Travel with Angela Lansbury: Edgware: what to see, do and eat, where Handel and Anne Frank's Father Lived

Thursday, October 15, 2020

Edgware: what to see, do and eat, where Handel and Anne Frank's Father Lived

Disraeli said, I have travelled widely and have seen more than I remember and remember more than I have seen.

Statue of Disraeli in Parliament Square, London.

What Disreali said applies to me and Edgware and probably to you and your home town. Let me take you on a trip around the London suburb of Edgware, where Handel and Anne Frank's father lived. Notice the spelling, that Edgware has only one e, at the end.

Edgware - The Stanmore Side

First, why Edgware? I know it well because I was brought up in Edgware. I lived here for two decades, first at one end on the Stanmore side, in a typically English, typically London, semi-detached house with a gable and bay windows with a front and back garden.

I would walk past the church, St Lawrence's Church, Little Stanmore, containing Handel's organ. Handel wrote a sonata to a harmonious blacksmith, believed to be William Powell, who was buried in the graveyard.

What brought Handel from Germany to England? Handel had worked for Prince George in Germany and the prince then became king of England. Handel wrote music here. His later works included Handel's Messiah and music for the Royal Fireworks. (You can also visit Handel's house in Mayfair, central, London.)

St Lawrence's Church

Plaque on St Lawrnece, Whitchurch, from Harrow Heritage Trust

Near the church is the park leading to North London Collegiate School, whose old girls included actress Eleanor Bron. Her parents were friends with my parents. I remember Eleanor's tall mother, who had a booming voice, telling me, "Stand up straight!"

Later, Eleanor went to Cambridge university where she read languages and performed in the universtiy's amateur theatre company, Footlights, which stood her in good stead for a career as an actress.

Meanwhile, when I was a child in Edgware, my family had Christian neighbours on one side and Jewish neighbours on the other side.

Usually we went away for Christmas to a hotel which always had a Christmas tree. I remember one year in December we stayed home. I wanted a Christmas tree. I was too young to understand that it might annoy a Jewish neighbour or cause unnecessary expense.

My family, for the first and only time had a Christmas tree in the front room. Then a rabbi came to call. He probably wanted to wish us Happy Hannukah, and maybe ask us to visit the synagogue, and/or to give us a small Hanukah card and gift. Then to ask for a gift of money for a Jewish or multi-faith charity.

Before inviting him in, my mother whispered to me, "Quick - shut the door to the front room!" That was where we had the Christmas tree.

I went to the front room while the rabbi talked to my mother. I came out, leaving the door open behind me, as the Rabbi was leaving, on the doorstep. My mother thought I had succeeded in my mission of concealment.

But the rabbi heard the living room door open and turned and smiled at me over my mother's shoulder and said to my mother, "Goodbye. Thank you for the tea, Mrs Lansbury. Lovely Christmas tree! Happy Christmas."

Later, my family upgraded to a larger detached house near the library and the by-pass to Hendon, Brent Cross, Golders Green, Finchley Road and central London.

We now drive through Edgware regularly, between west London and London's West End.

Edgware, which is now very cosmopolitan. Edgware and North West London have always had a large Jewish population with synagogues and restaurants and delicatessens and kosher food in supermarkets.

Anne Frank's Father

Anne Franks' father, Otto Frank, lived in Edgware after World War II.

Otto Frank, father of Anne Frank, who lived in Edgware after WW2.

He lived in Edgware with his second wife, and step-daughter, Eva Schloss. (Schloss is German for castle.) Not surprisingly, after years in hiding, and losing his wife and two daughters, in WW2, he kept such a low profile that few, neither Jewish nor non-Jewish, realised he was nearby.

Eva Schloss, author, right, and her mother (left) who married Otto Frank, father of Anne Frank, the WW2 diarist.

Eva Schloss, the author.

When I lived there my second home was the library. I used to hurry past the library along the high street to catch the train to Euston station to go to University College, London. I did my homework in the libary. On one occasion, our German au pair girl, Hnnelore, answered the phone to a friend of mine, and she, Hannelore, ran down the road to the libary to fetch me home to answer the call.

The Central Station

Edgware station, in the middle of the high street (main street to Americans), is the end of the Northern line. The large station has a huge car park and is a busy bus terminal with a large Sainsbury's supermarket hidden behind the Broadwalk shopping mall with an entrance from the car park behind.

Along the road in the high street ia a cut price shop.

Broadwalk has lost Marks & Spencers and Dorothy Perkins but has Boots, and Smiths and Poundland.

One year at Hanukah, the station displayed a hanukiah.

In Wikipedia it is misleadingly captioned as a menorah, which is the seven branch candlestick used for the sabbath throughout the year. The hanukiah is used for the eight days of Hanukah, (lit on the evening before, as days start at pthe preceding day's sunset, like Xmas Eve) the festival of lights, and has an extra two candlesticks, nine in total, for the eight days and an extra one to light the others.

Edgware's busy High Street can boast of restaurants of several nationalities. If you want to drive through or walk about, you will see a whole variety of other restaurants such as Nando's chicken, an Italian restaurant.

Jewish Restaurants and Shops

You will also notice an assortment of Jewish interest businesses, Met Su Yan restaurant, a deli, a supermarket, my favourite smaller everybody restaurant cum deli, Jewish style B & K, a Jewish book and gift shop.

The Stanmore Side

The Aviv Restaurant and B & K are at the Stanmore end of the high street.

The landmark mock Victorian black and white gabled building was previously the Railway Hotel.

Opposite is a fine church, St Margaret of Antioch.

The Library Side of Edgware

At the opposite end is Met Su Yan and the libary. Synagogues are nearby, plus a chance to see the orthdox Jews wearing fine hat on a Saturday. Every day you might see the ultra Orthodox Jews, every day of the week wearing the traditional huge circular black fur hats and long black coats which originated in Poland in the cold snowy winters before the days of central heating.

Stop to Eat (Alphabetically)

Aviv restaurant.

B & K for salt beef sandwiches.

Leave room for lokshen pudding. (Noodle pudding.) It is cut into slices like a cake. But can be eaten hot or cold. It has sultanas and lemon juice. Dee-lish! get one to take home, with an extra sandwich, and maybe some fried fish balls. You can get the sweet and sour fish balls. I marginally prefer the fried fish balls. Good value. (I just corrected a typo. I called it God value.)

Now, one another foodie attraction, a bit pricier, for special occasions, is Met Su Yan restaurant, which is kosher.

Met Su Yan

For an account of Met Su Yan's duck, and desserts with banana or chocolate, see the previous post.

Useful Websites

Edgware in Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgware

https://www.canonsparkfriends.org/a-full-history-of-canons-park.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Lawrence%27s_church,_Whitchurch

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Frideric_Handel

https://handelhendrix.org/

https://handelhendrix.org/

Restaurants and take away food