Williamsburg, Virginia: My Experience

Once we set our feet on the Duke of Gloucester Street, I felt like we entered a time warp back to the 1700's of Colonial America. This is considered a living museum, where history is reenacted. The streets were filled with visitors as well as interpreters.  

When people first came to this country it was known as Virginia.  A place filled with landscapes and oceanic views. Eventually, the borders expanded north, south, and west.  

The first building we passed was the Capitol building, with fine round windows, and gardens in the back.

And a picturesque view from a doorway. But this was just the beginning of an adventure back in time.  

James Innes came to our side of the street to rant about freedom, taxes, and tyranny. (This man is on the cover of Colonial Williamsburg, The official Guide and yes I have a copy, even if it is for the picture of him that I wanted the book)

As various points were debated, Patrick Henry contributed with, "Hear, Hear or Aye". (famous for the quote: "Give me liberty of give me death.")

And a young Thomas Jefferson was present trying to persuade the audience to agree with his side of the argument. (Monticello, the home of Jefferson is not far from Williamsburg)

Lord North's effigy was boo'd and hissed at while we watched this demonstration. I loved every minute of it. 

There were garden paths that led to inner places of extreme beauty.

And the innermost gardens are filled with flowers, bushes, and statues. 

One day was not enough  to spend in such an historic place and to be able to comprehend the chain of events which brought our country to its present state. 

The price to get into the buildings is a bit steep, but in my mind it is well worth it.  You can come and walk around and view the demonstrations for free and also eat at any of the taverns, plus, a small park it located close to the end of the Duke of Gloucester Street for picnics.  The William and Mary College is at the end of Merchants Square. A student will give you a free tour of the building. Filming of the series Turn: Washington Spies was done in the Wren building.

But more than this, my Campbell relatives had their beginnings in Virginia. That is why I came.  

In the land of Renaissance

We arrived early in this land.  A Kingdom filled with Knights, Knaves, and Knickers. "It is our first time here," I said to the gate keeper as we passed through. "Find Mother Superior, she will acquaint you with our ways." the gate keeper replied.  Diligently, we searched for the mysterious Mother.  Once we found her, I shared with her that it was our first time in this distant land. She smiled with the nuance of a child but the heart of something sinister got hold of her. The impish nun took my hand and plunged it into the air like a rocket, then shouted, "Virgin"  in her loudest voice. All of the people in the shire turned around and gazed at me. At my age nothing is sacred, I smiled at my onlookers and then threw my head back and laughed heartily. She drew me to her chest and blew a kiss into my cheek, the kind of kiss you give a baby on its belly, loud and full of air. What mysterious ways these people have, I thought. My friend was next. The length of her shorts was measured with a ruler, a woman coming out in public nearly naked is shameful, and then the nun hit her own arm with the stick coaching my friend to cry out in pain, which she did after a couple of weak attempts at trying to sound authentic. Slowly we backed away and ventured to the end of the lane where we met some other characters.

We came upon a troupe of actors or pyromaniacs as we later discovered. More than one item was set on fire during their performance with amazing feats of juggling, 

 and they talked to chickens. 

We laughed until the tears swelled in our eyes and began to spill over their brims. 

If your honor needed fighting for, there were two men willing to do it. An Englishman, and a ginger-haired Scotsman stepped onto the scene. We met them in the lane as they were trying to convince passersby that they were willing to defend their honor. The above gentleman was willing to escort me to the place they were to "fight" and offered his arm for me to hold. I was thrilled. 

The show began. We watched as they paraded around the stage acting out in their maleness. Swords were clanging as metal touched metal. Before long his kilt was creeping upward as the Scotsman raised his leg a bit too high and we witnessed the unmentionable. In a panic, the Scotsman began admonishing the photographers not to capture the image we just beheld. 

Abruptly the fighting came to a halt. "Do you think that my bum is cute?" The Englishman demanded. Then turned around for all of us to gaze at his backside. I think that he had his priorities wrong. What about honor? Not bums. When the show was over I felt sad because we had been thoroughly entertained and I wanted to watch it again. 

Jousting and music was there as well. But the memories of laughter will stay with me the longest. We were embarrassed, we laughed and want to go back again. It was a day I didn't want to ever end. 

English Seed Cake

I baked two of these cakes this evening.  One for the birds and one for me. As you can guess the first one was a complete flop.  I hate it when that happens.  Anyway, I just found this recipe in a book called, The London Ritz Book of Afternoon Tea, by Helen Simpson.  This recipe has existed in various forms since the Middle Ages.  It has caraway seeds, which gives the cake a distinct flavor.  I rather like this cake and shall be making it to have with tea or coffee. 

Ingredients:

8 TBS butter (1 stick of butter)
2/3 cup of sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tsp caraway seeds
1 1/4 cups cake flour or all purpose flour
3 TBS cornstarch or rice flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
6 inch round cake pan about 3 inches deep (I used a square pan)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease the cake pan and set aside. Cream together the butter and the sugar. Add the spices, baking powder, and rice flour.  Mix well. Next begin adding the eggs and the flour a little at a time, alternating with add a little of the eggs and a little of the flour until it is mixed well.  Lastly, fold in the caraway seeds. Pour the batter into the cake pan.  Bake between 40-60 minutes or until the center of the cake is firm.  Let it cool on a wire rack and then sprinkle with powdered sugar or leave plain.  Enjoy!

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel...a place for seniors

The other day I was thinking about retirement and how long I had until the day I can sleep in.  I still have 13 more "official" years in the working world. It has taken me years to consider myself middle-aged. The thought of moving to another category is not sounding very attractive. There are perks for being over fifty; I can now take classes at the "Community Center" at a discounted rate as long as I can come during the day.  From what I have heard, seniors don't really like taking classes at night. There are the odd two wrinkles above my left lip from sleeping on my belly for so many years and don't talk to me about thinning hair. Overall, getting older isn't that bad, really. When a neighbor of mine told me about a movie she had seen with the cast all being over 65 except for the two young lovebirds, I thought that I wouldn't like it.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel takes place in India. It is a downtrodden old hotel for the aging.  Judi Dench and Maggie Smith are just two from the all star cast. It all starts in England.  Each character is well past their youth and coming into the autumn years of their life.  Due to the high cost of living on a fixed income, the only place to retire would be in India.  This movie is an adventure and I really enjoyed it.  

 

"Everything will be alright in the end, 

if it is not all right, then it is not the end."

Scotch Eggs

A few months ago while looking around on Facebook, I saw Scotch eggs for the first time.  I had never heard of them before, but they sure looked good.  Who would have ever thought of wrapping a boiled egg in sausage ? You can have these as a snack or part of a meal. I searched for a decent recipe and after several attempts I have found the right way of making them for me.  Besides, I have an English neighbor who helped me out a bit. English sausage doesn't have near the amount of fat in their sausage as we do.  Traditionally, Scotch eggs are fried.  I cringed at the thought of putting something that is already loaded with fat in a deep fryer.  I tried it anyway and failed several times. Each time I fried them the sausage next to the egg didn't get quite done. Then they stuck to the pan. The sausage would be crispy on the outside and nearly raw on the inside. It was a mess. There are three rejects in my refrigerator right now. However, it was just too greasy for my palate. I finally baked them and I am pleased with the result. They are still crispy but not dripping with oil. For those of you who don't eat pork you can use ground turkey or chicken and add some sage and thyme to spice it up a bit.

Ingredients:

4 large eggs, hard boiled
1 lb sausage
flour
1/2 - 3/4 cup of breadcrumbs

Preheat over to 375 degrees. After the eggs are cooked, peel and set aside. Take out three plates or bowls.  Add enough flour to one plate to dredge the eggs through. Add the breadcrumbs to the second plate, and the last one is for holding them until you are ready to place in the oven.   Roll each egg in the flour.  Next, divide the sausage into four equal parts.  Press the sausage into the palm of your hand and smooth it outwards.  Place the egg in the middle and wrap the sausage around it.  Pinching together any open spots. Make it somewhat thick but not too thick. Dredge the eggs through the breadcrumbs and place in a baking pan or skillet.  Place in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, turning them every 10 minutes to brown on all sides.  Enjoy! 

 

 
 

Downton Abbey...Lover of all things English

I have been a Masterpiece Theater fan ever since I was a teenager. I grew up watching Upstairs,Downstairs, Poldark, Brideshead Revisited, Wives & Daughters, and now Downton Abbey.   

Joss Barratt/Carnival Film & Television

I am a bit slow when it came to watching Downton Abbey, more like 2 seasons too late.  However, once I watched the first episode, I was hooked.  Then I watched the first season on Netflix. The second season on Amazon. All this while watching the third season, which is currently on air.
 

Photograph: Carnival Films/ITV Photograph: Nick Briggs

 Maggie Smith's character makes me laugh all of the time with her great one liners.  "It seems a pity to miss such a good pudding."  Said the Dowager Countess as her son, Lord Grantham, stood in the doorway demanding that his family leave the house because the maid serving them had been a prostitute. Not a soul moves.  I laugh.
  

Joss Barratt/Carnival Film & Television


I think that I have a terrible crush on Mr. Bates. I, also, would like Cora to show enough emotion, being an American, that is note worthy enough to be seen on YouTube. For example: Shouting at her husband while in the parking lot at Wal-Mart. I'm just saying...

An English House in the Sea

Photo by codeshop

The sea is an essential part of life for Newquay in Cornwall. How would you like to live in a house on top of a small rock where the only way to access the property is via a small bridge?



Picture from BNPS

This house is located on Towan beach Newquay, Cornwall, England. It would be fun to spend a week away from everything.  Waking up each morning with the sound of the waves beating against the rocks. While the gulls are forraging for food on the beach. Imagine the peace and quiet you would experience.



Picture by Lynne Kovan



The house was built in 1910 and was once used as tea rooms. It was purchased by Lord and Lady Long (he was a former Tory whip in the house of lords) who converted it into living accommodation. It is now a Bed & Breakfast.  I am willing to go for a visit.