"Hunting Macleod" Harris Tweed

The quintessential British country squire wears tweed and the classic image of a stuffy old professor generally includes a tweed coat, but tweed is, in my opinion, cool!  Originally woven by small crofters for their personal use, tweed is one of the original working man’s fabrics.  In the early 19th century, the surplus of these crofters made its way into the London shops with ‘tweel’ (the pattern in which it is woven) being misread as tweed (a famous Scottish river).  Under this name, it was advertised and after the death of the 6th Earl of Dunmore in 1843, his widow commissioned a pair of sisters, known as the Paisley Sisters, to weave fabric in the family tartan.  This fabric was then made into uniforms for the staff of the Dunmore estate.  Being hardwearing, water-resistant, and warm, it was ideal for the gamewardens and the Countess quickly realized that it was ideal for a range of other outdoor pursuits.  By the late 1840s, with the Countess’s constant promotion, Harris Tweed was the fabric of choice for the landed gentry and the aristocracy. Read more »

The Smallest Car in the Largest City in the World (1913):

Queen Alexandra ordered a miniature Cadillac car for Crown Prince Olav (later King) of Norway and – never ones to miss an advertising opportunity – the manufacturers arranged the filming of the car’s departure from the factory, where it is waved out by an enthusiastic male crowd.

This mini marvel continues its jubilant journey through the streets of London – past the Bank of England, around Trafalgar Square and on to Hyde Park. As crowds cheer and leap in front of the camera, desperate to be preserved on film, the driver’s composure and deadpan facial expression remains one of the most entertaining aspects of this Edwardian glimpse of British pride.

The film ends with some charming footage of a tea party, in which three children run into trouble with the law for speeding!

Again, posted by the BFI. Jeremy drives the smallest car in the world at the BBC – Top Gear (2007):

Jeremy drives the Peel P-50 through central London and into the BBC offices. From Top Gear.

Original Illustration by Sidney Paget

At Christmas, my father gave me a volume of Sherlock Holmes stories and they are ideal for bedtime reading!  Not only are they great little stories, but they were all written to be read in short segments.  So, I would recommend that if you are looking for some nighttime literature that you turn to Watson’s recollections of his adventures with Mr. Holmes.

While many of the Christmas treats in England are very similar to those available in the USA, mince pies are very British.  Additionally, they are one of the few holiday foods that I know we will miss after we have settled back in America.  So, today, when I opened the BBC homepage, I was excited to see this homemade mincemeat recipe by Delia Smith and her family recipe for mince pies.  Now, when next year rolls around, we can make our own mince pies … instead of relying on Marks & Spencer to supply them!

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Okay, here are some thoughts about the places that we visited and the things that we did in Cornwall … it was a great trip and we found some cool places while we were there!

Since we had Phoenix with us the whole time, everything that we did had to be dog-friendly to some extent.  Cornwall (or at least the area around Crantock/Newquay) is very dog-friendly!  We had no problems finding a place to have a nice meal or a pint with the dog.  Details of how dog-friendly each place is will be given below … but generally, it was quite easy to find places that were incredibly dog-friendly while we were there!

Accommodation:

Highfield Lodge – Dave & Lisa, the owners, have a great B&B.  They are extremely dog-friendly (the only place that dogs are not allowed are in the breakfast room during meals or left alone in the room anytime other than during breakfast) and they have a small kennel, in case you need a place to leave a dog during a dog-free period (£5.00 for a full day).  We had a lovely room on the back side of the hotel facing open countryside … rooms on the front of the hotel have a distant sea-view, but are evidently smaller.  The room was well-decorated and nicely furnished, especially considering the high level of usage they must get from dogs!  Of all of the B&B owners that we have come across in our travels around the UK, Dave & Lisa were two of the best.  They came and picked us up at the rail station in Truro.  They loaned us a map and coastal path guide.  They answered all of the questions that we had about the area and pointed us to great dog-friendly places.  Without their input, our vacation would not have been nearly as good as it was!  So, this is a highly recommended place to stay and they even make a very good Cornish breakfast.  (PS – If you are interested in staying here and have children, sorry!  While they allow pets, they do not allow children under the age of 14 … which means no crying babies or whining children.) Read more »

On Valentine’s Day, after visiting the Hotel Chocolat in Kensington and having a hot chocolate (okay, Jill had a coffee & chocolate drink), we were looking for some place to have lunch.  So, I had seen this place on one of my previous trips to the Science Museum, and we decided to stop at Le Pain Quotidien in South Kensington (tel – 020 7486 6154).

At heart, it is a bakery.  Their bread is a highlight of the meal … a basket is £5.20.  It comes with a range of spreads (both fruit and chocolate) and organic butter!  The basket and a bowl of porridge (£3.20) makes a great meal!  It was an ideal location for a Valentine’s brunch … and I would recommend it for anyone in the area looking for a place to dine.  If I am looking for a place to have a meal the next time that I am back at the Science Museum, I will stop in here.

They are located at 15-17 Exhibition Road in SW7 2HE (corner of Thurloe Place).  It is just a short walk from the South Kensington Tube stop and only a block or two from the V&A.

(We also got the great pink, heart-shaped meringues that we had on the train back from London on Valentine’s here.)

Lock yourself away in the prison that became a luxury hotel for just one pound when you book dinner for two a la carte at Malmaison Oxford. Spend at least £75 on dinner from our mouth-watering menu on a Sunday evening and stay the night for just £1.

So, are you coming to Oxford and looking for a nice place to stay, then Malmaison Oxford’s Prison for a Pound deal is not too bad.  With rooms normally costing upwards of £160.00, this is a pretty good deal, but it is not their only promotion.

Check all of them out here.

This last Saturday we went shopping … but not just any old shopping, we went to an outlet mall! Before last Christmas, when the girl’s at Mango wanted to go shopping, they thought about going to Bicester Village, but decided against it. So, we finally made it out to Bicester and Bicester Village (which are not the same thing, as Jill first thought).

Bicester Village is an upscale outlet shopping experience, nothing like the American outlet mall or ‘mega-mall’ (like Concord Mills near Charlotte, NC). Instead, it is full of high-end retailers and boutiques (see floor plan) … Read more »