King's Ginger With An Historic Christmas Paper Wrapper From Berry Brothers' Wine Shop

 

Berry Brother's wine shop entrance with Christmas tree. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

King's Ginger. Berry Brother's wine shop. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Bottles of King's Ginger, with mince pies made by Berry Brothers chef who does the catering for their wine dinners and tutorials.

A map of old London on the walls.

The drink was created for King Edward VII by Berry Brothers & Rudd at the request of the king's doctor. (Americans would day physician.)

The drink's name gives you a clue as to the contents. Ginger makes it aromatic and warming. It is a spirit, highly alcoholic. Serve just a few sips, eaten with little mince pies.

Berry Bros & Rudd served King's Ginger and mince pies on Thursday 8th December. More again at tea time on December 9th 2020.

What else did I learn at the shop? Their premises down south in Basingstoke holds a public event, probably with wine tasting and food and sales, in September. It did before Covid and will probably do something similar  in late 2023. Get on the company's mailing list to be informed. It makes a jolly day out.

The ones are available at all price points and the staff are very knowledgeable. I thought I might stump their spirits expert, Joe, when I asked about kosher wines and spirits. He told me that Israel makes a kosher spirit called Milk & Honey (from the biblical phrase, land of milk and honey).

Useful Websites

King's Ginger

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Ginger

Mini Mince Pies from Tesco, 12 in a pack

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/279513185

Berry Bros & Rudd Wine Tastings & Dinners

https://www.bbr.com/wine-events/lunches-and-dinners

Edward VII statue stands outside which station? A weekend quiz for you and your family.

Edward's statue stands outside a London station. Which station? Which king? How's your history? I have some memory aids for you.

Edward VII statue stands outside Tooting Broadway. I found a picture of the statue as I was galloping through pictures of stations on the site about London railway stations. I was looking for all the historic art deco buildings, and had hoped to find a gargoyle or mystical face, and given up hope of finding a plaque to a VIP person, let alone a statue.

Statue of Edward VII outside Tooting station, London, England. From Wikipedia.

But there stands the statue, right outside the station entrance. My family can't tell me which king was Edward VII and make a derisory guess at the 13th century. No, no no! I can see he's in modern dress.

My guess was that he was Queen Victoria's son, who reigned from when she died until George V took over during the first world war.

Yes, I could not get this wrong. I gave a talk on the kings and Queens of England to a Toastmasters speakers training meeting in Singapore at the time of the royal wedding. I had devised a memory aid for George V and George VI. George the Fifth in the First world war (FF) and George the Sixth in the Second World War (SS).

Edward VIII was the king who abdicated. Queen Victoria did not hold her son Edward VII in high esteem because she blamed him for the death of Albert. Her dear Albert had gone to rescue Edward from visiting a lady, worse than philandering - oh dear, say no more. If you don't know the details, look it up.

So, if you feel prudish and disapproving like Queen Victoria,  you can toot at Edward VII, mentally, only mentally, because tooting with car horns is not the done thing in the UK where we flash lights as silent signals in daytime as well as at night.

Back to thoughts on the statue. I am not surprised we have no monument to Edward VIII. But whilst the citizens of Tooting may love it, from a tourist's point of view, Tooting is not on the centre of the tourist map. Not like having a statue outside Houses of Parliament like Winston Churchill and other people who made a bigger impression on our and world history.

Finally Tooting Broadway is not Tooting Bec. Another of London's confusing stations. Oxford Circus station like Oxford Street, is in London, not Oxford. And London of which I speak is in England, not London in Canada.

Useful Websites

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

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.