Travels in The United Kingdom. (No offense intended, non should be taken)
A wise gentleman once described to me the British Isles. He started it off with:
The Irish do not know what they believe in, however they are prepared to die for it.
The Scots keep the Sabbath, and anything else they can get their hands on.
The Welsh pray on their knees, and on their neighbors.
The English believe they are self-made men; thus relieving God of the awesome responsibility.
Perhaps all a bit harsh, but for those of you that know the Isles a bit of familiarity is self evident with the above description. Of course, a country that feeds on ‘bangers and mash, or spotted dick ‘’ certainly has much to explain. The idea of blood soup, or “Black and Tan,” a mixture of both fried liverwurst and blood sausage does not illicit a mouth watering response. I Hope! On the other hand, an English Breakfast takes on mythical proportions. There is not a cardiologist in the Western World that has such a guarantee of new patients. Two fried eggs, a sausage that has been described as an offal tube packed with mystery meat and a half a pound of grease. The EU at one point refused to allow the British to call it a meat sausage as contents were suspect and only contained trace elements of animal protein. Still if you travel throughout the land you will find the equivalent of McDonald’s in the form of Lil Chef fast food spots. This purveyor of mystery meat puts slices of pineapples on hamburgers. Much like we do with pizza, a habit that should be illegal.
Over the years I have spent considerable time in London. While the pejorative that it rains always in London is not true, the west end theater district is fun;cwet or dry. Whether in posh hotels, or bedsitters there is always something to do. In short, entertainment is not in short supply. For fun, consider the Grenadier pub on Wilton Row.
Great lamb, this Pub is distinct in that the movie ”Around the World in 80 days” with David Niven, was partially filmed in this Pub. Quaint and certainly worth the time for a quick pint. You’re in a Mews, which in and by itself is an interesting walk. Right behind this Pub is yet another Mews which, when taken will lead you to Hyde Park. You are now only a block away from the Hilton and close to Wellingtons Statue. Any of the spokes leading off from this roundabout will take you to interesting places including Buckingham Palace, Green park the Piccadilly Hotel and of course continuing West you will reach Trafalgar Square and the Haymarket area. This area also includes Covent Garden, home to the opera House and ten million pigeons all of which are poised to drop their excrement on your coat, hair or hat. In some quarters of Germany as an example, such an occurrence is considered good luck. Really good luck for the dry cleaner, less so if you are going for a haircut and quick wash. Going North up towards speakers Corner is fun on the weekends. All manner of characters bring their soap boxes and wax euphoric on many topics.
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