Day 56 - Hallowe'en On Broadway

Graeme Green's home in Chipping Campden

The day before had been glorious weather wise but, both Ange and I had spent the day working when deep down we wanted to go for a long hike. We figured today would provide us with another window of fine weather sometime between lunch and tea time. Soooooooo, after a morning of getting some work done and knowing we could finish things up later in the evening, we caught a bus to Chipping Camden to start our walk along the Cotswold Way to the town of Broadway. The Cotswold Way is a 100-mile walk that follows the Cotswold Escarpment from Chipping Camden in the North to Bath in the South.


Today we were going to do about 7 miles of the route and it began by walking out of Chipping Camden and up the hill to the top of the escarpment which at that point we would walk along it until we reached a significant landmark called the Broadway Tower. From time to time the path brings you to the edge of the escarpment and you can catch a glimpse into the Evesham Vale. This escarpment is the largest continuous landform feature in lowland England. Like our own Niagara Escarpment, it was formed by glaciers approximately 1.6 million years ago, although Niagara is much older. The Avon River runs through the vale on its way to the Severn River and the Severn Estuary (next to our Bay of Fundy, it has one of the highest tides in the world).

Eventually one comes to the Broadway Tower where it sits perched 230 meters above the town of Broadway. The tower is known as a folly tower in that it was built for Lady Coventry as she wondered if a beacon could be seen from her home in Worcester approximately 35 kilometers away. Since then it has housed a printing press and served as a retreat for artists. In the 1950s the tower was used to monitor nuclear fall-out in the air and a shelter was built underneath the tower, which still exists to this day.


As one can imagine, even on a hazy afternoon, the view takes in quite a large area (16 counties). While the map seemed to indicate a fairly steep descent into Broadway, it was actually quite a pleasant walk, with even the occasional sheep to chat with.
Broadway has been called the "Jewel of the Cotswolds" and its history can be dated back 5000 years making it one of the earliest partially settled spots in Britain.

It does have a broad expanse of boulevard in its centre. During the 17th century Broadway was a stagecoach stop for travellers between London and Worcester. J.M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan, lived in Broadway as did many other writers.  There are numerous shops and restaurants and so Angela and I are looking forward to returning for some serious browsing. Today we were getting into the town late in the afternoon, with only enough time to get to the bus stop for our return journey.

 Happy Hallowe'en everyone!

Ale of the Day: Merchant's Merula Stout Ale, Hook Norton Brewery, Oxfordshire

Day 55 - Taking a rain check

Another full day and evening of work for both of us, with Phil off to see his colleague Les to start writing their book. That means its time for another off-the-cuff look at what makes England so special to me.

The weather. There I've said it.

Now, when most people think of England, they think it rains all the time. It is a lush, green country, so yes, they get rain. But what you forget it that it's an island, stuck out in the Atlantic, so like any coastal area, it is subject to the unpredictableness of its weather. In Southern Ontario, we can see our weather coming from across the mid-western US for about three weeks ahead of time. So, we're almost always ready for it. We may bemoan our weather forecasters, but in truth they are usually correct about what to expect in the week ahead.

Shelter from the storm.  Source: geograph.org.uk

Not the case in England, and that's why I think people feel like it is always raining. They've been caught out in it too often!

Here if you want to know the weather, you need to look at the forecast about 12 hours out. No need looking at it the day before to make plans. Yesterday, for example, today's weather was predicted to be overcast. White fluffy cloud kind of overcast, not Great Lakes solid mass of grey.  But, upon awaking this morning, the forecast was adjusted to white fluffy clouds in the morning, changing to partly sunny by noon and bright sun in the afternoon. And you can almost always take that forecast to heart.

If rain is at all predicted, tuck an umbrella in your pocket as you will most likely see it. But here's the good news...you will also almost inevitably see the sun at some point during the day. Those winds off the coast never cease, so clouds are constantly on the move. They rarely get blocked in for days at a time, and they rarely form a solid mass of clouds as they do at home. You can almost always make out the fluffy form of clouds, even during a storm.

I once compared the precipitation in London, UK to my former hometown of London, Ontario. The big London gets 22.976 inches (583.6 millimetres) of precipitation per year. The small London  averages 39.82 inches 1,011.5 millimetres, and much of that falls as snow over a winter that lasts about 6 months!

And when it does rain in England, the fact that it's green here 12 months a year means that lovely fresh scent of damp leaves, grass and soil is always in the air. [Breath deeply as you read that line. Hold. And exhale as you read it again. Feeling more relaxed?]

I've always said, if a place is beautiful to you in the rain, than it is truly beautiful.

Day 54 - Playing Hooky

Ah, the traditional English ale. Records indicate that beer was being consumed in this country well before the Romans arrived. Today we were heading over to the local Hook Norton Brewery, the brewer of a number of ales including Old Hooky, one of 30 English beers one is to drink before they die. The brewery is named after the town it is located in: Hook Norton. Founded in 1849 by a local malter named John Harris (he malted barley oats for other brewers), it is an example of a Victorian Tower Brewery where gravity plays a large role in the brewing process.  Water is pumped to the top of the building where it is mixed with the barley mash and then flows under gravity into the fermentation tanks and then to the bottom where it is put into barrels, kegs or into tanker trucks to be taken to a bottler.

Our friends, Baroness Jane von Zinfandel and her husband Major Trevor, joined me on a tour of the brewery. Our guide, Chris, had worked here early in his career when they bottled their own beer. When they outsourced that aspect of the business, he left the industry but returned back about 13 years ago to take us touristas through the operation. His experience and insight made it a great tour. It was quite clear that this family-owned business (it has remained in the family for all this time, although it is now run by a Clarke who is a descendant of John Harris' daughter) believes in the importance of sustainability. They produce very little waste that is not recycled either internally or provided to local farmers for animal feed. Their water is sourced from a local well, which helps make their beer unique. In addition to their environmental sustainability activities, the business is also heavily vested in the local community in the tradition of the founding fathers. Chris indicated during the tour that a neighbouring plot of land was looked at most recently by Prince Harry as a possible building site. He pointed this out as we stood on the highest level and could look out over the local landscape. The tour also took us outside to a set of stables where they have two pairs of Shire Work Horses who three days a week delivering beer to three local pubs.


In all, the Hook Norton Brewery owns 28 pubs in the area. After visiting the horses, it was time for sampling the beer! They brew all of the traditional English ales from a mild 2.5% amber ale to a 5% red rye ale.  They also brew a stout ale. All in all, I sampled their entire line up - now before you think I was totally soused, let me tell you that the samples were about a quarter of a pint in volume. So in the end, while I was feeling no pain, I was still able to walk.

Angela did not partake in the tour but instead had walked into the village to identify potential Sunday roast locations. The Sun Inn is a pub that sits in the middle of Hook Norton so we walked back to that spot (the brewery is on the west edge of the village) to sit down to our meal and of course one of Hook Norton's ales.

And the aliens came from where?

On the drive back to MiM we stopped at the Kings Men Stone
Circle.  It is a circle of weathered rocks that were placed here at least 400 years ago but could be 800 years old. They are thought to be a communal meeting ground as opposed to a burial ground.

They are called "Kings Men" because there is a legend that a witch had turned a King and his army into stone statues. And, they are supposed to be uncountable.  In fact, if you can count the same number of stones three times in a row then your wish will be granted.  I was able to do so and when I turned around my wish was granted: a view across the countryside that was priceless!

Ale of the Day:  Anything from Hook Norton Brewery, Hook Norton, Gloucestershire.

Day 53 - Asylum seeking

After a big breakfast (Full English meets sweeter Canadian), we set off with Jane and the Major for a day out in the Cotswolds. It was a bit brisk, but for most of the day we had the sun in our favour. The autumnal colours were glorious, and while they do not get the vibrant colours of New England here, the rusts and golds looked amazing next to the fields filled with yellow flax and greens of still growing autumn crops.

The High Street in Chipping Norton is
ready for a party.

We drove through the countryside to Chipping Norton. Yes, another "Chipping town"... so, if you've been reading along and brushing up on your Old English, you'll probably have already deduced that it means "long market north town," although 'ton' is an even older word meaning farm. The first thing you'll notice about Chipping Norton is that its town centre undulates quite a bit. Always seems odd when a town centre isn't built on a flat bit of land, but you get the sense that several roads merged through here over the centuries and the town developed around that. It's also the highest town in Oxfordshire, so I'm sure they made the best of the hills.

The second thing you'll notice is that there aren't many tourists about. This seems like a local town where people go about their business. That's not to say there aren't lovely shops. We did take a peek inside a few shops that sold absolutely stunning antique garden items. 

After a stroll around town, we set off for Hook Norton with a plan to take a tour of the brewery there. Unfortunately, the tours for the day were fully booked, so we booked tickets for a return visit the next day. However, Phil and the Major were not about to leave the gift shop/bar without trying a sample.

A quiet lane in Hook Norton.

I'll leave the discussion about the brewery to Phil's blog tomorrow, and cheat a little with today's blog. On Sunday, I passed on the brewery tour and instead took a walk around the village of Hook Norton. So, I am going to discuss that experience with you today.

Hook Norton is in a rather hilly part of Oxfordshire. At one time, they even referred to the area as the Oxfordshire Alps (they didn't get out much). Before the Norman conquest, this area saw a lot of battles between competing tribes and kingdoms. I'm certain more than a little blood was shed on the hills I crossed today.

The area is noted for ironstone, so houses here are browner than the golden colour typical of Cotswold stone houses. Ironstone was mined in the 1800s, but the town has remained relatively isolated as no major roads pass through it.

St Peter's Church of England
in Hook Norton.

What's interesting is that the town was the object of fun for centuries (although some may say ridicule). In the 1600s, the inhabitants were described as having "rusticall behaviour" with a "rude demeanour and unmannerliness." An expression arose whenever someone was discourteous: "brought up in Hogge Norton, where pigges play on the organs." From this, someone who was not very bright would be referred to as "born at Hog's Norton." Perhaps it was due to its isolated location and its reputation that Hook Norton became the site of two of the four asylums in the county in the 18th and 19th centuries. The site of one of the asylums is two houses today still named Bridge House and Bedlam (the latter after the more infamous asylum in London). Who knows what went on behind those dark brown stone walls in this quiet isolated town.

As I wandered the area, I noted another anomaly. For a village its size, Hook Norton seemed to have an usually high number of large cemeteries, spilling down over the hillsides.Not a bad place to take a pre-Hallowe'en stroll.

Now, back to Saturday, the day this post is meant to describe. We took a lovely ride back through the countryside, had a late lunch in the flat, then did a bit of shopping in Moreton in Marsh.

We enjoyed dinner in the White Hart Royal Hotel and Eatery in Moreton in Marsh. The Hotel has an interesting history, including how it got the word Royal in its name. If you're interested, check this out: History of the White Hart Royal Hotel.

Source: The White Hart website.

Day 52 - Work, Work, Work

Today, I was off to the University of Winchester to teach a class and run a seminar. Angela was working from the flat all day. So all in all not much to write about. However, later in the day we were blessed with the arrival of our other English aristocratic friends. Baroness Jane von Zinfandel and her husband the Major arrived later in the day as part of a weekend visit with us.

Beers at the Black Bear Inn kicked off a weekend of drink and food. More about that in tomorrow's and Sunday's blogs.

In the meantime, to add some colour to this blog, I provide a photo from one of our walks that shows off Angela's wonderful eye.

Day 51 - English as a foreign language

On this day in Smith/Walsh walking history, nothing happened.

So, that means it's time to dig out something trivial to discuss. As I love language, let me teach you English. Ah, you think you know it, then you come here and talk to someone only to find them looking at you oddly, walking away in disgust and never returning.

When we came here to live about 14 years ago with the kids, I think I spent every day of the first year making a major linguistic faux pas at least once. I still probably do it. I used the term "fanny pack" once too often in front of Lady Jane Tanqueray, until finally she stopped me and said, "It's a bum bag. A Fanny is private area of a woman's anatomy." I always thought your fanny was your bum! Hmmm. How did we get that so wrong? That simple correction explained more than one of the odd looks I received when I was in a shop saying something to the effect of, "Just let me see if I can dig out the correct change from my fanny." 

Here's a few other words we don't use correctly, apparently:

• Gotten: In England, arguably the most archaic of all countries, the use of an expression such as, "They've gotten loads of fanny packs in" is considered archaic use of the language. It's simply "they've got loads of ...um...bum bags in."
• Bin: A bin is apparently a garbage can. So, don't tell the librarian you will just throw the book in the return bin. She'll take great offense.
• Trainer: In Canada, if you're lucky, you might get a really sexy trainer at the gym. In England, if you started to oggle your trainer, you would be staring intently at your running shoes and you might end up in a place without laces in your trainers.
• Jumper: Now, this word has a variety of uses in Canada: it could mean someone ready to meet the fishes after a swan dive off a bridge, or it could be that really cute little pinafore you put your daughter in on her first day of school. So, when you're in England, and they ask you if your son has the proper size jumper for his first day of school, you may get a bit nervous until you learn it is a pullover sweater. Not that there's anything wrong with anyone wearing any form of jumper, no matter the definition.
• Pants: Okay, I have to admit that I still make this mistake...all the time. In England, pants are underwear. The word for pants as we know them is trousers, even for women. So, if you tell someone you love their pants, prepare to be slapped or suddenly engaged.
• First floor: It's the second floor in England. Don't ask me why. The number of times I have gotten  got out of an elevator lift on the second floor first floor, only to find there is no way out to the front sidewalk path! The first floor is the ground floor. 

And then there is food. How did we possible change from courgette (zucchini), aubergine (eggplant), jacket potato (baked potato), crisps (chips), pudding (dessert), fairy cake (cupcake), ice lolly (popsicle), and fizzy drink (pop)? 

Now that you have food down, let's try to make our way around a kitchen. The stove is called a cooker, saran wrap is cling film, garbage bags are bin liners, paper towels are kitchen roll, a blender is a liquidiser, a vacuum is a Hoover, dish soap is washing up liquid. You can see how much fun shopping is the first few times you do it. (And on that, if you see the shop Currys, they don't sell Indian food...you'll wait a rather long time for your order. But they do sell cookers and hobs if you want to make your own.)

As a Canadian, it does take you a while to get use to asking where the toilet is rather than the washroom. Here, the toilet is the washroom. So, it is perfectly respectable to ask, "Where's the toilet?" You think you are being a bit specific with your questions, but it's all good. Someone will point the the sign on the wall that reads  "Toilets --> " just in case you were still having doubts that you weren't being vulgar. And then, right when you have that figured out, and you find yourself doing the pee-pee dance, the only doors you can see have W.C. written on them (for water closet)...which really is a much nicer term than toilet, don't you think?

If you should get sick after one particularly delicious banger (sausage), you may have to go to a surgery (doctor's office) or see a chemist (pharmacist).

It's the same language, but it isn't used in the same way at all. It took me two years to discover that when someone says, "Well, aren't you clever?!" they weren't being sarcastic, they were genuinely being complimentary. Unless they were being sarcastic...British humour. Now there's a topic for another blog.

Day 50 - Chipping what?

So what the heck does Chipping mean? Today we took some time away from work to catch a bus to the nearby village of Chipping Camden and then do a crosscountry walk along the Heart of England Way back to Blockley. We then caught the bus back to MiM in time to finish off the day's workload. And the sun was shining on us the entire time. 

So back to the meaning of "Chipping." According to some research on our part, we found that the name may be derived from the medieval  English word "chepynge,"  which means "long market square." And "campden" is from the word "camp-denu" which is Saxon Old English for "field or enclosure in the valley." So I guess when you put it all together the town is a "long market square in a field in the valley." The town has two parallel roads that are at different elevations, a center market building, and plenty of shops, so the name makes sense. Like many of the towns in this region, it has a long tradition of wool trading and like those towns it has become a tourist attraction because of its beauty and traditional Cotswold yellowstone architecture.

An interesting activity that takes place here is something called the "Olimpick Games," which can be traced back to the early 1600s. Founded by a local solicitor, Robert Dover, these games are held every year either in late May or early June and the competitions include a number of rural games, one of which is shin kicking. At the end of the games, there is a large bonfire and fireworks display followed by a torch parade back into the centre of town.

After a quick look around town, we began our walk to Blockley. Previously we had walked north toward this village, and today we were going to walk south along the Heart of England Way. As mentioned earlier in this blog, the Heart of England Way was designed by walking enthusiasts, but it shares the route with the Monarch Way (also previously mentioned). he views continue to be amazing no matter where one goes walking.



Along the way, we came upon the very small village of Broad Campden or "broad field in the valley" with its thatched cottages and a single pub called the "Baker's Arms."  This pub can be seen in the BBC series 'Father Brown," which is filmed principally in nearby Blockley, and our final destination for the bus ride home.



Ale of the Day: Old Hooky, Hook Norton Brewery, Gloucestershire

Day 49 - Market Day!

Source: Cotswolds.com

Every Tuesday, a market is held on the High Street in Moreton in Marsh. Rain or shine, snow or heat wave, tents will be erected, and sellers will turn up with everything from meat, fish, fruit and vegetables, toy, candy, baked goods, clothing, leather good, household goods and hardware supplies. Locals from the surrounding country towns and villages will travel in to join tourists at the largest outdoor market in the Cotswolds.

The right to call your  town a Market Town is actually set in the law in the U.K., and goes back centuries. Since the Norman Conquest in 1066, it's been up to the King or Queen to grant a charter for a market. Many of them originally were held in fortifications and lords could charge sellers for space. Others developed in places that were natural crossroads, making it easy for people to get to them.

Basically it went that another town couldn't get a charter for a market if it was less than 10km from a town already holding a charter. Charters still hold today, but are held by local Councils. Councils can give permission for other towns to hold markets, but they can't be held on the same day of the week as an existing market. Today, according to the National Market Traders Federation, 1,166 markets are held across in the U.K.

Phil and I went to the market this morning. It's a really lovely, friendly atmosphere. People make a point of meeting up together on this day, and we even spotted a hired bus bringing in seniors and their dogs from another town.

In addition to absolutely beautiful, delicious strawberries (going to make my weekly batch of fresh jam), we bought: flawless cauliflower and carrots; a homemade steak, mushroom and red wine pie; black duck tape; a universal adaptor plug; and, curtain rings. We stopped ourselves from buying toys for our nephews and niece ... Christmas markets are coming. Can't wait!

Day 48 - Becca goes home

We had to say goodbye to Becca this morning as her flight back to Toronto left London Heathrow at noon hour.  I can't believe that it was 16 days earlier that she arrived to visit us.  Where did the time go?  It was wonderful having her visit us here.  Of course we will be home for the Christmas holiday break and will see both of our kids then.  And, it will be Alex's turn to visit us when we return back to the UK in early January.

So this morning we woke up at the London Heathrow Marriott and after a not so full English Breakfast (I mean where were the brown beans, fried tomatoes and fried bread?) we took the local London Transport bus back to the Airport.  When you stay at an airport hotel near Heathrow the local buses are free to those bus stops adjacent to the hotels.  There is a hotel hopper bus service but they charge for that service and you have to follow their hotel sequence.  We had the choice of three bus services that ran past the hotel.

It was a teary moment saying goodbye at the security entrance.  We joked that when Becca was in school we rarely saw her so the time between now and Christmas wouldn't be much different. However, we missed her the moment she left our view and still do.  The same goes for Alex, and we skype him often. 

Ange had arranged for a late checkout so we decided that when we got back to the hotel we would take a walk around the area behind our hotel.  As one would expect the adjacent neighbourhood was pretty run down.  As we walked down one street that led away from the airport and the hotel we came across two pieces of luggage some distance apart but abandoned.  This is obviously where stolen luggage comes to die.  They were closed shut but we walked hastily away wondering what poor passengers were still waiting on their luggage.

Heathrow is supposed to expand to a third runway but the latest news suggests that it would be more environmentally damaging in terms of noise and air pollution than expanding Gatwick Airport south of London.  Certainly, our one hour walk in nearby Harlington would support that assessment.  This village looks like any other English village with a local pub and shop except for the consistent roar of jet engines as planes take off every 1 minute or so.

Having had enough local exposure we took the bus back to the airport, got on the Piccadilly tube line back into London and made our way to Paddington Rail Station for the train home to Moreton-in-Marsh.

Ale of the Day: Double Donn, Donnington Brewery, Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire.

Day 47 - Laughing all the way to the [South] bank

Becca's last day in London before she goes home, and she has requested we take a walk along the South Bank and then across to St. Paul's Cathedral.

We took the tube to Waterloo station, then made our way with the crowds to the South Bank. For a long part of its history, this side of the Thames was considered the seedier side. The wealthy lived on the north, and entertainment...of all sorts...could be found on the south side. It was for this reason that Shakespeare's original Globe Theatre and others of the time were located here. Now it is a vibrant, youthful area with the Tate Modern and National Theatre dominating, between which you'll find many entertainment and restaurant venues.

A group of Morris dancers and other revelers were setting up for a parade as we passed in front of the new Globe theatre. They were preparing to celebrate Apple Day, a celebration of this time of harvest. The festivities had started with a blessing at Southwark Cathedral, then the parade was led by the King and Queen of Apple Day wearing vibrant costumes, who led the parade to The Borough Market.

You will know the Borough Market for a recent sad event: it was the site of the London Bridge terror attack this past summer. It is wonderful to see the locals continuing with traditions and enjoying all the market has to offer.

Over the bridge to St Paul's Cathedral, somewhere Becca had passed many times, but had never been into. Words can't describe, so add it to your list of places to see in London. We enjoyed a cup of tea in the crypt of the church, before returning to the hotel for our luggage and then taking the long ride out to our hotel at Heathrow airport.

Day 46 - Lights, Camera, Action

At the home of cricket

Saturday in London! What a great city and our Marriott hotel in Maida Vale (well actually closer to Kilburn, but Maida Vale is a tonier address) turned out to be quite a gem. Ange had gotten us an upgrade with her Marriott status and so we were on the Executive floor with full breakfast, afternoon tea and evening drinks and canapes. Leaving Becca to catch up on some sleep, we went for breakfast and then a walk around the area of the hotel.,  As I mentioned, the hotel lies on the boundary between Maida Vale (characterized by larger Edwardian homes, wider tree-lined streets and the home of cricket  -- the sport, not the insect -- also known as Lord's Cricket Ground) and Kilburn, (a less prosperous neighbourhood with a diverse cultural demographic and denser housing. Maida Vale lies in the City of Westminister with an average house price of £1,620,726 while Kilburn is in the Borough of Brent (house price average £552,000).

Children of Men Location

The site of the famous scene in
the BBC Sherlock series where
Benedict Cumberbatch jumped off
the building...

After allowing Becca a couple of extra hours of sleep, we went on a self-guided walking tour of film locations within the City of London (it is that part of London that houses the financial district and lies on the north side of the Thames). The walk took about 3 hours and was about 12 kilometres long.

Numerous film locations make up the sites of interest, including the Millennium Bridge that is destroyed at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the Old Bailey Court where Jack Sparrow is chased at the beginning of Pirates of the Caribbean, On Stranger Tides, a section of Fleet Street where the explosion scene in Children of Men was filmed, Temple Church in the Da Vinci Code with Tom Hanks, and of course St. Paul's Cathedral, site of film scenes from Lawrence of Arabia, The Madness of King George, and Thor:The Dark World to name a few. In addition to those mentioned, there were another 20 plus film sites on the walk. And these were only within the City; the other 60 plus Boroughs hold so many more locations.

...including tributes to Sherlock at the base of that building

Leadenhall Market - Site of Harry
Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Diagon Alley and Leaky Cauldron Pub

Later in the afternoon, we tubed it back to the hotel for afternoon tea and a wide variety of biscuits and sweets on the Executive floor. A little rest was in store before heading out for an evening of theatre.  We were able to get tickets to see Martin Freeman in "Labour of Love," a comedy-drama that follows the political career of a Labour Party backbencher who in the most recent election was defeated even though he had spent the previous 27 years as the elected member in a riding that had never been anything but a Labour seat.  We had tickets in the Stalls (we refer to them as Orchestra seats in Canada) right in the middle, 10 rows from the stage.

Unfortunately, 9 rows from the stage, five people sat in front of us who were visiting from the Land of the Giants.  Seriously, the men were all enormous with heads to match and the women were only marginally shorter with huge craniums as well.  It was like the Great Gazoo had his way with some Amazons! Fortunately, Becca had the shortest of them in front of her so she could see most of what was going on. Ange and I were also able to see for the most part by sitting up straight and peaking around and between the heads in front - and the irony of the situation was that in row 8 were two empty seats immediately in front of the two tallest individuals in front of Becca and me. Despite this, the performance was excellent and we left the theatre with smiles on our faces, and, for Ange and me, some stiff necks.

The walk during the day had tired us out and so it was back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.

 Ale of the Day: Broken Dial Amber, Harviestoun Brewery, Alva, Clackmannanshire, Scotland

Day 45 - Beatles, Baker Street and Black Swans

Excited to be heading back to my favourite city ... London! Enjoying the weekend here before Becca has to head back to Canada (sob!).

The Wallace Collection is housed in the Hertford House,
manor house of the former Marquesses of Hertford.

We were in London by noon. Phil took off for a lunch meeting with a colleague at the Wallace Collection, a national art museum that includes Titians, Rembrants ... and is, of course, free. It's one of those often-overlooked beautiful places to visit, with a lovely spot to have a lunch.

After checking into our hotel, Becca and I decided to walk the one hour it would take to meet Phil after his meeting. We started off in the part of London known as Maida Vale, with its many Edwardian mansions (most now divided into flats, but still very lovely) and Art Deco apartment buildings. A block over from the hotel is Abbey Road, famous for being the street on which stands the the Beatles' recording studio. The walls in front of the studio are covered in graffiti as are neighbouring walls (despite requests not to mark them up). A stready stream of horn-honking filled the air as tourist attempted to re-enact the famous scene of the Beatles crossing at the Abbey Road zebra crossing. [Interesting point: Almost 40 years ago, the original zebra crossing was moved several metres for traffic management reasons and now no sign of the original crossing exists. Despite this, the moved crossing was granted Grade II listed status in 2010.]

From here, we skirted around Lord's Cricket Ground, then along part of Regent's Canal heading toward The Regent's Park. The London Central Mosque sits on the western edge of the park, and as we approached, the streets began to team with men leaving the mosque from prayers . We walked Park Road then Baker Street seemingly the only women for blocks.

Further along Baker Street, we passed the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker St, but decided to keep the inside a mystery for now.

Selfridge was reputedly the creator
of the phrase, "The customer is
always right."

Selfridges adds its flair to the Krispy
Kreme donut.

After meeting back up with Phil, we decided to walk toward the river. We passed by Selfridges. If you've watched the TV series, Mr Selfridge starring Jeremy Piven, then you know all about the store. If you haven't heard of it, it has a really fascinating history. In a nutshell, Selfridge opened his store in 1909 at what was then the far reaches of Oxford Street. He transformed the department store concept, bringing products out from behind the counter so customers could touch them, held huge marketing events and sales, and was noted for his innovative window displays and advertising.
We took a quick trip inside to see the Hallowe'en display of Krispy Kreme donuts (yes, they have a small display and make donuts on site) as part of their Food Hall.

Recognize this storefront? The Huntsman tailor shop on
Saville Row was used as the storefront for
The Kingsman.

We made our way down the back lanes behind Regent Street, and down Saville Road, home of the tailored suit.

We had to stop in at Waterstones. This is the book store where any major book signing in London takes place. Annie Liebovitz, famous for her Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone photos was scheduled to appear the next day for a signing of her photo book). Waterstones is kind enough to place a sticker on extra copies of books that have been signed in case you couldn't make it to an official signing. So, I always have a great time walking around to see if there is any I can get for Phil's collection. In this instance, there were several books signed by John Le Carre, including The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.

A black swan swims through the
sunset-lit waters in St. James's Park

We took a stroll through St James's Park, which is the park that runs between Whitehall and Buckingham Palace. We just meandered around the park as the sun was beginning to set taking in the views, before heading back to the Thames and walking along the Embankment.

Winged Victory atop the Queen Victoria memorial
in front of Buckingham Palace seems to be inciting
the clouds!

A long day of walking, so a rest back at the hotel was deserved.

Day 44 - Return to the Regal

Our day today was laid back and chillaxing as we worked away while Becca caught up on her social media and watched re-runs of Frazier and the Big Bang Theory. The plan for today was to return to the Regal for the final showing of Wind River. I had been wanting to see this movie since Alex Skyped us about it. The film is about a Wyoming-based fish and wildlife officer who tracks predators that attack rancher's livestock. When a local Native American girl is murdered, he is called in by a lone FBI agent to help track down the assailant.


It was an evening show, so we thought it would provide us with the
opportunity to really take in the glamourous movie-watching experience. We chose to sit in the balcony and pre-ordered food and drinks. I have included more-detailed photos of the interior. The Regal's Art Deco design was faithfully restored after 10 years of standing empty.

The company behind it is Lumiere Kinesis, a local company whose owners saw the potential of gentrification when it came to this property. As a Cinephile, it is really wonderful to see. Since they have been running for 5 years, it would seem that the concept can work.

Ale of the Day: Track Record Best Bitter, Prescott Brewery, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.