St Patrick's Day - Irish sites and celebrations worldwide

 St Patrick's Day is an annual celebration of all things Irish. St Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17th, treated as the nniversary of the day of his death, the end of his life converting the Pagan Irish to Christianity. But he is also credited with removing the snakes from Irelandd, but there were no records of any snakes before his arrival. 

If you are a devotee of St Patrick or Irish religion and culture and travel and tourism, consider a trip to the capital of Eire, Dublin, where you can visit St Patrick's cathedral. Other places are associated with St Patrick.

For writers, several places are memorable. Famous Irish authors. The Blarney stone. Limerick.

Visiting Limerick - what to see

Limerick is on the coast, on the river, and dominated by the massive castle walls and twin towers of St John's Castle.

Expect celebrations near and far in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and all over the UK. In pubs such as Wetherspoons, green hats to be bought or given to patrons.

Customers wear green clothes and items with Irish words and jokes.

London

Trafalgar Square in the centre of London has music, dancing, and food to buy.

You can buy Irish items from supermarkets and party shops.

St Patrick's Day hats on Amazon.

Expect celebrations in pubs and major cities in the UK, USA, Australia and Singapore. Check your local newspapers, TV stations, the internet and YouTube and Wikipedia. In previous years cities in the USA have sold green drinks and Chicago even turned the river green. Expect worldwide jollity, and people singing in public and on public transport in London in the evening.

If you are entertaining, you can download suitable green borders and symbols for invitations and menus.

You can look for the tunes and words of popular Irish songs to play as background music at the start o meetings and meals and celebrations.

Travel

For travellers, in addition to celebrations on the day, visits of interest include 

1 churches associated with St Patrick, and 

2 Guinness tours in Dublin, Eire, and London, England. 

In Northern Ireland you can visit sites connected with the Game of Thrones. Must see, major museum, Titanic Belfast. 

Celebrate St Patrick's Day 

by Angela Lansbury

St Patrick's Day the Colour green

Is on the pubs in every scene

The brightest green you've every seen

In drinks, on chairs, balloons and hair

The colours green, orange and white

Are sure to bring all great delight

Drinking by day, singing by night

And smiling all night til daylight

In some cities you see parades

New Yorker smile and wave all day

Singapore - hats given away

At pubs which wanted all to stay

Chicago turns its river green

And green drinks make the weirdest scheme

Different things in different places

Green on spectacles and faces

Ireland has a lucky shamrock day

Montserrat has a holiday

Each country celebrates its way

With bagpipes, harps, or dance all day

I see that opportunity knocks

Although I do not dye my locks

That would give all my friends a shock

I'll wear green ties, or frocks and socks

Afterward I'll store them away

And send emails in which I say

My box of Irish goods will stay

Locked in box rooms til Patrick's Day.

Green four leaf clover sandals. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. 

You can learn or refresh Irish Gaelic on Duolingo and other online language courses. The Duolingo starter lesson, which is free, teaches you to say, hear and recognise, and read the words, tea, coffee, sugar, and, please.

Language

Bilingual Irish and English sign in Wikipedia article on language. Photo by Darren J Prior

Useful websites on St Patrick's Day

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Great_Day_for_the_Irish

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Day

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

https://opengatelondon.guinness.com/en/tours

https://www.ireland.com/en-gb/things-to-do/events/home-of-st-patrick-festival/

Details of Northern Ireland, St Patrick's grave, and visitor centre, Giants' Causeway, Spring Equinox walks on Saturday March 21st

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/northern-ireland?

https://www.titanicbelfast.com/

https://visitbelfast.com/blog/post/glass-of-thrones-trail-map/

Irish Language

duolingo.com

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Irish_phrasebook

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

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lingui-Sticks-Language-Learning-Stickers-Educational/

-ends-

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Irish Whiskey Way for Whiskey - and Irish whiskey Chistmas Pudding

 Irish Whiskey Way

Oops. I have to keep correcting my typing. It's whisky or whiskey. Scotland whisky, Ireland whiskey, the USA Tennessee Whiskey. Check the place name and the bottle. How do I remember? There is no e in the word Scotland. There is an e in the word irEland. Tennesee also has the letter e. So there you have it. Remember the E in Ireland and the E in Irish whiskey.

Areas covered include Dublin, the Atlantic Way, and Northern Ireland.

And if you are not a whisky or whiskey drinker, but your friend or neighbour is, more good and interesting news is that Dublin airport has raised its cap on liquids. So you can take some drink back to your family or friend or house sitter or pet sitter.

Who needs a guide? A guide to matching wine and food. Isn't there alcohol everywhere in Ireland? And good food? And Irish favourites.

I remember years ago, when my husband first visited Ireland, on business, he was amazed that even the tailor's shops and other non food and drink shops had bottles of alcohol and advertisements for alcohol in the window. 

Distilleries

I saw 27 distilleries on the website of the Irish Whiskey Way. Including the Titanic Distillery in Belfast. Whiskey, craics  - singsongs in pubs, have a laugh. Or the Titanic museum which is about the wonderful, majestic, but unsafe ship, a magnificent Titanic scale museum which is fascinating, impressive, but ultimately sobering. 

At least two distilleries to visit in Dublin. At least One in Cork. Many more scattered about. You could do two a day for a week. From North to south and in the middle you can find distilleries.

But what if you don't want whiskey||||||||||||?

Teetotallers In Ireland

You can buy alcohol free Guinness and other drinks for drivers and teetotallers. Any drink free areas? It has been tried. A pub called the Virgin Mary.

With Christmas coming, thoughts turn to Christmas pudding with Irish whiskey. Not in Ireland? No plans to visit? You could make your own Christmas pudding with Irish whiskly.

Useful websites

https://irishwhiskeyway.ie/

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186600-d26280971-Reviews-Irish_Whiskey_Experiences-Cork_County_Cork.html

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-drink/features/people-will-get-tipsy-atmosphere-meet-man-opening-dublins-first/

https://www.irishfoodguide.ie/2011/12/my-easy-to-make-christmas-pudding.

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

Please share links to your favourite posts.

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Food & Drink by country E-K England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, from cheddar and stilton, to kir and sake

 England

Food - savoury

Cheddar cheese, stilton blue cheese 

Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.

Fish and chips.

Sweet

battenburg cake, Crumpets, Scones

Cadbury's chocolate

Fox's biscuits

UK ice cream brands, tubs, bars and sticks, include Cornetto, Mangum, Ben & Jerry's, Haagen Daz.

Wine

Sparkling white wine from Nyetimber and others.

Cider. Beer.

France

Food - Savoury

baguette, coq au vin, duck a l'orange, French onion soup

Food - Sweet

chocolatines (pain au chocolat), croissant, nougat, macarons

Drinks

Bordeau, Burgundy, Champagne, Kir (aligote grape and cassis which is black currant) 

Dubonnet, a sweet, fortified red wine, drunk as an aperitif.

Germany

Food - Savoury

Wurst (sasages)

Food - sweet

Stollen

Drink

Riesling

Greece

Food savoury

rice in vine leaves, moussaka

Sweet

baklava, kataife, 

Drinks

Ouzo (anise plant which gives us aniseeed)

Greek coffee

Hungary

Food, savoury. 

Hungarian ghoulash is the national dish of Hungary. 

Food - sweet

Hungary has a marzipan museum, in Budapest, the capital city. The museum's name is the Szabo Marcipan Museum.

Wine

Bull's blood wine

India & Pakistan

Food - savoury

Tandoori chicken

Food sweet

Gulub Jamun

Jelabi

Drink

Lassi - sweet, sour, mango

Ireland

Food - Irish stew, sourdough bread, 

Drink

Guinness

whisky (no e, the e is Scottish whiskey)

Israel

Food - savoury

Israeli salad.

Kosher food

Food - sweet

Halva, slabs of wrapped confectionery, based on sesame seeds.

Parve - neutral, not containing milk, nor a meat product or by-product such as gelatine, therefore can be eaten at both meat only or milk only meals and restaurants.

Kosher wine

meshuval - heated to a high temperature or pasteurised, and can then be already purified and safe to be handled by non-observant Jews and non-Jewish catering staff.

Rules vary from country to country, rabbi to rabbi and year to year and product to product. Please consult locally.

Sabra chocolate orange liqueur

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

Italy

Savoury

Pasta spaghetti bolognaise, carbonara 

Sweets

Amaretti di Saronno macaroons

Bitter and crunchy little biscuits in half moon shapes.

Ferrero Rocher chocolates

Nutella hazelnut spread

Zabaglione

Cassata Siciliana

biscotti

Drinks

Asti spumante

Prosecco

Illy coffee

Jamaica

Japan

Food

sushi - rice cylinders with topping of  raw fish or egg

Drink

sake - rice wine

Korea

Food - Kimchi (pickles)

Drink - Soju - rice wine

Prince Charles, Camilla, and St Patrick's Day in London with drums

 Prince Charles and Camillas set up interest in St Patrick's day in advance of the event. They visited an Irish Centre in London. Charles drank Guinness. They played on huge drums (bodhran) with a goatskin cover, played using thin drumsticks.

Useful Websites

Irish Cultural Centre, 5 Black's Road, Hammersmith, London, England

https://irishculturalcentre.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/IrishCulturalCentre/

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

About the Author

Angela Lansbury is a Londoner and a Singapore Resident.

International Beer Day, Tiger Beer - and recipes for grapefuit and lemon beverages

Add caption

International Beer Day was Friday 7th August 2020. If you missed it, never mind. The 9th of August, Sunday, is Singapore National Day. A great day for Tiger beer. Why?

In Asia, in Singapore, you can buy Tiger Beer. That is the local brand.

 Tiger Beer Factory Tour 

 When permitted, visit the Tiger Beer premises. This week I met somebody (online) who went on a tour earlier this year.Since March 2020 the tours have been temporarily suspended because of Covid-19. I found that out from their website. 

 When I clicked on their website first I had to give a date or birth and country to be sure I am of legal drinking age in the country I was from. When I got into that area of the website for booking I found the notice saying tours were temporarily discontinued. However, I found something good, specially for those who are unsure about drinking beer, because of the taste or alcohol content.

 I had been wondering what you did if you were driving there or were not drinking alcohol for any other reason. I discovered recipes, then clicked on the products area of the website. I found they also make a lemon and beer beverage product, 2% alcohol, called Tiger Radler Lemon. A similar grapefruit beverage product, is Tiger Radler Grapefruit. 

Another page on the website shows you recipes for using the lemon or grapefruit beers to make ice lollies and local desserts.

This would be handy if you are anywhere else in the world. London, England, is so hot that a beer ice lolly would be handy.

The world has many beers. Britain, Belgium, Germany, and many other countries produce beers.

European Beverages

In Europe, Ireland has Guinness. They used to do tours. If you cannot get to a pub, most supermarkets have a good selection. I shall be looking out for the beers with fruit juice.

Useful Websites 

https://tigerbeer.com.sg/radcipes/#steps https://www.thirsty.com.https://www.thirsty.com.sg/collections/merch 

Delivers beer, wine, bottle openers, and beer theme t-shirts. https://www.euronews.com/2020/08/07/international-beer-day 

 About the author Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

St Patrick's Day and Guinness - where and why and when to celebrate with hats and balloons

St Patrick's Day! You couldn't miss it, at the Moon and Sixpence pub in Hatch End. Photo from Josie, the pub manager.

I had to be in Watford for a Toastmasters International area competition. Before the doors opened, we met up at another pub, the Ember Inn. Inside I saw a hat.

Angela amused by the Guinness green-brimmed hat for Patrick's weekend. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Problem
It's St Patrick's Day. Where can I celebrate? Why do we celebrate? When should we celebrate?

Answers
If you can't get to Ireland, you can celebrate St Patrick's all over the world because pubs worldwide are promoting St Patrick's and Guinness, all weekend. Commercialism is so strong that just as you can celebrate Christmas without being Christian, you can celebrate St Patrick's without being Irish.

UK
Essex Arms, Watford's Hats
St Patrick's Day is March 17th, Saturday in 2018, but the staff at the Essex Arms in Watford, London, England, told me the pub is celebrating St Patrick's Day 'until Monday'.

They had hats for St Patrick's weekend, promoting Guinness, which is made in Ireland.

Door Display At Moon & Sixpence, Hatch End
In Hatch End, north London, England, a wonderful display of green and white balloons was across the doorway of the Moon & Sixpence pub on the Uxbridge Road which runs through Hatch End.

Beautiful ballons, in green, white and orange, around the doorway to the Moon and Sixpence pub in Hatch End. Photo from the pub manager, Josie. 

Bunting and balloons and flags celebrating St Patrick's day at the ever popular Moon and Sixpence pub, in Hatch End. Photo courtesy of pub manager, Josie.

The balloons all got popped on Saturday night, said shift leader, Ellen. But she and the pub manager, Josie, took photos. The moral is, save some balloons!

So, your next chance to see the Patrick's Day display is next year.

The hat sat at the Essex arms in Watford, England. Photo by Angela Lansbury, copyright.

The front of the hat shown here says: Guinness, good time with Guinness. Only when I looked at my two pictures, on Sunday, did I realise that the hat has two different messages, on the front and the back. This picture shows one message. Look back at the picture of me wearing the hat and you will see the other message. 

Essex Inn is part of Emberinns.co.uk

If you looked earlier, you will see a typo Embersinns! For my sins, I have now corrected it.

Speaking of Guinness, how about to trip to see Guinness in Dublin, Ireland.

IRELAND

The Guinness Storehouse is open for visits seven days a week, all year except Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day - check their website for the latest details or times and prices.

SINGAPORE

Singapore celebrated with a street parade. Since Singapore is about 7 or 8 hours ahead of the UK, depending on whether it's summer or winter time in the UK, and more hours ahead of the USA, you can see their entire day's celebrations on line when you are still enjoying the day in the UK.

https://www.facebook.com/stpatsdaySG/

Useful Addresses:

Moon and Sixpence

Uxbridge

Hatch End

Pinner

Middlesex

England

Essex Inn

Watford

England

Guinness Storehouse

Dublin

Guinness Storehouse, Dublin. Photo promoting visits, from Guinness, Ireland.

St Patrick Information

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick

Explains St Patrick and the shamrock symbol for St Patrick's day.

Visits

Pubs worldwide.

UK

UK Pubs

https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/events/st-patricks-day

https://www.facebook.com/HatchEndMoons/

https://www.emberinns.co.uk

IRELAND

Useful websites:

Official Republic of Ireland website

https://www.ireland.com/en-gb

Tickets to visit Guinness

https://www.dublinpass.com/dublin-attractions/guinness-storehouse.html

SINGAPORE

https://www.facebook.com/stpatsdaySG/

St Patrick's Day Offers

Trace your Irish ancestors through 

ancestry.com

Special offer ends Monday March 19 2018 11.59 p.m. ET (USA Eastern time)

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See my other posts on Ireland, UK, Singapore, USA and visits worldwide. Please share links to your favourite posts.

See Ireland In A Week With Five Drinks, Waterford glass and Limericks

Map of Ireland from Wikitravel.

Ireland is known as the land of saints and scholars, and called the emerald isle.

Problem
From Guinness to Galway. Where to go, what to do, how much can I do?

Answer
I and three friends have been to Ireland. Here's a one week tour:

Ferry
Drive to Liverpool and catch the ferry to Ireland. Which one?

The eight-hour ferry is cheaper and my friends chose that. But now my friends say next time they'll pay the extra for the shorter crossing about two and a half to three hours. My husband went to Ireland on business by ferry and was in a violent storm and was violently sick and instead of taking the ferry back insisted on flying home.

Guinness In Dublin
First stop is Dublin's Guinness Museum.
It's world famous. Even if you don't drink Guinness, take a tour. (Spell it with double n and double s.) What else is the family famous for? Guinness Book of Records.

Jameson Whiskey in Dublin
From beer to whisky, no, Irish whiskey, spelled with an e. Jameson's. They have one branch in Dublin, another is County Cork. Take a tour of James's whiskey factory. You get a certificate to prove you have done it. My friend hangs his framed in the downstairs cloakroom.

A certificate from Jameson. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

If Whiskey is too strong for you, go off for lunch and finish with Irish coffee or a Baileys Irish cream. Unfortunately, there's no tour for lovers of Baileys

.Irish coffee. Picture from Wiipedia.

Waterford
Tour the Waterford glass factory. You might be able to buy a glass for your whiskey.

Clonmel
Are you tired of touring? A fine four-star hotel, with a swimming pool and spa, (not cheap), might be your base.

Apple Cider

Apple Juice
"A small company showed us how they make their juice. Everything is thrown in and pressed. Out comes a cloudy apple juice.

Tipperary
You will recall the wartime song, It's a long way to Tipperary.

If you can't sing, you might hope to get the gift of the gab. For that yo go to Blarney Castle. If you are brave, you lean backwards over the parapet, with somebody holding your legs, and kiss the stone which is above you.

One friend said, "Noo, Thank you." He claimed, "I've already done it before."

I also declined. I don't think my insurance covers it. Think of all the bad things which could happen to the man holding my legs. He might get stung by a bee. Or struck by lightning.

Limerick
You have to send home a postcard or email with a poem about limerick, a limerick, don't you! You can have plenty of fun in a pub writing a limerick with the help of friends or even strangers who will soon become friends. You need only one word to rhyme with Limerick in the second line. The word Limerick can go at the end of the first and last lines. Any rhyme will do for the third and fourth lines.

There once was a tourist in Limerick
Who caught a bus from town real quick
Never alone, didn't want to go home
Because he had kissed the Blarney stone
On a side trip to Limerick.
By Angela Lansbury.

I have several rhyming dictionaries at home. The internet will do the same trick. After I looked up the potential rhymes for the word Limerick on the internet I found several more ideas, such as the word lovesick.

I'll improve on my first limerick:

A lovesick tourist in Limerick
Caught a bus to the town, real quick
After he kissed the Blarney stone
He was never alone, didn't want to go home
From the lovely girls in Limerick.

How about this:
I went as a tourist to Limerick
I ate so much good food that I was sick
The hotel called me a doctor quick
Ever so helpful, he was a brick
They're lovely and friendly in Limerick.
By Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

If you want to write a limerick, words which rhyme are:
airsick, Alnwick, antic, ballistic, bedtick, Berwick, boychick, brick, candlewick, cherrypick, click, Dick, drumstick, flick, knick, lick, lovesick, Mick, Nick, nonstick, pick, prick, quick rick, Rick, sic, sick, shtick, slapstick, slick, spick, stick, tick, tic, trick, thick, unpick, unstick, Warwick, wick, yardstick.

Belfast and The North
If you have more than a week and want to tour the whole of Ireland, the top of my must-see list is the award-winningTitanic Museum, Belfast. The north also has the Giants' Causeway and The Game Of Thrones tours.

Useful Websites
Amazon (for a Christmas gift of the Guinness Book of Records, a guide to Ireland or a rhyming dictionary)
www.amazon.com
www.amazon.co.uk
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com
For Rhymes Online
https://www.morewords.com/ends-with/ick/
wikirhymer.com/words/sick
https://www.rhymezone.com/r/rhyme

FOR HOLIDAYS TO IRELAND
http://www.ireland-guide.com/ten-of-the-best/brewpubs-craft-brewers-and-cider-makers---10-of-the-best.11709.html

Guinness Storehouse and Brewery, Dublin
Beat the queues (Americans say lineups) with a pass, they say
https://www.dublinpass.com/dublin-attractions/guinness-storehouse

Waterford Crystal, Ireland
https://www.getyourguide.com/waterford-l1643/house-of-waterford-crystal-1-hour-factory-tour-

Jameson's Whiskey
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Products-g186605-d216616-Jameson_Distillery_Bow_St-Dublin_County_Dublin.html

Eire tourist board
http://www.ireland.com/en-gb/articles/jump-into-ireland/

http://titanicbelfast.com/Visitor-Info/
https://www.viator.com/Belfast-attractions/Titanic-Belfast-tours-tickets/
http://www.gameofthronestours.com
http://maggiecobbett.co.uk/general/across-the-irish-sea

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Where Gourmets Can Find a French Friand In London

French f r i a n d, lemon and almond and raspberry in one moist mouthful. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

South Kensington station is beside the Hoop and Toy which is next to the Brompton Market. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

South Kensington station entrance is just beyond the busy large pub Hoop and Toy, flying the flags of England and France - the French Institute is opposite. On the left is the turquoise green awning over the Brompton Market delicatessen shop and coffee shop.

Brompton Market. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

A melt in the mouth, moist almond soft centre cake is something I am always seeking in South Kensington, London and all over the world. I thought I had finally found my dream teatime treat when I discovered large macaroons last week. The gourmet God must have appreciated my efforts at eating out and relentlessly searching because I have great news I want to share with you. Just a few steps from South Kensington station is a hidden gem. The Brompton Market delicatessen with an adult version of the children's and opera lover's treasure house of sweets, a kind of Handel and Gretel setting. Jars of as yet untried treats line the walls, leading to a secret garden at the back, a miniature forest where rustic wooden seats are softened by white sheepskin. But the best bit is the food, the lemon f r i a n d. I shall explain more about that and its recipe later. But first the shop's scenic setting.

Your are in cultural heart of London, near museums and conveniently next to South Kensington station. The shop front is small compared to next door - is beyond and beside a huge pub where revellers spill onto the streets, enjoying London's summer sunshine and smoking cigarettes in the open air, banned from indoors by Britain's and London's health-saving laws.

Across the road is another gourmet delight, The Sampler, where I started my late afternoon with a miniature glasses of sweet wine from an Enoteca machine (which I shall describe in my next post).

After the wine, we were looking for a quick coffee and some snack to eat. In the Brompton shop we headed straight to the cakes displayed beside the till. Right at the front of the counter was one of the least expensive of their cakes, small enough not to completely ruin our appetite for supper, with a tempting raspberry on top, assuaging cake-eater's guilt.

Lemon  F r i a n d with two raspberries on top. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Look closely at the photo and you can see Chocolate and Guinness Cake. If you prefer, try peach and walnut muffin. Maybe on another visit, banana, white chocolate and walnut loaf. At the front, in grabbing distance, was lemon friand. 

I had complained to my doctor that I was waking at night, and he told me not to drink coffee after lunch. My regime is to drink no more than two cups of coffee, one at breakfast time, a second for elevenses (English word for a mid morning snack at eleven a.m.) and decaffeinated coffee after lunch. Therefore I opted for the cheapest drink, the longest drink, and one which sounded reasonable fresh, lemon juice.

I try to think only good thoughts. Such as this tastes tangy. But in addition to be being a gourmet optimist I am also a health freak pessimist, masquerading as a realist. So I secretly and silently also thought the acid in the lemon might eat away some of the sugar on my teeth from the cake.

 I should have asked for a glass of tap water to wash the sugar off my teeth and to rinse away the cake crumbs, but I didn't think of that. Next time. I shall definitely make this place my regular stop after visiting The Sampler opposite.

I had noticed the sole brown wooden table with the white sheepskin, or imitation sheepskin, over the bench seat to soften it and add a rustic touch. But I didn't spot the staircase at the front until I left, and the sign more seating downstairs. I did see the second staircase at the centre back of the shop opposite the start of the counter with the sign seating downstairs. However, standing by the till to pay, I was steps from he doorway to  the three little tables on the balcony at the back, overlooking the basement garden, protected from weather and surrounding windows by a blue canopy.

The tables are rustic and frankly a bit basic, but that is part of the charm. Reminiscent of my student days in the Nineteen Eighties in Haight Ashbury (Take me back to San Francisco - be sure to wear some flowers in your hair).

But this is not America in the eighties with hippies. It is London in 2016. At the next table is a middle aged blonde, talking so discreetly that I cannot hear anything except her upper class Kensington accent, like Her Majesty the Queen giving the Queen's speech. Just to complete the picture of London in 2016, her companion is a contrasting colour of skin matching clothes, a black haired, well-dressed, elegant young woman, who could be any age from 18 to 80, who could be Indian or Iranian or Italian.

Down in the tented area, which reminds me of wedding marquees, two children and their mother are hidden from sight and view. We are shielded in this tiny area from the traffic pollution and noise, unable to hear either our whispering fellow ladies who lunch having tea, and the children so well behaved or far away that they fulfil the Victorian dream of children who are seen but not heard.

But the absolute 'icing on the cake' is the cake, the one without icing, the one which looks like a little muffin, more like an ovel French madeleine, which inspired Mmarcel Proust's memories starting his three book novel, based on his exciting story full of historical incidents, A La Recherché Du Temps Perdu. This cake is not Temps Perdu, for like Temptation and dieter's delight, willpower perdu.

One bite tells me to slow down and suck on the most almond filling and prolong the enjoyment.
Luckily I have enough lemonade to keep my lips occupied, and my hands holding the tall beaker with the straw. Straws are supposed to carry drink away from your teeth, protecting your teeth if not your diet.

I am sorry to spoil this image of heaven with health warnings. We did eat one cake between two of us. So honour is maintained, as well as the diet. (I always think running up and down umpteen steps on British railway stations and pacing up and down the platform waiting for trains must justify a lovely coffee or tea stop.

Before reluctantly leaving for our next appointment, to met the Umbrian tourist board, we lingered for a last look at the bottles and food in the deli area.

Next day, looking at my photos, I notice that what we had eaten is called a 'f r i a n d'. F r i a n d is a French word, which spell checker wants to change to friend.  I like to think that a f r i a n d is what you should share with a friend.

Wikipedia, the source of all extensive free knowledge, shared by everybody in the world who wants to know about anything, tells me that the f r i a n d is often mistaken for a muffin. It is made with egg white and almond flour. Only a couple of days ago I read a cookery blog giving the recipe for making almond flower and almond milk. An american explained how you take almond and soak them overnight, and or grind them up, to make almond flour and/or almond milk. both of which are delicious and healthy and fresh and save you a heap of money.

Sometimes I like to sit and enjoy eating in a shop something which somebody else has gone to the trouble of making.

I looked at their website and found a blog saying that they were now experimentally opening later, not just to 7 or 8 pm but until 10 pm Thursday, Friday and Saturday through the summer. That's great news. I hope this late opening is a success.

More Information from:

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

Brompton Food Market
33 Thurloe Place, London SW7 2HQ
tel :020 7584 4491.
www.bromptonfoodmarket.com

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Beer in Britain, map from Marks and Spencer

Marks & Spencer produced a handy map entitled Brewed in Britain in 2015. Marks won the award International Beer Challenge Retailer of the Year in 2014. They say that Britain has about 1,300 breweries.

Handy guide to all colours of beer and even beer designed to match your curry! Colours range from pale, such as Cornish Pale Ale, (£2.40 for 500 ml): through lager; Saison, Amber;  Red (Yorkshire Red); Norfolk Bitter; Battersea Rye which is brown. Finally Porter, London Porter. 
Porter is a dark brown beer, malted, 'similar to stout'.

Travelling and Beer Tasting
BRITAIN
In Britain every street and village seems to have a pub or two. Look for a free house (one not tied to a particular manufacturer/owner/organisation).
Useful information from CAMRA, campaign for real ale.

HOLLAND & GERMANY
Known for Weiss beer which means white beer.

IRELAND
Known for black beer. It is made from malted (sprouted) hops. The malting develops sugar for making alcohol which gives energy for growth - that's why fruits have sugar.
Guinness is ubiquitous (found everywhere) in Ireland where even a clothes shop has bottles int he window.

Belgium
Belgium is very proud of its beers, with speciality pubs offering up to 30 beers.
In the UK 'Products containing alcohol can only be sold or delivered to those 18 or over.'
Drinkaware.co.uk

marksandspencer.com/food-digest

http://visitabrewery.co.uk

http://www.beeracademy.co.uk/courses/foundation-course/

Angela Lansbury, travel writer, author, speaker