Chocolate Choices, Cadbury's Chocolate, Hershey's, Memories, Hotel Chocolat

 

British favourite chocolate. Cadbury's. Totally different flavour to American Hershey's which to the British tastes stronger, more bitte and wax. 

Hershey's was designed not to melt in the heat when carried as an energy and mood boost by soldiers. 

Cadbury's was always the king of chocolate, supposedly containing calcium filled milk when markets sold cheaper chocolate used by confectioners, and like Hershey's, using a substitute for milk which would not melt in the heat. A flood of memories from childhood.

More memories of holidays in the USA when somebody stole the chocolate from the back window of the car. Then we realised it had melted in the heat.

Check out any city you are visiting for chocolate tours of chocolate factories, chocolate tastings and chocolate making in chocolate shops. In the UK. London and York, especially holidays such as the late May Bank Holiday. And before Xmas. I have been to chocolate museums, exhibitions and shops and events in New York, USA. London, England, York. England, Switzerland, and Umbria in Italy. See my previous posts for mouth-watering pictures.

Hotel Chocolat at Euston

If you are in London, go via a chocolate shop. In Euston we found wonderful chocolates at Hotel Chocolat. A box of chocolates all different. Sometimes you can make up your own.

A day later we bought chocolates from a Laderach of Switzerland chocolate shop in St Pancras station. My husband asked them for all identical chocolate dark chocolate balls  to share with a group when we ordered coffee after a lunch ending with a drink of port. They don't usually do that. Like Hotel Chocolat they provide variety. However, they are customer orientated and provided what he requested, a box of identical chocolates, so everybody had the same, and no delay choosing which one.

They discussed the chocolate content about which my husband was quite knowledgeable and insistent. Once on his birthday., I went to buy him a bar of dark chocolate in my local supermarket. I saw three different percentages of chocolate, hesitated over whether to buy the one with the highest percentage, or two, or all three in case I got it wrong. That proved interesting as we were both able to compare all three. To our surprise, both of us found the very highest chocolate content made a chocolate which we found too bitter. Incidentally Laderach features slabs. 

Currently, in May 2026, they have a newsletter offer. Sign up for their newsletter and you are entered into the following month's draw date for a free slab (bar) of chocolate. 

 Handy if you are in a hurry. I was not impressed by the plain chocolate balls, but my chocoholic friend had no trouble eating two chocolates. The slabs come in nut toppings, white with fruit flavoured swirls and many more surprises. Their locations include several in Switzerland and German as well as Dubai and Orlando in the USA. 

The business is run by a family, now in the third generation. The family name is Swiss-German meaning clearing, for people living near a clearing.

They have a museum in Switzerland. 

Hotel Chocolat

However, if you have time, go to Euston,  Hotel Chocolat. A feast for the eyes and tastebuds. Nothing to match the visual appeal or taste, and possibly higher price, but worth it, whether for yourself or a gift, at Hotel Chocolat.

You'll find them on Amazon and ebay but I recommend the Euston shop if you are passing through Euston. Or check online for your nearest physical shop or supplier.

Other locations offer their drinking chocolate in assorted flavours, hot or cold.

Useful Websites On Chocolate Shops

https://www.hotelchocolat.com/uk/chocolate-shops

https://laderach.com/uk-en/our-locationshttps://houseofladerach.com/product/besuch-schokoladenmuseum-mit-schokoladen-atelier/

https://www.names.org/n/laderach/about

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Where can you see statues and monuments to Queen Elizabeth, Diana, William, Harry, and the royal family?

You can see a statue of Queen Elizabeth II in the city of York, in York minster. 

The proposed sites for the latest statue of Queen Elizabeth included Trafalgar Square, which was vetoed, and  St James's Park near Buckingham Palace in London.

London has statues of Henry VIII and Charles I and Charles II. You will find more statues and plaques of famous people in St Paul's cathedral and Westminster Abbey. Also fountains and gates.

The statue of Princess Diana and her sons, William and Harry, is in Kensington Palace in the Sunken Garden. (Not to be confused with Kensington Gardens.)

London also has a famous fountain for Diana. 

And fancy gates which were installed commemorating the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth's mother. 

Statues of Queen Victoria are all over the world.

Useful Books

London statues

Useful Websites

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

Betty's British tea shop in Ilkely and York in England

 

Photos by Angela Lansbury.

Betty's tea shops are in York, Harrogate and Ilkley. I recently went to the branch in Ilkley.

I loved the picture rails with the displayed tea pots, of which the group has a large collection. This multi-generational business have tea shops in York, Harrogate, and Ilkely. You can order breakfast, lunch, tea or supper. I had a sensible salmon and salad lunch, but thought the grill was a bit dry. 

My friend ordered the triple tier tea, which can also be ordered as a set with Prosecco.

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Up north to pubs and places in Yorkshire

Tourists go to York to see the Cathedral and walk around the ancient castle walls. You can shop in the Shambles and visit a museum or two. Yorkshire also has Bronte country and the steam railways and the railway which goes through Howarth area to the station where the film The Railway children was set. If you have already done that or have family or friends see the Pubs. My friend Tim went to a Methodist school, then a boarding school, called Woodhouse Grove, and the prep school was called Bronte House. Charlotte Bronte was a former governess to the family in the old house. The school now has surrounding modern buildings. Tim recalls stained glass windows.

Unlike London, which has red brick houses built of  clay brick, notice the colour of the grey sandstone walls of buildings and boundary walls.

The Malt Shovel pub. A malt shovel was used for making beer. 

Commonwealth War Graves plaque.

In the town of Baildon of West Yorkshire. Methodist Wesley preached here.

Photos by Trevor Sharot.

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York Railway Museum, UK, WWI hospital trains and the first class railway journey there

 

UK flag

York is known for its city walls, its grand cathedral, The Shambles shopping alleys, Yorvik Viking centre and the Railway Museum. My family has just returned from a trip from London to York by train, staying overnight.

The morning train from London arrives at York's historic station, which features in photos and on jigsaw puzzles. My family met up with friends under the clock which hangs overhead on the upper level of the concourse. 

The afternoon was spent walking along the city walls, whilst the sun was out. The weather was a bit chilly in September, but it was a sunny day. 

Next day, exhausted by the walk outdoors, my husband went indoors to the railway museum. It is next door to the railway station, built around a large turntable on the ground which used to turn the trains. (The Roundhouse in London in Camden was similarly a railway building.)

At weekends you could have tea in a railway carriage in the Railway museum. The museum is free. The set tea costs 25.50.

Here's the answer to the question, what was the speed? 126 mph.

Railway Museum. You can't miss it. Photo from Wikipedia. More details of the photo there. Under York Rialway Museum.

Here is the turntable in the middle of the ground floor.

He indulged in paying an extra fiver for the experience of the Mallard train breaking the speed record for a steam train - a record still unbroken. You sit in what feels like the Mallard watching a recording. 

Exhilarating. "Worth it!" says my husband. He's a biker, motorbikes. He likes that sort of thing. Sensation of speed. 

His other favourite train to board was the WWI hospital train. Trains were travelling wards. Reserved for those well enough to survive the journey because of physical injury. Those with mental problems were put into padded cells on the train. The nurses did triage - dividing soldiers into those beyond hope, those with minor injuries, and the core who were badly injured, but could be saved if given sufficient quick treatment and long term care. Or short term care to be sent back to the front. 

The train(s?) had only 2 nurses for 500 people. The nurses were tough, career nurses who chose to do jobs in the heart of the action. It was their vocation. The staff had their own sleeping quarters.

The trains had been planned in 1912, and could be built in 18 days. Trevor said, "The Railway Museum is worth visiting just for this."

Trevor, being a Singapore Permanent Resident, also liked the Chinese train. It was required to have strong pulling power to go up slopes, uphill, but also to be light. The solution was several large wheels to spread the load.

Other sections of the museum are decade by decade. You learn a lot of history. Trains were nationalized before WW2 to co-ordinate transport. In those days railways were essential for moving troops and civilians. They had fewer private cars. Railway staff had special badges to give them status, designated to do useful and essential work for the war effort, so that members of the public would not berate them for being cowards who were able bodied but not fighting at the front. 

Other exhibits include lanterns from the royal train. Much more is in store. No room to display it all at once.

Useful Websites

https://www.railwaymuseum.org.uk/visit

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

About the Author

Angela Lansbury is a travel writer, blogger and author. She is a member of several Toastmasters clubs, Harrovian Speakers in the UK, two advanced clubs in Singapore, Braddell Heights Advanced and Tampines Changkat Advanced, and an online club, Singapore Online Dynamic.  Clubs have websites and Facebook pages as well as being on Toastmasters International find a club.

More photos and text will be added tomorrow. Come back for more. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Amazing Viking Age Village In Sweden, and Yorvik at Historic York in England

If you visit the UK, the pride of the city of York is  the Yorkvik attraction. It was a Viking site discovered when a multi storey building was being built. What to do!

The solution to allow the building to proceed was to construct a museum and attraction below. The planned office block went ahead overhead.

To prevent the tourists touching and damaging the site, some items were put in display cases.  The rest of the site was explored by a railway including passing a mixture of mock-ups and the actual findings. The project was a huge success.


Demo of coin-making at Yorvik Viking Centre.

York is a wonderful little city, with a fine Cathedral and a walk around the city walls. Narrow alleys lead to boutique shops and a couple of Chocolate centres with museums. Do you remember Rowntrees of York?

Useful Websites
SWEDEN
Stavgard, Gotland, Sweden

UK
Yorvik, York, Yorkshire

About the Author
Angela Lansbury is British by birth and education, also lived in the USA and is a resident of Singapore. Travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Member of five Toastmasters International Speakers Clubs.
Author of twenty books on Amazon and Lulu.com.

Watch out For Confusing Names: New York, Paris, Perth, London, Manchester, Columbus, But enjoy the associations

What can the map tell us? What can we learn from our travels?


Flag of the USA

New York
New York in the USA is named after York in England. When I first visited New York in the USA, I was puzzled by the fact that New York was often written as New York, New York. The City and the state have the same name. I have vivid memories of my first trip, walking down the spiral Guggenheim art Gallery, later reading about Guggenheim on the Titanic. I cheered myself up taking a bus tour, a Duck tour into the river, and sampling some Hersheys chocolate at an enormous shop.

York, over in England is a major attraction. Not just the large cathedral. You can walk around the city's impressive old defensive walls. York is small. The narrow alleys are full of dinky little shops, seling antiques and modern crafts. And a chocolate museum or two. Brits fondly remember Rowntrees of York.

New York in the USA has modern skyscrapers. What about history? Art deco buildings.

I once asked a girl at the World Travel Market in London, England, 'What would you say to British tourists who argue, 'I don't want to visit New York because it has no history; I would rather visit Greece!"?


Flag of Greece

She snapped, "I'd say, 'Come to New York. I have been to Greece. They have hundreds of years of history - but they still can't get the plumbing right!' "

I was glad I asked. I had not endeared myself to the PR girl, but I had received an interesting and amusing answer.

Let's move on around the map.

Paris, Texas
Paris, Texas, was named after Paris in France. It is easy to work that one out.

Manchester, Where?
When I lived in London, I was puzzled when I heard a song in a musical about Manchester, England. Nobody in England specifies that Manchester is in England. When I try to look up Manchester in Wikipedia, I immediately find myself on a page about Manchester United Football Club. But there is another Manchester, not in England.

London, England.
That is why you must add the country when addressing letters. I went from London, England, to live in the USA, and told people I was from London. My accent is British. Most people worked out that I was from London, England.










Flag of Canada, featuring the maple leaf.

London, Canada
However, several people asked me, "Are you from Canada?"
"No, England."
"So sorry."
"Never mind."

I didn't mind. The trouble only started when I left the USA to go back to England.

Stratford, Canada
When my family moved to the USA, we took several trips to Canada. We learned to add maple syrup to our porridge at breakfast time.

I vividly recall being in a hotel near Niagara and picking up a leaflet on Stratford and Shakespeare plays being performed that summer. I wondered why a Canadian hotel had leaflets about the UK. Then I discovered that Canda has a place called Stratford and a Shakespeare theatre season.

When I got back to the UK, American PR ladies would phone me and ask, "Have you received my invitation to visit our new hotel and nearby museum?"

I would answer, "No, I haven't. but thanks for calling me and telling me about it. I am in England right now. But I shall look you up next time I am in the USA."

Neither of us realised what had happened to the missing letters. Months later I received envelopes redirected from Canada.



Perth, Australia
After that I visited Australia. If you go to Australia, or just look on the map, or at the index to a map book or guide book, you will see that a city called Perth is in Scotland. Another Perth is in Australia. That is why you must add the country, when addressing letters. When you meet a man with a Scottish accent in Australia and ask where are you from, if he says Perth, you need to ask, "Perth in Australia or Perth in Scotland?"

Conclusion
The popular saying goes, the world is a small place. On the contrary, it is a big place. Big enough for your plane or letter or luggage or even you, yourself, to end up on the wrong continent. Watch those city names! Add the country name!

However, to look on the bright side, after you have been to both cities which sound alike, visiting either will draw your attention to the contrasts and their history. You can enjoy indulging in daydreams about the differences and associations. I think of New York and York. York had Rowntrees chocolate and New York has Hersheys chocolate. Ah!

!

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

Your Choice of Writing Courses & Writing Holidays: Feb, Aug, Sept

So many places to visit for a writers holiday.

Writers' Summer School, August

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2018/08/diary-note-writers-summer-school-in.html

NEXT

AUGUST

 Writers' Summer School

August 8-14 2020.

Priority bookings open 1st January 2020.

Who gets priority bookings? Those Friends of Swanwick who donated money for the scholarships for the new young members needed to replace old timers who died or are too old or ill travel. The school has been going 71 years.

Useful Websites

www.swanwickwritersschool.org.uk

___________________________________________________________________________________________

SEPTEMBER

www.jerichowriters.com

Conference 6-8 September 2019.

Membership 30 pounds a month or 195 a year.

Exhibition Centre, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD Get directions

Prices:

• Full Weekend (Inc Mini-course)  £595
• Full Weekend (Exc Mini-course)  £545
• Sat/Sun  £495
• Sat only  £275
• Sun only  £165
• More information from:
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_York
• _________________________________________________________________________________________

FEBRUARY 2020

Writers Holiday, Fishguard Hotel, Fishguard, Wales.

Relaxing writers' holiday. I have already done courses on novel writing and writing poetry and I do the illustration course by the patient and encouraging Susan Allison to improve my book illustrations.

http://www.writersholiday.net

21-23 Feb 2019. 249 pounds, including accommodation and meals.

Book early to get good deals on trains from Paddington to Fishguard, where the course organisers family meet you at the station on request - only a few yards down the road.

For about 50 pounds extra for dinner bed and breakfast you can stay another night. I recommend you stay and see the Fishguard Last Invasion tapestry and video which are free, during daytime, above the library in the town hall. 

Check the opening times. I have also driven to Fishguard which is on the far side of Wales, stopping to watch the evening theatre performance at a theatre in Bath Theatre Royal and reaching London past midnight. An alternative is to spend a night in Bath or Bristol. Driving towards Fishgaurd, we stopped at several places and stayed at a hotel with a top rated restaurant.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

arvon

https://www.arvon.org/

several centres. One night you cook with a few of the other writers. Supposed to help you bond.

Other courses take place in other countries.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

TWITTER

writerscommunity

writingcommunity

mondaymotivation

lovereading

wednesdaywisdom

About the Author

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

Chocolate Factory Visit Valrhona In France, or take classes in the USA

Problem
Valrhona - oops - how do you spell it? Where is the Valrhona chocolate factory visit in France?

Answer
Val as in valley or Valerie, Valerie in the Valley, then rhona as in the river Rhone. VAL-RH-ON-A. Yes, Tain-Hermitage in the southeast of France is on the river Rhone, near the gastronomic city of Lyons. (We went to the Kir factory.)

Chocolate tours seem to be multiplying worldwide. I've been to chocolate factory and shop tours all over, the biggest and best known in England being Cadbury. Chocolate shops with tastings are multiplying in London. We booked an evening chocolate and wine matching evening. More chocolate factory tours and events are in York going north, which I heard about at the annual long weekend chocolate show in London at Olympia. If you want a tour, you must book.

Over in the USA I saw the Hershey shop in New York, not a tour, but enough information posters and entertaining animations to provide amusement.

In Europe we took the train to the museum of Alprose in Switzerland. In Italy, Umbria has an annual chocolate event. France has more.

Valrhona chocolates on a stand at ProWine Asia in Singapore April 2018. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

I learned about the Valrhona chocolate factory visit in France when I was at ProWine Asia exhibition in Singapore. Valrhona also have a branch in Brooklyn, New York, USA, memorably on Water Street by the Brooklyn Bridge, where they hold classes for non-professionals.

Useful Websites
https://www.ardeche-hermitage.com/en/catalog/activity/cite-du-chocolat-valrhona-403003/

https://www.facebook.com/Valrhona/?brand_redir=215088746562
Video of chocolate making at the top of their Facebook page.

https://www.valrhona-chocolate.com/pastry-classes 
(Brooklyn, USA)

https://www.cellartours.com/blog/france/guide-french-chocolate Wonderful website about chocolate shop and factory visits all over France, including the Jews fleeing the Inquisition in Portugal taking their chocolate making skills to the south of France, then having to move on, but leaving behind the tradition of chocolate making.

https://www.valrhona-chocolate.com
The factory's website showing the different colours and flavours of chocolate, brown, cream and pink ovals of nutty and fruity flavours such as passionfruit and almond. You can order Valrhona chocolate online to be shipped from France to all over the world.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See my other posts on chocolate.

Edinburgh Science Festival first half of April - and a competition

Queensferry Crossing.

Problem
It's freezing now, and cold up north. But I hope by the end of March, a week away, the weather will start getting better.

The Edinburgh Science Festival 2018 starts 31 March and ends 15 April. I went to a Science Festival at a university city, and it was wonderful.

The Science Fair takes place in Summerhall.

Everybody loves Edinburgh.

If you can't wait until the Edinburgh Festival, in late summer, with its comedy sessions, go to the springtime Science Fair. Their website is running a competition.

You can go there by train or drive. I have done both. Driving from London we stopped overnight at York on the way back down south.

What must you see? Edinburgh Castle. You can't avoid it. It dominates the city. Scotsmen in kilts playing bagpipes.  Tartans. Scottish accents.

Useful Websites:
https://www.edinburghfestivalcity.com/competitions/edinburgh-international-science-festival-2018-competition
visitbritain.com
www.visitscotland.com
edinburgh.org

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See my other posts on Edinburgh and Scotland. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Travel back in time to old England?

Problem
England is not the England of old films.

Where can I see old England?

1 Gibraltar.
2 New Zealand.
3 Medieval Banquets in London; Hatfield House; USA.
4 The City of London, England.
5 Walking tours of London and other cities.
6 York, England.
7 Stratford-upon-Avon - Tudor black and white gabled buildings, the real thing.
8 Old Films: The Ladykillers is a 1955 British black comedy film made by Ealing Studios.  It stars Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom, Peter Sellers, Danny Green, Jack Warner and Katie Johnson as the old lady.^[1]

(More photos, websites and lists later today.)

Author
Angela Lansbury

Quick Guide To What To Do Overnight in York? Chocolate, wine and ghosts

Why York?
York is one of England's, Britain's, top destinations for foreign and local visitors. Why? It is old, historic, and has everything in a compact, small city which you can walk around.

Where to park? We stayed in a hotel with parking.

You can do York as a destination in its own right or as a great stopover, driving from London, perhaps overnight in York. See it on your way up north, on your way back, or both.

We came back from Edinburgh and spent overnight in York at the Hotel du Vin where we had dinner in the hotel restaurant.

You will want to allow a morning to see York, the Shambles (pedestrian street), a chocolate shop and chocolate shop museum.

If you are only allowing a morning, or a day, check opening times and what you need to book.

Admire the walls or walk along them. See the cathedral outside, and inside.

You might want to budget for all of these and maybe a ghost tour in the evening.

Overseas visitors can take a tour of the UK including York, Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare) and Edinburgh, capital of Scotland.

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

Vikings Invaded Nov 1st. Festival in February 2018. Note For Your Diary

It was 1 November AD866 when the Vikings first invaded the Anglo-Saxon town of Eoforwic knowing that the local residents would be in church - without their weapons - celebrating the feast of All Saints. Today, three brothers – Halfdan Ragnarsson, Ubba Ragnarsson and Ivarr the Boneless – returned to the city to start the countdown to the next Viking invasion – the JORVIK Viking Festival 2018, which runs 12 – 18 February 2018.

Here they are renacting in 2017.

Edinburgh Festival, Edinburgh and Scotland

Problems and Answers
First problem - I lost two hours of work on this post when I accidentally worked on a second opening of the page, then closed the first page which over wrote the later version. I then tried revert to draft which went back to the even earlier version. So, from now on, you will get my posts saved as I write the first draft.

1 When to go?
EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
4 Aug – 28 Aug 2017

ROYAL MILITARY TATTOO
4-26 Aug 2017

New Year's Eve Dec 2017


2 Where to stay
My friends stay at the same hotel each year and book for the year ahead. That's why the central hotels are all booked up. You may have to go to latebookings.com and find something in your price range. Then book a more central hotel for the following year.

If you go by car, you can stay out of the city centre. If you are a group, try a self-catering place. The great ones I looked at were over £300 but slept four.

If you miss the Edinburgh Festival, consider booking New Year's Eve.

3 What to do and see
Performances, Plays and Performing

4 Stopover between Edinburgh, Scotland and London, England
I stayed in York for a night at a hotel which specialises in a wine theme and a large cellar restaurant, Hotel Du Vin. We travelled by car and made stops on the way up and back to see one of several places associated with Scottish hero Bruce and the spider. (See later post.) Also Lockerbie (see later post.

5 Any Comedy courses?
If you pay for a one day or two day or one week comedy or acting training course which ends with a performance in Edinburgh you then get invited to a post production party in London where you might meet a talent scout.

Going Solo
It's expensive to hire a venue for a night. To get an audience you need one or more of these:
A sponsor. A charity. Mum and Dad. Your savings. A theatre or orchestra or arts grant or city or country grant or student or university group.
Advertising budget for newspapers, free newspaper, posters, flyers.
People to hand out flyers.
Pub alongside with existing clientele.
Two nights or more so that those in the audience enjoying night one will come back on night two or send their friends.
An existing huge fan club or access to huge media circulation
A really wacky idea which gets lots of newspaper publicity.
A big name star to perform or endorse you.
Prior performance.

Who can perform? Actors in skits, plays, stand up comedy, open microphone shows, bands, poetry readings, small music groups, choirs and orchestras, singer-songwriters, musicals, ballets and dancers, street performers.
Alongside may be sellers of relevant books, souvenirs, tee-shirts, related to performances and to Edinburgh or Scotland.
Going With Groups
Look for comedy and acting courses. They end with a show. Just one night.

A huge group of students or others whose families will all pay a little for the performance.
A student group from a religious organisation sponsored by the church or synagogue, either on a topic or theme they like, or to create a fellowship of like-minded people.

Remember to record your comedy online for advance publicity and post-event publicity for the next year.

Invite the press to attend. Send a free ticket. Send a flyer for publicity. Take out an advertisement. Send them a photo or a video link. If they are too busy to send a photographer, offer to call at their office in costume for a photo with the reporter. You can take a selfie with your smart phone or laptop or theirs.

Tips & Websites
Edinburgh Festival
www.edfringe.com
http://edinburgh.org
https://www.latebookings.com//
www.lateluxury.com
https://www.visitscotland.com

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

Wine and Beer at Hotels and Wine Hotels & Restaurants in England

Restaurant at The Old Bridge Hotel.

The Wine Shop at the Old Bridge Hotel.

The Wine Shop at The Old Bridge Hotel.

Problem
What was the name of that hotel with a fine wine cellar and knowledgeable sommelier?

Answer
Let's just make a list. I thought there were just two or three. I have found several more. Here are any favourites and wish lists:

Hotel du Vin
York
Yorkshire
Several more hotels du vin.
https://www.hotelduvin.com/

Huntsbridge Ltd
The Old Bridge Hotel
1 High Street
Huntingdon
Cambridgeshire PE29 3TQ
Tel: 01480 458410
emails:
oldbridge@huntsbridge.co.uk
jh@hunstbridge.co.uk
Website: www.huntsbridge.com

WINE
Introduction to wine tastings, £44 per person: Sauvignon Blanc, Monday Aug 7, 2017 at 7.15 pm; Washington State Monday 9 Oct 2017; to book ring wine shop tel 01480 458410. Tapas and Sherry, Saturday 26 Aug, 2-5 pm. tutored tasting of sherry or Spanish white wines, £48 per person.

BEER
Old Bridge Beer Celebration, Sunday August 13th, 11.30-3.30 pm. Must book. Entry fee of £18 includes Old Bridge glass to take away and a lamb or pork roll snack you can munch as you walk around. (Vegetarian on request must be ordered in advance. In addition budget for the 9 or 10 beers which cost £1.25 for a half and £2.50 per pint.
***
Same management as the Old Bridge Hotel:
The Three Horseshoes at Madingley (near Cambridge)
www.threehorseshoesmadingley.co.uk / Facebook / Instagram (madingley_3hs)

***
Wine at Hotels in Hampshire
http://www.hotelterravina.co.uk

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
See previous posts on The Old Bridge and other wines and wineries worldwide. Please share links to posts.

Chocolate Show - Friday to Sunday October 16-18 2015 at Olympia

I went to the chocolate show last year. Highly recommended. If you are buying tickets at the door you want to arrive at opening time because last year by 11 am the show had huge queues.

Ticket prices:

Buy on line and you will have time to work out which day to go and which price works for you. They have concession tickets if you are retired, family tickets which might be worthwhile if you are two adults and two children, and lower prices on Sunday.

Other events after you arrive are on a first come first served basis. For example, the chocolate show in the theatre.

You can see chocolate clothes and try different kinds of chocolate. Some stands offer free tastes. later in the day you will find queues. You might also find that later in the day they have run out of the free chocolates.

Highlights of my tour included discovering chocolate shops I did not know in London, as well as on line suppliers. Here's a picture from my previous visit, when I discovered the York Cocoa House, sampled the chocolate and watched children making chocolate lollipops.

Costs and extra costs
Your children or you might want to pay extra to take a class in making chocolates or attending a show.

Discounts
Lots of stands offer discounts, only at the show, or buy two at a reduced price.

Free
Tastes of lots of Chocolate. Some are just help yourself. Some are doled out one per person in a queue. Some are given only if you are a buyer and want to taste before buying. Prices vary from £5 or under to big boxes costing about £25, also monthly clubs where you pay several pounds a month and sign up for a year or indefinitely to be sent a monthly selection.

A show at 5 pm. You will have to sit through a long demo and talk about different types of chocolate and every fifteen minutes or so a box is passed around and you can take a taste of a piece of chocolate or a chocolate kebab. I could not hear at the back and as people left gradually moved forward to a seat with a better view. Excellent talk. Helpful if you have researched in advance different kinds of chocolate and different countries. They also answer questions either in the demo or if you try to catch the demonstrator at the end.

Getting there
The station is right outside the exhibition hall.

http://www.seetickets.com/event/the-chocolate-show/olympia/872546

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

Richard III to be buried in Leicester Cathedral - ending "the winter of our discontent"

Next week (March 2015) Richard III will be buried in Leicester Cathedral. The lead-lined coffin has been carved by one of his descendants, named not Richard but Michael. It was Richard's closest descendant's DNA which enabled Richard III to be identified when his skeleton was dug up from a Leicester car park.

   Richard III should be buried in York, many people protest, because he is from the House of York. (He lost to the Lancastrians, from Lancaster, Tudor dynasty, a line of kings all confusingly named Henry who led to Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.)

   However, York already has many attractions and does not need another. Also visitors to York might find so many other things to do that they neglect Richard III.

   Leicester, however, has almost no major attractions. I recall the highlight of my stay with my good friend Lynda was a trip to the Dunelm Mill store. Leicester is also nearer if you are going north from London, where large numbers of tourists arrive.

   Yes, Leicester, specifically Leicester Cathedral, is a great place for Richard III to be buried, near where he died in the battle of Bosworth Field, ending The Wars of The Roses ((White rose of York versus Red Rose symbol of Lancaster on their heraldic badges). He lived from 2 October 1452 to 22 August 1485, dying in his early thirties.

   How do you get to Leicester? Drive up the motorway from London. As Richard III said, according to William Shakespeare, at the end of the play, Richard III, written about 1592, more than a century later, "A horse! A horse - my kingdom for a horse!"

   Did Richard kill, or order to be killed, his nephews, the two princes in the tower (of London). He had just cancelled the coronation of the eldest brother, declaring them both to be illegitimate, so that he could be crowned.

   You may recall the opening line of the Shakespeare's play, given to Richard III, "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York."
   If you want to know more about Richard III, you can read three books about him. Two of the biographies were reviewed in a recent edition of the Sunday Times, by the author of the third book.

Photo of Richard III of England from Wikipedia in public domain

Chocolates from Oban in Scotland, Christmas gifts and more

Chocolate has been called 'the food of the gods' and unaccountably the food of the devil; perhaps that should be the food of the dentist. If I ever have to confess my sins on the day of judgement, in the great dental chair in the sky, I shall have to confess to eating chocolate. I love chocolate.

Oban Chocolate Co. is on travel site GoEuro's top ten list of chocolate places. Oban, from Scottish Gaelic for The Little Bay, is a port on the west coast of Scotland and featured in a film Ring of Bright Water. The scenic horseshoe bay is also home to the ferry to Mull, and attracts lots of visitors in summer. You have to go to Oban in Scotland where you can see the chocolates being made and buy the latest novelty as they constantly make new chocolates. Their cafe has sofas, views across the bay, a toy box to amuse children. Food includes hot waffles and cold ice cream drinks and lots of chocolate confections. You can sit admiring the bay while eating the chocolate delights, and reading about Sir Walter Scott visiting Oban and writing his Lord of the Isles poem, which set Oban on the tourist trail, or about the nearby whisky distillery.

What if you are too far from Oban today but want to try the chocolates? I compared prices on their website to see how they compare with the pricey shops in London which charge £1 a chocolate. I still think that £5 for a box of Thorntons chocolate in Tesco Express is best value.
But, regarding the Oban chocolates, as their website points out, prices include postage in the UK by royal mail first class. For international orders contact them for postage prices.

I liked the box of four in a music box playing We wish you a merry Christmas. Good for Xmas day, though not much use the rest of the year. 
It's on this page:

http://www.obanchocolate.co.uk/acatalog/chocolate.html


Another novelty was the six point star. My orthodox Jewish friends are so kosher it's hard to find anything which meets their requirements unless bought from a kosher deli. However the star box would do nicely for many other friends and groups around the time of Hanukah.

Their celebration cakes include those with five point stars, and my favourite novelty is the crossword cake with the message to the birthday boy or girl like words on a crossword. I suppose you could do the same with Scrabble. Other opportunities and options include a football club cake, a christening cake, a silver wedding anniversary and a golden wedding anniversary. Prices from about £70.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-2852063/Scottish-chocolate-shop-Oban-Chocolate-voted-one-10-Europe.html#ixzz3KNnLIzec
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http://www.obanchocolate.co.uk/acatalog/Special_Boxed_Selections.html
http://www.obanchocolate.co.uk/acatalog/Truffle_Star.html

The shop runs a 45 minute chocolate making workshop for kids in the school holidays. Children get a certificate at the end.


If you can't get up to Scotland, there are premises in London, England, doing chocolate making courses for adults, and at least one in the city of York in Yorkshire for children. See my previous posts.

If you live in the area or are Scottish you might like to visit the website and look at the wedding cakes including one with thistles and tartan ribbon.

For more details on the area see Wiki Oban
The former Scottish tourist board is now catchily named
www.visitscotland

Oban Chocolate Company

34 Corran Esplanade, Oban PA34 5PS