The food of Madeira is more or less Mediterranean in that there are lots of fresh vegetables and fruit but some bits are quite stodgy. The local bread is rather different from anything I have come across before, but none the worse for that. The bread is made from a combination of grains and sweet potatoes. It is not uncommon to find cornbread that has been enhanced with a good dollop of mashed sweet potato. The dough is proved and then patted into discs about six inches in diameter and around an inch or so thick and then baked on hot stones, being turned after about twenty minutes for a further ten minutes the other side. This results in a dense dampish loaf with a distinctive aroma and flavour. It keeps pretty well in exactly the same condition for two or three days. The garlic bread is made by cutting across the middle of the loaf and spreading garlic butter on both sides, sandwiching together and baking again.
Because Madeira has no shores and therefore no beaches (there is one but I think it was man made) there is no endemic seafood or shellfish. Limpets are available but I never saw them for sale in the shops, or even the magnificent market - the Mercado des Lavators. A wonderful art deco building which has three floors of mainly food substances. The ground floor and first floor are mainly fruit and vegetables with all the butchers around the outside and accessed from their own doors on the street rather than from the market side. The middle of the ground floor is an empty square most of the week but on Friday the peasants come in from the countryside and sell their wares - wonderful herbs and oranges. I cannot forget the sight of the flower stalls, Birds of Paradise at E5 for a dozen seemed an amazing bargain - but they do seem to grow wild in the countryside.
The fish market in the basement sells all the local fish, particularly available is the Black Scabbard Fish - quite possibly the ugliest fish I have ever come across, even uglier than monkfish. I ate the Black Scabbard on three different occasions at restaurants and it was a nice fish - the taste and texture being a bit cod like but rather softer. One of the times I ordered it I could have been in Brighton because it was simply battered and served with chips. The second time it had been wrapped in an omelette, the soggy eggy cover did nothing for it. The third time it had been simply grilled on the bone but was served with an asonishing array of carbohydrates, rice, boiled potatoes and boiled yam - with a few Brussels sprouts and boiled carrots on the side. I thought that Ford Madox Ford said that the South of France was heaven indeed because the Brussels sprout would not grow so far south?
We did have a little mini market on site which was fine for most stuff but I can never resist wandering around the local food shops and seeing what is on offer. The supermarket in Funchal that I used (called Sa) had chicken carcasses for 50C each so I bought a couple whilst there to make fabulous chicken stock for soups. I could also buy plenty of fresh vegetables and was very taken with a type of runner bean unlike any I have previously encountered. Very flat and with a satin smooth pod, no strings to remove and cooked beautifully in about two minutes in boiling salted water. Very tender and delicious. I looked for packets of seed to bring home but there were none to be had.
Madeiran bananas are absolutely tiny - short and stumpy and when yellow they peel very easily. The scent from a peeling banana overwhelms the room and I cooked some with the local rum made from sugar cane which were declared fabulous. I bought some odd looking fruits from the market and cannot remember the name, they were about the size of a lychee and had a stone of about the same size inside. The fruits themselves were like little Scotch Bonnets and rather tart so I stewed them with a little sugar and poured hot over vanilla ice cream - delicious. The tangerines were picked from the tree the morning I bought them and they practically peeled themselves, leaving gorgeous juicy segments.
Dairy produce on Madeira is a bit mixed - all the pasteurised milk is imported and the milk ship comes in from Portugal on Tuesdays. UHT is available when the fresh milk runs out - as it inevitably does after about Saturday - so I took the precaution of buying a couple of litres on Fridays to keep us going. I did find some interesting cheese - a lovely goats cheese with a hard yellow rind and a soft crumbly interior and a rather nice soft cheese made from sheep's milk which had been rolled in pimento powder.
The cake shops were amazing - really beautiful looking cakes (heavy on the thick custard) with pretty iced tops which all meant something. I had the most gorgeous soft brioche type "horn" filled with the custard. Another one was a sort of chocolate roulade sprinkled with Madeira wine and spread with custard before rolling. There was a lovely sort of milles feuilles filled with custard - the pastry truly like leaves it was so thin - and then iced with a coffee flavour. And the custard tarts - oh, the custard tarts. I will dream about the custard tarts until I go to my grave. The pastry thin and crispy and the filling soft and warm with the top blackened because of the burnt sugar. Oh - the custard tarts.
I have to stop for a bit - the thought of those tarts makes me want some breakfast - but I shall return.
Thursday, 2 February 2012
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Madeira - First Impressions
I had a problem accessing my blog whilst in Madeira so this is going to mean that my postings about it will be a bit disjointed and not necessarily chronological. I have finally sorted it out this morning so will attempt to share some of my experiences of this wonderful island.
We flew from Birmingham early on Monday morning, I had noticed last year that there is now a Wetherspoons after passport control and security so we elected to leave home after only coffee and juice and have a full breakfast at the airport. It was an excellent strategy and successfully filled the hour and a half hanging around. We left Brum at a temperature of 3C and landed at Funchal just before lunch to a temperature of 21C. Our ordered transport was waiting for us and drove us to Cabo Girao to our home for the next fortnight. I had booked a two bedroomed two bathroomed apartment through our Holiday Property Bond and it was excellent. The drive to Cabo Girao in bright daylight showed that the roads are ALL like the Hardknott Pass - some of the stretches of the main road were practically vertical and I vowed not to hire the car I had been thinking about. Coward? Moi? You bet I am when faced with roads like that.
The vegetation was amazing - there were thousands of red hot pokers lining the sides of the roads - they were growing like weeds everywhere and provided a brilliant carpet of scarlet. There were some weird looking plants - I thought of them as Triffids - which were like a huge swan's neck which had thick stems at the base tapering to a point at the top which dipped and swayed in the wind. I found out afterwards that they were a member of the aloe vera family and grown for their sap. There were plenty of banana trees by the sides of the road too, some of the hands of bananas closest to the traffic had blue plastic bags wrapped round them to protect from exhaust fumes. The Madeiran soil is amazingly fertile and every scrap of level land was cultivated. The entire island is terraced in the occupied parts and a square metre of land means three or four crops of something every year.
We settled into our flat and found our bearings. We had a lovely big terrace with dining furniture, sun loungers and loads of geckos scurrying around. Quite little ones with scaly looking skin and lashing tails. We had access to a large L shaped swimming pool which was half inside and half outside so that was my daily swim sorted. For energetic types there were tennis courts and a clubhouse with table tennis and billiards but I got quite enough exercise climing the hundred or so steps between the pool and our flat. I did say the entire island was terraced. There was a shuttle bus around the site which Onslow took advantage of but I now have the calves of a Gurkha having done the steps three or four times daily.
We flew from Birmingham early on Monday morning, I had noticed last year that there is now a Wetherspoons after passport control and security so we elected to leave home after only coffee and juice and have a full breakfast at the airport. It was an excellent strategy and successfully filled the hour and a half hanging around. We left Brum at a temperature of 3C and landed at Funchal just before lunch to a temperature of 21C. Our ordered transport was waiting for us and drove us to Cabo Girao to our home for the next fortnight. I had booked a two bedroomed two bathroomed apartment through our Holiday Property Bond and it was excellent. The drive to Cabo Girao in bright daylight showed that the roads are ALL like the Hardknott Pass - some of the stretches of the main road were practically vertical and I vowed not to hire the car I had been thinking about. Coward? Moi? You bet I am when faced with roads like that.
The vegetation was amazing - there were thousands of red hot pokers lining the sides of the roads - they were growing like weeds everywhere and provided a brilliant carpet of scarlet. There were some weird looking plants - I thought of them as Triffids - which were like a huge swan's neck which had thick stems at the base tapering to a point at the top which dipped and swayed in the wind. I found out afterwards that they were a member of the aloe vera family and grown for their sap. There were plenty of banana trees by the sides of the road too, some of the hands of bananas closest to the traffic had blue plastic bags wrapped round them to protect from exhaust fumes. The Madeiran soil is amazingly fertile and every scrap of level land was cultivated. The entire island is terraced in the occupied parts and a square metre of land means three or four crops of something every year.
We settled into our flat and found our bearings. We had a lovely big terrace with dining furniture, sun loungers and loads of geckos scurrying around. Quite little ones with scaly looking skin and lashing tails. We had access to a large L shaped swimming pool which was half inside and half outside so that was my daily swim sorted. For energetic types there were tennis courts and a clubhouse with table tennis and billiards but I got quite enough exercise climing the hundred or so steps between the pool and our flat. I did say the entire island was terraced. There was a shuttle bus around the site which Onslow took advantage of but I now have the calves of a Gurkha having done the steps three or four times daily.
Thursday, 3 November 2011
Cornwall - Tuesday and Wednesday
We have just had a lovely week in Cornwall, the weather was fine for late October (Cornish fine, windy and the odd heavy shower) so we managed to get out and about a bit.
A very dear friend had a massive stroke some years ago and is totally wheelchair bound now so I booked a wheelchair friendly cottage through our Holiday Propery Bond at Duloe Manor for half term week and the friend and wife joined us. Unfortunately, they had to be back in Bath after three days so some other friends came to take their place, the second set of friends are not nearly so restricted but did enjoy the accommodation being so user friendly.
We drove down on the Tuesday morning and stopped at the big Morrisons superstore at Liskeard to do some shopping. I do not often have access to Morrisons but have to say that I was most impressed with this store. It was very busy indeed and a case of queuing for a car parking space which took about ten minutes. We had lunch at the store in the cafe, I had a child's portion of fish fingers with chips and peas which included a drink of apple juice, a small bag of mixed apple slices with grapes and a little chocolate bar: all for £2.95. Incredibly good value and quite adequate.
The cottage itself was lovely, a very large kitchen/dining/sitting room complete with flat screen television, radio, DVD player and the kitchen part had a dishwasher and washing machine. There was a downstairs twin bedroom and an upstairs double; both ensuite. There was also a separate shower room upstairs because the sofa in the sitting area converted to a double bed so had we had another couple they would have had a private bathroom. The Duloe Manor complex had an indoor swimming pool so I was able to continue my daily swim habit and most of the time had the pool to myself.
The first evening I cooked supper for all of us; we started with some celeriac remoulade with salami and chorizo followed by pork chops in a mustard and cider sauce with new potatoes and tomato and onion salad. Pudding was caramel oranges and then a cheese board. Accompanied by a couple of bottles of wine and much reminiscing. The friends are the parents of our godchildren and their daughter is getting married next April so there was quite a bit of chat about that.
Wednesday dawned and fortified by toast and marmalade we set off for the Minions Heritage Centre which proved very elusive. There are absolutely no signs at all in the area of how to find the actual main building so we gave up and went to the pub for lunch. I had a really good ham and cheese toastie which was accompanied by a pile of chips and a salad - all for £3.50. A nice local Cornish cider on the side was absolutely perfect. We then went off to St Neot church to see if it lived up to my happy memories of some of the best stained glass I have ever seen - it did. I had forgotten the magnificent rood screen and the angels attaching the walls to the roof so they were like a totally new discovery.
HPB Duloe offers a bondholders' supper on site on Wednesday so we signed up for that. They do not have a licence so it is a BYO for the wine and there are large jugs of iced water on the table. It was a very large table to encourage people to talk to each other and there were sixteen of us there. The two courses of chicken breast cooked in marsala and mushrooms with vegetables followed by apple pie (with raisins and cinnamon and the most incredible short pastry) with clotted cream were excellent value at £13.50 per person. We had a lovely evening chatting to fellow holidaymakers and the excellent and unobtrusive service added to our enjoyment. The catering is done by a local company who come on the site to finish the cooking and serve.
A very dear friend had a massive stroke some years ago and is totally wheelchair bound now so I booked a wheelchair friendly cottage through our Holiday Propery Bond at Duloe Manor for half term week and the friend and wife joined us. Unfortunately, they had to be back in Bath after three days so some other friends came to take their place, the second set of friends are not nearly so restricted but did enjoy the accommodation being so user friendly.
We drove down on the Tuesday morning and stopped at the big Morrisons superstore at Liskeard to do some shopping. I do not often have access to Morrisons but have to say that I was most impressed with this store. It was very busy indeed and a case of queuing for a car parking space which took about ten minutes. We had lunch at the store in the cafe, I had a child's portion of fish fingers with chips and peas which included a drink of apple juice, a small bag of mixed apple slices with grapes and a little chocolate bar: all for £2.95. Incredibly good value and quite adequate.
The cottage itself was lovely, a very large kitchen/dining/sitting room complete with flat screen television, radio, DVD player and the kitchen part had a dishwasher and washing machine. There was a downstairs twin bedroom and an upstairs double; both ensuite. There was also a separate shower room upstairs because the sofa in the sitting area converted to a double bed so had we had another couple they would have had a private bathroom. The Duloe Manor complex had an indoor swimming pool so I was able to continue my daily swim habit and most of the time had the pool to myself.
The first evening I cooked supper for all of us; we started with some celeriac remoulade with salami and chorizo followed by pork chops in a mustard and cider sauce with new potatoes and tomato and onion salad. Pudding was caramel oranges and then a cheese board. Accompanied by a couple of bottles of wine and much reminiscing. The friends are the parents of our godchildren and their daughter is getting married next April so there was quite a bit of chat about that.
Wednesday dawned and fortified by toast and marmalade we set off for the Minions Heritage Centre which proved very elusive. There are absolutely no signs at all in the area of how to find the actual main building so we gave up and went to the pub for lunch. I had a really good ham and cheese toastie which was accompanied by a pile of chips and a salad - all for £3.50. A nice local Cornish cider on the side was absolutely perfect. We then went off to St Neot church to see if it lived up to my happy memories of some of the best stained glass I have ever seen - it did. I had forgotten the magnificent rood screen and the angels attaching the walls to the roof so they were like a totally new discovery.
HPB Duloe offers a bondholders' supper on site on Wednesday so we signed up for that. They do not have a licence so it is a BYO for the wine and there are large jugs of iced water on the table. It was a very large table to encourage people to talk to each other and there were sixteen of us there. The two courses of chicken breast cooked in marsala and mushrooms with vegetables followed by apple pie (with raisins and cinnamon and the most incredible short pastry) with clotted cream were excellent value at £13.50 per person. We had a lovely evening chatting to fellow holidaymakers and the excellent and unobtrusive service added to our enjoyment. The catering is done by a local company who come on the site to finish the cooking and serve.
Sunday, 4 September 2011
Orford and Thorpeness
We had a couple of days of pretty glum weather so simply stayed put in our accommodation and lounged about doing not very much and conserving energy. One of my less known vices is the ability to turn into a compulsive gambler at the sight of a seaside arcade of those machines which shove twopence pieces backwards and forward with the faint promise of riches beyond dreams of avarice when the coins come tumbling out. I always allow myself a pound a day in twopence pieces and never really expect to win, the game is rather in how long it takes me to lose the lot. Our accommodation is right by Claremont Pier and one of these dens of iniquity was visible from our bedroom so I gave in to temptation and went across for a bit. I had saved my allowance for five days so had a whole fiver to spend and spent a wonderful two and a bit hours losing the money. At the end my hands were absolutely filthy, totally engrained with dirt and it took a nail brush and five minutes at the washbasin to restore them to anything like their usual condition. I happen to think that a fiver for two hours entertainment is exceedingly good value - when I think of the forty quid it costs for a theatre seat these days I think two hours with the shove tuppenies is an absolute bargain.
The weather changed for the better so we got the car out and drove down to Orford, a lovely drive following the road via Blythburgh going and Aldeburgh returning. Neither Blythburgh nor Aldeburgh were visited this trip, but we have booked back at Lowestoft for a fortnight next year so will see them then.
Orford was in some ways a bit of a disappointment, and in others far exceeded my expectations. I have been a Ruth Watson far for years and was very dissappointed with The Crown and Castle, big notices saying that parking was for residents of the hotel only and mere diners could b*****r off and find somewhere else to leave their cars, not in quite those words but the intention was clear. Since she preaches the art of hospitality on television I think she needs to look a bit closer to home and sort out the parking because this was one of the most inhospitable signs I have ever come across.
There was no indication anywhere that there would be a proper car park and we drove round the small square several times because this was Sunday late morning and we were being lulled into a false sense of security by people returning to their cars with newspapers - they just put the papers on the seats and locked the cars again. So we drove back up the hill and noticed some clear ground without yellow lines near the school where we parked legally and then had a good ten minute walk back down to the Quay. On the way was a big pay and display car park which we now know about and will use in future. I don't mind paying for parking - but I rather like the odd sign to advise me that it will be available at some point and give me directions to it.
The Quay was lovely, a proper working Quay and we were just in time to board a boat for a trip around the Ness. We did not see much wildlife - I think we were a bit late - but there were avocets. The skipper had recorded a guide and we learned what all the disused WW2 and Cold War buildings had been used for. Most interesting. The big eye opener for me on the boat trip was the sky. I had heard of the famous Suffolk skies but until then had not seen anything very special - the view from the boat changed my mind completely. The sky was absolutely vast, the clouds were playing "catch" and chasing each other all over the place and there must have been a hundred shades of white up there. I will look at Constable with a little more respect in future - in order to capture something so ephemeral for posterity is truly the mark of a great landscape paper.
We then went in search of lunch and found (purely by accident you understand - I had not spent hours trawling the internet beforehand) Butleys Oysterage which is absolutely brilliant. The oysters were massive Natives, rich and creamy with that astonishing burst of the sea as you bite into the ice cold flesh. Onslow had a dozen followed by a plate of grilled squid and I had half a dozen followed by a mixed grill of sardines, squid and mussels. I think the mussels were the New Zealand green lipped ones so they must have been frozen and the sardines were a bit short on flesh but it was quite satisfactory. We had a litre of sparkling water and a glass of a rather indifferent Sauvignon Blanc from Chile and the whole bill (including a generous tip for the excellent service) was only £65. We would have paid more than that for just the oysters in London, and I can think of very few places in the provinces where you can get oysters of that quality. Next year I shall have a dozen oysters and no main, unless I have room for another half dozen.
Thorpeness was bright and sunny and showing itself off magnificently. Unfortunately far too many people had come to see it so it was very crowded. There was a wedding at the golf club which adjoins the sea and there were dozens of men in morning dress accompanied by women in fascinators clogging up the beach. I felt it unfair to spoil the photographs with a couple of slobs like us pushing in so a proper inspection of Thorpeness will have to wait for next year too. There were hundreds of swans on the lake, the House in the Clouds rose above everything and a cursory glance revealed much architecture of interest.
On the way home we got a windscreen chip which turned overnight into a crack so had to have a new windscreen fitted. I cannot recommend Autoglass too highly, they were absolutely wonderful from the first telephone call to the windscreen replacement. I am such an idiot I did not even know that we had a moisture sensor in the windscreen and if the wipers are in a certain position they will start automatically when it rains. Because of my ignorance they brought the wrong screen the first time but never complained about my stupidity and remained polite, efficient and very professional.
So that is the end of this year's Suffolk holiday. A lovely relaxing break with wonderful food. I even went in the sea for a swim once, but at 17C water temperature that was not repeated.
The weather changed for the better so we got the car out and drove down to Orford, a lovely drive following the road via Blythburgh going and Aldeburgh returning. Neither Blythburgh nor Aldeburgh were visited this trip, but we have booked back at Lowestoft for a fortnight next year so will see them then.
Orford was in some ways a bit of a disappointment, and in others far exceeded my expectations. I have been a Ruth Watson far for years and was very dissappointed with The Crown and Castle, big notices saying that parking was for residents of the hotel only and mere diners could b*****r off and find somewhere else to leave their cars, not in quite those words but the intention was clear. Since she preaches the art of hospitality on television I think she needs to look a bit closer to home and sort out the parking because this was one of the most inhospitable signs I have ever come across.
There was no indication anywhere that there would be a proper car park and we drove round the small square several times because this was Sunday late morning and we were being lulled into a false sense of security by people returning to their cars with newspapers - they just put the papers on the seats and locked the cars again. So we drove back up the hill and noticed some clear ground without yellow lines near the school where we parked legally and then had a good ten minute walk back down to the Quay. On the way was a big pay and display car park which we now know about and will use in future. I don't mind paying for parking - but I rather like the odd sign to advise me that it will be available at some point and give me directions to it.
The Quay was lovely, a proper working Quay and we were just in time to board a boat for a trip around the Ness. We did not see much wildlife - I think we were a bit late - but there were avocets. The skipper had recorded a guide and we learned what all the disused WW2 and Cold War buildings had been used for. Most interesting. The big eye opener for me on the boat trip was the sky. I had heard of the famous Suffolk skies but until then had not seen anything very special - the view from the boat changed my mind completely. The sky was absolutely vast, the clouds were playing "catch" and chasing each other all over the place and there must have been a hundred shades of white up there. I will look at Constable with a little more respect in future - in order to capture something so ephemeral for posterity is truly the mark of a great landscape paper.
We then went in search of lunch and found (purely by accident you understand - I had not spent hours trawling the internet beforehand) Butleys Oysterage which is absolutely brilliant. The oysters were massive Natives, rich and creamy with that astonishing burst of the sea as you bite into the ice cold flesh. Onslow had a dozen followed by a plate of grilled squid and I had half a dozen followed by a mixed grill of sardines, squid and mussels. I think the mussels were the New Zealand green lipped ones so they must have been frozen and the sardines were a bit short on flesh but it was quite satisfactory. We had a litre of sparkling water and a glass of a rather indifferent Sauvignon Blanc from Chile and the whole bill (including a generous tip for the excellent service) was only £65. We would have paid more than that for just the oysters in London, and I can think of very few places in the provinces where you can get oysters of that quality. Next year I shall have a dozen oysters and no main, unless I have room for another half dozen.
Thorpeness was bright and sunny and showing itself off magnificently. Unfortunately far too many people had come to see it so it was very crowded. There was a wedding at the golf club which adjoins the sea and there were dozens of men in morning dress accompanied by women in fascinators clogging up the beach. I felt it unfair to spoil the photographs with a couple of slobs like us pushing in so a proper inspection of Thorpeness will have to wait for next year too. There were hundreds of swans on the lake, the House in the Clouds rose above everything and a cursory glance revealed much architecture of interest.
On the way home we got a windscreen chip which turned overnight into a crack so had to have a new windscreen fitted. I cannot recommend Autoglass too highly, they were absolutely wonderful from the first telephone call to the windscreen replacement. I am such an idiot I did not even know that we had a moisture sensor in the windscreen and if the wipers are in a certain position they will start automatically when it rains. Because of my ignorance they brought the wrong screen the first time but never complained about my stupidity and remained polite, efficient and very professional.
So that is the end of this year's Suffolk holiday. A lovely relaxing break with wonderful food. I even went in the sea for a swim once, but at 17C water temperature that was not repeated.
Thursday, 25 August 2011
Southwold, Great Yarmouth and Norwich
We have been far too busy for the last few days so I have neglected to post anything. However, today is a free day so I shall attempt to make up for my tardiness.
We had a lovely day out in Southwold, the sun shone brightly and even though I was wearing factor 25 sunscreen I still picked up a bit of a tan. We went in by bus and arrived there just after 1030 and headed straight for the church. Simon Jenkins gives it four stars and I can quite see why - outside the flint is used to make lovely patterns and inside it is very beautiful and painted in parts. The ceiling is amazing - there are wooden angels supporting the trusses and some fantastic carved heads on the next level down at the tops of the columns. The general impression is of light and air and there is a truly stunning pulpit which looks as though it could float away such is the fenestration in the carving. Whilst we were having a good look around a piano got moved and a chap and woman started rehearsing bits of songs - it seemed there was to be a lunch time concert called "with a little help from my friends" given by the woman who was called Sidi Scott so we decided to return for it. I am so glad I heard the concert, the woman's voice was a bit thin and never really seemed to occupy the whole space. But the chap (no idea of his name, think he might be Paul someone) had one of those voices that send shivers down my spine. Deep and resonant and in total command of everything he sang - "Bring Him Home" was the very best delivery I have heard and since I have seen Les Mis at least a dozen times that is saying something. A truly joyful experience.
We had a nice wander around the rest of Southwold in between, the Sailors' Reading Room was delightful, the pier with the lovely clock with the waterworks was as enchanting as ever and the shops were as remembered. We had a really good coffee at the Adnams Brewery and survived the day nicely on that. I have lost track of what we have been eating for supper over the days but everything has been fabulous. Starters have been soups, one day half a dozen little fried scampi and another day some chicken goujons. Mains have included a full roast pork dinner with all the trimmings, braised steak and a steak and kidney pie. The puddings have been a pear helene, a peach melba, an apple pie and a rhubarb crumble. Every single mouthful absolutely gorgeous.
We spent a day in Great Yarmouth (known locally as Yarmouth) and that was the day the rains came. The Elizabethan museum (some fantastic stained glass) and the Nelson museum were both well worth visiting but my (old) guide book was wrong about the visiting times for the church and it was locked. That will have to wait until next year now since we cannot fit in another trip to Yarmouth this visit.
Yesterday we returned to Norwich to visit the castle and art gallery and I have to say that even though it is very expensive it is well worth the money. We spent five hours in there and did not even visit the Royal Norfolk Regimental museum. The art gallery has some lovely stuff, one or two very nice Gainsboroughs and totally unexpectedly Lucian Freud and David Hockney showed off their stuff. Some fabulous contemporary glass held my attention for a good half hour and the Victorian room had a lovely Sandys I have only ever seen in illustration before. There is an amazing collection of teapots beautifully displayed and some excellent paste jewellery. All in all I think Norwich will move into my top ten provincial galleries - which means, of course, that somewhere else will have to move out!
I noticed in yesterday's newspaper an advert from Marks about having a 20% off sale for the next few days and a couple of days before we came away I had intended to order a new bed from them so we called in at the Norwich shop to see if the 20% off applied to furniture to discover that there was 30% off furniture so the bed was ordered yesterday for delivery to home on 1st October and I saved almost £400 on the price I would have paid had I ordered it a fortnight ago. So I am well pleased with myself at the moment!
We had a lovely day out in Southwold, the sun shone brightly and even though I was wearing factor 25 sunscreen I still picked up a bit of a tan. We went in by bus and arrived there just after 1030 and headed straight for the church. Simon Jenkins gives it four stars and I can quite see why - outside the flint is used to make lovely patterns and inside it is very beautiful and painted in parts. The ceiling is amazing - there are wooden angels supporting the trusses and some fantastic carved heads on the next level down at the tops of the columns. The general impression is of light and air and there is a truly stunning pulpit which looks as though it could float away such is the fenestration in the carving. Whilst we were having a good look around a piano got moved and a chap and woman started rehearsing bits of songs - it seemed there was to be a lunch time concert called "with a little help from my friends" given by the woman who was called Sidi Scott so we decided to return for it. I am so glad I heard the concert, the woman's voice was a bit thin and never really seemed to occupy the whole space. But the chap (no idea of his name, think he might be Paul someone) had one of those voices that send shivers down my spine. Deep and resonant and in total command of everything he sang - "Bring Him Home" was the very best delivery I have heard and since I have seen Les Mis at least a dozen times that is saying something. A truly joyful experience.
We had a nice wander around the rest of Southwold in between, the Sailors' Reading Room was delightful, the pier with the lovely clock with the waterworks was as enchanting as ever and the shops were as remembered. We had a really good coffee at the Adnams Brewery and survived the day nicely on that. I have lost track of what we have been eating for supper over the days but everything has been fabulous. Starters have been soups, one day half a dozen little fried scampi and another day some chicken goujons. Mains have included a full roast pork dinner with all the trimmings, braised steak and a steak and kidney pie. The puddings have been a pear helene, a peach melba, an apple pie and a rhubarb crumble. Every single mouthful absolutely gorgeous.
We spent a day in Great Yarmouth (known locally as Yarmouth) and that was the day the rains came. The Elizabethan museum (some fantastic stained glass) and the Nelson museum were both well worth visiting but my (old) guide book was wrong about the visiting times for the church and it was locked. That will have to wait until next year now since we cannot fit in another trip to Yarmouth this visit.
Yesterday we returned to Norwich to visit the castle and art gallery and I have to say that even though it is very expensive it is well worth the money. We spent five hours in there and did not even visit the Royal Norfolk Regimental museum. The art gallery has some lovely stuff, one or two very nice Gainsboroughs and totally unexpectedly Lucian Freud and David Hockney showed off their stuff. Some fabulous contemporary glass held my attention for a good half hour and the Victorian room had a lovely Sandys I have only ever seen in illustration before. There is an amazing collection of teapots beautifully displayed and some excellent paste jewellery. All in all I think Norwich will move into my top ten provincial galleries - which means, of course, that somewhere else will have to move out!
I noticed in yesterday's newspaper an advert from Marks about having a 20% off sale for the next few days and a couple of days before we came away I had intended to order a new bed from them so we called in at the Norwich shop to see if the 20% off applied to furniture to discover that there was 30% off furniture so the bed was ordered yesterday for delivery to home on 1st October and I saved almost £400 on the price I would have paid had I ordered it a fortnight ago. So I am well pleased with myself at the moment!
Friday, 19 August 2011
Lowestoft
We have comfortably settled in at Lowestoft and although the weather has been a bit cool for the first couple of days (too cool to consider sea bathing) it has warmed up today and I may pluck up my courage and go for a swim this afternoon.
The food at Lord Kitchener's is as good as remembered from last time, on Wednesday evening we had a lovely salmon tagliatelle - almost like the Fettucini Alfredo we used to make in the 70's - creamy and herby but with chunks of salmon instead of the bacon. The main course was chicken thighs which had been boned and then wrapped in thinly sliced bacon then roasted until crispy served with an assortment of vegetables and pudding was vanilla icecream with hot cherries poured over the top. Delicious.
Yesterday we got adventurous and crossed the county border by bus - we caught the X2 to Norwich and it took almost two hours to get there. I cannot remember the last time I saw such a full double decker bus - it was as bad as the 65 in Malta - and the driver had to stop at every single place en route to collect more people. Quite a few disembarked at Beccles but more climbed on so we were still just as crowded. We had intended to visit Norwich Castle and the Museum but there were large queues - posters were advertising a special activity day for children - so we just walked around the perimeter and then went for a wander. We found the fish section of Norwich Market and bought (not so) little trays of mixed seafood and shellfish as lunch. With all the food we eat at Lord Kitchener's a little bit at lunchtime is enough. We then had an ice cream and wandered over to St Peter Mancroft Church which is truly lovely. The carvings are magnificent and there is a Comper reredos screen which I have always wanted to see. Unfortunately I had not taken my binoculars so the stained glass windows received only a cursory inspection. The return bus took only 65 minutes and was half empty so I think the morning problem was caused by people like us - OAP's with free bus passes which cannot be used until 0930 - catching the first available bus.
Supper last night was tomato soup followed by a pork casserole with four different vegetables - lovely runner beans. The pudding was a banana split which I have not had for years but did enjoy.
The food at Lord Kitchener's is as good as remembered from last time, on Wednesday evening we had a lovely salmon tagliatelle - almost like the Fettucini Alfredo we used to make in the 70's - creamy and herby but with chunks of salmon instead of the bacon. The main course was chicken thighs which had been boned and then wrapped in thinly sliced bacon then roasted until crispy served with an assortment of vegetables and pudding was vanilla icecream with hot cherries poured over the top. Delicious.
Yesterday we got adventurous and crossed the county border by bus - we caught the X2 to Norwich and it took almost two hours to get there. I cannot remember the last time I saw such a full double decker bus - it was as bad as the 65 in Malta - and the driver had to stop at every single place en route to collect more people. Quite a few disembarked at Beccles but more climbed on so we were still just as crowded. We had intended to visit Norwich Castle and the Museum but there were large queues - posters were advertising a special activity day for children - so we just walked around the perimeter and then went for a wander. We found the fish section of Norwich Market and bought (not so) little trays of mixed seafood and shellfish as lunch. With all the food we eat at Lord Kitchener's a little bit at lunchtime is enough. We then had an ice cream and wandered over to St Peter Mancroft Church which is truly lovely. The carvings are magnificent and there is a Comper reredos screen which I have always wanted to see. Unfortunately I had not taken my binoculars so the stained glass windows received only a cursory inspection. The return bus took only 65 minutes and was half empty so I think the morning problem was caused by people like us - OAP's with free bus passes which cannot be used until 0930 - catching the first available bus.
Supper last night was tomato soup followed by a pork casserole with four different vegetables - lovely runner beans. The pudding was a banana split which I have not had for years but did enjoy.
Wednesday, 17 August 2011
Suffolk
Onslow and I are both old soldiers and therefore have access to a fabulous holiday facility in Lowestoft. The place we can go to is called Lord Kitchener's Holiday Centre for ex Service Men and Women and situated on the seaf front at Kirkley Cliff just south of Claremont Pier. There are only eleven en suite twin rooms and we are provided with dinner, bed and breakfast. The food is absolutely fabulous and we are free every day to go on cultural pursuits knowing we will be returning to a delicious dinner.
We drove down yesterday in two stages, home to Burghley House near Stamford and then from Burghley to Lowestoft. I have wanted to visit Burghley for years but never really had an opportunity until now and built a two hour stop there for lunch and a look around into the itinerary. It was one of the biggest disappointments of my life - the visitor experience was not very good at all. The route for cars and parking effectively prevents a decent view of the house itself and visitors have to go through a "tradesman's entrance" via the back doors. The experience of even buying a ticket was not very nice - the only signs displayed in the entrance hall show the gift aid prices and the request for two senior tickets was met with "you are happy to pay the gift aid rate" - without an accompanying lift in tone to indicate it was a question and not a statement. Normally I do pay the gift aid rate but being irritated by the failure to see the best views of the house on the way in I simply said "no". All the rooms had loads of paintings but there were no guides as to who had painted them, or who was being painted in the case of portraits. When I questioned one of the room guides she said I should have bouight a guide book or audio tour. Not a pleasant experience at all - Burghley could learn a lot from the National Trust and English Heritage.
We landed at Lowestoft around four which gave me time for a nice long shower before supper. We were served carrot soup followed by an old fashioned English beef salad. Plent of beetroot and half a hard boiled egg present and correct on the plate - along with grated cheese as is de rigeur on such occasions. We then had a fabulous strawberry tart with custard, the tart was deliciously crisp sweet pastry with a half inch layer of a strawberry preserve topped with a frangipani mixture and was served hot with custard.
This morning's breakfast was the full English with porridge or cereal plus grapefruit, prunes and juices and as much toast as we could eat.
We drove down yesterday in two stages, home to Burghley House near Stamford and then from Burghley to Lowestoft. I have wanted to visit Burghley for years but never really had an opportunity until now and built a two hour stop there for lunch and a look around into the itinerary. It was one of the biggest disappointments of my life - the visitor experience was not very good at all. The route for cars and parking effectively prevents a decent view of the house itself and visitors have to go through a "tradesman's entrance" via the back doors. The experience of even buying a ticket was not very nice - the only signs displayed in the entrance hall show the gift aid prices and the request for two senior tickets was met with "you are happy to pay the gift aid rate" - without an accompanying lift in tone to indicate it was a question and not a statement. Normally I do pay the gift aid rate but being irritated by the failure to see the best views of the house on the way in I simply said "no". All the rooms had loads of paintings but there were no guides as to who had painted them, or who was being painted in the case of portraits. When I questioned one of the room guides she said I should have bouight a guide book or audio tour. Not a pleasant experience at all - Burghley could learn a lot from the National Trust and English Heritage.
We landed at Lowestoft around four which gave me time for a nice long shower before supper. We were served carrot soup followed by an old fashioned English beef salad. Plent of beetroot and half a hard boiled egg present and correct on the plate - along with grated cheese as is de rigeur on such occasions. We then had a fabulous strawberry tart with custard, the tart was deliciously crisp sweet pastry with a half inch layer of a strawberry preserve topped with a frangipani mixture and was served hot with custard.
This morning's breakfast was the full English with porridge or cereal plus grapefruit, prunes and juices and as much toast as we could eat.
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