The Anglo-File

Tips and tidbits for travel and for fun

Penny Wise Take lunch at the bakery

For years the favorite lunchtime gambit was to head to the pub. For an informal and relatively quick lunch, it was conventional wisdom that pub grub was the way to go. A good ploughman’s of bread and cheese, a hand-carved ham sandwich with chips or a steak and ale pie accompanied by a pint of mild is still hard to beat. Alas, these days, that is not such an inexpensive option, and too often is not that quick either.
For a reasonably priced lunch or a lunch on the move, head for the bakery. Every British town and city center blessedly features a bakery or several. Chain shops like Gregg the Bakers and Bakers Oven abound, and independent bakeries often double as sandwich shops. Every bakery features a variety of ready-prepared stuffed rolls, sandwiches and baguettes (try avocado and bacon). Often less expensive, warm and delectable are sausage rolls, savory tarts, pasties and flakey puff pastries stuffed with chicken curry, cheese and leek or corned beef. Of course, the sweet tooth is easily nourished as well, with pastries, doughnuts and cakes of a bewildering variety. There is always a drink cooler for juices, water or soft drinks.
Yes, you can eat on the stroll, or join the locals on a nearby park bench or the steps of a monument and watch the people.

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Signing the Guestbook From British Heritage readers

Gary and Donna Mayer of Rapid City, S.D., have found Robertsbridge a great base for exploring Kent and Sussex by train. They enthuse: “We have stayed in B&Bs now for 36 years in many countries and around the USA. The Glenferness in Robertsbridge is the most outstanding by far. We brought another couple with us the last time and now they measure every breakfast in every country with that of Glenferness.”
Gary notes as well that there are several great village pubs nearby for evening meals and fun.
Glenferness Bed & Breakfast Robertsbridge, East Sussex
www.Glenferness.co.uk Robertsbridge is just off the A21, four miles north of Battle, on the rail line from Tunbridge Wells to Hastings.

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If you would like to share a favorite hostelry or B&B with our readers, do post us a card or an e-mail to [email protected].[/caption]

The British Heritage Puzzler

Last issue’s Puzzler we posed: “I was a medieval diplomat, attached to the court and fluent in languages. I was Comptroller of Customs in London, a member of Parliament and an ambassador to France and Italy. Who am I?”
Geoffrey Chaucer was indeed a significant public figure in the late 1300s at the court of Edward III. Today he is recognized as the first major poet to write in the English language, and is best known, of course, for The Canterbury Tales.
And now, answer this. Among Britain’s most popular castles with visitors, what superbly preserved medieval fortress and home of the Kingmaker bears the same name as its town and county?
Be a Puzzler player. Post a card or an e-mail to [email protected]. We would love to hear from you.

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