5 Things to See in The Museum of London

I've loved learning about the history of London since I was a young girl and got into reading historical novels.  Once I moved to London in 1999, I was excited to explore the city and find out more as I had time.  But, up until last weekend, I had never been to the Museum of London - a BIG omission!

It's never too late of course and I am now delighted to bring you a small snapshot of the wonders you can see there.

1. Made in London - Jewellery Now

A short video below shows you a bit about this lovely little exhibit in the museum and, if you really fancy some of the work, they sell it in the shop on the Ground Floor.  The exhibit is tucked away on the lower ground level, beside the small cafe.

2. The Cheapside Hoard - London's Lost Jewels

This extraordinary find of jewellery from the 17th century has only now really been explored. Quite an find!  No one knows who made it or who owned it but, nevertheless, it is truly inspiring.  They even have some replicas for sale in the shop.  I drooled over them.  There is a big book to buy too, which I highly recommend

3. The History of the Sufragettes

It is quite startling to see some of the items that the Suffragettes used in their campaigns, like a large, heavy leather belt with which some of them chained themselves to railings.  The headlines from the newspapers at the time, like the Daily Mail (which hasn't changed much) saying that they should be hanged.  Well worth seeing and makes you realise how lucky we are to have the vote and how much these women went through to get it for us. Below is a video about some of it.

4.  Collections and Archives

The collection is the largest of its kind in the world.  It holds items from London's pre-history right up to the digital age.  Hours of interesting things to see.  

5. Last but not Least - The Museum Shop

I am a huge fan of museum shops.  There's always something interesting, not the least of which is a collection of great books on the subjects of the museum and gifts you can't find anywhere else. The Museum Shop at The Museum of London is no exception.  Not only do they have replicas of the beautiful jewellery in the Cheapside Hoard, they have wonderful books about London and lots of pretty stuff that make wonderful gifts.  For something to bring home that will remind you or your loved ones of London forever, this is a great place.

Bodmin Cornwall - A Hidden Historic Gem

Before I ever went to Cornwall, I thought of it as a place with pirates and smugglers from the 17th and 18th centuries or Padstow where  Rick Stein's has his amazing restaurants and Tintagel - the purported castle of King Arthur.  But, when I hear the name Bodmin, I mostly think of Bodmin Moor and Bodmin Jail, forbidding places both.   It sits inland, smack dab in the middle, not near the sea or on the main drag.

What I didn't expect about Bodmin was that it has the largest church in Cornwall, its origins dating to the 5th century.  As we drove into the town in the taxi, I noticed that the tower of the church was obviously Norman.  I asked the taxi driver and all he knew was that it was the biggest church in Cornwall and nothing else.  He was also not a good promoter of his town or area as he kept saying disparaging things about it and seemed to have no suggestions of places to go or things to see. It seems to me that taxi drivers ought to make it part of their job to talk up their town or city.

I was on a trip with my lovely friend, Elisabetta, who was going for a meeting in Bodmin and I thought I'd go along for the fun of it and to keep her company.  We were booked into a hotel called the Westberry, which is apparently highly rated on TripAdvisor.  Hmmmm.   It has its upsides, which I'll get to in a minute but,  in the spirit of the article (The 14 Habits of Highly Miserable People) I read on the train about how we should all practice being negative and miserable and which had me in stitches laughing, here we go.

(Speaking of trains, how come First Great Western don't have wifi on their trains?? It's 2013, get with the program, folks)

We were greeted by a rather odd looking man who might not have been so odd looking if he'd had any capacity to crack a smile.  The room was booked by the company that Elisabetta was visiting and was paid for by them.  We had asked for a double room, assuming we'd have a choice of twin beds.  The first thing this man did was start to talk to me instead of Elisabetta as he seemed to not want to listen to her beautiful Italian accent. Since it was nothing to do with me, I thought this was rude.

He finally discovered there was a booking and it was for a double bed so we asked if we could have a twin room. This is December remember, not the height of the tourist season in Cornwall.  Apparently, the hotel was fully booked (not) and there was no room available with twin beds.  I know this cannot have been true but he seemed not to want to be of any service at all.  After all of that and deciding we could cope with sharing a bed, he then asked for Elisabetta's credit card, when it was clear that the company had already paid for the room.  Either he was being thick or just didn't care.  I can't decide which.

Eventually, we got to our room, which was freezing cold.  The bed was  by no means a  reasonably sized double but we didn't realise that till we tried to get comfortable that night!  We spend the night hanging off the edges of the bed!

After our unfriendly start, we thought we'd go and explore the town before it got dark.  Clearly, the man in the hotel was an exception as every person we met during our stay was nothing but friendly and helpful.  We came across a lovely fruit and veg shop, The Vine, where they had lovingly organised all the products into artfully placed tubs.

It was a pleasure just looking at all the bright colours of the savoy cabbages nestled in straw and the Comice pears arranged in a circular tower; the tomatoes organised by colour and the large bunches of fresh herbs all looking enticing.  I was only sorry I couldn't buy anything to take home and cook.

While we were there, we thought we'd check out an apartment for rent, which I had seen on a lettings website.  It was in a converted abbey and had been really tastefully done up.  The real estate agent, Will Gentle (what a lovely name) was very responsive and very pleasant to deal with. I highly recommend him if you're looking Truro and the surrounding areas.  The piece de resistance in the apartment was the third floor, which was wholly given over to the lounge. It was enormous, with vaulted ceilings and raised platforms along two sides, ideal for big lounging cushions.  It also had plenty of room for a grand piano!  Downstairs, the main bedroom had the beautiful arched windows from the original abbey.  It was a steal at £825 per month.  Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large dining room, huge living room, beautifully equipped kitchen and a great location.  In London, it would be at least £2,500 a month.  Sigh.  Here's a link if you want to drool.

We asked along the way about good places to eat and heard several people say that the Steak and Thai restaurant in our hotel was excellent.  I was very sceptical as I have never yet found a place that mixes its food styles that works.  Against our better judgement, we decided it was the best option as Bodmin seems a bit thin on restaurants.  Well, I take it all back, the restaurant was marvelous. Apparently, they had had a Thai chef who taught them everything and a damn fine job he did.  I had a green curry with seafood.  The fish and shellfish were cooked to perfection, i.e. only just cooked.  The curry itself was creamy with coconut milk, spicy but not too spicy.  My only quibble was that the rice was not right. It should be sticky and fragrant. Instead it was separate rice kernels, flavourless and also not enough of it.

Elisabetta had the Pad Thai, which was really delicious and served with a tiny bowl of extremely fiery dried chilli flakes on the side.  We also had a shared platter of Thai starters, which was only £8.50 and enough for a whole meal.  Freshly made, crisp where it should be and soft where you wanted it to be.  We were most surprised and also very impressed with the table service.  So, how come they have a curmudgeon on the front desk?


After a night falling off the edge of the bed, we both got up tired and Elisabetta went off to her meeting.  I had then half an hour to get out of the room because they 'couldn't possibly extend our check out and we'd have to pay for another night'.  Another great way to entice me back to this hotel.....

I left the hotel and went over to a small cafe I'd seen the night before, called The Green Frog, and had a lovely English breakfast and a cappuccino.  That kept me going for the entire day.

The tree where I put a decoration with my mother's name and the candle I lit in her honour.

My intention for the day was to explore the Norman church and its history.  You can see some photos here that I took on the day.  As it happened, they were having the first day of the Christmas Tree Festival so the church was filled with same sized trees all decorated by various groups and businesses around Bodmin.  It was very festive and to make it even better, they had set up table and chairs in the main aisle and were serving tea, coffee, cakes and mince pies.  So I had to have two cups of coffee and a mince pie while I read the leaflet about the church's history.

I also lit a candle and put a decoration on a tree with my mother's name on it.  For some reason, I automatically wrote her Maiden name, Diana Fittall, instead of her married name, by which she has been known since 1942!  It felt nice to sit in the church and contemplate my mother's great age (93) and how much I love her.

A piece of the floor with inscription from a now derelict part of the old Norman church

It was wonderful to sit in this ancient church, which was a monastery in the 6th century founded by St. Petroc and know that hundreds of thousands of feet had stood here worshipping over the centuries. I love to feel part of history and I have found, time and again, that churches and cathedrals are the best place to feel that.

Outside the church is the ancient well of St. Guron.  It's nice to see that the water still runs free there out of the spouts that look like heads.  It comes from a spring with crystal clear water.  Another nice thing about Cornwall is there is no limescale covering everything!  Definitely a plus in my book.

After my excursion to the church, I decided to go back to the hotel and read and do some work as they have wifi there.  I sat in the lounge and there was no one about.  After a while, the man who had been at the registration desk came in and looked startled when he saw me.  I asked if I could have some tea and he went off looking for someone to make it.  On returning, he said there was no one about and he said  ' I suppose I could make you a pot myself.  When he came back with the tea, I made small talk saying what a lovely sunny day it was and he grunted (literally) and said '£2 please' and walked off.  Lovely.  I never got asked if I wanted a top up or some hot water to dilute the dark, stewed tea.  I watched something on my iPad and did some crochet while I waited and decided to ignore anyone who came in.  No one did.

We caught the 19.01 train from the station, which, by the way, is 4 miles outside the town!  Who's brilliant idea was that??  It took 5 hours to get back to London, the the slow train that stops everywhere. It was definitely worthwhile visiting Bodmin and I'd go back again to investigate more of its history, the Jail in particular.  Definitely won't be staying at the Westberry again though.

Aer Lingus - An Airline to Be Proud Of

Last week I had to go to the UK.  As some of you know, I loathe and detest Ryanair.  The last time I tried to fly with them they annoyed me so much so I decided not to get on the plane. Instead, I bought a whole new ticket on Aer Lingus, taking me to the new Southend Airport (really lovely and so efficient), which was out of my way but it was a matter of principle.  

After that experience I decided I would never fly with Ryanair again, no matter what.  It came as a huge relief. I never have to get anxious again as I approach the airport, wondering what they might object to this time.  I understand all their rules but what bothers me is that they implement them randomly.  I went to the UK overnight once, with a carry on, which was perfectly fine on the way out but was objected to on the way back and I had to pay to put it in the hold.

Anyway, enough about Ryanair, or Ryan Devil Air, as my sister calls it.

All this meant I needed to find an alternative. I fly often to the UK to see my aunt who lives in Bedford, so Ryanair was the obvious choice as they fly into Luton.  I looked at Aer Lingus and decided to fly to Gatwick and take the direct train to Bedford. While this costs me a bit extra to fly and I have to pay more for the train and it takes a lot longer, my relief at not having to fly with Ryanair overwhelmed any qualms I had about the added expense.

This last trip served to convince me, if I wasn't already, that my choice was correct.  

I happened to sit beside a young man who turned out to be a pilot with Aer Lingus. His name is Keith Holland and he's 24.  We got talking and I told him about why I love Aer Lingus:

The staff are always friendly

You can carry a small piece of luggage AND a handbag on board. 

The seats are wider

The seatbelts are longer

They don't blare the loudspeakers trying to sell you stuff all the time

The colours are soothing

They don't toot their horns to tell you how wonderful they are when you land

They don't land like darts out of the sky

Etc.

He was really pleased I felt the way I did and told me that he had wanted to be a pilot since he was four when his uncle, who worked for Qantas, showed him around a 747.  He went through his pilot training in southern Spain and then applied for jobs all over the place.  Ryanair offered him a job but, luckily, before he accepted he went to see Aer Lingus and got through all the rounds of interviews and they offered him a job. Talk about being lucky!

What I loved about talking to Keith was his enthusiasm for not only his job but the company. He sang the praises of the CEO, Christoph Mueller, who he said had brought really good changes to the company, creating, for example, a five year plan.  He also spends time with the staff on the ground, listening to them and also finding out what he needs to know to do his job.  I was delighted to hear this because I believe that the way staff on the ground level behave is everything to do with how the people at the top behave.  The trickle down principle.  

As well as that, it was lovely to meet someone who absolutely adores his job. He said he is never tired of going to work, looks forward to getting up at the crack of dawn and enjoys every moment of it. 

I had a moment of envy that he knew since he was four that this was what he wanted to do and he managed to make it happen.  I wished I had been that focused so young.  It was inspiring to see his joy and enthusiasm and I expect he will continue on to a great career as a pilot.

For me, he epitomised why I love Aer Lingus and will continue to fly with them whenever it makes sense. 

More Lovely Surprises in Carlow - Duckett's Grove Craft Shop

Duckett's Grove

I have often cursed the dreadful state of road signage in Ireland and have two theories about it:

1. It's deliberately bad so you will be forced to stop and speak to a local to get directions, thus having real contact with the natives and getting the wonderfully colourful descriptions of how to get to where you want to go. 'Go for 5 miles down that road till you come to a tree on the left and turn there and go until you see a field with sheep in it and there you are'.

2. It's deliberately bad so you will get lost and discover something you'd never have found had you stayed on the road you were meant to.

I like the latter one better because it's how I came across Duckett's Grove by accident when I moved to Carlow last year and was looking for Brownshill Dolmen.  It was a fortuitous discovery as I have had many a great day there since. 

I will write more about Duckett's Grove and its fascinating history in another post.

This time I will tell you about the new craft shop and studios that have been set up there.

Waney Edge Bunbury Board

Twice a year, up till now, there has been a Craft Fair held at Duckett's Grove, in May and December. At the last fair, some carefully selected craftspeople also opened their studios for the first time. The new craft shop was also opened and features some really beautiful things, like the famous Bunbury Boards, gorgeous felted silk scarves and shawls by Nicola Brown, beautifully turned wooden bowls, delicate pottery in robin's egg blue and cream, divine hand knitted baby booties and much more.  It's a real treat to ogle it all and there are pieces there to fit any budget.

Nicola Brown stole

Yesterday, I bought two Bunbury Boards as gifts.  What I love about the Bunbury Boards is that you get an individual identification number so you can go on their website and see the history of the wood your board is made from and you can learn more about how they take care of their trees and husband them carefully.  They come in all sorts of sizes and shapes, ranging from €25.95 and upwards.

My friend who was with me bought two of Nicola Brown's gorgeous hand felted silk scarves, one in dark cerise for herself and one in lime green, as a birthday gift. At €40 each they are great value for something you can wear and enjoy for many years to come.

We went to see Nicola afterwards in her studio where she not only sells some of her products but also teaches felting classes.  I am so intrigued by the gorgeous things she makes that I have signed up for one of her classes this coming Saturday.  Watch out for a blog post about that too.

Walled Garden at Duckett's Grove

As well as the studios and the shop, there is also a lovely cafe, The Tea Rooms at Duckett's Grove,  serving sandwiches, cakes, biscuits and lovely coffees and teas. It has an outdoor seating area for when the weather permits.  After a nice bit of lunch you can wander through the walled garden, which is filled with gorgeous plants of all types. There is a further walled garden which was used as the kitchen garden for the house in former times.

Once you've seen the crafts area and enjoyed all there is offer there, it is well worth going for a wander around the grounds of the house.

Next time I'll tell you about the strange history of this house and the family that lived there.

Food Heaven & Hell

This is about food. I love writing about food. I suppose I am a 'foodie'. I like cooking it, eating it at home when I've cooked it and eating out, especially when I am abroad. You never know what treasures and new experiences you can come across.

This time it's about eating out in Ridgefield, Connecticut and JFK Airport in New York. 

I've been to Luc's Cafe in Ridgefield a few times. Always with my  cousin, Bill. It was his favourite place to bring people.  This time, I was there with all my other cousins, raising a toast to our beloved Bill who passed away in May. 

Luc's is always busy. It's become so popular that it's packed almost every night. And with good reason. Luc's, specialising in French food, was opened in 2001 by Herve Aussavis, who's from just outside Paris. The service is always good, although sometimes a bit slow when they are really busy. We don't mind that though because it's worth the wait.

A few of our party had the Dover Sole with Sauce Grenobloise. It comes with three choices but we always seem to opt for this one. Sauce Grenobloise is made with capers and white wine and adds a lovely acidity to the pan fried  fish. 

I had steak tartare, something I don't often see on menus. The last time I had it was in Brussels about ten years ago.  I usually prefer to get all the makings for it and mix it myself. You get it with a dip in the middle of the raw filet steak where an egg yolk sits and then you have the chopped capers, shallots, cognac and whatever else the chef deems suitable. In this case, it came ready prepared, which was OK too but I wasn't totally crazy about one of the ingredients, which I think was a sweet pickled gherkin.  Otherwise, it was delicious and came with crispy 'frites', proper French fries, in a little aluminium bucket and a delicious mixed green salad with the perfect French dressing. 

We all agree they should bottle that dressing.

Someone else had the baked salmon and declared it utterly delicious.  Another had the charcuterie plate, with saucisson sec, dried ham and other lovely meats with crunchy sourdough slices. All great quality food, well presented and well prepared.

We also had some lovely wine.  I ordered a Chablis, (sorry, I don't remember what it was!) which was as I said it would be: crisp, green, leafy and fresh.  They laughed about that!

Afterwards, some of us shared a small but divine chocolate mousse made with really good dark chocolate so it was rich and creamy. Heaven.  

Prices for main courses are about $25 and desserts $9.

As I was leaving from JFK to come back to Ireland, I decided to try out a place near the departure gate, called Buffalo Wild Wings. I love Buffalo Chicken Wings, with the tangy, spicy red sauce.  I generally don't like plane food so I thought this might be a good option.  I should have known the minute I went in that it wasn't going to be a great experience when the I noticed the music was so loud I was glad I didn't have anyone to talk to.  Why does it have to be quite so loud? I love music and it was good music for the venue but way, way too loud. Mind numbingly LOUD.

I ordered the chicken wings and the waitress asked me if I wanted them without bones! I thought this might be some novel thing whereby you didn't have to get your fingers covered in the sauce when you ate them but it turned out to be chicken breast meat, which I hate, covered in the kind of crunchy stuff you get at Kentucky Fried Chicken, which I also loathe.  The only good part was the tangy spicy sauce.  She also up-sold me a side salad, which was so awful I took one bite. It was mainly the dressing which was ghastly. Gloopy red sauce that was sweet and tasteless at the same time.  Once it was on the salad it was inedible.  

The only thing I really liked about the whole meal was the celery with blue cheese dip. I ate three pieces of the chicken and one bite of the salad.  I didn't have time to complain as I had to get on the plane so I just left it. 

What made it worse was it cost a lot too. 

$25 for the privilege of not eating horrible food.

If you do decide to ever go to one of these places, make sure you don't get persuaded to have the boneless wings. BIG MISTAKE.

Borris House and The Tea Rooms

Yesterday was the nicest day we've had in Ireland in a few weeks, at least along the Eastern side.  We decided to go exploring around Carlow and went off to Borris, a lovely, historic and picturesque town on the Kilkenny/Carlow border.

Our first stop was Borris House, the home since the middle ages of the McMurrough Kavanagh family whose ancestors were High Kings of Ireland.  Their lineage is extraordinary and if you'd like to know more, check it out here. 


We took the house tour given by Morgan McMurrough Kavanagh who was very informative about the house and its history. His most famous and interesting ancestor was Arthur McMurrough Kavanagh, who was born with stumps for arms and legs yet, due to his mother's insistence that he have a normal life, went on to do extraordinary things with his life. He spent a lot of time on his horse, in a specially designed saddle, as this was how he started getting around as a child.  Here's an article about him by the wonderful local historian and genealogist, Turtle Bunbury of Lisnavagh House (and Bunbury Board fame). If you don't know what Bunbury Boards are I highly recommend you check out that link.

Borris House is beautiful and well worth visiting. We spent quite a bit of time in the private chapel which is currently Church of Ireland but was Catholic to begin with. Apparently, the eldest son of the family would be brought up Protestant, so he could participate in all the rights of the British Crown, but the rest of the family were Catholic. Quite a complex history there.

The only thing we were disappointed by was that we did not get to go upstairs and see a bedroom and bathroom or two.  I really think they ought to add this to the tour as it seems to end abruptly and not as satisfactorily as I would have liked. For the €10 fee, I think they really ought to show a little more, although what they did show was really interesting. 

Borris House also hosts weddings and events.

Afterwards, we headed over to the new Tea Rooms, which are located beside The Step House, the most well known hotel and restaurant in the area and well worth going to.  The Tea Rooms opened at Easter and seem to be doing a bustling trade.  Run by a husband and wife from their home, they serve afternoon tea as well as other lunch and snacks items.  We ordered the afternoon tea and were served with beautifully made sandwiches, cut into fingers and with a wide variety of fillings like ham and mustard, egg salad and home made brown bread with delicious smoked trout pate sourced from the nearby Goatsbridge Trout Farm.

  

 There were homemade coffee and lemon cakes and delicious scones.  Each table is set with a different tea set, collected from markets and antique shops.  We got two large porcelain teapots with Assam tea (leaves of course!).  All in all we were delighted with it and at €24 for two people, we thought it was also good value. You don't need to eat again after that.  The only down side was one of the owners regaled us with disparaging tales of some of the people in the village. For all he knew, we could have been related to some of those people. It left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

They don't take Laser or Credit cards so bring cash.  It's a lovely place, very clean and well presented and the food is excellent. 

What a Surprise Carlow Turned Out to Be - The VISUAL

I moved to Carlow in August last year mostly because it was handy for Dublin with the new M9 nearby and not as expensive as Dublin. Little did I know what treasures there were to find here. And I'm only beginning the great discoveries.

The VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Arts & G B Shaw Theatre

To make friends and meet new people I decided to check out The VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Arts as a friend of mine had told me about it.  I was enchanted the first time I went there for lunch in Lennons @VISUAL, the wonderful restaurant that is part of the building.  Not only is The VISUAL a remarkable space for art (being able to house the largest art works in Ireland because of the main gallery), there is also the 300 seat George Bernard Shaw Theatre, where I have since managed to see some of the best productions I've seen anywhere. More on that later.  At the time that I first went to The VISUAL they had an exhibit by the artist Sonja Landweer, a retrospective of her work over 50 years.  After the viewing, I asked if they needed volunteers and it turned out that they had a new volunteer meeting that following Monday.  I went along and signed up as an invigilator in the galleries and then got to spend many happy hours amongst all the beautiful art.