Tag Archives: england

July 14, 2017 · 9:20 am

St. Ives, Sennon Cove, Lamora, Marizion – West Cornwall!

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St Ives


St. Ives was packed with tourists, as feared, but we soon found the older, quieter, lovelier section of town near the Barbara Hepworth Museum, that was charming — narrow, largely car-free streets lined with slate and stone cottages, some with good craft and art galleries or other little enterprises. We bought some Leech Pottery (the inexpensive stuff, not the pricey collectors stuff by master potter Bernard Leech) at St. Ives Ceramics and shared a cream tea at a sweet place called Olive’s Cafe, which also had amazing cakes including a tall chocolate and yellow cake lined with Jaffa Cakes biscuits.

 

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View from Port Isaac airbnb

The drive south and west along the coast from St. Ives was breathtaking, again on impossibly narrow streets past stone cottage built right along the road that also goes along a cliff. Most drivers shared the road calmly, backing up or scrunching over when need be but we did have a showdown with an older couple who didn’t want to back up (when they could — and we couldn’t) so that was awkward and a few other Brits weren’t impressed with our halting style of driving, especially at round abouts. DIrck did a great job, considering all the challenges (including my constant backseat driving “you’re too close to the left…slow down, move to the right…you could go faster here…”)

HIghlights included fish and chips, sitting at a picnic tables with British holiday makers in Sennon Cove, dipping into the woods to visit another hidden cove (this one tiny and secluded) in Lamorna, and standing along the sea at Marazion, gazing out at St. Michael by the Sea — and thinking our son will soon be visiting the French version, Mont. St. Michelle. Sad to leave this beautiful house by the sea but feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to come here.

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July 12, 2017 · 5:14 am

Shaftesbury, Lyme Regis– Dorset!

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Shaftesbury



 It took awhile for dirck to adjust to driving on the “wrong” side of the road, with a left hand stick shift (or gear shift as the Brits say) not to mention very narrow roads but we made it here to lovely Lyme Regis, on the Jurassic coast in Dorset where we are staying at a sweet little studio apartment Airbnb way up on a hill overlooking the bay.

We walked down the hill after arriving around 5:30 p.m. to the sound of seagulls and took the coastal path which has glorious views of the high grassy dunes lining the shore on the distance. The colors of the sky, shore and sea are stunning, all pale blues and tans plus vivid green and huge pink hydrangeas popping out everywhere.

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Lyme Regis

The coastal path leads along the shoreline past a rocky beach and a sandy beach where people were swimming to the town center with narrow streets rising up from the water, lined with old storefronts. We walked through a gorgeous terraced garden above “the Cobb” — the high sea wall that juts out into the water, made famous by the novel The French lieutenant’s Woman.” I was here 30 some years ago but hardly remember the place. And I think it’s changed a lot.

We splurged on dinner at Hix Oyster and Fish, said to be one of the best Dorset restaurants. It’s in a glass walled modern room (almost Scandinavian feeling) of a house next to the terraced gardens and overlooking the bay and Cobb. We had lightly battered oysters, baked creamy crab and shared Lyme Turbot, beautifully served on a rough dark wood board, with a delicious seaweedy type green, and finished with a small scoop of house-made raspberry sorbet. We walked through the quiet town and way up the hill to our Airbnb (6 charmouth close) feeling happy to be here.

Earlier we,stopped briefly in the pretty market town of shaftsbury, where we had a basic ploughmans with local country ham at King Alfred’s, in a low ceilinged timbered room and admired the valley view from the pretty gardens near the town’s elegant abbey.

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July 10, 2017 · 6:43 am

Pickle & Rye (Mortlake), Barnes Fair — London

We met a fellow Iowan, Val, who co-owns the popular Pickle & Rye “American sandwich shop” near Mortlake station. Great to see the business she runs with her husband Alex (from Philly) doing so well. Since my last visit four years ago, they have moved to a bigger space and it was full of people eating Saturday morning breakfast (English and American varieties). Val had just returned from a visit home to Grinnell and Des Moines. She kindly gave us a complementary order of light, fluffy pancakes, which were new to our English pals who eat at the restaurant regularly.

Then on to neighboring Barnes for the annual fair, which we last went to about 13 years ago. It seems to have mushroomed in size. Francine and Una were busy at the “I love Mortlake” tent (a community action group keeping an eye on a new controversial local land development) so D and I happily sat in the garden at the busy pub, The Sun Inn, drinking beer and Pimms and soaking in the sun. We shopped  at the Barnes farmers market and later at Waitrose for dinner that I made for the gang. 

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July 9, 2017 · 10:37 am

Biking the Thames Path from Mortlake to Kingston, London zoo nite, Namaaste kitchen/Camden – London

Beautiful weather (sunny but not as hot as yesterday) so once we got on bikes in Mortlake along the Thames Path, we didn’t want to get off. On a Friday, the trail along the river was largely empty until we got to major tourist areas like Richmond and towns like Kingston and it felt like we were very far from big city London. At times, we could have been in a small country village, with weeping willows draped over the quiet narrow winding river, dirt and stone trails under shady trees, little lanes leading to town. We passed     houseboats, kids learning to kayak in a river inlet, small tour boats heading to Hampton Court, riverside pubs and restaurants, tourists hanging out in Richmond.

We stopped at the Petersham Nurseries for lunch at the tearoom. Pricy but good food (sandwiches, salads including a chicken salad with lentils I must try to replicate) and we ate in the garden, watching staff in the neighboring greenhouse cutting flowers to make beautiful bouquets. We didn’t quite make it to Hampton Court (next time, we need to cross the Kingston bridge and ride inland on the other side of the river) but we stumbled upon the bustling square at Kingston which was very lively, with a big outdoor farmers market, a cool old town hall with a gold statue, a pretty old church and yard. S0uth of Kingston was not as nice. The bike trail and terrain became urban/suburban. NO thanks so we turned back and st teddimgton Lock, road to the Ham Gate of Richmond Park. With the exception of one challenging  uphill, we had a flat and pretty park ride. We did stop at a cafe because we were desperate for water and got gouged — 7 pounds for a water, small ice tea and flapjack. Next time we go on what turned out to be a 25 mike ride in London we need to remember our water bottle and day pack.

At night, we trekked to Richmond Park for an evening opening of the London Zoo, where we found better people watching than animal watching although there were cool monkeys and penguins.The zoo was packed with young people in particular. Dinner was Indian/Bangladeshi and excellent at Namaaste Kitchen (64 Parkway) in Camden, which was full of kids going to pubs and clubs. I fell asleep on the #24 bus ride back to Hammersmith station where we got a cab to Mortlake, arriving “home” at 1 a.m.

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July 8, 2017 · 7:43 am

Hot train ride, dinner at Pall Mall club – cotswolds to London 


Marion and I had a longer and hotter than expected train ride back to London. Our train was cancelled so we waited over an hour for the next one, chatting with some nice women and kids from Stratford as we sat on the platform in surprisingly hot weather that got even hotter in London (87 degrees. Dripping). The train that finally arrived had only three cars and little ventilation. I put my purse on the floor in front of my seat only to discover later that it had landed in a cup of what appeared to be hot chocolate, discarded by a previous passenger. Ick. Our friends tell us this decline in rail service is a result of the Tory government’s austerity measures that are causing the decline of public services.

We met Dirck at Paddington, who came from Heathrow after a flight from Warsaw (that fortunately was not too messed up by our awful president’s quick trip to Poland.  Can’t escape the guy) and had a quick lunch with Marion at a fast food Mexican place overlooking the arrivals at Paddington. No AC. Lukewarm soda. No ice cubes. London just isn’t prepared for increasingly weird hot temps. (but climate change is a hoax, right?)

Tonight we had a very English experience– dinner with Francine and Russ at Russ’s club in Pall Mall. I used to ride by the stately cream colored private clubs on my bike as a 20-something.  We had drinks on the balcony, with great views of the St. James area  (although not views of my favorite park) and delicious English food (asparagus with hollandaise sauce, Dover sole, salmon, gooseberry pie, strawberries and cream) with impeccable service on the terrace and coffee in an elegant high-ceilinged room where many an English club scene has been filled (including for the BBC show “the crown”) and where Dickens’ chair is in a corner (yes he was a member, as was another illustrious Charles…Darwin.)

Mixed feelings about these exclusive clubs but at least this one (the Atheneam) bases admittance on merit and achievement vs money and bloodlines.

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July 7, 2017 · 5:11 am

Stanton (the Mount), Laverton, Buckland, Sezincote – The Cotswolds

THe Mount

It was surprisingly hot and sunny today as we set off on a three mile hike (found in an excellent guidebook “50 walks in the Cotswolds” lent to me by my friend Francine).  Walk #8 goes through three perfect little villages, across fields and pastures between each, stepping over turnstiles and through kissing gates. After the hike, we had lunch at a picnic table at The Mount, a pub high on a hill overlooking the village of Stanton and the valley beyond and the hills. Good food and glorious landscape and free wifi which I needed, sadly, for an emergency with my dog back home. (We think she’s okay.)

 

Later we drove to a footpath near the bizarre country home Sezincote, which has Indian architectural touches including minarets and a big onion dome.

Looked like a cross between the Taj Mahal and Downton Abbey. Sort of. We also drove through Chipping Norton which was too big for our tastes and next time I’d like to check out the nearby village of Kingham (home to the posh pub, The wild rabbit).

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July 5, 2017 · 8:53 pm

Broadway Tower, Lions Inn/Winchcombe, Guiting Power, Slaughters, Boulton-on-the-water – Cotswolds Day Two

More driving and strolling and talking and eating with my old friends from London, here in the Cotswolds. We have been on some tiny narrow roads, seen glorious views, visited charming villages and eaten good pub grub. We have also been lucky with the weather, which has been dry, cool, sunny in spells, lower 70s.

We encountered tourists in some of the bigger towns (Boulton-on-the-water) and attractions (Broadway Tower, a folly tower with great views of 16 counties) but most of the time we have been happily surprised by the lack of tourists, maybe because it’s a weekday and before kids’ school holidays. In Winchecombe, we had a lovely lunch in the garden behind the Lions Inn (a ploughmans although no one seems to call it that any more…now it’s a “cheese board”; creamy cauliflower soup) and walked along the bridal path in Lower Slaughter (a sentimental favorite of mine… first visited in the early 1980s and last visited with my kids in 2004 when I insisted we get out of the car and walk a little so we could “feel the Cotswolds.”); did more strolling in Bourton (with ice cream in hand). I prefer the less touristed, quieter villages like Guiting  Power.

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July 2, 2017 · 6:28 am

Trump react, Barnes Farmers Market and Sun Inn – London

With franine and una, Mortlake/east sheen

I knew it would happen but it caught me by surprise when it did. The first caustic comment about Trump from a Brit. My friend Francine and I were walking on a little path in Mortlake having one of our many heart to hearts when a man passing by suddenly finished my sentence. “One thing you might need to worry about…” I was saying to Francine when the man passed by and said “Trump.” We exchanged a smile and I said “I’ve been worried about that for a long time.” Francine said the guy is her neighbor and a police officer.

We walked further to the posh village of Barnes where we shopped at the little farmers market, ate pub grub at the Sun Inn, outside at a picnic table with a lovely view of the Barnes pond, lined with willow trees, swans gliding by. After a visit to Fulham to see Francine’s mum, we walked along the tow path from Barnes to Mortlake past the old brewery that is now the site of a controversial redevelopment that Francine is monitoring as part of a citizens action group. Lovely Dinner tonight at our friend Una’s in nearby east sheen. Must sleep.

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January 5, 2014 · 4:49 pm

Check out the Drake University Chamber Choir – in Des Moines and England!

The Drake University Chamber Choir performs at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in 2010.

The Drake University Chamber Choir performs at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in 2010.

For my music-loving friends in London, here’s a treat from Des Moines – Drake University’s Chamber Choir will perform free concerts at St. Paul’s Cathedral at 5 p.m. Jan. 20 and at St. Martin-in-the-fields (Trafalgar Square) at 1 p.m. Jan. 21,  as well as at Oxford and Cambridge during a 12-day concert tour January 10-22. These are some of the talented vocal students that my choir, the Drake University Community Chorus, sings with during our semester concerts. Closer to home (in Des Moines) the chamber choir will perform a free concert on Thursday Jan. 9 at 7:30 at Grace United Methodist Church. Here’s the scoop on the England tour from the Register: Drake choir to kick off series

While in England, the choir will to sing in the cathedrals of Gloucester, Coventry, and Ely, at both Cambridge and Oxford (St. John’s College Chapel, Cambridge; Merton College Chapel, Oxford), St. Martin-in-the-Fields and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, and at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, and St. Nicholas Church in Witham.  The Chamber Choir was selected by the American Embassy in London to inaugurate its new series at St. Martin-in-the-Fields.

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January 20, 2011 · 11:33 pm

Dog Collar Museum – in Kent, England

An old friend from London emailed me last week, after we fell out of touch for um, 16 years or so, and it has me thinking about all the adventures we had during the early 1980s when I lived in London.  Mima (my friend) comes from a family that has lived for generations in Herefordshire and had an crumbling ancestral home there, as well as another smaller country house we used to visit a lot.  It was beautiful.

She had a car – which was a big treat for me (a welcome break from hitchhiking) and we used to go exploring near London too. One place we visited was the Dog Collar Museum at Leeds Castle in Kent. I kid you not. I still have a photo of us with her sister Tilly standing in front of it. Now that I have a dog, I think I’d be even more interested/amused by the place and I’m glad to see that it’s still up and running. It has over 100 collars spanning five decades – many of them ornate metal affairs that puts my dog Ernie’s humble mass-produced cloth collar (it is embroidered with power flowers) to shame. I’ll be some of the hounds I watched during the latest episode of the superb PBS Masterpiece Classics series “Downton Abbey” wore these fancy smancy collars.

for more info see:

See: http://www.leeds-castle.com/goto.php?sess=u4120738|p136|n152|c2466436|s0|g1|d0&pg=Dog_Collar_Museum

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