalised the parking meters in Portree so we ended up with free parking for our entire stay. All the ticket machines had signs on them saying "Out of Order" so we parked right outside our hotel within view of the Police Station without problems.
On the Sunday I booked a boat trip out into Raasay Sound to see some wildlife and it was absolutely brilliant. We saw both sea and golden eagles, seals and a porpoise. We went past some salmon farm pens and the salmon were leaping in them, they were round pens instead of the early rectangular ones and it seems this enables the fish to swim better and results in more exercise and therefore less flabby flesh. Apparently the fish are not fed for the last seven days which ensures a lot of the fat is lost naturally. We went to The Prince of India for supper and had excellent popadums followed by decent curries and rather nice Peshwari naan bread. The portions were much smaller than our local Indian restaurant, but adequate, and on reflection we could probably have managed a starter too.
Monday dawned bright and sunny and we went off early to visit Dunvegan Castle which has the chattiest guides I have ever come across. Every single one wanted to be my new best friend and it was one of the most interesting castle tours I have ever done (being married to Onslow who is a castle nut means I have done hundreds) and gave a really good insight into the Maclean clan and Scottish history generally. We left and went off to do what for me was to be the highlight of the trip, lunch at The Three Chimneys. The last five miles or so are done on a single track road with passing places, truly destination dining, you don't pass it on the way to anywhere else. We started with the most fantastic bread, I chose rosemary and sea salt which tasted superb. The texture of the bread was almost cake like, very soft and dense but light as a feather. Questioning revealed that the rosemary is pounded in a pestle and mortar and olive oil added, this is then left to steep before being strained into the bread dough so you get all the flavour and none of the woody bits. Malden type salt was evident on the crust. It was worth going there for the bread alone and I did an Oliver Twist and requested more. The waitress proudly told us that the butter was churned on the premises - the implication being that it was local produce. However, I had not seen any cows on Skye so being awkward I asked where the cream came from. She returned from the kitchen and said "Scotland" so that was that. I felt it a bit unnecessary and the butter was not that good, certainly not on a par with Lescure or Echire. I had braised blade of beef as a starter which was served with a side dish of very finely sliced cauliflower (I suspect with a mandoline) mixed with pickled onion. The pickled onion was not the usual small onions we see but about the size of an apple - it had been sliced into long thin shards and mixed with the califlower, it was lovely. Onslow had what was described as fish soup which was more like a stew with a deliciously flavoured broth with huge chunks of monkfish and langoustine in there. We both had the seafood platter which was in the main lovely but neither of us was very keen on the mussels which had been marinated in a tomatoey vinegary oniony cold sauce. The potted crab was fabulous, the oysters and scallops fantastic, the winkles superb but the langoustine had not been deveined - quite a failing in my eyes. Mind you, it did not stop me eating them, I just deveined at the table. I ordered the cheese board which was excellent, my first crowdie but I knew the Dunsyre Blue, the Mull cheddar and the camembert type . The oatcakes were made in the kitchen and were the best I have ever tasted. Onslow was driving but I had a glass of Chilean Rose with the starter, a French Sancerre with the main and a Banyuls with the cheese. All perfect. Onslow had a coffee and was brought with it a plate of petits fours which neither of us had room for. They were put into a little box for us to take away and eat later. At £109 for the two of I did not think it bad value at all.
On Tuesday we had a nice drive around the rest of the island, some fantastic views and I quite see why Onslow wanted to go there. We ate that night at the Bosville and had really gorgeous mussels in a cream and garlic sauce with good bread.
And the following morning was dull and dreich and we did not mind leaving for our next stop at Helensburgh.
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Still Aviemore
I forgot to mention yesterday that one day we did the steam rail trip from Aviemore to Broomhill via Boat of Garten. A very pretty rail line, the station at Broomhill is that used in the series Monarch of the Glen (which I have never seen) and the glen it goes through is Hamish McBean territory.
I adore railways and am anyone's for a steam train trip. A lot of people on the train were getting off at Broomhill and boarding coaches so it is obviously part of the itinerary on organised holidays.
I adore railways and am anyone's for a steam train trip. A lot of people on the train were getting off at Broomhill and boarding coaches so it is obviously part of the itinerary on organised holidays.
Aviemore
We have just spent almost three weeks touring Scotland and for practically all the time had no internet access so I am going to try to remember the important bits to share with you.
Onslow does amateur dramatics and had a show every night (The Merry Widow) the week before we left and was very tired by the end of it. Consequently we arose early on Sunday morning and I drove the 496 miles from home to Aviemore in three stages. We stopped at Charnock Richard for fuel and then on to Westmoreland (Tebay) for brunch. I have previously always been really impressed with the food at Tebay but was quite disappointed this time. The sausages were as delicious as ever but the rest of the food was distinctly so so and on a par with all the rest of the motorway places. We stopped for a cup of tea at Perth and then got to Aviemore for around 1530 - a good run up, but Sunday on the M6 is not as bad as the rest of the week.
We had been invited by an old army friend to join him and another old friend at a time share he has at the Macdonald Dalfaber Golf and Country Club and it was absolutely superb. I love cooking and eating so I volunteered myself to do all the cooking for the week and I have to say that the kitchen was incredibly well equipped - much better than mine at home. I pottered happily all week making home style food and although Onslow is used to the standard of the food I produce the other two were very grateful. They are both divorced and tend to fend for themselves and eat alone most of the time. They both commented how lovely it was to sit around a table chatting and having another cup of coffee at breakfast and then lingering over the cheese in the evening.
The evening menus were as follows:
Sunday - a Cottage Pie brought from home with cabbage and carrots followed by raspberries and cream and a cheese board.
Monday - trout with new potatoes and a King John Salad (crispy lettuce with shards of bacon and blue cheese - eaten at the King John at Tollard Royal when we lived in Blandford Forum back in the early 80's and a real favourite ever since). Pudding was a warm apple pie with a streusel topping and vanilla ice cream and then the cheese came out again.
Tuesday I made a full roast pork dinner with crackling, apple sauce, roast parsnips and potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and green beans and cabbage. Pudding was a lemon meringue pie (a special request) with cream and ice cream and no-one had room for cheese.
Wednesday I made a meat and potato pie with pickled red cabbage and beetroot and then a big bowl of caramel oranges with Greek yoghurt. We had a bit of space for cheese that day.
Thursday brought on chicken breasts stuffed with Boursin cheese and wrapped in bacon with a mixed salad and new potatoes followed by bananas fried in butter and sugar with rum poured over and evaporated slightly served with cream and ice cream. We managed the cheese again.
Friday night we had haggis with neeps and tatties served with a whisky gravy and the bananas were demanded again.
Breakfast every day for the blokes was bacon and egg with fried up leftover potatoes and vegetables or grilled tomatoes and mushrooms and I was perfectly happy with yoghurt and fruit followed by toast.
I had baked a large fruit cake at home before we went and a slab of that or leftover pudding from the night before passed with a cup of tea for lunch.
I have to say that the Macdonald timeshare was most luxurious, Since the other two chaps were alone our friend gave Onslow and I the master suite which had a seven foot wide bed and a bathroom bigger than my sitting room. The others had a bedroom each and shared a bathroom which had a sauna on the side. We had a massive sitting dining room with a conservatory which overlooked the River Spey and also a little balcony at the side of that - both properly furnished with comfortable stuff. The kitchen cupboards had table settings for eight people with three sizes of plate, two sizes of bowl, cups and saucers as well as mugs and all the cutlery you could need including fish knives and forks.
We had access to the country club which had a nice pool and I was there at 0800 for my morning swim, the showers had dispensers for shampoo and conditioner as well as body wash and the changing room had body lotion and hairdryers, towels were picked up at reception and discarded in a large bin on the way out. There were never more than four people in the pool when I was there.
We had a couple of really nice days out from Aviemore. The first was to Cairngorm, we went up to the restaurant on the funicular railway and although it was possible to walk up the last bit it was quite misty so we elected not to bother since there was no view and went for a hot chocolate in the restaurant instead. And what a hot chocolate, thick and creamy with a handful of tiny marshmallows topped with whipped cream. I have no idea of the cost because one of the chaps insisted on paying for it but it was absolutely delicious. The other long day out was at the Scottish Folk Museum at Newtonmore which was absolutely fabulous. A nice sunny day and lots of wandering around outside seeing how people lived through the ages. We were very lucky because the day we were there was the last day of a visiting chap who goes up there for two weeks every year. He is a cordwainer by hobby and absolutely barking - a real enthusiast and dressed completely in fifteenth century clothing, all the leather stuff made by himself. We had a snack in the cafe there and I had some delicious chicken noodle soup - no-one makes soups as good as the Scots.
I think that is enough for now but I will regale you with the rest of the holiday over the next day day or two.
Onslow does amateur dramatics and had a show every night (The Merry Widow) the week before we left and was very tired by the end of it. Consequently we arose early on Sunday morning and I drove the 496 miles from home to Aviemore in three stages. We stopped at Charnock Richard for fuel and then on to Westmoreland (Tebay) for brunch. I have previously always been really impressed with the food at Tebay but was quite disappointed this time. The sausages were as delicious as ever but the rest of the food was distinctly so so and on a par with all the rest of the motorway places. We stopped for a cup of tea at Perth and then got to Aviemore for around 1530 - a good run up, but Sunday on the M6 is not as bad as the rest of the week.
We had been invited by an old army friend to join him and another old friend at a time share he has at the Macdonald Dalfaber Golf and Country Club and it was absolutely superb. I love cooking and eating so I volunteered myself to do all the cooking for the week and I have to say that the kitchen was incredibly well equipped - much better than mine at home. I pottered happily all week making home style food and although Onslow is used to the standard of the food I produce the other two were very grateful. They are both divorced and tend to fend for themselves and eat alone most of the time. They both commented how lovely it was to sit around a table chatting and having another cup of coffee at breakfast and then lingering over the cheese in the evening.
The evening menus were as follows:
Sunday - a Cottage Pie brought from home with cabbage and carrots followed by raspberries and cream and a cheese board.
Monday - trout with new potatoes and a King John Salad (crispy lettuce with shards of bacon and blue cheese - eaten at the King John at Tollard Royal when we lived in Blandford Forum back in the early 80's and a real favourite ever since). Pudding was a warm apple pie with a streusel topping and vanilla ice cream and then the cheese came out again.
Tuesday I made a full roast pork dinner with crackling, apple sauce, roast parsnips and potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and green beans and cabbage. Pudding was a lemon meringue pie (a special request) with cream and ice cream and no-one had room for cheese.
Wednesday I made a meat and potato pie with pickled red cabbage and beetroot and then a big bowl of caramel oranges with Greek yoghurt. We had a bit of space for cheese that day.
Thursday brought on chicken breasts stuffed with Boursin cheese and wrapped in bacon with a mixed salad and new potatoes followed by bananas fried in butter and sugar with rum poured over and evaporated slightly served with cream and ice cream. We managed the cheese again.
Friday night we had haggis with neeps and tatties served with a whisky gravy and the bananas were demanded again.
Breakfast every day for the blokes was bacon and egg with fried up leftover potatoes and vegetables or grilled tomatoes and mushrooms and I was perfectly happy with yoghurt and fruit followed by toast.
I had baked a large fruit cake at home before we went and a slab of that or leftover pudding from the night before passed with a cup of tea for lunch.
I have to say that the Macdonald timeshare was most luxurious, Since the other two chaps were alone our friend gave Onslow and I the master suite which had a seven foot wide bed and a bathroom bigger than my sitting room. The others had a bedroom each and shared a bathroom which had a sauna on the side. We had a massive sitting dining room with a conservatory which overlooked the River Spey and also a little balcony at the side of that - both properly furnished with comfortable stuff. The kitchen cupboards had table settings for eight people with three sizes of plate, two sizes of bowl, cups and saucers as well as mugs and all the cutlery you could need including fish knives and forks.
We had access to the country club which had a nice pool and I was there at 0800 for my morning swim, the showers had dispensers for shampoo and conditioner as well as body wash and the changing room had body lotion and hairdryers, towels were picked up at reception and discarded in a large bin on the way out. There were never more than four people in the pool when I was there.
We had a couple of really nice days out from Aviemore. The first was to Cairngorm, we went up to the restaurant on the funicular railway and although it was possible to walk up the last bit it was quite misty so we elected not to bother since there was no view and went for a hot chocolate in the restaurant instead. And what a hot chocolate, thick and creamy with a handful of tiny marshmallows topped with whipped cream. I have no idea of the cost because one of the chaps insisted on paying for it but it was absolutely delicious. The other long day out was at the Scottish Folk Museum at Newtonmore which was absolutely fabulous. A nice sunny day and lots of wandering around outside seeing how people lived through the ages. We were very lucky because the day we were there was the last day of a visiting chap who goes up there for two weeks every year. He is a cordwainer by hobby and absolutely barking - a real enthusiast and dressed completely in fifteenth century clothing, all the leather stuff made by himself. We had a snack in the cafe there and I had some delicious chicken noodle soup - no-one makes soups as good as the Scots.
I think that is enough for now but I will regale you with the rest of the holiday over the next day day or two.
Friday, 8 April 2011
A Day in Town
I am a big fan of Victorian art and when I read about a new exhibition at the V&A felt that it warranted a trip to London to see if it was as good as reviewed. Accordingly Onslow and I rose early yesterday and caught the 0744 to Paddington with the intention of doing a few things including the exhibition. The train fares at that time cost only £27.20 each, if we caught the earlier train it is more than double. Getting in around tennish is fine for us, I generally make some bacon sandwiches and pack chilled juice and then we buy a coffee on the train so that is breakfast sorted. The train going down was delayed by someone driving into a bridge support near Taplow so we were about half an hour late but no matter, still plenty of time for our planned jollies.
Since qualifying for the free bus pass last November I have not been to London, previously I had an Oyster card and used the tube, so I did a bit of research beforehand on the internet and was reasonably well prepared for our first journey. Outside Paddington we caught the Number 7 red bus which took us to Tottenham Court Road station and then we went for a bit of a mooch there in the camera shops. Onslow is after a telescopic lens for his Sony Nex-5 SLR and they are proving very elusive to buy. At the Sony Centre we found out why, the Japanese tsunami has wrecked the factories which produce the lenses and there is an international waiting list. The TCR Centre has a waiting list of seven people who want one, so if you add up all the shops worldwide there is probably quite a queue. It is not urgent so we will keep an eye on the Sony website and get one in due course.
Having sorted that we went to our favourite dim sum restaurant in Chinatown for lunch. It is called Gerrards Corner and on the corner of Wardour Street and Gerrard Street and opens for lunch just before twelve. We had eight different steamers of mainly seafood dim sum and two pots of jasmine tea and it was all absolutely delicious. As always. We had crab, prawns, king prawns and scallops plus a couple of char sui pork dishes and Onslow had his favourite spiced whelks on the side. The total cost for two of us was £27 and we were out for one o clock because the service is brilliant. Very highly recommended for anyone in town who likes dim sum - it is served right through until 5pm and always freshly cooked for you. We order four dishes between the two of us and then another four dishes about fifteen minutes later which ensures that everything is always piping hot.
I was not too sure about the next bus so we decided to splurge on a cab (I think it is the solemn duty of anyone who can afford it to use at least one London cab when on a visit to Town) to take us to the V&A and was not disappointed. The cabbie kept up a monologue about the sins of Boris because the roads in the West End are all building sites. It was horrendous, Oxford Street, Pall Mall, Haymarket and St James's were all gridlocked with half the roads dug up. Apparently they are going to become two way traffic again which necessitates a lot of building works. I would have thought changing the signs round would have done the job but apparently not.
The exhibition "The Cult of Beauty" was wonderful and brought together threads on the edge of my knowledge to a very satisfactory whole. I have seen a lot of the pictures in the exhibition at other galleries but when they are broought together like this there is a very pleasing pattern emerging of how and where particular ideas in the art world crystallised and became part of our heritage. It is very well curated and highly recommended. I liked it so much that I will be going back for at least one more visit, I am a Friend of the V&A so can go as many times as I like without having to pay. There is a photographic exhibition opening next week so next time I could do both. There is a Dale Chihuli glass sculpture in the entrance at the V&A which I am always happy to see, but I think it grows more tentacles every time I visit.
We then went and caught the Number 14 bus back to the West End and walked to the British Museum, we wanted a quick look at the Congreve Clock which never fails to delight, and had an hour to spare before train times. The British Museum was absolutely crowded - I have never seen it so busy before, even on a Saturday. There were what seemed like millions of teenagers, mostly foreign, crowding the forecourt and it was difficult to press through them to the entrance. Obviously the school coach trip season is upon us, Easter being so late this year I had not given it a thought and usually avoid the school holidays. We still managed a peek at the clock though - it is mesmerizing watching that ball go up and down the plate and tilt from side to side.
We then picked up the Number 7 at Russell Square which took us all the way back to Paddington. We had about twenty minutes to spare so I nipped to Sainsbury's Local for victuals for the journey to find it is closed for refurbishment until 11th April. No matter, Marks and Spencer was open and a couple of chilled cans of G&T and some hand made crisps made very satisfactory fodder for the two hour rail trip. Our train got in at 1925 so a very nice and well filled leisurely day in Town was completed. I thought it was leisurely but it must have been more tiring than I thought because I crashed out at half nine and slept right through until a cat demanded food with menaces at seven this morning.
Since qualifying for the free bus pass last November I have not been to London, previously I had an Oyster card and used the tube, so I did a bit of research beforehand on the internet and was reasonably well prepared for our first journey. Outside Paddington we caught the Number 7 red bus which took us to Tottenham Court Road station and then we went for a bit of a mooch there in the camera shops. Onslow is after a telescopic lens for his Sony Nex-5 SLR and they are proving very elusive to buy. At the Sony Centre we found out why, the Japanese tsunami has wrecked the factories which produce the lenses and there is an international waiting list. The TCR Centre has a waiting list of seven people who want one, so if you add up all the shops worldwide there is probably quite a queue. It is not urgent so we will keep an eye on the Sony website and get one in due course.
Having sorted that we went to our favourite dim sum restaurant in Chinatown for lunch. It is called Gerrards Corner and on the corner of Wardour Street and Gerrard Street and opens for lunch just before twelve. We had eight different steamers of mainly seafood dim sum and two pots of jasmine tea and it was all absolutely delicious. As always. We had crab, prawns, king prawns and scallops plus a couple of char sui pork dishes and Onslow had his favourite spiced whelks on the side. The total cost for two of us was £27 and we were out for one o clock because the service is brilliant. Very highly recommended for anyone in town who likes dim sum - it is served right through until 5pm and always freshly cooked for you. We order four dishes between the two of us and then another four dishes about fifteen minutes later which ensures that everything is always piping hot.
I was not too sure about the next bus so we decided to splurge on a cab (I think it is the solemn duty of anyone who can afford it to use at least one London cab when on a visit to Town) to take us to the V&A and was not disappointed. The cabbie kept up a monologue about the sins of Boris because the roads in the West End are all building sites. It was horrendous, Oxford Street, Pall Mall, Haymarket and St James's were all gridlocked with half the roads dug up. Apparently they are going to become two way traffic again which necessitates a lot of building works. I would have thought changing the signs round would have done the job but apparently not.
The exhibition "The Cult of Beauty" was wonderful and brought together threads on the edge of my knowledge to a very satisfactory whole. I have seen a lot of the pictures in the exhibition at other galleries but when they are broought together like this there is a very pleasing pattern emerging of how and where particular ideas in the art world crystallised and became part of our heritage. It is very well curated and highly recommended. I liked it so much that I will be going back for at least one more visit, I am a Friend of the V&A so can go as many times as I like without having to pay. There is a photographic exhibition opening next week so next time I could do both. There is a Dale Chihuli glass sculpture in the entrance at the V&A which I am always happy to see, but I think it grows more tentacles every time I visit.
We then went and caught the Number 14 bus back to the West End and walked to the British Museum, we wanted a quick look at the Congreve Clock which never fails to delight, and had an hour to spare before train times. The British Museum was absolutely crowded - I have never seen it so busy before, even on a Saturday. There were what seemed like millions of teenagers, mostly foreign, crowding the forecourt and it was difficult to press through them to the entrance. Obviously the school coach trip season is upon us, Easter being so late this year I had not given it a thought and usually avoid the school holidays. We still managed a peek at the clock though - it is mesmerizing watching that ball go up and down the plate and tilt from side to side.
We then picked up the Number 7 at Russell Square which took us all the way back to Paddington. We had about twenty minutes to spare so I nipped to Sainsbury's Local for victuals for the journey to find it is closed for refurbishment until 11th April. No matter, Marks and Spencer was open and a couple of chilled cans of G&T and some hand made crisps made very satisfactory fodder for the two hour rail trip. Our train got in at 1925 so a very nice and well filled leisurely day in Town was completed. I thought it was leisurely but it must have been more tiring than I thought because I crashed out at half nine and slept right through until a cat demanded food with menaces at seven this morning.
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
Out to Play
We are members of the University of the Third Age (U3A) and both go to the Medieval Church group. It is led by another member who is a great expert on medieval churches, he was a headmaster before retirement, and very good at sharing his knowledge. We meet once a month and David sets out to take us round three different churches in fairly close proximity and then we go off for a pub lunch.
Today we went into a part of the Cotswolds I did not even know existed. We started at Winstone and the church there is effectively in the middle of a farm with a no through road leading to it. We all go in our own cars and meet up for coffee or hot chocolate. David's wife, Judy, brings vacuum flasks of hot water and milk, jars of coffee and drinking chocolate, a crate of mugs and a big Tupperware box of chocolate hob nobs. As everyone arrives in dribs and drabs (there were seventeen of us today) Judy makes the drinks and passes round the menu for the chosen pub so that everyone has time to think about what they would like to eat.
David then led us around the outside of the church pounting out things of architectural interest, showing why certain bits could be classed as Saxon and others Norman and generally being very informative about the architecture. We then went inside and had a lot of the imagery explained to us. We then drove off to Edgeworth in convoy, frightening the life out of a postman who normally sees three cars a day instead of eight all together. Edgeworth was really interesting, there was a wonderful medieval stained glass window in which the colours had faded to leave a silvery sheen over everything. Our final church was at Miserden which was full of riches - the most amazing altar, some fabulous memorials carved from Derbyshire alabaster and a splendid rood screen. I would never have gone off to these places on my own initiative and am really grateful to the U3A for giving me the opportunity to learn so much about the things which interest me.
We then trooped off to The Carpenters' Arms at Miserden for lunch which was excellent. The people we shared a table with all had different things, no-one was disappointed. Onslow had liver and bacon with chips, I had faggots with mustard mash and onion gravy and the chap who had a ham baguette with chips declared it to be the best ham he had eaten for ages. I had a half of a Westons cloudy cider on draught and it was fantastic and worked really well with the faggots. An excellent accompaniment.
We have had a really lovely day out with a lot of people we have never met before. We had met David and Judy and about three other people at the last trip we went on but all the rest were new to us. We have missed four meetings because of being away at various places, but it does not matter because with this sort of thing you can just drop in and out as you wish.
Today we went into a part of the Cotswolds I did not even know existed. We started at Winstone and the church there is effectively in the middle of a farm with a no through road leading to it. We all go in our own cars and meet up for coffee or hot chocolate. David's wife, Judy, brings vacuum flasks of hot water and milk, jars of coffee and drinking chocolate, a crate of mugs and a big Tupperware box of chocolate hob nobs. As everyone arrives in dribs and drabs (there were seventeen of us today) Judy makes the drinks and passes round the menu for the chosen pub so that everyone has time to think about what they would like to eat.
David then led us around the outside of the church pounting out things of architectural interest, showing why certain bits could be classed as Saxon and others Norman and generally being very informative about the architecture. We then went inside and had a lot of the imagery explained to us. We then drove off to Edgeworth in convoy, frightening the life out of a postman who normally sees three cars a day instead of eight all together. Edgeworth was really interesting, there was a wonderful medieval stained glass window in which the colours had faded to leave a silvery sheen over everything. Our final church was at Miserden which was full of riches - the most amazing altar, some fabulous memorials carved from Derbyshire alabaster and a splendid rood screen. I would never have gone off to these places on my own initiative and am really grateful to the U3A for giving me the opportunity to learn so much about the things which interest me.
We then trooped off to The Carpenters' Arms at Miserden for lunch which was excellent. The people we shared a table with all had different things, no-one was disappointed. Onslow had liver and bacon with chips, I had faggots with mustard mash and onion gravy and the chap who had a ham baguette with chips declared it to be the best ham he had eaten for ages. I had a half of a Westons cloudy cider on draught and it was fantastic and worked really well with the faggots. An excellent accompaniment.
We have had a really lovely day out with a lot of people we have never met before. We had met David and Judy and about three other people at the last trip we went on but all the rest were new to us. We have missed four meetings because of being away at various places, but it does not matter because with this sort of thing you can just drop in and out as you wish.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)