Britishisms--Language and Local Color (Unduly Delayed by Abominable Bandwidth)

After arriving in Coventry and returning the rental car after three days, we were at the mercy of the bus, train, and intra-campus shuttle van services.  Conclusion no.1:  When it comes to public transportation, the English do not hold a candle to the efficiencies of the Swiss and Germans.  Conclusion no. 2:  I will be staying pretty close to Coventry on my day-trips, while Henry is working.  Although Birmingham, Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon are within relatively easy reach, getting to the small towns and hamlets where castle ruins, restored palaces, and many National Trust and English Heritage treasures are located requires copious time and patience on a combination of buses and trains. Because the buses are especially unreliable (they pass their stops early or late or not at all), one cannot reasonably rely on making connections to other buses that stop as seldom as once an hour.  Last week, we decided to bus into Leamington Spa (normally just a 15-minute bus ride on a single bus) for dinner.  Getting there was no problem, and our meal was quite good (Wilde's Wine Bar & Restaurant).  However, at the time we planned to return (before 9PM, so not outrageously late), the bus was scheduled to come by just once an hour.  Unfortunately, unbeknownst to us, the bus sat "disabled" just a few blocks before our stop and never arrived.  We ended up sharing a taxi with two others who were also returning to the University.  So much for the benefits of having purchased a monthly bus pass!  The campus shuttle van, which one would expect to be reliable as its route is limited to the University campus, appears to run on a secret schedule which has no resemblance to the published schedule.  This could be because the school term does not begin until the end of September, but it would be nice to know!  That's not as frustrating as the bus not showing up, because at least one can walk from one end of campus to the other in about a half-hour.  Also, for tennis, which is located at the opposite end of campus from our flat, I have managed to find a fellow tennis player who can give me a "lift" ("ride" for those of you who don't speak British).  Conclusion no. 3:  We will be renting a car for additional traveling, and did so for three days last week.

In truth, we are managing without having a car for every day, but the bus definitely requires familiarity which one must acquire by repeatedly taking the bus.  While (or whilst) some of the main bus stops in the cities have electronic signs indicating how long it will be until a specific bus will arrive, that did not help us in Leamington Spa.  The electronic sign continued to read 8:50PM forty minutes later, with no indication when the scheduled 9:50PM bus would be arriving!  Looking up bus schedules on the internet is marginally helpful, as the website does not list the schedule for all stops.  Indeed, although one can determine the route a given bus will take, the only way to determine where most of the stops are is by getting on the bus and keeping one's eyes peeled for signs that are sometimes covered by hanging  tree boughs or other obstructions.  Since the interior of the bus has no electronic signage to indicate the location of the next stop or any printed sign listing the stops, no less any sign indicating the route, one can only hope that one's desired alighting point will be obvious BEFORE the bus passes it without stopping.  After all, the bus will stop ONLY if one of the bus' stop buttons is pressed ahead of the stop or a potential rider waves to the bus driver to stop!

Opening a bank account in the UK proved to be quite a trial of perseverance!  It took us ten days, four trips to Barclays Bank, and the fortunate intervention of a friend's sister who is a muckity-muck in Barclays Corporate Banking (thank you ever so much, CW and KB!) before we finally succeeded.  On each of the first three visits, the Barclays reps offered up bits of information on how to achieve our goal.  Each time we returned to the bank, we were told that the additional documentation we provided was insufficient.  It wasn't until the third visit that two bank reps offered a sample letter which gave us a better idea of what documentation the bank requires.  Even with the sample, however, it was only through my continued requests for clarification that we left the bank with a fair estimation of the requirements.  Actually, we did not leave the bank together.  Henry had given up and stormed out not long after we were told our then latest submission was insufficient.  Not wanting to put something together, have it signed by a University of Warwick representative, obtain the imperative "university stamp" (we were told at the bank that anyone at the university would know the "stamp"), and then returning to the bank only to be rejected once again, I took advantage of the pre-sabbatical "feel free to contact me if you need any help when you get to England" offer (sometimes similar to a "let's do lunch sometime" offer) from my friend's sister.  I asked if she or one of her colleagues could review the documentation letter I drafted.  After a series of emails and phone calls through the Barclays network, and then only with the friend's sister agreeing to vouch for our bona fides, we were advised to return to the bank with the precious letter, at which time we could open the account.  Getting the letter signed by a university representative was simple, but no one here had any idea what the "stamp" was.  We finally found someone in the university administration office who had her own ink stamp saying "University of Warwick Coventry".  The stamp could easily have been created at a create-your-own stamp shop.  In any event, Barclays wanted a stamp, so they got their stamp!  The problem we had with opening a British bank account is that the bank requires a "permanent" residence address (established by utility bills and the like) and "employment" in the UK.  Although special rules are established to assist students and visiting employees, we have no mail service to our university residence (mail goes to the Mathematics Research Centre), the university is covering the accommodation cost so we do not receive utility bills, and Henry is "employed" by the University of California, not the University of Warwick.  It's nice to know that at least one person figured out we are decent, trustworthy folks!

Even the folks who know both Henry and me might wonder how much the two of us have in common.  Henry is the science/computer geek, while I'm the plodding, more practical, let's talk things out a while and come to a reasonable, mutually beneficial solution person (which helped my writing and negotiating skills as a lawyer, and certainly made a difference at Barclays).  Henry's idea of a wonderful day on vacation in Europe (or almost anywhere) is to find an outdoor cafe, sip a double espresso with a twist of lemon peel, and either watch the people walk by, think nifty mathematical physics thoughts (and writing them down on a placemat, paper napkin, or other available writing paper), or perhaps doze off sitting up.  I leave Henry to his desired activities, and go to a museum, stroll around town, check out the local castle, or take a hike through the surrounding area.  We give each other our respective space, but come together to relish each other's company over a delicious meal.  To this end, Henry purchases a Michelin Red Guide (lists lodgings, but more importantly, lists restaurants) for just about every country we have visited.  With the English countryside in Shropshire and the Cotswolds (the areas we have visited since arriving here) replete with small towns and villages, Henry chooses our destinations by determining  the places that have yummy sounding restaurants.  As long as I can find an English Heritage or National Trust property (these non-profits own/manage many of the old castles, manor houses, ruins scattered around the country, and prior to our departure, I bought joint annual memberships to both) to visit along the way, I'm quite content.

We are finding a number of restaurants/pubs serving tasty food: King's Head in Aston Cantlow (known for its duck dishes); Bell & Cross in Clent (nicely set up with just a few tables in several separate rooms; I enjoyed a British version of chicken in lettuce wraps); Clive in Ludlow (dandy monkfish and risotto); The Lion Inn in Winchcombe (typical Sunday lunch of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding); and Loch Fyne in Kenilworth (a British chain of seafood restaurants/fish markets, but the food is fresh), to name a few.  Many of these pubs/restaurants are in buildings where food and drink have been served for 100's of years!

 

Although we generally understand most of the items on the menus, we could create an entire menu of either foods we have never eaten before or foods known in the UK by other names.  Feeling "peckish" (a little hungry)?  Care for a "sarnie" (sandwich)?  "Fancy" a drink of what I call "luke cold" local brew from the tap (tapped through a very long spigot, it comes out rather frothy and is served warmer than other nations' beers)?  If you are interested in "popping a cold one", you can try Carling, which is one of the largest selling beers in Britain and can be found in many pubs.  That brings me to the term "free house", which is prominently noted on a number of pubs.  Pubs owned by breweries (and apparently most are) sell the respective brewer's brand, while a free house can sell whatever it wishes.

 

What's to eat?  I tried "cullen skink", which turned out to be a delicious soup with haddock, potatoes, and leeks. I also enjoyed a terrine of pigeon breast.  Not bad.  I suppose that's one way to limit the pigeon population.  How about "faggots" (meatballs made with pig products, including innards) on a "bap" (burger roll) (see hog roast photo below) with "mushy peas" (often serves as a gravy)?  Not for me, thank you!  However, perhaps I'll try the kangaroo, springbok, or ostrich burgers on offer in Birmingham.

 

When I returned to Birmingham this week, I happened upon their International Food Fair and found both more exotic and less exotic options.  Take your pick!

 















I have figured out that "gammon steak" is ham, "courgettes" resemble zucchini, and "gem" looks like butter lettuce, but I don't know how "crispy chicken goujons" are prepared--in a fryer on a "hop" (stovetop) perhaps?  Speaking of fryers, the most popular side dish this side of the "pond" are "chips" (fries), which come as either "thin" or "thick".  "Chips" must not be confused with "crisps", in response to which one will receive potato or corn chips.  I had an interesting experience in the supermarket the other day, when I was searching for crackers to have with some of the wonderful cheeses here (Shropshire Blue is one of my favorites).  In American markets, one usually finds crackers in the same aisle as cookies.  Not so in Sainsbury's in England!  I located crackers several aisles away in a separate section for biscuits!  Except for those biscuits which to me were crackers, most of the biscuits looked strikingly similar to our cookies!  Well, maybe, maybe biscuits dip better in tea or coffee, not that I've tried it yet!

Wonder what the words "brilliant" and "cheers" mean in this neck of the woods?  I was disconcerted the first time I heard a restaurant server say "brilliant" after we answered "yes" to her query whether everything was okay.  We ordinarily save "brilliant" for something spectacular.  The British consider "brilliant" to be "good".  If that's the case, I'll have to find out what word describes "wonderful" around here!  I've also heard servers saying "cheers" in response to giving them a food or drink order.  Around these parts, it means thank you or okay.

Whether by bus or car, and either by myself or with Henry, I have started getting some good use out of the National Trust and English Heritage passes.  As many museums in the UK have free entry, I did not bother buying a National Art Pass.  The Herbert Museum in Coventry currently has two delightful exhibits--a selection of illustrations by Sir John Tenniel for the original publications of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and a series of paintings by Quentin Blake, who is probably best known for his illustrations of Roald Dahl's books.  I combined a visit there with a cruise through Coventry's Indoor Market.  The market has its share of fruit, vegetable, meat, and fish stalls, but they are interspersed with an assortment of the usual flea market fare.

One stall was quite out of the ordinary for me--a stall selling not much more than billiard cues!

In Birmingham--the "big" city (second in size only to London)--the indoor markets, and indoor shopping malls for that matter, are more plentiful than in Coventry.  There are several of each within a few block radius of the train station.  

 

The indoor market across the way from the Bull Ring Market was the St. Martin's Rag Market. Not everything was a rag, but you could easily make one with some of the stuff on sale:

Watch out for what you are buying.  It might have been sitting out on the counter for a while:

 
Fancy a pie?  One stall had a large assortment, e.g., Shepherds, Cottage, Chicken & Mushroom, Steak & Kidney.  The proprietor also advertised "pukka pies".

I thought that was another pie filling, until I looked it up in our British-American dictionary and found out that "pukka" means "wicked!" or "mighty fine!".

Although my first thoughts when I hear Birmingham, UK are iron, coal and the Industrial Revolution, the city has done a wonderful job of sprucing up its extensive canal system (dating back to the late 18th century), which now attracts restaurants, shops, and a healthy flow of tourists (including Henry and me).

On my own, I returned to Birmingham for a visit to Back-to-Backs, a National Trust site where Birmingham's last complete set of "back-to-back" apartments around a courtyard has been preserved.  These units were built in the first half of the 19th century to house the great influx of industrial and textile workers to Birmingham.  One set of apartments faced the street, while a second set faced an inner courtyard.

Each apartment was three floors, with a small single room on each of the floors.  The winding staircases between floors were precariously narrow. Water came from a well blocks away; all 60+ inhabitants around the courtyard shared washing facilities and the outhouses.

Yes, that's paper toilet paper!  Back-to-backs were eventually declared unfit for habitation in the 1960's, and most were demolished by the 1970's.  A couple of folks on our tour were born in back-to-backs, and their personal experiences brought additional flavor to my visit.

Our first venture using our English Heritage pass took us to the ruins of Kenilworth Castle, a short bus ride and walk from our flat.

 

Check out the 14-feet thick walls:

Construction of the castle began in the early 12th century, with enlargements and embellishments over the following 500 years.

   

Though various King Henrys and a King John inhabited the castle, it's greatest period of fame was after Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, took possession in the 1560's.  In his effort to woo Queen Elizabeth I, he remodeled much of the castle and installed a lovely garden, which has been re-created by the English Heritage folks.

 
I don't recall ever reading the book, but Kenilworth Castle is the setting for Walter Scott's romantic novel, Kenilworth.  With the "slighting" (deliberate destruction, partial or complete) of Kenilworth Castle by the Parliamentarians during the English Civil War in the mid-1600's, the only building that escaped destruction was the gatehouse, which became the residence of Joseph Hawkesworth, the person responsible for implementation of the slighting.

Lovely views of the countryside from the castle walls:

Kenilworth today:

 

With the benefit of a rental car a weekend ago, Henry and I wandered narrow roads and small towns in Warwickshire, Shropshire, Gloucestershire, and the Cotswolds, and visited a number of other castles, manors, and country homes.

Packwood House, in Lapworth, Warwickshire--Tudor manor house, originally constructed by a successful farmer in the 16th century, with 16th and 17th century furnishings (but obviously updated somewhat (see photo of bathtub), a beautiful collection of Flemish tapestries, and a lovely garden:

 

Baddesley Clinton in Warwickshire--Moated manor house originally built in the 13th century, and extensively refurbished in the 19th century when the house was inhabited by a "Victorian Quartet" of writers and authors:

And, of course, beautiful gardens as well!

Snowshill Manor near Broadway, in Gloucestershire (Cotswolds)--The manor was part of Winchcombe Abbey for 700 years, until King Henry VIII confiscated it in 1539, when he dissolved the monasteries.  In the early 1900's, Charles Paget Wade purchased the property, specifically to house his collection of what I editorially refer to as "stuff".  Viewing this extremely eclectic collection of items from all over the world (though virtually all of it was purchased in Britain, at antique shops, estate sales, and galleries), I conclude this gentleman had way too much disposable income!  Although the gardens were very attractive (yes, I'm a flower fan) and the views of the surrounding countryside were spectacular, Wade's chosen displays of his collection exuded simply too much clutter (and, for those who know me well, you know I, myself, am prone to clutter).  I did not bother taking many photos of the clutter, but one positive about the collection is that every item was handcrafted:

Ludlow Castle in (surprise) Ludlow, Shropshire--A Norman castle, abandoned to gradual decay and ruin in 1689, with glorious views of the countryside.  No gardens to admire, but it was fun to romp around the old castle walls and enjoy the countryside views, even in the rain:

More towns, meadows, and countrysides:

Ludlow--

A walk along the River Teme below Ludlow castle--

Ludlow's outdoor market--Henry could not pass up the cheese wagon and bought weeks worth of his favorite food!

At the same time, I assiduously surveyed how many different colors of "gaffer" (duct) tape are available in this small Shropshire town:

Winchcombe and a walk with the sheep along one of the thousands of England's public footpaths:

A short jaunt along the Heart of the English Way near Packwood House--

Walks through the University of Warwick campus grounds have also been enjoyable, especially on nice, sunny days (yes, we have had some of those!), and finding a welcoming bench where I can sit and read a book is easy--

Yesterday, I ventured off on an 8-mile walk to and from Stoneleigh Abbey, in Kenilworth.  I daresay, the campus and footpath walks are far safer than walking on these sidewalkless country roads.  While I have heard complaints from some San Diegans about the lack of sidewalks at home in Del Mar, it's quite another matter to stay clear of Brits speeding at you! In any event, it was well worth the effort, as I had a delightful afternoon enjoying a place that provided inspiration to Jane Austen for characters, manners, physical descriptions, and places developed in several of her books.  Although the abbey dates back to the 12th century, it became an estate in the mid-1500's (thanks again to King Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries), when it was taken over by the Leigh family.  As "poor" Leigh relatives, Jane Austen, her mother, and sister were invited to the estate in 1806, when a cousin of her mother's staked a claim to his inheritance of the estate.  As we moved through the grounds and a number of rooms, the tour guide read passages from Austen's books, which closely matched the sights around us.