Tips and tidbits for travel and for fun

Penny Wise


Among My Souvenirs

ALONG WHITEHALL and huddled around places like Piccadilly Circus, hawkers promote a recognizable range of kitsch souvenirs—things like plastic bobby helmets and tee-shirts with glib sayings. We all want to bring back reminders of our travels across Britain, but this isn’t what most of us have in mind.
Some folk collect guidebooks at all the castles, cathedrals and historic properties they visit, but this can get expensive (not to mention heavy) and most of them will be little read again. Every gift shop, though, carries lightweight, inexpensive alternatives. Embossed leather bookmarks for a pound or two are ubiquitous, as are illustrated china thimbles, easy to pack and carry. Determining on a plan in advance not only can result in a lovely and displayable reminder of your travels, it can also make getting in and out of those gift shops a breeze.
Keep an eye out also for those rare and one-off opportunities. If you happen to be at Anne Hathaway’s Cottage in Stratford when they are rethatching the roof, for example, a few stalks of discarded straw would make a unique souvenir. A few years back when craftsmen were replacing the stone floor in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle after 500 years, they were selling small pieces of the original flooring for 50p. Memorable indeed.

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Shot glasses, leather bookmarks, thimbles or beer coasters: souvenirs lie in the eye of the beholder—but really don’t have to be expensive.[/caption]

The British Heritage

PUZZLER


We puzzled this last issue: “Fish and chips, you say? If a typical British couple is going out to dine on the most typical British cuisine, what are they having for dinner?”
A curry. Indian cuisine rules, and Indian restaurants are the most popular category of eating places in Britain. Tandoori, anyone?
Here’s another puzzle of high culture. The oldest choral music festival in the world has united the choirs of three famous cathedrals annually for almost 300 years. Where are these cathedrals?
We do enjoy receiving your notes and queries. Be a Puzzler player. Post a card or email [email protected].

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Sites for the Savvy


A Room of One’s Own


The Grand Hotel, Torquay

THE GRAND HOTEL has had pride of place on the Torquay waterfront for decades. In fact, the 4-star Grand is just what you imagine a grand Edwardian hotel ought to be. Agatha Christie spent her honeymoon here, and scientists from the University of Bournemouth have concluded that the beach just across the street is the finest for building sandcastles in all of Britain.
The Grand’s wide verandas offer unrivalled views over Tor Bay, while below in the lush garden the fountain at the center of its huge heated swimming pool shoots plumes of water—that vaporize magically with any chill in the air.
Well-appointed rooms and suites, a friendly and attentive staff, attractive public areas and memorable dining all contribute to fulfilling the hotel’s mission—making sure that you arrive as a guest and leave as a friend. What a way to visit the English Riviera! The Grand Hotel,Sea Front Torquay TQ2 6NT Tel. 011 44 84450 27587 www.grandtorquay.co.uk

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DANA HUNTLEY
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DANA HUNTLEY

Every English seaside town has some version of an elegant hotel along its waterfront. Torquay is blessed with The Grand.[/caption]

Out of the British Heritage Mailbag

“Reading, Marlborough, West Kennet Long Barrow, Avebury. Many, many times we drove the A4 on our way to visit my parents in Bradford-on-Avon—the Leigh Park Hotel, the city of Bath, with its Roman Baths, good shopping and eating toasted teacakes in the restaurant at the Pump Room.
“I’ve lived in East Tennessee since 1946, but my birthland holds a big place in my heart and I feel blessed to have been back 30 times or more. Subscribing to British Heritage keeps me informed and brings back such wonderful memories.”

Enid Thompson Clinton, TN.

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Author, Author!


You see her byline regularly in British Heritage; now meet Jennifer Dorn, in her own words

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Jennifer Dorn[/caption]

MY LOVE AFFAIR with London began decades ago when I first stepped off a bus from Heathrow Airport onto Kensington High Street. It was that initial trip that ignited my writing career.
For 25 years I juggled writing about Great Britain with an administrative position at New York University School of Law. Several months ago I made the difficult decision to leave NYU to devote more time to writing articles and a book about the recent year that my husband and I lived in London. While I delight in the English countryside and retain a special place in my heart for Kirby Lonsdale and the surrounding Lake District, I am passionate about cities (as well as theater, opera, the novels of Dickens, Trollope and Elizabeth Gaskell, American and British politics). Writing is a rather solitary pursuit, so I often pop outdoors and strike up conversations with complete strangers.
A perfect day in London includes hours writing within the London Library overlooking St. James’s Square; a walk through the Royal Parks from St. James’s to Kensington Gardens; and a performance at the National Theatre. In New York an ideal day encompasses writing; engaging in community service in my downtown neighborhood; and seeing our son play traditional jazz at a local club.
When in New York a part of me is ever in London, and vice versa.

Related: September 2009