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| In Chinatown - guess who is the tourist? |
One of the reasons I keep going back to England is the presence of authentic Chinese and Indian restaurants. ( which really are the best outside of the Indian subcontinent and Hong Kong) The UK is also a linguistic sanctuary whenever I get tired having to think and speak, in that order, in my adopted languages of French and Flemish.
On September 5th, my schoolmate Marylyn and her husband were heading for London for his convocation. They were to meet up with another mutual friend, Judy, who is a UK resident. We were to spend three days in London and the rest of the week in the Cotswolds, British Midlands.
I took the Eurostar from Brussels Midi Station to St Pancras which was just under two hours. After topping up my Oyster Cards ( glad to note there are no expiry dates ), I boarded the Hammersmith Underground line to Liverpool Street Station to meet Judy.
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| Chefs in residence, Hackney |
Boots has a large pharmacy inside Liverpool Street Station which was a relief as I had to pick up one of those micellar make-up remover lotion. For me, Boots has always been a reliable and convenient pharmacy chain throughout the UK for toiletries and off-the-counter medicines. I used to stock up on Witch Hazel ointment which were great for acne troubled skin. Thirty years later with the onset of frown lines and crow's feet, it is anti-aging solutions instead.
Judy turned up chirpy and very tanned at our meeting point. She had been basking in the Phuket sun barely a week ago. We boarded the overground train to Hackney where her daughter has a flat and where we would stay for the time we were in London. Hackney is touted to be an "up and coming" town, about 8 km from Central London and popular with the Vietnamese community. This East London borough is convenient with good transport connections and the presence of Pho eateries scored well with me. Like in any city, one always have to remain vigilant and avoid unnecessary attention.
Although listed as number 3 of the top 10 most dangerous London Boroughs after Ealing and Islington; "
Hackney, recently voted the best place to live in London, is an East London borough known for its lush green spaces, the Olympics and its innovative architecture. A textbook example of gentrification, Hackney is loved by hipsters and cool millennials (with queues recently forming around the corner for Temple of Seitan’s vegan “fried chicken”). However, last year, 30,446 crimes were recorded in the borough last year" quoted a
security firm
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| Night out at Piccadilly Theatre |
On the first evening, we tripped to London to watched Strictly Ballroom, which was entertaining with an interesting storyline. The next evening we booked tickets for The Dream Girls showing at the Savoy. Unfortunately, the acoustics in this hall were pretty bad, with very loud singing which made us cringed in our seats. To calm our frayed nerves, we stopped at the nearby Thai restaurant in Hackney for some chicken soup and Pad Thai.
As I am quite useful with a map and navigation, using the London Underground was easy and efficient. I was glad to see that Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus and Chinatown have not changed much since my last visit some 8 years ago. With the exception of a few new fashion boutiques like Reserved, the others like Ted Baker, Warehouse, Karen Millen, Russel and Bromley, Jigsaw, Next, Dorothy Perkins remained.
M&S, Selfridges, John Lewis, Harrods are among the anchor tenants on high street and I love visiting these department stores. Having a sweet tooth and weakness for fruitcakes, I just had to get the fruitcakes at M&S. Seriously, nobody does fruitcakes better than the Brits. That is their forte, along with scones and orange marmalade. And that innocuous looking Belgian chocolate coated raisins at M&S is also very good.
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| Gathering of old and new friends |
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| Easy does it.. |
After three days in the big city, it was time to leave the maddening crowd and smell the peaches in the countryside. In Evesham's case, it would be plums.
We boarded the Great Western Railway at London Paddington for a two hour train ride to Evesham. From there, another 8 minutes drive through the old riverside market town of Evesham which is situated in the centre of the famous horticultural Vale of Evesham - the fruit and vegetable basket of England. A little distance past the fields of asparagus, sugar beets and maize, we arrived at Judy's country manor. Since my last visit here, a new tennis court and a swimming pool have now been added. In the afternoon, we went for a long walk in our borrowed wellies. I have never walked in the fields with wellies, so it was with much skipping and hopping to mind the dung, not mind the gap. Yes, I guess that is the essence of living in the country.
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| Mine are Hunters, hers are Wonder Woman's |
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| Right, she's seen it all.. |
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| Venice of the Cotswolds |
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| Lower Slaughter |
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| Chipping Campden |
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| Lower Slaughter |
This beautiful, picturesque part of the midlands, affectionally called Cotswolds is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) with its rolling hills and grassland dotted with thatched medieval villages, churches and stately homes with its distinctive local yellow limestone. Consisting of several English counties; mainly Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, and parts of Wiltshire, Somerset, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. Many hikers hike through the Cotswolds which can easily take a few days at a leisurely pace. We visited villages like Chipping Campden, Broadway, Burton-on-the Water, Burton-on-the Hill, Lower Slaughter and Upper Slaughter, in and around Evesham and nearby Pershore town, taking in the magnificent landscape and cream teas * whenever we needed to tank up. ( * Scones / Crumpets served with clotted cream, butter and jam with a pot of tea )
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| Cream Tea - the works |
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| Cafe that put Pershore on the Trip Advisor radar |
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| Michelin star Scones to go. |
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| Time to tank up |
Judy and I drove to Bristol to visit another friend and to check out a Hong Kong / Malaysian restaurant for its Fried Vermicelli with salted fish, Laksa and Roti Canai. The food was good with generous portions and the company even greater. We had a fun time catching up with each other.
We stopped at The Mall at Cribbs Causeway, Home Sense and TK Max for some shopping therapy which completed our visit to Bristol.
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| Yikes... Dinosaur walked here, outside the Museum |
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| Bag of prospectus |
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| Oxford Natural History Museum |
On my last day in the Cotswolds, I visited Oxford and as it was Open House Day at Oxford University. All the colleges were open for prospective students and their families to visit. Judy and her husband played their prospective parent roles very well and we got into most of the colleges. I remarked that some of the dining halls resembled shots from the movie "Harry Potter".
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| Jaime's anyone? |
George street in Oxford is where all the restaurants are located. Hungry but even more curious, I chose a Jaime Oliver restaurant since I owned some of his cookbooks. For 11.99 pounds, you get a starter and a main. I chose as starter, the Mozzarella and tomato bruschetta, which was really a toast with grilled tomatoes and cheese. As a main dish, I chose the Steak Tagliata, fries not included.
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| Menu at Jaime's Italian |
I often ask for steak to be done medium to medium well, bearing in mind that it might be less juicy. However, at Jaime's, the steak was sliced up in slivers and tasted dry and chewy. The salad was a sprinkling of mixed leaves plonked atop the steak with dashes of thick balsamic vinegar dressing. Here's B+ for presentation and E- for food.
Curiosity crushed, we decided to stop by the local pub - Eagle and Child for a pint. This historic pub is best known for being a watering hole for CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien. But there was no room in the pub, so we went across St Giles street to another famous pub "The Lamb & Flag" owned by St John's College where profits fund student scholarships. This pub is believed to be where Thomas Hardy wrote much of his novel Jude the Obscure. After two pints of local brewed beer and cider, i was all ready to call it a night. I seemed to have dreamt being driven home on a white stallion which turned out to be a white Jaguar XJL.
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| The handsome white "Stallion" |
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| My next aspirations |
In general, shopping in the UK for household goods like linen, interior furnishings, china, decorative cushions etc.. is a fraction cheaper than in the EU. There are many outlet and discount stores with branded items that will make IKEA look like child's play. If there is one thing i've discovered on this trip, it would be to visit antique shops which are full of curios and vintage bargains. Another discovery, thanks to my intrepid hostess, would be to check out the charity shops. Here your pounds do stretch a longer way and for a good cause too.
I left England 10 days later with a much loved vintage watch, new clothes, a set of china tea mugs, a second hand Cookbook, two M&S fruitcakes and a tub of honeycomb, courtesy of my hostess' bee keeper-hobbyist husband.
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