R.L. Stedman's Blog, page 18
October 7, 2013
Tips for Feeding Teens in England
Teenage boys need feeding regularly. Unlike France, where boulangeries are plentiful, snack food was harder to find in the UK.
We discovered these solutions:
Tea Shops. Toasted tea cakes, scones and cups of tea (my son has become addicted to tea, preferring the more exotic blends to the everyday) or milkshakes.Big breakfasts mean you can last until lunch time. It doesn't have to be a cooked breakfast - cereal followed with lots of toast will do.Big lunches mean you can avoid expensive mid afternoon snacks or desperately grabbing whatever overpriced restaurant you can find in the evening.You can of course make it yourself, but its not always that easy to carry loads of sandwiches around with you on the tube. We found it easier to take snacks - muesli bars, biscuits, fruit. You can buy pre-made sandwiches in some off licenses. They're not the greatest, but needs must...Carry water with you.Make sure you have lots of fruit with breakfast!In London, the boys liked subway, because they felt full afterwards.
For the evening, self-cater as much as you can.You will eat healthier and save a packet. But sometimes you'll be tired, or busy, or out of food. Here's what we found:
In London, curry houses or Turkish restaurants had better prices.Teens love buffets, look out for 'all you can eat' deals. We found a Chinese place in Exeter offering £6.00 meals.In rural areas, it's pretty much pub grub. Ask around for which pubs do good meals - there is a lot of variation. The good ones are really great.Try and encourage the kids to order potatoes instead of fries. If you can.The tourist areas are expensive - like £70 for hamburgers and fries at convent garden. Aargh! So either avoid the tourist areas, or eat before you go, or just suck it up. Tell yourself that you'll never be there again...
We discovered these solutions:
Tea Shops. Toasted tea cakes, scones and cups of tea (my son has become addicted to tea, preferring the more exotic blends to the everyday) or milkshakes.Big breakfasts mean you can last until lunch time. It doesn't have to be a cooked breakfast - cereal followed with lots of toast will do.Big lunches mean you can avoid expensive mid afternoon snacks or desperately grabbing whatever overpriced restaurant you can find in the evening.You can of course make it yourself, but its not always that easy to carry loads of sandwiches around with you on the tube. We found it easier to take snacks - muesli bars, biscuits, fruit. You can buy pre-made sandwiches in some off licenses. They're not the greatest, but needs must...Carry water with you.Make sure you have lots of fruit with breakfast!In London, the boys liked subway, because they felt full afterwards.
For the evening, self-cater as much as you can.You will eat healthier and save a packet. But sometimes you'll be tired, or busy, or out of food. Here's what we found:
In London, curry houses or Turkish restaurants had better prices.Teens love buffets, look out for 'all you can eat' deals. We found a Chinese place in Exeter offering £6.00 meals.In rural areas, it's pretty much pub grub. Ask around for which pubs do good meals - there is a lot of variation. The good ones are really great.Try and encourage the kids to order potatoes instead of fries. If you can.The tourist areas are expensive - like £70 for hamburgers and fries at convent garden. Aargh! So either avoid the tourist areas, or eat before you go, or just suck it up. Tell yourself that you'll never be there again...
Teenager's Top Tips - London
London's AWESOMEHere's The Tenager's list, not in any particular order, of Cool Things to Do in London.
The ShardLondon DungeonWalkin' and Discoverin' stuffCovent GardensGlobe Theatre Street Performers - Trafalgar SquareKew GardensDouble decker buses and the TubeChanging of the GuardLondon Eye
We also went to loads of museums, galleries etc - none made it onto the list!We didn't go to the Tower of London, Greenwich or any of the markets, so this list is by no means complete...
The ShardLondon DungeonWalkin' and Discoverin' stuffCovent GardensGlobe Theatre Street Performers - Trafalgar SquareKew GardensDouble decker buses and the TubeChanging of the GuardLondon Eye
We also went to loads of museums, galleries etc - none made it onto the list!We didn't go to the Tower of London, Greenwich or any of the markets, so this list is by no means complete...
October 6, 2013
Book Review: Shakespeare's Sonnets
Stratford upon Avon
Is very atmospheric, quaint, charming; full of pretty half-timbered buildings.
And of course, replete with all things Shakespeare. So reading Shakespeare's Sonnets would be an easy thing to do, I thought.
That was before I realised how many sonnets there actually are. In the book I downloaded there are 154. I am only up to number 66. The poems are all in praise of, or in thought of, Love: themes of love conquering time, death ending love, the impermanence of beauty, love as a slave, love as lust, lust as power.
I do wonder what they might have been like had he chosen a more weightier topic - like death, or politics, or religion. But politics and religion are unsafe topics and 154 poems on death would have been a bit much.
The thing I like best about the sonnets is Shakespeare's confidence that his poems would be read, and that people would keep on reading them - thus rendering his love (and his art) immortality.
'So long as men can breathe and eyes can seeSo long lives this, and this gives life to thee.'
And on that note, here is some graffiti from Warwick Castle. Not as old as the sonnets, but also outlasting its author! Who needs immortal prose, when you can carve your initials?
[image error]
Is very atmospheric, quaint, charming; full of pretty half-timbered buildings.
And of course, replete with all things Shakespeare. So reading Shakespeare's Sonnets would be an easy thing to do, I thought.
That was before I realised how many sonnets there actually are. In the book I downloaded there are 154. I am only up to number 66. The poems are all in praise of, or in thought of, Love: themes of love conquering time, death ending love, the impermanence of beauty, love as a slave, love as lust, lust as power.
I do wonder what they might have been like had he chosen a more weightier topic - like death, or politics, or religion. But politics and religion are unsafe topics and 154 poems on death would have been a bit much.
The thing I like best about the sonnets is Shakespeare's confidence that his poems would be read, and that people would keep on reading them - thus rendering his love (and his art) immortality.
'So long as men can breathe and eyes can seeSo long lives this, and this gives life to thee.'
And on that note, here is some graffiti from Warwick Castle. Not as old as the sonnets, but also outlasting its author! Who needs immortal prose, when you can carve your initials?
[image error]
October 3, 2013
Book Review: an unmentionable title
Agatha Christie and Casual RacismWhen staying on Dartmoor I was going to read The Hound of the Baskervilles. I must confess this was partly an easy option, having read and re-read the story since childhood. However, due to an accident with my iPad, I lost the iBooks version ( should have used kindle) and so could not read it when on the moor. Shame. We spend an afternoon wandering near Grimspound as the mist came down, very atmospheric and a black dog (a common Devon myth) would have only added to the ambience.
But we also went to Burgh Island. A very odd little place, it's an isthmus, so you can walk to it at low tide and at high tide you can take a peculiar tractor that travels across the sand as the waves rock it to and fro.
Agatha Christie stayed on the Island and set one of her novels there. Unfortuately, the novel has a terrible title, so I'm not going to write it here, but it's been renamed as 'And then there were none.'
The story starts with ten people being invited to an island and then, one by one, they are all murdered, very mysteriously.
It's not one of her best works but it is entertaining enough for a wet day. But it is also, very racist. Against Africans. Against Jews. Against Natives (who don't, apparently, care as much for death as white folk). While these are probably the attitude of Christie's characters, not necessarily those of Christie herself, they are still shocking to read. It was interesting to see how much attitudes have changed, and how it is now no longer acceptable to make sweeping judgements of a sex or a race, even if its your characters with the prejudice, not the author.
That being said, the book is ok, not brilliant. Ten characters is just too many. And they do not have diverse enough voices. So I wouldn't recommend it - and I don't envy the other guests on Burgh Island while Christie wrote it. What would it be like, to inhabit the same hotel as a crime writer?
[image error]
But we also went to Burgh Island. A very odd little place, it's an isthmus, so you can walk to it at low tide and at high tide you can take a peculiar tractor that travels across the sand as the waves rock it to and fro.
Agatha Christie stayed on the Island and set one of her novels there. Unfortuately, the novel has a terrible title, so I'm not going to write it here, but it's been renamed as 'And then there were none.'
The story starts with ten people being invited to an island and then, one by one, they are all murdered, very mysteriously.
It's not one of her best works but it is entertaining enough for a wet day. But it is also, very racist. Against Africans. Against Jews. Against Natives (who don't, apparently, care as much for death as white folk). While these are probably the attitude of Christie's characters, not necessarily those of Christie herself, they are still shocking to read. It was interesting to see how much attitudes have changed, and how it is now no longer acceptable to make sweeping judgements of a sex or a race, even if its your characters with the prejudice, not the author.
That being said, the book is ok, not brilliant. Ten characters is just too many. And they do not have diverse enough voices. So I wouldn't recommend it - and I don't envy the other guests on Burgh Island while Christie wrote it. What would it be like, to inhabit the same hotel as a crime writer?
[image error]
October 2, 2013
Tips for Travelling in the UK
Things I have learned:Apologies for an extended absence - I've been staying in a 13th Century cottage in Devon and such houses rarely come with internet access.
We've been travelling in the UK for nearly four weeks and here's a quick summary of things I wish I knew when I arrived:
Get a local sim and insert it into your smart phone. This will allow you access to google maps without incurring roaming charges, invaluable when in a new country. I had avoided this, thinking my phone was locked. Turned out it wasn't. You can tell by inserting a micro sim into your phone and seeing what it does! Cost of aforesaid sim: 5 pounds. Until I figured this out I spend $86.00 in calls and dataBe careful with tripadvisor holiday lets (www.holidaylettings.co.uk). We've had a very mixed experience with this site. However, I do recommend listings that are attached to reputable outfits - such as Helpful Holidays. The reason: the cancellation fees are massive (the total cost of the booking if less than 4 weeks notice) and communication with owners is very mixed. If you use a third party agency, responses to emails and phone calls is much faster.Research your destination in advance. This gives you a good idea on what you want to see - important in a place like London, where there is just so much to do.If you are going to a rural destination, invest in an Ordnance Survey map. There are heaps of little attractions in the country - ruined castles, roman roads, stone circles - that are marked on these maps. Most are free.Get out of the car. The UK was developed for people on feet (there are hundreds of little public access footpaths and bridleways).Buy National Trust membership. We purchased New Zealand Historical Places membership before we left which gives a family of four access to National Trust properties - 100s of castles, stately homes, gardens and other places across the UK. Cost: $69.00Plan for bad weather. England is green because it is wet! And when its sunny, get outdoors.
Dartmoor
We've been travelling in the UK for nearly four weeks and here's a quick summary of things I wish I knew when I arrived:
Get a local sim and insert it into your smart phone. This will allow you access to google maps without incurring roaming charges, invaluable when in a new country. I had avoided this, thinking my phone was locked. Turned out it wasn't. You can tell by inserting a micro sim into your phone and seeing what it does! Cost of aforesaid sim: 5 pounds. Until I figured this out I spend $86.00 in calls and dataBe careful with tripadvisor holiday lets (www.holidaylettings.co.uk). We've had a very mixed experience with this site. However, I do recommend listings that are attached to reputable outfits - such as Helpful Holidays. The reason: the cancellation fees are massive (the total cost of the booking if less than 4 weeks notice) and communication with owners is very mixed. If you use a third party agency, responses to emails and phone calls is much faster.Research your destination in advance. This gives you a good idea on what you want to see - important in a place like London, where there is just so much to do.If you are going to a rural destination, invest in an Ordnance Survey map. There are heaps of little attractions in the country - ruined castles, roman roads, stone circles - that are marked on these maps. Most are free.Get out of the car. The UK was developed for people on feet (there are hundreds of little public access footpaths and bridleways).Buy National Trust membership. We purchased New Zealand Historical Places membership before we left which gives a family of four access to National Trust properties - 100s of castles, stately homes, gardens and other places across the UK. Cost: $69.00Plan for bad weather. England is green because it is wet! And when its sunny, get outdoors.
DartmoorSeptember 20, 2013
Apologies
Unavoidable Delay I will be away from wifi for a fortnight.
Apologies in advance for the silence.
Apologies in advance for the silence.
Book Review: NeverWhere by Neil Gaiman
Book Review.This is a wonderful story, told as an old-fashioned fairy-tale yarn: Multiple points of view, a sometimes omniscient narrator and a touch of irony.
Richard Mayhew is heading to London - but which London? There are two types of London: the London Above, the world of everyday, where the most dangerous thing you do is running to catch a taxi; and the London Below, the realm of the dispossessed and dangerous, where there is a Earl at Earl's Court and a circus at Oxford Circus. Where time is trapped and bubbles up, displacing the present. Richard tumbles into the Below, and wishes he hadn't...
It's a great book to read on the tube.
Richard Mayhew is heading to London - but which London? There are two types of London: the London Above, the world of everyday, where the most dangerous thing you do is running to catch a taxi; and the London Below, the realm of the dispossessed and dangerous, where there is a Earl at Earl's Court and a circus at Oxford Circus. Where time is trapped and bubbles up, displacing the present. Richard tumbles into the Below, and wishes he hadn't...
It's a great book to read on the tube.
Charity and Privilege
The Royal CharityToday I went somewhere I've been longing to go for many, many years....Buckingham Palace. The State Rooms are open for visits over the summer months, until the end of September. I went alone - my family are not interested in the Palace or its inhabitants.
So along with several hundred other tourists, I entered the Staterooms. Impression?: Gold. Gold with blue, gold with white, gold with red. And carvings. Lots of carvings. The Royal families, or their architects, believe in embellishment. A roof? Carve it, with thistles or roses or shamrocks. Balustrades are carved, then gilded. Walls are either papered in damask (don't want plain wallpaper) or have carved details. The carvings are gilded.
The whole tour is done on audio headset so the crowd is completely silent, drifting like sleepwalkers through enormous rooms, and all you can hear is a faint hissing when someone has the sound turned up.
There's a special exhibition on at the moment of the 1953 Coronation of QE2. Not being alive at the time of this event, the photographs and film footage leaves me rather unmoved (the hushed voice of the commentator 'now, an event so old that even its origins are lost in the depths of time') but the coronation dresses, on display in the ballroom (which has its own pipe organ), are truly splendid - the hand embroidered dresses, the velvet-and-ermine trains and oh yes, the tiara, necklace and earrings worn by the Queen on the way to her coronation. These are made from diamonds, each diamond being at least the size of a fingernail.
It's then that I remember: the visit to the Palace was actually a visit to a Charity. The Charity being the Royal Collection (of artwork, purchased by the Crown - Charles the First etc - over many years with what was, presumably, public money).
It's the first charity I've ever seen that has diamonds on display.
At the end of the tour, there's a coffee shop and a gift shop, which has lots of photos of a smiling Queen and small toiletries, biscuits, towels and other memorabilia, all for purchase. So I succumbed, purchasing an expensive cappuccino, with the Queen's crest tastefully picked out in chocolate, and several exorbitantly-priced towels with 'Buckingham Palace' embroidered on them in gold, so I could loan them to guests.
After all, I thought, it's for charity.
So along with several hundred other tourists, I entered the Staterooms. Impression?: Gold. Gold with blue, gold with white, gold with red. And carvings. Lots of carvings. The Royal families, or their architects, believe in embellishment. A roof? Carve it, with thistles or roses or shamrocks. Balustrades are carved, then gilded. Walls are either papered in damask (don't want plain wallpaper) or have carved details. The carvings are gilded.
The whole tour is done on audio headset so the crowd is completely silent, drifting like sleepwalkers through enormous rooms, and all you can hear is a faint hissing when someone has the sound turned up.
There's a special exhibition on at the moment of the 1953 Coronation of QE2. Not being alive at the time of this event, the photographs and film footage leaves me rather unmoved (the hushed voice of the commentator 'now, an event so old that even its origins are lost in the depths of time') but the coronation dresses, on display in the ballroom (which has its own pipe organ), are truly splendid - the hand embroidered dresses, the velvet-and-ermine trains and oh yes, the tiara, necklace and earrings worn by the Queen on the way to her coronation. These are made from diamonds, each diamond being at least the size of a fingernail.
It's then that I remember: the visit to the Palace was actually a visit to a Charity. The Charity being the Royal Collection (of artwork, purchased by the Crown - Charles the First etc - over many years with what was, presumably, public money).
It's the first charity I've ever seen that has diamonds on display.
At the end of the tour, there's a coffee shop and a gift shop, which has lots of photos of a smiling Queen and small toiletries, biscuits, towels and other memorabilia, all for purchase. So I succumbed, purchasing an expensive cappuccino, with the Queen's crest tastefully picked out in chocolate, and several exorbitantly-priced towels with 'Buckingham Palace' embroidered on them in gold, so I could loan them to guests.
After all, I thought, it's for charity.
September 18, 2013
Immortal Prose
Layers of TimeThere are layers of time within London. The street names, the tube stops, the accents; even the laws reflect the city's age.
But, not being time travellers, the past is gone. Except in our imagination, and in our literature, which peels back the years and makes the past alive.
Yesterday I went to see A Midsummer Night's Dream, a play that's over 500 years old. It was raining but the audience didn't seem to mind. The actors wore Elizabethan costume and spoke in archiac English, but the jokes were still funny; the message of the play still current.
All this in a theatre that was famous once, 500 years ago, before it burnt down. It's been rebuilt and is now so popular that there's standing room only.
Or maybe Shakespeare's right, and this whole world is but a dream...including this post.
But, not being time travellers, the past is gone. Except in our imagination, and in our literature, which peels back the years and makes the past alive.
Yesterday I went to see A Midsummer Night's Dream, a play that's over 500 years old. It was raining but the audience didn't seem to mind. The actors wore Elizabethan costume and spoke in archiac English, but the jokes were still funny; the message of the play still current.
All this in a theatre that was famous once, 500 years ago, before it burnt down. It's been rebuilt and is now so popular that there's standing room only.
Or maybe Shakespeare's right, and this whole world is but a dream...including this post.
September 15, 2013
Snapshots of Time
Time Changes EverythingI'm in London now. I haven't been here for nearly twenty years. Twenty years is nothing in the life of a city like this; yet so much has changed.
The skyline has altered: there's a giant ferris wheel beside the Thames and skyscrapers made of curved steel and glass. Hybrid buses, still double decker, but now they actually stop. There's an easy-to-use oyster card for the underground and these nifty little bikes you can ride for next to nothing. And where has all the litter gone?
Every city has its own vibe: Amsterdam has energy, Paris has aggression. And London? London has funk.
We're here for a week. I wish I had longer...
The skyline has altered: there's a giant ferris wheel beside the Thames and skyscrapers made of curved steel and glass. Hybrid buses, still double decker, but now they actually stop. There's an easy-to-use oyster card for the underground and these nifty little bikes you can ride for next to nothing. And where has all the litter gone?
Every city has its own vibe: Amsterdam has energy, Paris has aggression. And London? London has funk.
We're here for a week. I wish I had longer...
