DAY 120 - In a manner of speaking

Early this morning, I dropped Phil off at Gatwick for his trip back to Toronto then on to Florida. I was already missing him about 5 seconds after he disappeared into the labyrinth of the security checkpoints. As if on cue, as I was walking down the hallway to get the terminal train back, Lady Jane of Alton Towers texted me to ensure her room was still available in the west wing for her stay in the Cotswold this coming weekend. Further blogs will ensue on that trip.

I picked up my bag from the hotel, walked back to the train station at the airport and was soon on a train leading to Reading. A lovely older lady hopped on the train at the last minute and sat in a seat across the aisle from me. She was all out of breath, worried she might have missed the train. I smiled at her, and we were soon having a lovely conversation about her family and why she had moved to Wales. However, given her accent, she was obviously from the south of England. Yes, my years visiting here have allowed me to hear the regional differences in accents in England and even parts of Scotland ... although I am no Professor Henry Higgins by any stretch of the imagination (the elocution coach from Pygmalion a.k.a. My Fair Lady if you don't know the reference).

While this video link is a wee bit o'er the top, ya know, it does give the North American a slightly exaggerated sense of the differences and makes my point ... or will, at the very least, make you smile.

Gerard Butler explains Scottish slang. Source: Vanity Fair

Various polls usually have "British" as the favourite global accent. But as you have by now discovered, there is no such thing as a soley British accent. British Airways surveyed 1,000 Americans to ask them which British accent they thought was sexiest. The number one: Glaswegian (from Glasgow, Scotland).  Think Gerard Butler.  Listen to him explain Scottish slang.

The Cockney accent is usually applied to those coming from London's working class East End. Think Eliza Doolittle in the aforementioned My Fair Lady ... "Come on Dover, move your blumin' arse!" But Americans love it ... probably because it is the one they most often try to imitate and therefore associate with Britain.

Ah, but which accent is the favourite of the Brits themselves? Irish. Think Colin Farrell.

In the UK, our Canadian accent is always determined to be American. Lady Jane, for example, hears "CHAIR - i- dee" when I say charity. Which reminds me, as she'll be visiting soon, it's time for me to practise my enunciation ..."The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain."

DAY 119 - Gatwick: 1 runway, 45.6 million passengers

Train time again. Today it was off to Gatwick, where Phil will be travelling to Toronto then on to Florida. His flight leaves early tomorrow morning. Thanks to a January sale, we managed to get train tickets for 5GPB...that's about $8.75. Not bad for a journey that takes about 2 1/2 hours. Even the conductor commented on the rate when she checked our tickets. I love a good travel deal!

We checked into the Courtyard by Marriott that is right at the airport. You literally can walk along a sidewalk from the train station in the airport terminal to the hotel. We opted to head back to the terminal to grab a bite at one of the restaurants there (because we had saved so much on the train ticket, we thought it would be good to balance out the wallet by paying airport prices for a meal...LOL).

The restaurant is called The Beehive and is named after the first commercial terminal built here in 1935, which had been built in a circular shape reputedly for more efficient use of space and to increase safety. The building is still there today, a listed building used for office space.

Gatwick had originally been built as an aerodrome in the late 1920s. I admit, I had no idea what an aerodrome is and how that is different than an airport, so had to look that up. Apparently, an airport can be an aerodrome, but an aerodrome is not necessarily an airport. Basically, planes land and take off on a runway, and that is an aerodrome. Add some hangars, control towers and terminal buildings and you have an airport. There...your word for the day.

Gatwick sits about 47 km south of Central London, and is the UK's second largest airport (after Heathrow). Until April 2017, it was the busiest single runway airport in the road (it lost that title to Mumbai). When it first opened for commercial business, 186,000 passengers passed through it in a year. Today, that number is 45.6 million. Still just one runway. From here, people fly to 228 destinations in 74 countries using 56 airlines (the busiest is the cheap airline EasyJet...or SleezyJet as it often humorously referred to here).

Gatwick was the world’s first airport to have a direct mainline train link with a dedicated railway station. It is extremely easy to hop of the plane, walk through the terminal and be standing on the train platform within minute. The Gatwick Express will have you into London in 30 minutes. In fact, by May of this year, a train will leave Gatwick for London on average every 3 minutes.

Yet when you are at the airport, it feels efficient and not too big compared to many. When we walk to the Courtyard hotel, we often are alone on the path, even though it follows a main roadway into the site. And you very quickly get the sense that you are not far from the countryside. As the image below shows...you aren't. (Gatwick even has its own Greenspace team who look after local wildlife and plantlife).

Plans are underway to build a second runway and another terminal by 2025. And the government is looking at building a high-speed rail line between Heathrow and Gatwick to create a "virtual hub" dubbed Heathwick. Passengers would move between the two airports in 15 minutes and would only have to pass through immigration or check-in once.

It never closes. It never stops growing.

Day 118 - Take time for tea

WILL you come to our party to-day, Carrie Wynn?

The party is all ready now to begin;

And you shall be mother, and pour out the tea,

Because you’re the oldest and best of the three.

From: The Children's Party by Elizabeth Sill

The phrase, "Shall I be mother?" is used widely in the UK, and is meant to mean, "Shall I pour the tea?"  It is thought to have derived from the poem above published in 1873. It then made its way into polite society.

Even on work days like today, we always stop to partake in a nice cup of tea in the middle of the afternoon.

The number one selling brand in the UK is Tetley (27% market share), followed by PG Tips (24%), Typhoo (13%), Twinings (11%) and Yorkshire Tea (6%). I have a love of Twinings English Breakfast, stopping in at the original shop in London whenever possible to try new flavours and stock up. But this Christmas my daughter Rebecca moved me over to being a more regular Earl Grey drinker.

Inside Twining's London store on the Strand. At 300 years old, it's the oldest
tea shop in London. Very narrow, but worth a visit.

Here are a few of the finer points of drinking tea according to a few etiquette sites:

Source: Twinings.co.uk

• When you hold a tea cup, you shouldn't wave it around in the air as you drink. Take a sip, then put it back on the saucer (I suppose this is because no one wants to wear your tea). 
• Despite the images of posh tea drinkers, your pinky finger is not suppose to stick out as you hold the tiny tea cup handle. All fingers should curl inwards (probably because no one wants your finger in their eye as you are waving your cup around).
• Warm the tea pot with hot water first, rinsing it around then pouring it out. This way the tea pot won't be "shocked" when the boiling water hits (and then lands in your guest's lap as your antique teapot breaks in half).
• The milk goes in AFTER you pour the tea. This argument has been around for ages: milk first or after? When the poorer members of a household had their tea, they drank it from unrefined clay mugs. They added a bit of milk first to prevent the mug from cracking when the hot water was added. Fine china doesn't require this tempering apparently (which doesn't explain the previous point about teapot tempering to me at all). Also, you have no idea how strong the tea will be, so you have no idea how much milk it will need. 
• Don't STIR your tea around and around the cup (apparently once again a "downstairs" trait). Move the spoon from the 6 o'clock position to 12 and back to 6. 
• If you're the host, you pour the tea (at least the first time), then place the pot back on the table with the spout facing you. (Maybe that's so you can see if it's about to drip on the beautiful new white linen table cloth you just bought to impress your friends. Then you can swiftly run your little finger under the drop when no one is looking).
• Pour a cup, hand it out, then pour the next. (I'm certain this is so no one can complain that their cup has less in it then the next person's, but I couldn't find a reason in my research).
• If you have a napkin, when you are done, fold it and place it to the left of your plate. This signifies to the hostess that you would like to be invited back. (If you are the hosted and don't want the person to leave their napkin on the left of the plate, ignore all of the previous rules. That should work.)

On another blog, let's talk Afternoon Tea and just what should go on each of those tray layers. 

DAY 117 - What date is it again?

April 29th, 2018....ooops, January 29th!

You're going to think I am rubbing it in. But, I'm not Mother Nature and thus I don't control the weather (as much as I may want to), so the fact that it was a glorious, sunny spring-like day today is not my fault. It would have just been wrong for me to not take advantage of it and not take a few photos.

Adding to the brilliantly
sunny day...
crocuses. 

The BBC had predicted a lightly overcast day all day. They got that so wrong. Almost from the start the day was almost cloudless and the temperature a balmy 11 degrees C.

Phil and I set off for a walk that would keep us to side country roads. We had been deluged with rain yesterday, and the fields were soaked, so best to avoid them. Checking out our ordinance map, we settled on a half circle loop that would take us around the north of Morton in Marsh.

We walked around the Fire College, up a graveled lane. We did have to traverse a wee bit of mud toward the end of the lane, but nothing too grimy. We were walking down a country road when we saw a sign pointing down a single track lane: Lower Lemington only. We decided to check it out as our map indicated it was the site of a medieval village.

My research shows that Lower Lemington was part of Tewkesbury Abbey lands as far back of 751. It was enumerated in 1086 and found to have 15 people living there. It's been farmland ever since, and the manor has been there since at least the 1600s.

The lane that leads in (and out) of Lower Lemington. 

St. Leonard's Church in
Lower Lemington

We stopped in at the local church, St. Leonards, although on this fine Sunday, it seemed silent. While the ground were well kept, it did not appear that many were beating a path to its door as quite literally the path to the door was grass with no wear marks. There has been a church on the spot since the 11th Century, and the parish registers begin in 1685, and are said to be virtually complete.

From here, we walked a short way further down the road and through the tiny hamlet of Dorn. In that short space, we had moved from the site of a Medieval village to the site of a Roman small town. There are 133 Roman small towns recorded in England. The Roman small town at Dorn lies along the Fosse Way, the Roman Road that runs through Moreton in Marsh. Archaeological investigation of the site has revealed evidence for significant activity from the first to late fourth centuries.

The rail line now divides the Roman site at Dorn.

Snow Drops are starting to appear.
Apparently they are early this year,
and soon carpets of them will appear
in area woodlands.

Along our walk we spotted many signs of spring's start: snow drops, crocuses, cyclamen and primula. It does the soul good to know it is on its way.

Pretty Cyclamen poke out through the grass.

The rest of the walk took us toward the village and estate of Batsford, then down the road back into Moreton. After our 2 1/2-hour walk, we felt we had earned a Sunday roast...so it was off to The Bell.

Glorious!

Day 116 - Rural Cinema

Well, it's a marvelous night for a moondance
With the stars up above in your eyes....
And all the night's magic seems to whisper and hush 
And all the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush....
Can I just have one more moondance with you, my love

Bourton on the Hill during the day

I realized that it has been some time since the last "Guess the song title." So, given our experience today, I thought these lyrics would be most appropriate. 

Today we finally found ourselves available to walk to what they call "Rural Cinema' here in the Cotswolds. Over the past 4 months we've seen posters for various movies that are shown in village halls across the area. Today the Rural Cinema was being hosted in Bourton-on-the-Hill, a place we have blogged about in the past. That village lies one and a half miles west of Moreton in Marsh and is an easy walk along a paved walkway adjacent to the main road. 

The Rural Cinema project is an initiative by the Cotswold District Council to give rural communities the opportunity to show recent releases within their villages. The communities receive projection equipment and films paid for by the District Council. According to the Council website, more than 30 communities in the Cotswolds participate in the project.


The film that was being shown in Bourton was Dunkirk, which came out in Canada last summer and has been nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture. It is my pick for Best Picture and tonight was going to be the fourth time I have seen it. 

The walk there was uphill and very dark. The movie was advertised to begin at 7:15, doors open at 6:30. It is about a 45-minute walk, so we left at 6 and managed to make our way carefully in the pitch black night arriving shortly after they opened the doors to the Hall.

The Village Hall is the former Old School and is now used by the village to host such activities as the Bridge Club, Scottish Dancing, the Knitting Group, the Toddlers Group, and of course Rural Cinema.  It's a delightful old Cotswold-stone building, although at night we were not sure where the front door was. We eventually found it, and upon entering we saw the most charming of visuals. Chairs were set up in the main section of the hall facing a portable screen hanging from the end wall and a projector was mounted to the ceiling. A gentleman were manning a table of glasses filled with white wine, bottles of soft drinks and packets of crisps. In the hall's kitchen, a lady was busy prepping the hotdogs (they were really English sausages from the local butcher here in Moreton) and onions to put on the dogs. A table by the door was where another lady was selling tickets.

We paid the admission of £3.50 per person (about 6 dollars), £2.50 per glass of wine and the same again for the sausage on a bun. One of the organizers introduced himself to us, and his name was Phil.  His wife is Sandra and the two of them and the lady selling tickets made us feel very welcome, especially as they quickly picked up on the fact that we were Canadian visitors to the area. There were approximately 60 chairs set out and about half were filled when the movie rolled.

Quaint hardly begins to explain the experience. We can't wait to go back.

Old School Village Hall and part-time Cinema

Almost two hours later, we helped put back the chairs, said our goodbyes to our fellow cinephiles and left the building. Immediately we found ourselves drenched in rich moonlight and a temperature of 11 degrees C. It was so bright that we could see the surrounding hills in the distance, so walking home was a breeze. 

Ange and I have experienced many different venues for watching a movie, but this certainly ranked up there as one of the best.

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

DAY 115 - Today was a cake walk

Been a bit rainy lately, so we decided to take advantage of a break in the weather and from work to walk up to the Batsford Arboretum and Garden Centre. We had to skirt the edges of a couple of the fields we had to cross due to the mud, but it wasn't too onerous. The sheep we passed didn't seem to mind, who ignore the rain mud and us to keep chomping at the very, very green fields.

At the garden centre we had a cup of tea and shared a slice of orange upside down cake. It reminded me of the pineapple upside down cake my Mom made when I was younger. Delicious, and it developed my lifelong love of pineapple. Mmmmm. It also gave me an idea for today's blog!

Every country has its traditional cakes. Here in England, wherever cakes are being sold, there are a few types that are almost certain to be on the menu. They include:

Source: The Answer is Cake

Victoria Sponge: Sometimes, this cake is called a Victoria Sandwich cake. It comes, as the name suggests, from the time of Queen Victoria. In fact, it is thought this sponge cake with raspberry jam and whipped cream in the centre was her favourite Tea Time treat. The top is dusted with confectionery sugar. Simple, but as Queen Victoria claimed...a great pick-me-up in mid afternoon. My kids hated this cake when they lived here...they loved vanilla cake, and thought jam ruined it. Here it is almost impossible to find a vanilla cake that doesn't have jam in the middle...so I had to bake them.

Source: BBC Good Food

Battenburg Cake: This very pretty cake is distinctive for its 2x2 checked pattern. Yellow and pink sponge cake is cut into the pattern and held together with apricot jam. The outside is iced on all sides with a thin layer of marzipan. It  is said to have been created in 1884 to celebrate the marriage of Queen Victoria’s granddaughters to Prince Louis of Battenberg.

Source: BBC Food

Carrot Cake: In the middle ages, carrots were used as an alternative form of sweetener. During the Second World War, when sugar was rationed, carrot cake become very popular here (but the cream cheese icing is an 1960s addition).

Source: BBC Good Food

Lemon Drizzle Cake: Basically, sponge cake drizzled with a sweet lemony syrup. No idea when it first appeared on cake plates here, but it is my absolute favourite with a cuppa!

Source: BBC Food

Madeira Cake: This firm cake is more like pound cake. While it doesn't come from the Madeira Islands, it is named after the wine from the islands which the English initially drank when eating the cake. It usually has a hint of lemon to it, and more often than not has cherries added.

Now, go make yourself a lovely cup of English Breakfast or Earl Grey and cut yourself a slice of something sweet. You know you want to.

DAY 114 - Has anyone see Paddington Bear?

A work day today, but it wasn't all bad. That's because we knew the day would end with a quick train ride to Evesham to watch the 5 p.m. showing of Paddington 2 at the Regal Cinema. This movie is just opening in Canada, but here in the U.K. it has been a huge hit since it premiered in cinemas in early November. As far as I know, Paddington 2 is the highest rated movie ever on Rotten Tomatoes with a 100% approval rate from 176 movie critics and an 8.7 out of 10 score.

But who or what is Paddington really?  Well in today's blog we thought it would be interesting to explore the answer
.

Actually, it turns out that Paddington the Bear is as old as I am! He was created as a character in the book A Bear Called Paddington by the British author Michael Bond. Most people know the story of this bear who came from Peru to London where he is found at Paddington Railway Station by the Bond family. He has a red hat, wears a blue duffle coat, and carries a very used suitcase around.  Oh yeah, and his favourite meal is marmalade sandwiches.

However, here are some interesting facts about Paddington Bear:

The Paddington Bear soft toy was the first thing that was passed through the Chunnel between France and England by the workers connecting the two ends of the tunnel underneath the English Channel.

The idea for the original book came as a result of Michael Bond buying a teddy bear for his wife on Christmas Eve and it took him 10 days to write the book.

There have been over 20 Paddington Bear books, some of which are comprised of series of stories that have been made into TV episodes.

Where's his hat?

Paddington's real name is Pastuso, a Peruvian name. He was raised by his Aunt Lucy after his parents were killed in an earthquake.

He is a Spectacled Bear and they actually reside in Peru. They are the only bear native to South America and are generally smaller in stature when compared to other bears ... but they do not talk.

The first Paddington film grossed $1.8 million in Peru.

Well, we certainly enjoyed the film although on the SmithWalsh scale it rates a 3.5 out of 5. We warn viewers that the film contains numerous scenes of cuteness. Hugh Grant is particularly good as an over-the-top villain.

Ale of the Day: Paddington Beer, Murray's Brewing Co., Bob's Farm, New South Wales, Australia

Day 113 - It's a dogs life

As you know, we like to walk. Every time we walk, we encounter people with dogs and Phil (who was a dog in at least several previous lives and probably will be one in the next) has to chat with all of them. He often says that the only thing missing from our walks is a dog to run along beside us.

The Brits love dogs....there is at least one dog in almost 1 out of every 4 homes you pass. The average number of dogs in a house is 1.1 in London (at the low end) and 1.5 in the East and West Midlands. At one time, the Queen had 13 dogs (she currently has 3)...but then she does have a big house.

As Canadians, we actually have a higher percentage of households that include a dog (about 41%). What's different is that Brits take their dogs everywhere...on the trains, on the buses, into pubs and some restaurants...even to dinner parties and weddings. As a result, you rarely come across dogs that aren't socialized to be around other dogs. People don't seem to get very upset when a dog is running off lead ... unlike most places in Canada where dogs running off lead risk a nabbing by the dog catcher.

We recently watched a television show called Britain's Favourite Dogs, that counted down the 100 most popular dogs. The number 2 dog was the mutt, and in first place...wait for it...the Labrador! Yes, a dog with it foundings in Canada (from the the St. John's water dog, to be precise). Here's the link in case you want to see where your favourite dog landed.

What is amazing is to see the interesting mixed breeds that pop up here. We have seen some doozies! So, for your further amusement, a few pictures of the cuter mixes:

Corgi and Shepherd.  

Pitsky: Pit Bull and Husky. Source: Imgur

Yorkshire Terrier and a Poodle. Source: Imgur

Pomsky: Pomeranian and a Husky.
Source: https://www.boredpanda.com/mixed-breed-dogs/

Sharp Asset: Basset Hound and a Shar-Pei.
Source: https://www.boredpanda.com/mixed-breed-dogs/

Bulmation (Pit Bull and a Dalmation)
Source: https://www.dogbreedinfo.com/bullmatian.htm

Day 112 - Lumiere London light festival

Travel day, but it's easy to reach back into our busy weekend in London to find something to share -- in this case, Lumiere London, a light festival taking place this year from January 18 to 21. Major streets and iconic landmarks were lit up by artists.

"Origin of the World Bubble 2018" by Miguel Chevalier was suspended above
Oxford Circus. The images were constantly changing inside the ball and the
piece gave an "other worldly" feel to the area.
Photo by Alex Walsh

This was only the second time for this event in London, the first happening in 2016 (although the idea started in Durham in 2009).

One of the best things about the event was the chance to walk down Regent and Oxford streets completely unencumbered by vehicles. By walking in the centre of the road and not battling crowds on the sidewalk, you got a chance to see the buildings in much greater detail.

Once again, Alex got all the best shots, so sharing a few here...

Regent Street...Alex capture me taking a picture of him taking a picture. While Phil is behind me gazing up!
Photo by Alex Walsh

Voyage by Camille Gross and Leslie Epsztein. The Hotel Café Royal building (on Regent Street near Piccadilly Circus) had a light image projected on it that was meant to show how are world is changing. A clock image moved  through the Belle Epoque and the Industrial Revolution, "to the frantic speed of our travel through to the present day."
Photo by Alex Walsh

Child Hood by Collectif Coin. Luminous balloons tethered to the
ground float in the air in Trafalgar Square.
Photo by Alex Walsh

 The Wave by Vertigo. This display along the South Bank consisted of a constantly changing
pattern of sound and light.
Photo by Alex Walsh

 The Umbrella Project by Cirque Bijou's. Local Londoners dance down Regent Street
with LED umbrellas. Photo by Alex Walsh.

The Plug and Bulbs by James Glancy Designs. This is a permanent light work in the Carnaby Street
area and was designed for this year's Lumiere. Photo by Alex Walsh.

Day 111 - Some days London can be a zoo

Something tells me it's all happening at the zoo.

I do believe it, I do believe it's true.

The monkeys stand for honesty.

Giraffes are insincere.

And the elephants are kindly but they're dumb.

Orangutans are skeptical of changes in their cages

And the zoo keeper is very fond of rum.

Zebras are reactionaries,

Antelopes are missionaries.

Pigeons plot in secrecy

And hamsters turn on frequently.

What a gas you got to come and see

At the zoo.

Regent's Canal

While Simon and Garfunkel wrote the above about the Central Park Zoo, the song was in my head almost the entire time we were at the London Zoo in Regent's Park. It was a lovely, relaxing day, and unlike yesterday's Imperial War Museum, the zoo was light on visitors. We started by walking from our hotel to Primrose Hill and then to Regent's Park, passing over Regent's Canal which runs through the middle of the zoo.

Phil and Alex look out over London from atop Primrose Hill.

The London Zoo is the oldest scientific zoo in the world. It was started for scientific study purposes in 1828 by the Zoological Society of London (formed two years earlier), and didn't open to the public until 1847. It's Victorian era roots still show very clearly in the building designs, although many of the animal enclosures have been modernized to allow more room for animals in a more natural environment (the ZSL has a sister zoo called Whipsnade Park that was designed to be much larger and more natural for larger animals).

Here are a few interesting facts about the London zoo and some photos taken by Alex and me:

• Charles Darwin was a fellow of the ZSL
• Illegally imported coral and rare fish that have been confiscated at Heathrow are sent here and rescued

• The world's first reptile house was opened here...

 

• As was the world's first public aquarium...

• In fact, the word aquarium was created by the ZSL by abbreviating aquatic vivarium 
• Winnie-the-Pooh was named after a black bear from White River Ontario called Winnie (after Winnepeg). The bear was a pet of the Second Canadian Infantry Brigade, and was left at the zoo when the brigade went off to fight in France.
• The giraffe house at the Zoo is the oldest zoo building in the world still used for its original purpose.

And a few more pictures, just for interest...