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Steve and I are just back from London for a long weekend of visiting family, art and taking public transport. This poster caught my eye on the Jubilee line out to Waterloo Train Station. Tongue in cheek, I said that Tube workers should remind us to chill out and stop and smell the daisies when the going gets slow on the Underground. Well, this is exactly the intention of a little booklet produced by artist Jeremy Deller called ‘What is the city but the people?‘ Drivers and platform staff are encouraged to use quotes in their daily communication with customers. I like it. Who knows? Maybe the next time you’re stuck in a stationary carriage due to signalling problems, seething with despair, you’ll be comforted by some driver-philosopher quoting Goethe or Gandhi.
Steve and I are off today to the Cotswolds, one of the most quintessentially English regions of the UK, for a week of camping, walking and visiting National Trust houses and gardens, including Kelmscott Manor where William Morris lived. We have a day of luxury and pampering planned right smack in the middle of the trip. On Saturday, I’m having a Dr. Hauschka facial treatment and then in the afternoon we’ll both go to The Spa in Leamington Spa for a Rasul Mud Ceremony followed by a Hot Stone massage. That night we’ll ooze into a hotel which has a Loch Fyne restaurant next door to it. Then back home via IKEA in Bristol to pick up another couple of things for the flat. So I’ll be away for a few days, but back with lots of photos (wow, I still have quite a few from our trip to East Sussex in August). I know what I’ll be up to this autumn! Sorting through my virtual shoebox of jpg’s and putting albums and posts together.
On our birthday trip, Steve and I visited Bodiam Castle in East Sussex. This is not only one of the most beautiful castles in England, but one of the funnest to visit. The inside is gutted, but we were able to climb spiral staircases up to the top of most of the towers and walk across the battlements.
Bodiam Castle was built in 1385 to 1388 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, a knight who made his fortune fighting the French during the Hundred Years war. Power and influence as far as the crown was concerned was hard fought and won on the field of battle. Armies were ‘Free Companies’ – private mercenary groups fighting under a commander loyal to the crown. Apparently the mere mention of the name Edward Dalyngrigge would cause French peasants to jump in the river from fear. Fun to imagine sneaking up behind someone and hissing ‘Dalyngrigge‘.
In the mid 14th Century, Edward III was engaged in the Hundred Years War against the French – laying claim to what he considered his right, the Crown of France. As with all wars that followed the English Channel was strategically vital to the success of the English cause. Control of the Channel passed backwards and forwards between the two nations during the 1300’s with invasions taking place on both sides. The south coast of England therefore was being constantly strengthened and fortified during this period. Due to a number of attacks by the French on towns on the southern English coast, there was a good reason for building a well-defended castle close to the south coast. At the time, the River Rother was still navigable as far as Bodiam and the French could have easily have sailed an invading or raiding force there. Consequently, King Richard II issued a Royal Licence to Dalyngrigge in October 1385 to crenellate his manor house at Bodiam. The licence, in Latin, stated:
“…that he may strengthen with a wall of stone and lime, and crenellate and may construct and make into a Castle his manor house of Bodyham, near the sea, in the county of Sussex, for the defence of the adjacent country [France], and the resistance of our enemies.”
Dalyngrigge acquired the estate and manor of Bodiam through his marriage to the heiress Elizabeth Wardeux. The castle design is a simple square with turret towers at each corner and a square tower in the middle of each wall. The castle was never beseiged during their lifetime and it was mainly a very comfortable home. Here are overviews of the layout and history of Bodiam Castle.
A moorhen chick
Main entrance across the moat, guarded by a duck
Gatehouse
Wardeux, Dalyngrigge and Radynden family shields
Murderholes in gatehouse ceiling
Chapel window
Crenellations
Steve and I had our first camping holiday (and his first ever) in East Sussex. I’m a seasoned camper with 40+ years’ experience under my belt. I grew up camping in the beautiful National parks in the western US – beaches, mountains and the desert. Very few of them had any more facilities than coldwater sinks and toilets, but the camp sites had a picnic table and a fire ring. Camping is different over here, usually in a big field alongside dozens of caravans and other tent campers and with good shower and dishwashing up facilities. We stayed on Park Farm near Bodiam Castle and managed to find a quiet-ish corner.
Our home away from home
We had bought a 2 burner Gaz camping stove with a grill (“Yay, toast!”) but by the time we got the gas bottle and then the regulator, it was time for our 4-star experience. I made Beef Stroganoff for Steve’s birthday dinner on my little single burner stove which turned out quite good. Just strips of beef, onion, mushroom, some tomato purée, crème frâiche and peppercorns, freshly ground between a mug and a plate (and I’ve been wondering what was missing . . . . paprika). I used taglierini, a thinner version of tagliatelle which only takes 2 minutes to cook.
Another of my camping staples is Sainsbury’s Instant Noodles. They aren’t chockful of chemicals or artificial flavours, are quick to cook (3 minutes) and can be embellished with all manner of things eg, meat, vegetables, tofu. Steve used these as a base for Bodiam Noodles.
buddha
buddha
Bodiam Noodles
- 2 boneless chicken filets, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 6 mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 a courgette (zucchini), sliced
- 1/2 an onion, sliced
- Sunflower oil
- One packet Chicken instant noodles
- Water
In a skillet, sauté the chicken, onions and mushrooms. Set to one side and cover to keep warm (and keep the bugs out). Prepare the noodles in a saucepan according to the package directions, adding the sliced courgette a couple of minutes before the noodles. Tip the chicken and vegetables into the noodles and heat through.
Pour into bowls and serve with mugs of oaked Chardonnay.
Steve bought a nifty folding chair with a built-in table.
BTW this was my birthday breakfast – fresh coffee, bread & butter and tiffin from the fab Battle Deli (stay tuned for this!).
Birthday coffee
On our recent trip to East Anglia, Steve and I went to Southwold on the Suffolk coast. Southwold is a lovely, genteel seaside resort with none of the tackiness of certain other British seaside towns (best to remain both nameless and avoided). We donned our linen and spent a pleasant afternoon, strolling along the promenade and the pier and through the town. I liked the pier sign, the letters are weighted and gently swing in the wind.
Southwold Pier
Here’s Steve looking natty in his linen suit . . .
Since a British summer at the beach doesn’t necessarily mean warmth and sunshine, people can buy or rent beach huts.
Some of them are wondefully kitted out with retro Bush radios, Kath Kidston prints and stoves for tea making. And some aren’t. I quite liked this scruffy ‘Love Shack’.
Thelma & Louise
The view from the pier
The skies in East Anglia are glorious and oh so wide. Constantly changing like the sea.
Steve’s birthday is four days before mine, so we get a whole week to celebrate and last week we went to Kent and East Sussex.
When travelling, the road is wider than it is long. Not only are there all of the new places to discover and experiences to have, but also the rich inner stirrings of memories, associations, feelings and new connections being made. I feel steeped in the experiences of those six days. Here are some of the things we did: camped (Steve’s first time!), visted a medieval castle with a moat; saw Marc Chagall’s stained glass windows in a little church in Kent; bought a fish poacher (our very own!); had a guided tour of Farley Farmhouse, the home of photographer/model/gourmet cook Lee Miller and her artist-curator husband Roland Penrose, by their son Antony and grand-daughter Eliza; bought my wedding dress; toured the site of the Battle of Hastings (1066); visited Sissinghurst Gardens; found the grave of E. Nesbit, one of my favourite writers; fell in love (me) with a spiral staircase in a Modernist building; watched the lights of Brighton Pier come on at sunset and took no fewer than 500 photos between the two of us.
One of our very special birthday treats was a night in the luxurious 4-star Spa Hotel in Royal Tunbridge Wells, an elegant 18th century mansion dating back to 1766. The prefix “Royal” dates to 1909, when King Edward VII granted the town its official “Royal” title to celebrate its popularity over the years amongst members of the royal family. Indeed, Queen Victoria had stayed at the Spa Hotel three times. Royal Tunbridge Wells is one of only two towns in England to have been granted this (the other being Royal Leamington Spa). The Spa Hotel today looks just as it did in the postcard (sans Edwardian croquet players).
Steve had made the booking as a surprise and there was a bottle of champagne and a bowl of fresh fruit waiting when we checked into our room. We had eaten very well the previous few days between restaurants and gourmet meals on our camping stove, but this night’s meal took the cake. We ate in the Chandelier Restaurant in the hotel that night. We dressed up for dinner and had a laugh with all of the waiting staff from the bread boy to the wine waiter (who admitted he was afraid of the scary Italian maître d’). We ordered Chateaubriand which we have both always wanted to try, but hadn’t yet.
Ali, who carved the steak at our table and served the vegetables, went and asked the chef why it was called Chateaubriand and gave us a handwritten explanation. The Chateaubriand steak is a recipe for a particular thick cut from the tenderloin, which, according to Larousse Gastronomique, was created by personal chef, Montmireil, for Vicomte François-René de Chateaubriand, (1768–1848), the author and diplomat who served Napoleon as an ambassador and Louis XVIII as Secretary of State for two years. This dish is usually only offered as a serving for two, as there is only enough meat in the center of the average fillet for two portions. It was exquisite. Steve likes his meat medium-rare and I like mine medium. The chef managed to cook this big hunk of beef medium on one side and medium-rare on the other. All of the vegetables were cooked to perfection and the jus had the perfect soupçon of Madeira.
Steve had also scheduled me in for a spa treatment on the afternoon that we left. It was a lovely, pampering finish to our birthday week away.
