Monthly Archives: August 2011
Hope Amidst the Wreckage
A Sainsburys worker dishes out free pastries to clean-up volunteers in Clapham. Photo credit: Kay Burgess Twitpic
As the news and images coming out of the UK continue to horrify us all, Paperblog has posted seven examples of humanity amid all of the violence and madness that we have seen in the past few days.
Again, please be safe, all.
The London Riots
A masked rioter is seen in front of a burning car in Hackney, North London. Photo credit: EPA/Kerim Okten
This weekend, my family and I were in San Francisco for a mini-vacation. No Internet. No newspapers. No TV. Just a heavy dose of rest and relaxation.
When we returned home, we were shocked to hear the latest news out of London. All of the headlines of looting, arson and violence were too much to stomach.
I know North London. Less than ten years ago, we were living in the small neighborhood of Harringay, only a stone’s throw from Tottenham, where 29-year-old gangster Mark Duggan was fatally shot last Thursday by police after resisting arrest. It was this incident that spurred this weekend’s riots. I would routinely take the bus to Wood Green Tube Station to commute to work – another area that has been targeted by rioters in London.
And these riots have continued to spread far beyond the North London borders. To Lewisham, Peckham, Clapham, to the northern cities of Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool. I’ve been watching the #londonriots tweets today, still in disbelief by how much destruction is taking place and the momentum at which it is spreading.
To my friends and family in the UK, please stay safe.
The London 10
Don't miss the London Eye. Photo credit: De:Benutzer:Swgreed
Every time a friend travels to England, I’m inevitably asked for recommendations on the best spots in London. With that in mind, here is my London 10.
1. London Eye. This walk-on ferris wheel provides the best views in the city! Buy your tickets online and avoid the long lines. Riverside Building, County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, London. SE1 7PB. (0)871 781 3000.
2. Notting Hill. Great boutiques and pubs on Portobello Road and don’t miss Portobello Market.
3. Covent Garden. Plenty of restaurants, boutiques and shops to visit including the world famous cheesemonger Neal’s Yard (17 Shorts Garden, London. WC2H 9AT. 020 7240 5700).
4. Oxford Street. H&M (261-271 Regent Street, London. W1B 2ES.020 7493 4004), Top Shop (216 Oxford Street, London, W1D 1LA. 0844 8487 487) and plenty of retail therapy.
5. Theater District. Culture vultures, here’s your spot!
6. Hampstead Heath and Hampstead. You’ll feel like you’re in the country even though you’re only 20 minutes or so from Central London.
7. Green Park, Hyde Park, St. James’s Park, Kensington Park. They all connect. Take a picnic and people watch.
8. British Museum. You can absolutely spend days here and the admission is free. Great Russell Street, London. WC1B 3DG. 020 7323 8299.
9. Tate Modern, (Bankside, London. SE1 9TG. 020 7887 8888) if you like modern art. Also, don’t miss a stroll along the Thames. There are lots of little restaurants and shops there, as well as Shakespeare’s Globe Theater (21 New Globe Walk, Bankside, London SE1 9DT. (0)20 7902 1400) and the Millennium Bridge.
10. Selfridges Food Hall. Totally amazing. Actually Selfridges department store is amazing. It puts every department store in the US to shame. Fortnum & Mason and Harrods also have amazing food halls but my favorite is still Selfridges. 400 Oxford Street, London. W1A 1AB. 0800 123 400.
Do you have a favorite spot in London? What’s your London 10?
Happy Weekend!
Raspberry peach cobbler ... mmm ... Photo credit: Simone Anne
Ahhh … the start of the weekend! Tonight, we celebrated with dinner at Chow’s in San Francisco – a sweet little spot on Church Street. After a busy week, there’s nothing like their raspberry peach cobbler with ice cream, which I have to say resembles a traditional British crumble.
Have a fabulous weekend, dear readers! Thank you for a fantastic week! See you back here bright and early on Monday!
You Say Pasty, I Say Pasty
These pasties are not edible.
A couple of days ago, I blogged about Cornish pasties and their protected status. In my haste, I realize that I completely neglected to call attention to the fact that pasties (pronounced pas tees in the UK) and pasties (pronounced pey stees in the US) have the same spelling but are entirely different animals. And you wouldn’t really want to confuse the two. Or eat one while wearing the other.
I have had no luck, to date, figuring out where pasties got their name, assuming that the meat pie version came first. Did the nipple cover industry one day decide that their product needed a snappier name? Maybe something resembling a popular quick lunch food that was popular with miners?! Your guess is as good as mine.
Jim Datz’s London
Months ago, I spotted this London poster by Brooklyn artist Jim Datz online and fell in love. Who can resist the retro illustrations on this very different London map? So charming! Jim lived in London five years ago as freelance art director for Urban Outfitters Europe so he’s very Britrish. The poster is currently at the top of my Most Wanted list.
Jon Stewart Banned in the UK
Not sure if you’ve been following The Daily Show this week but Jon Stewart’s response yesterday to the UK censoring some Daily Show footage made me laugh out loud. A special thanks to the always fabulous @thatgirllise for the link and video!
Pasties Need Protection!
The Cornish Pasty is now protected. BTW, who does this look like to you?
When Americans like food, they eat it. When the Brits like food, they give it “protected status.” Yep, like an endangered species.
Last week, the Cornish pasty (think pie crust stuffed with filling and rolled up like a calzone and baked) joined other British delicacies like Jersey Royale potatoes and Cornish clotted cream and acquired “Protected Food Name Status” by the European Union (EU). Read more about it and view a map of the UK’s protected foods.
What’s it all mean?
Well, now the Cornish pasty will get the respect it deserves: If it’s not made in Cornwall, it can’t be called a Cornish pasty. Pasty, yes. Cornish, no.
It makes me feel a little bit sorry for the food on our shores, so sweet and vulnerable.
The incredible, edible egg
Just your typical egg aisle at the supermarket. Photo credit: Richard Appleyard
I live by the two-hour rule. Refrigerated food can live outside its natural habitat for two hours max. TWO HOURS MAX. It’s a guiding principle in my life.
And so you can imagine my horror the first time I wandered into a Tesco Supermarket and stumbled upon the egg aisle. The unrefrigerated egg aisle with stacks and stacks of egg cartons sitting quite happily in a non-chilled state. Gah.
Apparently, Brits aren’t bothered by this. They buy their eggs, bring them home and put them in the fridge. Why the rush? Why not leave them on the counter for a few days? This I’ve never understood. When asked, I’ve usually gotten the ho-hum, nonchalant response: “Well, eggs need to be refrigerated.” If there is an urgency to put them in a fridge when you’re home, why not the urgency at the supermarket? Not quite sure.
Does anyone know why this is? Or can anyone hasten a guess? It might just be one of those chicken-or-the-egg mysteries …
The Sound of Music
Much singing can be heard at night in Edinburgh's Grassmarket
After doing a few minutes of searching on the Internets, I’ve decided that what the world sorely needs is an anthropological study of the drinking habits of people across the globe. A cultural analysis of the inebriated, complete with full color pictures. Maybe a coffee table book.
If such a book were written, then much could be said about the copious amount of singing that goes on in the United Kingdom, following last orders.
For a time, we lived in a cozy flat (translation: apartment) in Edinburgh’s Grassmarket area, a stone’s throw from quite a few pubs. And so it was that every Friday and Saturday night, we would inevitably hear the lilting melodies of “Flower of Scotland,” Scotland’s unofficial national anthem, from roving bands of merriment makers. It was like clockwork. The pubs would close and then, cue the singing. Nothing resembling The Warblers. Always “Flower of Scotland.” Sometimes something by the Pogues.
Now I’m no anthropologist but I think it’s fair to say that such a thing doesn’t happen in the US. There are bar fights, yes. Shouting, of course. Loud chatter and giggles and the clip-clop of heels hitting pavement but strains from “America the Beautiful”? Uh, I think not.
BRITRISH.COM 