August 2021 Archives

Twenty-seven lion sculptures painted by different artists, comedians, and musicians have appeared across West London and other parts of the world to raise charity for Tusk's conservation projects involving lions and other African species. Lions are under threat by humans taking their lands, and their numbers have decreased rapidly in the past 25 years. The Tusk Lion Trail launched in the middle of August, and the lions will be on display until the 24th of September. In total, there are 47 in total, but only 27 of these are located primarily in West London.

"London Pride" - Adam Dant and "Why Oh Why Oh Why" - Jake Chapman

Adam Dant is an artist known for his illustrations of detailed maps. The lion is inspired by the pubs that use the word "lion" in the title, and maps of popular "lion" pubs appears on the side. 

Jake Chapman is a visual artist who creates shocking work using different media with gruesome scenes around popular subjects from politics to fast food restaurants to oddities.

"Ripping / Cuddling" - Sara Shamma

Sara Shamming is a UK-based artist who uses themes of human emotions in her work, covering tricky subjects like war and human slavery.

"Protect Me" - Sally Wood with Jess Power

Sally Wood is an actress and producer who is on the board at the Roundhouse Theatre. She is married to Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones fame. Jess Power is an artist that worked with Sally Wood to create the artwork inspired by "The Lion King".

"English King" - Glen Baxter

The English garden and kings are celebrated with this green tropiary-style lion. Glen Baxter is an artist whose work is on display around the world.

"Big Blue" - John Illsley

Founding member of the band Dire Straits, John Illsley, has created "Big Blue", inspired by the nobility of the lion.

"Manebow" - Patrick Hughes and "Rose Lion" - Rob & Nick Carter

Patrick Hughes was born during World War II and is a soloist. The rainbow-maned lion is to add more rainbows to the world.

Rob and Nick Carter are an artistic husband and wife duo who create artwork using a lot of bright colour. Mediums include light, painting, film, and photography. During the lockdown, they became inspired by visits to Hyde Park to capture the roses.

"Limited Edition" - Mauro Perucchetti and "Untitled" - Michael Foreman

Italian painter Perucchetti was born in 1949, and his work is inspired by society and environment with the lion no longer being the king due to environmental concerns.

Michael Foreman is an author and illustrator born during World War II and has created over 250 books.

"Long Live That Lion" - Prof Gerry McGovern OBE

Creative Officer for Jaguar Land Rover Gerry McGovern created this lion. The colours represent the vivid African sunsets of their habitat, and the chrome represents the industry that is causing their numbers to decline.

"Brian the Lion" - Hannah Shergold

Hannah Shergold is a helicopter pilot for the army. Since leaving the army in 2018, she has produced artwork and raised money for charity successfully. The artwork asks the worth of the lion and inspires us to think about its whole ecosystem and place in the world.

"Kamuro" - Ian Davenport

Davenport's artwork is shown in many high-profile museums across the globe, and he has been nominated for a Turner Prize. This lion is created using the artist's "Splat" series.

"Nathan" - Helen Downie AKA Unskilled Worker

Fantasy elements are used with natural elements in Helen Downie's artwork.

"Not Lying Lion" - Ronnie Wood

Guitarist of the band The Rolling Stones and a song-writer, Ronnie Wood also has art training. The lion hopes to inform about the lions becoming endangered.

"A Hard Mane is Gonna Fall" - Noel Fielding

Actor, comedian and artist Noel Fielding created many character designs for "The Mighty Boosh" and collaborated with a menswear collection. 

"Signs of the Times" - David Mach

David Mach is known for large-scale artwork using different objects. Familiar symbols are used to describe the lion.

"The Return of the Urban Casual" - Ray Richardson

The artist Ray Richardson painted different artistic scenes on both sides of the lion. 

"Azami" - Dr. Haruhisa Handa

Japanese businessman and spiritual leader Handa has created the artwork titled "azami", which translates as "thistle".

"Pilgrim" - John Cleese and Jen Wade

Comedian John Cleese has created "Pilgrim" with his wife named Fish. The rainbow mane signifies hope and dreams, and the fish is a symbol that is a tribute to Cleese's wife.

"Wild Roots" - Nick Gentry

Consumer waste, pop culture, and found art are popular subjects of the artist. The artwork is inspired by the wild roots of the lion, which humans have in common.

"Blue Lion" - Gavin Turk

One of Turk's artistic styles is to make the sculptures look like giant toys. The lion sculpture appears to be made as a plastic toy animal.

"Golden Wonder" - Matthew Horne and "Suffering Saviour" - George Morton-Clark

Matthew Horne is an actor and writer for the BBC, and he is known for playing Gavin on "Gavin and Stacey", The Catherine Tate Show, Bad Education, and others. 

George Morton-Clark created the lion based on the "Looney Tunes" character Sylvester the cat. The cat's catchphrase is "Suffering succotash".

"Sirkon" - Paul Onditi

Kenyan artist Paul Onditi is an artist making an impact currently, and his work is inspired by human and nature contact with humans living close to national parks and living in close proximity to wildlife, such as lions.

One of the highlights of my visit to Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland at the end of last month was a visit to Buittle Castle. At the time, restrictions in Scotland meant that very few places were open, but I came across this little 'castle' while I was researching online, and I promptly booked onto the afternoon tea and tour. The ruins of the early castle are located here, but the new 'castle' itself is really a fortified home, lovingly restored by the current owners, who are descendants of the original owners (Balliol family). In fact, the land here has had over 30 generations of family ownership (excluding a brief 60-year gap). They have recently re-purchased the castle and have recently restored it in line with medieval design (with a modern twist). The sunken garden at the back is currently being restored, and the original stables serve as a bed and breakfast for guests.

The location of the original Buittle Castle (the ruins) on this site next to the river was important strategically, and Iron Age ruins have been discovered here. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Lords of Galloway resided here to create a motte and bailey castle. The ruins of this can be seen today, just beyond the sunken garden. 

Buittle Castle itself is located in a valley with access down a narrow winding road, which made my partner uneasy with his car. He assumed that I'd led him down into an unmaintained castle, but he took those words back when he eventually got to go inside, as he later told me that it was the highlight of out long weekend away in Galloway, Scotland. 

I enjoyed a drink in the castle courtyard before the tour, and we had a fairly large group. I also had a quick walk around the garden and admired the castle from the different views.

The original castle dates from around 1170. The castle, known as Botel in the middle ages, was actually the seat of Scottish government for a few years through the marriage of John Balliol. The newer structure (fortified house) dates from the 16th century, and it has been altered a bit.

Robert the Bruce actually seiged the castle during the Scottish Wars of Independence, and the castle was given to James Douglas in 1313. It was later passed back to the Balliol family. The original castle became ruins by the 16th centuries, and the new house was built.

The fortified house did not have ground level access as a defence mechanism. The ground floor has a vaulted ceiling and was used for storage. Today, it is set up as a chapel as the current owners are Roman Catholic, and services are held by them in the chapel. The chapel includes original relics that were passed down through the family and an alter that was re-purposed from other uses.

The first floor would have been the original entrance and where the family lived. The first room was a reception room. 

Off of the reception area is the Great Hall, which has been restored.

Mary Queen of Scots stayed at Balliol Castle, and the upstairs bedroom is dedicated to her.

After the tour of the house, we sat down in one of the recent extensions of the castle grounds. This was built as a chapel, and it was where we enjoyed afternoon tea.

The tea came with cucumber sandwiches, scones with jam and lemon curd and clotted cream, and a selection of small pastries - little pieces of cake, shortbread, and French Fancies. It also contained a glass of yogurt.

After the afternoon tea and chatting to a nice couple sat next to us (who were staying that night at the bed and breakfast at Buittle Castle and got through the past year by walking and losing weight), we headed on our way. Visitors to the Galloway area should definitely visit Buittle Castle. The owner has a sense of pride at restoring the castle and discussing its history.

This post is a little late because I visited Cambridge at the beginning of July, but I have been busy making up for lost time and doing as much as possible with all of the annual leave that I have carried over from last year that I have not been spending much time in front of a computer unless it is for work. Cambridge was one of the solo trips that I made and a city that I had only been to on two fleeting occassions years ago. I never properly explored it until this visit. I had a walk around to see the Cows of Cambridge sculpture tour, Dinky Doors, and I also had afternoon tea and visited some tourist attractions. Of course, one of the attractions was the punting which I had never done in Cambridge nor Oxford, so it was high on my list. I also got to look around the shops, but they are not very photogenic, but I found Cambridge to have great shopping areas. Also, the people were very social, especially those who wished to chat about photography. It has a great atmosphere for the arty and intellectual types, so it was easy to fit in here. There's even a castle (Cambridge Castle), but it isn't a must-see attraction.

I had decent weather during part of my visit, and one of the first places I headed to was further afield where I walked along the river to search for some of the Dinky Doors. The punting does not go down this stretch of the river, but it does look picturesque here with the technology museum stack in the distance.

Cambridge is filled with very old buildings and colleges, and I loved looking at the buildings. I wanted to do a walking tour, but I just did not get time for that, so I don't know what some of the buildings are that I walked past.

One of my visits was to Jack's Gelato, a small-batch ice cream producer that uses local ingredients where possible and has been serving ice cream to Cambridge since 2010. I purchased the mint chocolate chip ice cream, and it hit the spot on a warm early evening. It was actually quite popular too.

Next up is the Corpus Christi Clock at the end of Bene't Street, where Jack's Gelato is. I struggled to get a photograph of it because of the glare on the window, and it was just a popular place for people to stop and look. The clock was placed here in 2008, and it depicts a giant insect "eating" time with inscriptions bearing that all must pass in time. 

I visited over graduation weekend, and King's College was very busy with graduation and visitors hanging around. I took the below photograph in the early evening after the ice cream and visit to Corpus Clock.

There are many independent shops in Cambridge. I believe that it has something for everyone.

Parker's Piece is a large area of green located to the south of the city centre. 

I did not realise that Cambridge was known for its red cattle that roam around the city. These cattle were near the river where I would later pass by on the punting boat tour.

The mathematical bridge is one of the bridges in Cambridge. It was built without needing any nails, but when they took it apart to treat the wood, they would not work out how to put it together again, so they had to use nails.

The views along the river are quite picturesque.

On the morning of the day that I was due to leave, large groups of students were marching (in a socially-distanced order) to their ceremonies in their caps and gowns.

One of the trees near here is "Newton's Apple Tree" where he started to think about gravity. Obviously, it would not be the same tree as apple trees do not live that long, but they have created descendants of that same tree.

I took a punting tour, and we were told about the different bridges and some of the buildings along the way. 

The building below was designed in the modernist style, and when it was opened by Prince Charles, he was less than flattering about the building and referred to it as a "car park". It does look like one, and it is an ugly building, to be fair. It looks so out of place along the river here with all of the other traditional buildings around it. 

Below is the Bridge of Sighs.

Although still in the centre of Cambridge, it does look misleading along the river here between the colleges.

We were told about the different colleges along the river and the dormatories. Some of the rooms are coveted and only given to the top students.

The back of King's College is noticable.

There were so many gorgeous views, and the river was quiet and sunny. By the time we were on the way back and almost returned, there were quite a lot of people on the river.

After the tour, I had a wander around the shops. 

I remember the fudge shop during my first visit to Cambridge in 2000. It is still there, opposite King's College. They were making fudge, but it obviously was not at all busy. These places get so many tourists normally that there is a queue to get inside and watch the fudge being made and try samples.

I thought the little sculpture was unique, but I did not know anything about it. It is by Gary Webb, and it is called "Snowy". It features a local person named Snowy Farr who always set up with mice around the brim of his hat and other animals around him. He raised money for various charities.

Here's more of what I got up to in Cambridge:

• Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge
• Cambridge Botanic Garden
• Afternoon Tea at Parker's Tavern, Cambridge
• Breakfast at Fitzbillies, Cambridge
• Cambridge Castle
• Cows About Cambridge Sculpture Trail
• Dinky Doors in Cambridge
• RUN "Human Touch" Street Murals in Cambridge

Craft Gin Club is a monthly gin subscription box that send members a full-sized bottle of gin with mixers, snacks, and the magainze "Ginned!". The magazine contains information on the gin and how to make the gin cocktails along with other recipes for the gin. The gin of the month this month is the award-winning Brass Lion Singapore Dry Gin. This gin won Gold at the World Gin Awards this year. The box features a variety of sweet and spicy snacks that pair with the taste of Singapore.

Brass Lion Distillery have created this Singapore Dry Gin, and it is sold exclusively in the UK through the Craft Gin Club. The gin is described as tropical with lemongress, mandarin, ginger flower and tamarind. It is citrus and sweet. For the monthly tonic, the Twisted Soft Drinks tonic water in Thai Lemon & Lemongrass is the perfect pairing for the gin. This tonic water is described as not bitter like many tonics on the market.

For the pairing snacks, I received Uncle Saba's Poppadmons in sweet chilli, Wild Cassava Chips in sweet chilli and onion, Brown Bag Crisps in tiger prawn with a hint of chilli and lime, and The Dormen sweet chilli peanuts.

Uncle Saba's poppadoms are vegan-friendly and are a balance between sweet and spice. I found them to be delicious and the perfect pairing snack with gin cocktails. The Wild brand are environmentally-friendly in their farming practices and supply chain, and the chips are vegan-friendly as well. Cassava is a root vegetable that is similar to potatoes, and the flavour of these is sweet chilli and onion and also went very well with the gin. 

Brown Bag Crisps is a small brand from Surrey that create creative flavours. These crisps are not vegetarian, so I did not eat them. I gave them away. 

The Dormen produce snacks that are perfect for the bar. The snacks are produced in small batches. The sweet chilli peanuts were delicious, and the mix included dried fruit and peanuts with a chilli kick. They were delicious paired with the gin.

The next product received was a mixer - Upsteam Grapefruit and Bergamont. Some subscribers would have received the other flavour, which is Strawberry and Lychee. Upstream create their products using natural flavours and spring water. The drinks are lightly sparkling and zero sugar. A recipe in the magazine provides an opportunity to use the mixer with the gin.

The next product received was Martin Frobisher's fruit juice in cherry flavour. The juice was used for the cocktail of the month along with the syrup received, Singapore Fling cocktail syrup. I love cherry, and I absolutely loved the Martin Frobisher cherry fruit juice.

Pineapple and pink peppercorn garnishes were also included with this month's box, and these paired well with the gin and tonic mix.

The box's mixers and snacks were a win for me this month, although the way that these were used were not completely to my liking. I would have used more fruit or less gin as I found them to be a bit too strong and over-powering for my tastes. They tasted delicious on my own, though, so I expect that less gin would have suited me better. I may have to order some of the mixers and snacks.

Alnwick in Northumberland, England contains several attractions to pass the time. I visited in mid-July and filled my time with castles, gardens, good food, shopping, museums, and much more. This post covers the different attractions that you can see to help plan for your visit to Alnwick. The best time of the year to visit Alnwick is in the spring or summer, but you can visit at any time. The majority of attractions are outdoors.

Barter Books: Barter Books is the largest second-hand bookstore in the UK. The place is a destination itself as it has a cafe and is a converted train station. See the model railway along the bookshelves, enjoy food in the cafe, and browse the second-hand books. I spent over a couple of hours here browsing. If you have a rainy day in Alnwick, it is a perfect place to visit, but be warned that it gets busy inside. For more information, see my post on Barter Books.

Alnwick Castle: Alnwick Castle is an attraction in its own right. Owned by the Northumberlands, the castle is a top tourist attraction. Visitors can tour the "state rooms", see falconry displays, have a try at archery or broomstick training, and go on various tours or games. The castle was used in filming "Harry Potter" and other films, and a lot of visitors come for the "Harry Potter" connections. For visitors with more time on their hands and nice weather, the grounds can also be walked along the riverside and onto the grounds along the hillside for more views. Read more about Alnwick Castle.

Balliffgate Museum: The Balliffgate Museum is set over three floors of exhibitions about the town of Alnwick from pre-historic times to modern times. The top floor contains temporary exhibitions, and during my visit, it was a great space to learn about Vikings. The bottom floor contains exhibitions about coal mining. The museum is focused on Alnwick and the close vicinity, so it is a great place to spend a couple of hours. See my post about Balliffgate Museum.

Alnwick Garden: Opened in 2001, Alnwick Garden is one of the most popular attractions at Alnwick. The feature point of the 12-acre garden is the impressive 120-jet fountain that cascades down from the hillside and has an impressive fountain display every thirty minutes. There are different parts of the garden so visitors can see something new each time they visit. When I visited, it was at the height of the rose garden and just before the roses went over their peak. There is a cherry orchard with impressive blossom in spring, hedge mazes, a walled garden, and a poison garden. If you visit the cafe at lunch, you will see the resident duck family begging for crumbs. See my post about Alnwick Garden and Forgotten Garden Adventure Golf.

Alnwick Garden Forgotten Garden Adventure Golf: Outside of Alnwick Garden is a crazy golf course that visitors can enjoy. There are some discounts for the golf if choosing Gift Aid to buy the tickets to the gardens. The course contains a garden theme throughout and features broken pots, bees, ants, worms, and an animated spider that shoots water. See my post about Alnwick Garden and Forgotten Garden Adventure Golf.

The Treehouse Restaurant: The Treehouse is a part of Alnwick Gardens, but you can visit it without a ticket to the garden. Constructed to appear like a treehouse, the restaurant has a wintery feel with white fairy lights and furniture and architecture constructed out of tree limbs. It's a beautiful setting, and the restaurant boasts different menus for the time of the day/week and cocktails. I hope to return here. For more information, see my post about the Treehouse Restaurant.

Market and Shopping: Alnwick is a small town that can be effortlessly be walked. On Saturdays, there is a market day in the square that sells a variety of food and crafts. There is a selection of tourist shops to visit and a brewery shop. 

Hotspur Tower: This monument was an entrance gate into Alnwick and dates from the middle ages. It is not open to the public.

Ice cream: There are a couple of different places to get ice cream from in Alnwick. The first place is on the western side of the town a short walk away from Balliffgate Museum and one of the entrances to the castle. It is aptly named "Alnwick Ice Cream Parlour". The other location is Carlo's Takeaway, which is a popular place in the town for fish and chips.

Gardens: In addition to Alnwick Gardens, different areas of the city are filled with flowers and colourful flower beds to brighten up the town.

Histortorical fountain, St. Michael's Pant: A couple of historical fountains and animal troughs can stll be seen along the high street at Alnwick. One of those is St. Michael's Pant.

Henry Hotspur Statue: The famous local resident is a son of Henry Percy, and he was born at Alnwick Castle in 1364. He saw a lot of bloody battles between the Scottish and English and was nicknamed "Hotspur" by the Scottish. Hotspur was a legend on the battlefield and gained a celebrity status. The statue to the local hero of the battlefield dates from 2010.

Alnwick is a wonderful place to visit, and there are many attractions to see.

Cancelled at least twice after booking months in advance and delays due to the pandemic, Adelphi Theatre's production of "Back to the Future" finally opened on Friday after a much-anticipated wait. I saw it on its second day of viewing on Saturday evening. This is the first time that I have been to the theatre since the pandemic; the last time I visited the theatre was in December of 2019, when I saw White Christmas at the Dominion Theatre. 

The play follows the popular "Back to the Future" movie that released in the 1980s with a new cast of music to help tell the story. There have been some adaptations and changes to the story along the way. After all, the musical itself is held on stage with musical numbers, so some of the sets were reused. 

One surprise was the Delorean built for the stage; the Delorean is the iconic part of the franchise, so it plays a part. The actors got a lot of laughs, particularly the actor for Emmett Brown. Jokes were thrown in for good measure with some play off the audience.

In terms of pandemic, visitors are crammed into the theatre without any social distancing rules, so if you're not feeling safe, hold off visiting for now. 

Readers may recognise Alnwick Castle as one of the filming locations for the first couple of "Harry Potter" films; it was Hogwarts. Its popularity in the franchise has helped establish its visitor base to over 800,000 visitors a year and can be combined with The Alnwick Garden attraction next door. The castle was also used in other films, and it is a popular attraction in Northumberland. I went on a visit to it in the middle of July.

The earliest parts of the castle dated from the end of the 1000s. The area here was always in a state of conflict between the Scottish and English, and the castle was captured by a king of Scotland. The castle was eventually sold to the Percy family, now the Dukes of Northumberland. It is currently owned by that family, and they live at the castle today. It is the second largest inhabited castle with the first place going to Windsor. The castle is open to the public in the summer months.

The castle's towers contain sculptures; no doubt, this was a symbol of power and prestige.

Inside one of the buildings at the outer bailey, this horse-drawn carriage is on display.

The outer bailey contains views of the castle keep and archway leading to the inner bailey.

The towers around the inner and outer bailey host museums with one containing items from all over the ancient world. The other contains weaponry and items from the military force in the early 1800s. The inner bailey was used in the "Harry Potter" films as well, and "Downton Abbey" and "Transformers" were also shot here.

There is a small section of wall walk here in the inner bailey between a couple of the towers that house the museums. I found one of the museums especially fascintating with the ancient items collected from all over the world. A very small section can be seen in the photographs below.

Visitors to the castle can enjoy special talks. There was one about the history of the castle, one about the filming locations of the castle, and another about arms and armoury. For children and adults, there were bird of prey talks and demonstrations. There is also archery, but this was currently not open. Children could also enjoy photographs of themselves on green-screened broomsticks in front of the castle, broomstick training (where the famous scene was filmed in the "Harry Potter" movies) and "Dragon Quest", an interactive and immersive game. The birds or prey had attracted a large crowd during my visit. 

The castle keep is where the family lives today and where visitors can enjoy viewing the "state rooms" and collections of finery - paintings, precious items, and so on. Photography is not allowed inside the "state rooms", so I am unable to show the amazing rooms and items on display there. However, I did take a few photographs of the inner keep, which was also used in the first "Harry Potter" movie and other films.

The inner keep towers contain the emblems of other allies of the Dukes of Northumberland. The building was designed in the Italian style.

The parkland below the castle was laid out by Lancelot "Captability" Brown. It has been sculptured into a pleasure area with rolling hills, pasture, and a lake.

In the far corner of the outer bailey, the broomstick classes appear to be a big hit with the visitors.

The shop, cafe, and Dragon's Quest adventures are located near the entrance (or exit), tucked out of the way.

Visitors to the castle should spend at least four hours minimum at Alnwick Castle to see everything, but it is possible to spend nearly a day here to partake in the different options, especially if it is busy. The tours take nearly an hour each and are interesting if you wish to know the history of the castle and the filming locations. If visiting with children, I would spend at least five hours here.

Barter Books is England's largest second-hand bookstore. It is located in Alnwick's Victorian train station, which was turned into a bookstore in 1991 after the station closed in 1968. The store has cafes and reading areas, murals, and it features a model railway that runs along the top of the shelves. Visitors can explore a large range of second-hand books and rare books.

This is a wonderful place to spend a few hours.

The Fitzwilliam Museum is a place where hours can be spent without realising just how long has been spent walking around the different rooms and galleries. The museum, located on the edge of the centre of Cambridge, is filled with historical items from all over the world as well as artwork. I spent a good two or three hours here and could have spent more. There was just so much to see, but I've included some photographs of some of the items.

The first room I entered had a lot of different armour from different parts of the world on display.

Off from this room are some rooms filled with glassware, porcelain, ceramic, pottery, etc.

The seated lioness came from Iran in the 12th or 13th centuries and is a reminder of the country's rich heritage before modern day problems in the area. It has been made of a stone paste and glazed.

The Chinese room was particularly good and reminded me of an exhibition that I visited as a child called "Son of Heaven" in the late 1980s when there seemed to be a lot of admiration for Chinese culture, at least until the political landscape changed. The Chinese room in the Fitzwilliam Museum (it was not called that, but it had items from China and Asia generally) was filled with interesting items. I liked the "feline dragon" that was constructed sometime around 200-256BC.

There were a couple of interesting Chinese vases, such as "Nine Peaches". Peaches are meant to be lucky, and the number nine is associated with the emperor. 

The other vase was made in China to be marketed at Europeans and uses a European style with a colour scheme that was popular then (1700s). This was a new style of art in China to be sold abroad.

The ale jug was made for the Royal Agricultural Society in England in the mid-1800s. An image of prized sheep are on one side, and the other side contains winning large ox.

These ewers pots were made in Copeland factory in England with Kashmir style in England in the later 1800s. The black one is the Madras style, and it was made in the early 1850s and was displayed at the Crystal Palace. There were some souvinir items relating to the Crystal Palace on display as well.

A couple of the display cabinets at the end of the pottery and porcelian room were decorated like shop windows. The first display was Ivan's Day celebrations. It celebrates sugar. Sugar became hugely successful in the later 1700s. The sugar plantations were in the West Indes with slaves being used to produce 80% of the sugar consumed. Sugar became fashionable with sugar banquets becoming popular in addition to hot chocolate and other types of food and drink.

Other rooms showcased the influence of the Greek and Roman artwork and objects, and this is always one of my favourite areas. 

The Three Eye Idols were interesting. They come from Tell Brak in Syria at a temple dedicated to eyes, and they date from around 3500BC. These are constructed of alabaster, and other materials have been used as well as sometimes jewels forming the eyes. 

These little clay figures of animals date from the 5th century BC in Cyprus.

Bronze votive animals were made in bronze and cast together in Greece around 500-600BC, and they were discovered in Turkey. The animals include dogs, stags, goat, sheep, and other animals and also included mythical animals and men fighting with knives. Part of the collection is in other museums. These were thought to be fertility votives.

A large Egyptian room is also part of the museum, and it features mummies, artwork, jewellery, and cloth. One of the exhibitions is a burial of Nakhtefmut, a priest that was buried around 950BC. The tomb was found in Thebes at the end of the 1800s.

There were a few mummified cats and other animals on display.

The room also contained some later Egyptian burial finds during the start of the Islamic period with portraits.

The staircase at the Fitzwilliam Museum was impressive, and the top floor contains the art galleries, which I also had a look around. Actually, the staircase and design here is more than impressive and much better to see in real life.

I recommend Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge to anyone who is interested in history and the arts. I compare it to the British Museum but on a much smaller scale.

The Ivy in the Park at Canary Wharf are currently offtering Summer Garden Afternoon Tea, and I recently (well, not so recently now as this was a month ago) went along to enjoy it. This was enjoyed on the same day as the Olympic Opening Ceremony on a warm day but not quite as warm as the previous several days. A screen was set up in the park outside, and I could see the reflection of the ceremony on the glass. 

I had a table booked mid-afternoon for the afternoon tea. They seated me indoors, but I was placed next to the loudest table of eight people and could not even hear myself think. I was promptly moved, but the only seats available were outside in the conservatory. I was feeling a bit dehydrated already by then, so I had some water to start, and the heat and amount of water drunk makes me lose my appetite. The afternoon tea selection is not too filling normally as there were three sandwiches, two small scones, and the pastries themselves were also not very filling. However, on a hot day, it is just the right amount, though I did struggle and ended up leaving one of the sandwiches that I was not keen on and half a scone.

I started the afternoon tea with a glass of champagne. I also ordered the Ivy Afternoon Tea blend, which I found satisfying.

First up are the sandwiches. Chicken and truffle, salmon and cream cheese, and cucumber and dill were the selection of sandwich available.

The scones (both fruit) came with a small pot of strawberry jam, clotted cream, and sliced strawberries. The sliced strawberries were a great touch at making the scones a little extra special. 

The pastries included a lemon and raspberry doughnut with pink lemonade (served underneath the doughnut in a shot glass). I found this dessert to be too sweet and too sugary for my taste. There was also a vanilla meringue butterfly served with a yogurt-style cream and meringues. The butterfly was white chocolate. I did not like this one at all, and it ended up unfinished. The chocolate caramel flower pot was made with chocolate soil and a chocolate mousse, placed in a ceramic pot and served with a chocolate stem and edible flowers. My favourite of the four was the pistachio nasturtium creme brulee. This was not a traditional creme brulee but more like a pistachio cream topped with chopped pistachios.

What is my verdict on the Summer Garden afternoon tea at The Ivy in the Park, Canary Wharf? I enjoyed the chicken sandwich, but I did not like the cucumber and dill. The scones were a little dry, but the fresh berries helped, though I would have preferred plain scones. The pastries were a two out of four for me with the pistachio one being the clear winner. Service was friendly but a bit slow at the end due to more people turning up. I wish that I could have been inside, however, as I would have had a more comfortable experience than roasting outside in the sun. I actually had to leave because it was just too hot and too uncomfortable.

One lovely and sunny morning in mid-July, I visited this beautiful moated manor house: Baddesley Clinton. Baddesley Clinton is located in Warwickshire, and it was passed down the same family (father to son) for twelve generations before being maintained by the National Trust so that future generations can appreciate it. The family were Catholics, and they were often short of money. I visited the property during the pandemic when the country was still locked down, and not all of the rooms were open to visit.

A house has existed on this location for over 800 years with the newest edition dating froma bout 1890 and the oldest part of the house being the kitchen. However, before we look at the interior of the house, I had a wander around the garden.

I saw one of the resident cats at Baddesley Clinton. There are two cats, and I saw the grey and white one named Tommy. He was more interested in being left to snooze than wanting any company, so I just left him to get on with his lazy morning.

The side of the house contains some beds and a sundial before getting into the walled garden and kitchen garden.

Baddesley Clinton used to be a place to see wonderful dahlia, and I planned to go to visit them in the next season, which would have been last year, but that did not happen for the obvious reasons. However, I am disappointed to say that since then, the dahlia have been replaced with squash due to the dahlia becoming diseased. Diseases in plants can and do happen, particularly if they have been left to feed on the same soil after many years. 

The grounds here with the bedding plants and before walking into the walled garden were pretty.

The walled garden had a glass house and an area for the kitchen garden with vegetables growing under netting to keep the birds and other animals out.

Continue past the gardens, and there is a lovely woodside and "pondside" walk around a large pond through the forest. There are a few benches to sit on to appreciate the surroundings. The squirrel was happily foraging away (or trying to dig up previous forages).

The trail went around the other side of the house, and it was not too far to walk but pleasant enough. I headed back to the restaurant/cafe, which is located in the stables, for a bite to eat. Okay, it was breakfast, but I had a cream tea - tea with scone, clotted cream, and jam.

I still managed to eat it and arrive to queue up for the house to open about fifteen minutes before opening time, but there was already a queue formed with about ten people in front of me. During my short walk around the grounds, Baddesley Clinton had become a bit busy. 

It is thought that the house contained a drawbridge over the moat at one time.

My first impressions are that it is an attractive house, a typical moated fortified medieval house. We entered at the right-hand side upon entering the internal courtyard, and this used to be the servant's area. This led off to a kitchen.

The original kitchen would have probably been a separate building in medieval times as a fire prevention method. The current kitchen was originally the servant's quarters and transformed into the kitchen in the mid-1700s. In the late-1500s, preist hunters came to the house to search (as Catholicism was not permitted), and nine men hid in the sewers underneath the house after climbing through the toilet. Five of the men were priests. The priest hunters were stalled by the offer of breakfast while servants hid the belongings of the men and turned mattresses over.

The above photograph is the entrance hall.

The Great Hall is an impressive room. The stone fireplace was actually moved from one of the rooms upstairs to its current location. King Philip III of France gave the family a tusk from a type of sea creature, and it hangs in the room. It was impossible to get some photographs without others in them as some people in front took a lot longer to look at some things.

Upstairs were two bedrooms before coming to the hallway upstairs where there is another priest hole. The floor boards are very crooked today.

Off the hallway is a chapel.

Another room upstairs is the Great Parlour, and it contains paintings. It is where the last owner painted until her death at 93. Some of the paintings are unfinished here, and these are on display.

A sign in the house explains the high thresholds. Thresholds were common in country houses in particular to hold the thresh down for insulaton. The thresh would blow into other rooms if not held by a board between rooms, and we still use the word today, although we do not place thresh (straw) on our floors.

The last room upstairs that we were able to visit was the library.

The whole house was not open during my visit due to the lockdown and social distancing rules, so I was only able to see a quick glimpse of it. 

However, it is a beautiful property with a beautiful garden and lovely areas to sit and enjoy the atmosphere. Of course, the sunshine makes everything look nicer.

I do hope to return to Baddesley Clinton and hope that the house is completely opened the next time that I do visit.

Belsay Castle was the home of the Middleton family for many generations. The castle was built as a fortified home due to the period of conflict in the borders, but this conflict passed in the 17th century. The castle was then altered and extended to show off the fashions of the time and transforming it into a country home. By the 19th century, the castle home was dated, so the family, under Charles Monck, built the nearby Belsay Hall in a Grecian style to meet the fashions of that time. The quarry gardens were landscaped at the same time as stone was used to build the manor.

During the second World War, Belsay Hall was used by the army. It was maintained by remaining staff and German prisoners of war. Afterwards, the cost of the maintainance was too much, and the building was suffering from dry rot. The hall became empty of furniture, and the estate was given to English Heritage on the condition that the rooms will not be re-created. English Heritage is currently maintaining the rooms and repairing the damage from the dry rot, and art exhibitions are sometimes held here.

The library of the manor house is the largest room and built as an informal main reception room, which was the fashion in those times. The bookshelves were inspired by a Grecian temple, and the ceiling is also in the Grecian style.

The central hallway was inspired by Roman houses with the atria in the middle of the home to allow light to enter the middle of the house.

Many of the rooms have a honeysuckle motif (popular in Greek design) bordering the ceiling. The wallpaper is from Essex and Co and dates from the later 1800s. The geometrical Grecian style was updated to allow for floral fashion in the later years. 

One whole section of the house is currently being repaired with chemicals injected into the stonework to protect it from further damage.

The parkland was laid out by Capability Brown, and Charles Monck built a new estate village at Belsay for the staff. Cottages were built for the staff, and an inn was built for travellers. Much investment was provided in maintaining farmhouses and buildings to collect rent from tenants who farm the land and planting woodland for shooting and timber.

Lake and woodland was created and landscaped with rugged wilderness and formal gardens contrasting in design. The quarry gardens were created between the castle and hall; stone from them had been used for the building of the hall. Rhododendrons were also introduced, and Belsay is a popular place to view them. I enjoyed a walk through the quarry garden, which is really unique. I've never seen anything like this, so it made Belsay Hall stand out.

At the other end of the quarry garden is the castle, which is mainly just a ruin. Due to social distancing, it was not able to go inside the building except for the open rooms and cellar.

There was a small walk back through the quarry gardens to get back via a one-way system.

The stables has some information on the way out.

I enjoyed Belsay Hall, castle and gardens and hope to return once it is fully open and it is safe to do so.

For a small fee, the Cambridge Botanic Garden is open to visit. The garden contains over 8,000 different species of plants from all over the world, and it is owned by Cambridge University to help facilitate research and teaching. There are resources and lectures at the gardens. In addition to the research aspect, the garden is also a place for visitors to come to enjoy the plants and the unique diversity. I made my visit at the beginning of July, which you may see from the different plants in blossom.

I visited via the Trumpington Road entrance where there is the shop to visit. There were some nice beds here with a Newton Apple Tree, which was descended directly from the tree that Newton witnessed apples fall from and realised "gravity".

I walked around the Stream, Woodland, and Bog Gardens next. 

This led into the Rock Garden.

There were some more beds in front of the glass houses, and this was the most picturesque part of the gardens. 

I went inside the glass houses, and some of them had a large range of cacti. Others had the tropical plants, and some of the rooms were quite warm.

I explored the beds further and then made my way to Systematic Beds, and these mainly seemed to be not cared for without planting in many of the beds.

There was a walkway up so you could see the beds from above, and as you can see, there was not much going on here except for a couple of the beds. I was disappointed.

A grass maze, rose garden, dry beds, and fen areas existed in the gardens, but there was not too much to photograph. A fountain marks the middle of the garden.

A house with green lawn is called Cory Lodge.

There were some dots of colour around the gardens, but you had to search for it.

I was slightly disappointed because the garden did not look very maintained during my visit. It appears that things have fallen a little bit behind, so it is not looking its best.

Parker's Tavern in Cambridge serves afternoon tea, meals and drinks near the centre of Cambridge and is a popular restaurant with residents. I booked the champagne afternoon tea here at the end of June while I was exploring the city. Visitors to the restaurant can book the afternoon tea inside or can order it to take away; Parker's Tavern is at one of the edges of a large green space called Parker's Piece, so some may wish to have a picnic here. I arrived fifteen minutes early and opted for a couple of cocktails before being shown into the parlour where I had the afternoon tea.

I ordered the "Just a Hunch" and "Bloomsbury Boozer" cocktails. The "Just a Hunch" is an ode to public artwork commissioned by the University Arms to show the hotel has been successful since 1834. Vodka, rose, lemon, blackberry, and soda are some of the ingredients of this cocktail, which has a slight rose taste. The "Bloomsbury Boozer" is an ode to writers and intellectuals with met at Cambridge. It consists of dry gin, elderflower cordial, lemon, and raspberry. I didn't care much for the taste of it.

Afternoon tea is served in the parlour, which is a more relaxing room to the dining and bar area that I was seated in for enjoying the cocktails.

The sandwiches included were cucumber and mint, smoked salmon and chive creme fraiche, smoked coronation chicken, truffle sausage roll and crayfish and dill in pasty boats.

Next up are the scones, which were served with a small pot of clotted cream and strawberry jam. They were both plain scones.

A selection of teas was also available, and I started with a glass of champagne, which was an optional cost.

For the sweets, I was given a Ferrero Rocher (chocolate and hazelnut), a lemon posset macaron, rhubard and custard cheesecake, Victoria sponge with cream and blueberry jam, and eton mess. Unfortunately, these were not the best sweets. There was no filling to the macaron, which you can see below. The cakes tasted dry, and there was not much to the eton mess dessert - a stingy slice of meringe, a few slices of chopped berry, and a spoonful of coulis in the glass... 

What is my verdict? It's not great. Although the restaurant was not busy when I arrived, it took over fifty minutes to receive part of the afternoon tea. And the last item (the eton mess) did not come until the end; my total time spent inside the restaurant was nearly three hours, and I grew very impatient during the last thirty. The service was incredibly slow and got worse as more tables filled up. The food was also bland and even embarrassing with th macaron served without a filling (I did ask about it and was told that that is how it comes), and overall, they just really missed the mark here. The sandwiches also tasted a bit dry, and one of the cocktails I had did taste okay, but the other one had a slight spoiled taste. I won't be rushing back.

Located in Northumberland, Brinkburn Priory and Manor House is maintained by English Heritage. Only the church (a gothic-style structure) remains today, but the site was originally founded as a medieval Augustine monastary in the mid-1100s. It was never a very wealthy monastary, and it suffered raids along the English-Scottish borders. A concert and weddings are held here today. Next to the church is the manor house, which is built using the vaulted basement that used to be the monk's dining hall. The priory has also been used in filming an episode of "Blackadder".

To visit the priory and manor house, visitors must walk a ten-minute down-hill walk to the priory from the parking area. The walk contiues down a hill with a river at the bottom of the hill. When I visited, there was a wedding taking place, but I was able to quickly nip inside the cathedral before the guests started to show. I was also able to hear the organ practice for about a minute inside the cathedral and a few minutes outside during a conversation with English Heritage staff about the priory.

After the dissolution of monastaries, the priory church needed repairs. It was restored in the 19th century.

The manor house is in a poor state today, but it is easy to see its former glory. It dates from the 12th century.

Some of the floors have been removed. Visitors could only visit the ground floor and basement levels.

I found Brinkburn Priory to be a peaceful location with a little river and beautifully-restored priory. 

London-based street artist Fanakapan has been painting a lot of foil helium balloons across London with favourite walls being in Star Yard off Brick Lane and Hoxton Square. These walls frequently change with new murals, and silver helium balloons have been a favourite of the artist in recent years. Over the past few months, I have captured a few of these pieces: helium balloons with faces.

More artwork featuring Fanakapan can be discovered on my blog here:

Fanakapan Paints "Hah" Laughing Gas on Pedley Street
Halloween Street Art by Fanakapan
Fanakapan Street Art on Mornington Crescent and Star Yard
Fanakapan Paints PacMan Pizza on Brick Lane and Other Street Art
Fanakapan Star Yard MagnaDonuts Mural
"Follow the Leader" by Fanakapan
Peace for Manchester
Fanakapan Paints Shoreditch Clowns
Chrome Balloon Dog in Star Yard
Fanakapan Paints "Power Tools" on Village Underground Wall
Fanakapan Paints "Drunk Glass Elephants"
Fanakapan, Horror Crew, & Jerry Rugg
Louis Masai and Fanakapan: "Freedom?"
New Chrome Street Art Mask by Fanakapan
Balloon Animal Street Art
Cranio & Fanakapan
Fanakapan and Horror Crew
Camden Street Art Self-Guided Trail
Halloween Street Art (2018 and 2019)
Cranio Returns to London in 2020 and Paints Brick Lane

While I was visiting Cambridge, I had a quick break at the popular cafe Fitzbillies on Trumpington Street; there is another branch at the top of Cambridge on Bridge Street. Fitzbillies has been a Cambridge favourite since 1920 when two brothers (Ernest and Arthur Mason), sons of a baker, started the business after the first World War. Their father was a bread baker with a bakery on Trumpington Street, so the boys specialised in cakes and buns.The cafe quickly became popular in town for its sponge cakes, which were more popular than the Chelsea buns that it is now famous for.

I had their famous Chelsea bun, hot chocolate, and carrot cake cupcake. They also serve lunches (hot food) and afternoon tea. 

In the 1980s and 1990s, a lot of small bakeries were finding difficulties in competing with the supermarkets, and Fitzbillies fell on hard times. As if that was not enough, a fire caused damage and forced the main bakery to close in 1998, but they opened next door and kept selling. Difficulties arose again in 2011, and Stephen Fry posted on Twitter about the buns; the business was saved by one of the fans of the brand who was from Cambridge and remembered having them. They have since expanded to include another cafe and relaunched the brand. Last year, they celebrated 100 years.

I would love to return for one of those macaroons, macaron, and afternoon tea.

While in Alnwick, I went to a fascinating museum "Balliffgate Museum", and it contained a wealth of local history and items discovered around Northumberland. The area of Northumberland has been settled since the end of the last ice age 13,000 years ago. One of the popular finds - Howick Hut - contained finds from around 8000 BC. It is the oldest house in Northumberland and was escavated in 2000. Neolithic and Bronze Age "cup and ring" markings were discovered in the area as well as Iron Age hill forts. The 7th and 8th centuries was golden age for Northumberland with the Lindisfarne Gospels. Northumberland also is known for the Vikings raids as they often visited and fought over the the lands.

The Magna Carta also has its birth in Northumberland due to individuals in Northumberland challenging those in power.

In addition to the historical elements, the Viking Centre has put together and exhibition upstairs with Viking-realted items and a small interactive area aimed at bringing history alive to children.

Several Viking items were shown.

In addition to the older history, modern history also played a part. There were different exhibitions and displays about the local area on display. One was a classroom set up, and the other one was a printer shop set up with an old printing press.

The basement held an exhibition on coal mining. 

The museum itself costs a small entry fee, and there are many different areas to spend time looking around. 

London-based street artist Perspicere has recently created a new portrait in Star Yard off Brick Lane. This is the first time that I have seen Perspicere's portrait work, made of threads. The artist's medium of choice is thread or string, and these have been set up as installations to adjoining objects or across walls and fences. Often, the work is created to be three-dimensional with geometric shapes and sometimes words. 

The artist's name "Perspicere" is Latin for "to look at closely". The work reminds me of intricate spider's webs but placed across walls or on fences in the city.

Chester's Roman Fort contains a museum of finds made by landowner John Clayton when he escavated the fort. The finds were kept in the home and garden, but after Clayton's death, a museum was built and it has been welcoming visitors since the late 1800s. Last year, the museum was shut due to the pandemic, but it has reopened this year, so I was able to see inside. I discovered that the museum primarily contains stonework and stone carvings - alters, statue fragments, inscriptions, tombs, but there are other items too (jewellery, coins, pottery, metal, pins, combs, glass). In fact, there are over 27,000 items in the collection, and they helped discover where the soldiers came from and the social aspects of their lives through items discovered. 

In addition to the items discovered at Chester's, there are some items that made their way into the collection through relatives, friends, and neighbours of Clayton and his family. These items come from different parts of the UK and even the world. One friend gave Clayton some coloured stones for mosaics from Pompeii.

To read about Chester's Fort and Baths from my last visit to Chester's, see my post:

Chesters Roman Fort and Town

For additional Hadrian's Wall posts, see: 

Roman Ruins and what to see at Hadrian's Wall

Cambridge Castle is located north of the River Cam not far from the middle of the city. The castle was built after the Normal conquest to control the route to northern England. It was expanded by Edward I but was no longer used in medieval times, and the stones were used to build the surrounding colleges. The structure was used as a goal and prison, which was demolished in 1932 and replaced with Shire Hall at the bottom of the mound. The only remains of the castle are the motte and earthworks, and the earthworks can be walked to see views over the city.

Cambridge Castle was one of three castles built by William the Conqueror in 1068, and it was originally called Grantabridge. A priory was founded beside the castle at a later date. The castle was seized at one point, and it was maintained under Henry II and improved with a space to store sheriff's records. King John expanded the castle and constructed a new hall, and the castle saw more conflict and was rebuilt in stone in 1282 by Edward I, but it was not maintained from the 14th century.

A lot of the stone was reused for building King's College in 1441 and Trinity College's chapel. The gatehouse was used for a gaol in the early 1600s.

During the Civil War, the castle was temporarily repaired, but it was not used. The gatehouse was standing in the 1800s but demolished to make way for the county court building in 1932, and this is now the council offices today. The large building in the below photographs is Shire Hall, the county council buildings.

After visiting the castle, I had my breakfast. It included a pistachip hot chocolate and pistachio croissant. They were from a cafe and coffee shop called Aromi.

Gainsthorpe Medieval Village is located in the countryside in Lincolnshire, England. The site is now occupied by a farm, and the medieval village is in a cow pasture. The site itself is only mounds of dirt without escavations. Unfortunately, the fence area was broken and covered with barbed wire, and the entrance of the footpath into the pasture is a place where the cattle congregate and break the ground. I was only able to view the remains of the medieval village from the pathway. 

The mounds in the field show where the buildings stood. No one knows why the village was abandoned, but local legend claims that the surrounding community demolished it because thieves lived there. There may be some truth to legends, but no one knows for sure. It is one of the best-preserved medieval towns, but it is a pity that it is not escavated. The early 1200s was its prime, but a lot of its residents died in the Black Death in the next century.

The medieval village occupies the pasture and the fields beyond.

The fields on both sides of the road contained barley and wheat.

After visiting the medieval village, which I felt was disappointing, I visited The Plough Inn in Egmanton, Nottinghamshire. This pub was recommended by the bed and breakfast. A marquee tent was set up outside for more space for diners, and the food was enjoyable. 

I enjoyed a glass of Prosecco and carrot soup while the bloke had potato soup. For the mains, I had chicken in a cream sauce (chicken supreme), and the bloke had beef.

I ordered a brownie for dessert, but I was not impressed as it was over-heated and did not have any flavour; I didn't care for the ice cream either. It was supposed to be vanilla, but it did not taste like vanilla and had a strange banana flavour.

Although the dessert was not a nice, the main meal was good. It was also recommended, so it must be one of the nicer pub restaurants in the area.

A section of Hadrian's Wall exists at Heddon-on-the-Wall. The wall would have stood 4.5 meters high and had a ditch on the northern side for extra defense against people outside of the Roman empire borders. The section of wall here is three meters wide, so it is an earlier part of the wall. After the wall was built here, the standards were changed to narrow the wall to just under two meters wide.

This is not a long stretch of wall, but it is a pleasant stretch to walk along.

For additional Hadrian's Wall posts, see: 

Roman Ruins and what to see at Hadrian's Wall

The Vallum Crossing at Benwell in Newcastle is located along Hadrian's Wall. This was a controlled crossing over the vallum, an earthwork built for extra military defence to the south of the wall. The vallum was a large mound of earth with a flat ditch. Entry and exit was authorised only for certain people. The fort of Condercum was located beyond this gateway. When the fort was no longer needed, the civilian settlement was built over the top of the fort. Today, the ruins exist in between homes of a modern development, and the fort has been built on top of with modern homes.

A fort was built on this site because of the expansive view below and over the Tyne, and the name of the fort means "place with a fair view".

For additional Hadrian's Wall posts, see: 

Roman Ruins and what to see at Hadrian's Wall