Tea Four, Too

A few words about clotted cream.

First of all, get past the name.  It took me years. Literally, years.  But I have finally seen the light.

I was first introduced to it by my beautiful bride decades ago - she had learned to love it during her first trip to London with her sister Annie in the 1980s.  But for decades, our clotted cream experience was relegated to a December pick-up at the British store in downtown Newburyport. It was considered a treat, but still one I couldn't bring myself to try.  Again, the name.

Fast forward to 2018.  And a trip to London where clotted cream is as commonplace as a cruller.  And now, I have regrets that most of my life has been spent not experiencing the glory that is clotted cream.

It's a thick cream made by indirectly heating cow's milk using steam and leaving it in shallow pans to cool slowly.  During the cooling, the cream content rises to the surface and forms those - ugh - clots.

And let me tell you, it is exquisite atop a scone, of which we indulged in MANY during our London excursion.

Which brings us to a pair of high teas that our beautiful daughter lined up for us whilst we travelled the neighborhoods of London with her, making these as authentic a British experience as she could dream up

First up was the Wolseley (you can check it out for yourself here: The Wolseley )

The Wolseley is located a block away from Picadilly Circus, designed by architect William Curtis Green and constructed in 1921 as a car showroom for Wolseley Motors.

For us, it was a showcase for scones, tea sandwiches, and an overwhelming amount of petits fours

We were treated to back-to-back High Teas, when on the following day, Heather took us over to Knightsbridge, and the Egerton Hotel.

The hotel and its neighbors were believed to have been built somewhere around 1820.  They've got a fascinating history on its web page, which can be found here:  The Egerton

My queen was in her glory, her family around her, a tea room to ourselves, and scones and tea on the menu

Since World War II, the property became part of the London Hostels Association, which provided accommodations for visitors to London for events such as the Olympics and the Queen's Coronation in 1953.  It's a five-star boutique hotel that's not to be missed.

It gets the thumbs up from my two scone scions 

A side note: as we enjoyed our afternoon tea, in comes a woman wearing a Boston Red Sox baseball cap, checking in to the hotel.  We immediately detected her accent and her use of the word wicked, so natch, we had to introduce ourselves.  She was from Chelsea, Mass. 

And here it is - the aforementioned clotted cream, complete with its own armada of scones and jams.

Really, words and/or pictures just don't do this British treat justice.

Cheers, love! 

A Royal Family Run

An early London bell for the clan - and they answered it! - which meant we actually were able to log one of those rare experiences - a father/son/daughter group run.

And as you can see, some were all in for this experience

Our destination this fine morning was nearby Regent's Park, along with the adjacent Primrose Hill.

A bit of London park history:

Known as the "jewel in the crown," the Regent's Park (and Primrose Hill) covers almost 500 acres.  It used to be known as Marylebone Park, until 1646 when John Nash, architect to the crown and a friend of the Prince Regent, developed it into Regent's Park.  It was initially intended to feature a summer palace for the prince, although it was never built.

In the 1930s, Queen Mary's Gardens were built in the park.  During World War II, the park was bombed, and rubble from buildings destroyed in the blitz was dumped on the lawns.

Fun fact: (at least for me) - the park was part of a vast forest once known as Middlesex!  Can't leave the college or the county behind me, it seems.

Regent's Park has also had its fair share of film time on the big screen.

What flicks might you know it from?

Well, most notably, this one, in Harry Potter's first movie when Harry frees Voldemort's boa constrictor from the London Zoo, which is on the grounds of Regent's Park.

It's also been featured in Spy Game, About a Boy, an American Werewolf in London, and for nearby Primrose Hill, Bridget Jones: the Edge of Reason.

But as anyone who knows us Cooks is well aware, we're considered somewhat of a family of Disney fanatics.  Which hearkens us back to 1961's 101 Dalmatians, and most of the film's opening scenes, set in Regent's Park.

We didn't spot a dalmatian during our run, but we did manage to come across Girl with Jaguar, a 2009 sculpture by Tom Harvey.

So, obviously, Wakanda Forever.

Time to head out of Regent's, and over to nearby Primrose Hill 

Heather wasn't too happy about the hill part of Primrose, but she was still all smiles when we got to the top 

Primrose provides some spectacular views of the London panorama, one of six protected views of London.  The hill itself is 206 feet above sea level. The trees are kept low so as not obscure the view.  Once upon a time, duels were fought atop the hill.  (Heather and Andrew contributed a brother-sister exchange to the lore.)

Running up the hill, we passed Shakespeare's tree, which was planted in 1864 to celebrate the Bard's 300th birthday.  (A replacement tree was replanted there the same year I was born.)

Can't tell you what a thrill it is for me to explore new roadways, hill, paths, and hidden treasures, while logging some running miles with some of favorite runners on the face of the Earth.

It's moments like these I'll remember forever.  At least this morning, I was King of the Hill.

The Two Towers

Apologies for the J.R.R. Tolkien fans among us who tuned in here looking for a recap of the Battle of Helm's Deep.  This post is actually about our family exploration of a pair of different towers in London - SkyGarden and the Tower of London.

SkyGarden at 20 Fenchurch Street is considered the best free view of the London landscape from high atop the skyline.  It's located in a building known by many as the Walkie Talkie, because of its distinctive shape, larger at the top than at the bottom.

Heather took us to the top floor, which boasts a landscaped garden, bar and restaurant.

The SkyGarden is directly across the Thames from the Shard, another popular vantage point, though not in the same price range in terms of access.

For us, it provided an opportunity for some family downtime, and some great skyline shots

From there, we moved on to the nearby All Hallows by the Tower, which, with a 675 AD construction, is considered the oldest church in London.

From its website, the church was founded by the Abbey of Barking 300 years before the adjacent Tower of London.

Over the centuries, the church cared for numerous beheaded bodies brought there for temporary burial following their executions on Tower Hill.

Fun fact:  John Quincy Adams, our 6th U.S. President was married in this church in 1797.

The church suffered extensive bomb damage during World War II, and only the tower and walls remained.  It was rebuilt after the way and rededicated in 1957.

For Andrew, exploring the crypt beneath the church provided him with another album cover opportunity

On to the Tower of London, and yet another family shot 

Also known as Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, this is an historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames.  It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England, and currently houses the Crown Jewels.

Nearby, the Tower Bridge provided a nice backdrop for even more family shots.

The Tower Bridge was built about 120 years ago to ease road traffic and provide access to the Pool of London docks.  It's built with giant movable roadways that lift up for passing ships.

Sadly, it's one of the places I would have liked to log some running miles, but it wasn't in the cards.

We had a standing appointment for one of several High Teas that Heather had arranged for us, so we had to high-step it to get to Picadilly Circus and a standing reservation.

But not before Andrew took time to Hail Caesar! 

Next up: scones, as far as the eye can see!

Oh, and here's the Battle of Helm's Deep, anyways.  Because, you know, Lord of the Rings.

The Fab Four - 2018

So finally, our UK opportunity had arrived.  Andrew and I returned from our morning run and collected the ladies up for a quick, leisurely and relaxing walk to one of the most famous roadways in the history of music.  And for this writer, a pilgrimage I've waited for most my life to make, and Something I would never forget.

The Abbey Road name is derived from the nearby Kilburn Priory, a small monastic community of nuns. The actual street Abbey Road was created in 1829 from an existing farm track called Abbey Lane, as part of the development of St. John's Wood, which is a district of northwest London in Westminster.  It was once part of the Great Middlesex Forest, and later owned by the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem.  It's an affluent neighborhood with the postal code NW8.  It's ranked by Forbes magazine as the fifth most expensive neighborhood in London.

For us, it provided an opportunity to visit the Abbey Road studios gift shop, where we were able to pose in front of the iconic Sgt. Pepper's album cover.  Andrew had his eye on some of the swag off in the distance.

Outside, where Sharpie markers abound, Beatles fans are allowed to add their own graffiti to an oft-painted wall, to commemorate their visit and to pay homage to the greatest musical band of all time.  Just Because.

That's Abbey Road Studios in the background of our marking 

As far as the Beatles album itself is concerned, to this day, it's still considered one of the most iconic album covers of all time.  It adorned the front of the last album the band recorded together, in 1969.

Fun fact: the album was almost called Everest, and the band was going to do a photo shoot in the Himalayas for a cover photo there.  Wouldn't THAT have been a hoot!

Anyways, at about 11:30 a.m. on August 8, 1969, the foursome had traffic blocked and photographer Iain Macmillan climbed a ladder in the middle of the street to capture his shot.  The whole shoot took about 10 minutes.

The background details in the shot helped feed all kinds of conspiracy theories at the time, such as the fact that McCartney wasn't wearing shoes, the license plate in the background LMW 281F - both accelerating the Paul is Dead conspiracy that had swirled for years - or the all-time greatest photo-bomber, a shadowed, brown sport coat wearing pedestrian in the background watching the photo shoot unfurl from a distance.

It was actually an American tourist, Paul Cole, waiting for his wife, who was exploring a museum.  "I've seen enough museums, I'll just stay out here and see what's going on outside," he recalled decades later.

He thought the foursome crossing the street were "a bunch of kooks."

He died in 2008 at the age of 98.

Not surprisingly - as we witnessed that day - the amount of pedestrians catching pics of themselves on the crosswalk to document their visit to this street is legion.  Us Cooks were able to Come Together, trade phones off with another woman, who took the shots for us, while I returned the favor, nearly getting hit by a car not once, but multiple times as you dart out into traffic to catch the moment.  Also not surprisingly, motorists who use that roadway get annoyed with all the traffic stoppages.  Me, I'm shocked it hasn't just been closed altogether to vehicular traffic, not to mention that there haven't been pedestrian casualties at the site.

It took the original photographer several tries of the Beatles walking back and forth before he got the shot he wanted.

Us?  We only had a trio of shots to choose from.  The downfall of not having a professional photographer capturing us for an album cover.

I think we did alright for ourselves.

And in The End, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

E Streeters on Abbey Road

First wakeup in the UK, first miles logged running by the lad and I - a quick jaunt from our hotel to the nearby roadway known worldwide as  home to the most famous street crossing to be found on any Long and Winding Road, thanks to a Fab Four who crossed its hashmarks for their final album cover nearly 50 years ago

The run gave Andrew and I a chance for some historic shots along the way, including posing in front of the Abbey Road Studios where magic was made, and continues to be made still today.

From there, it was time to pass off the camera so each of us could take that victory stroll, albeit at a much faster pace than John, Paul, George and Ringo did when photographer Iain Macmillan took the iconic image of them crossing the road in the early morning of Friday, August 8, 1969.

Here's what it looked like moments before the Beatles shot was taken

Here's what it looks like now, when an E Streeter or two temporarily becomes an Abbey Roadrunner.

See how they run likes pigs from a gun, see how they fly?

Yeah.  It was as much fun as it appears to be.  (But the best was yet to come, to be documented in a subsequent post.)

From Abbey Road, we found ourselves winding our way down on Baker Street, light in our head and dead on our feet, well, another crazy day, we'll drink the night away, and forget about everything.

This particular address, 221 Baker Street, topped Andrew's list of must-see attractions in London.  More to come on that later with the Great Detective himself.

From Baker Street, it was on to Regent's Park, in search of Pongo and Perdita.

Alas, the two canines, along with Roger and Anita, were nowhere to be found.  (It is, however, a dog walker's paradise.)

We did find a nice running path along Boating Lake in the royal park, taking us back to our hotel, and the end of our first running mileage in the UK on this trip.

As I've often stated on this blog, one of my favorite things to do is log running miles in new locales all over the world.  And when you get the chance to include some iconic points of interest and add your own footsteps to history during said mileage? Well, all the better.

To my fellow runners, I charge you - let's see your pics running the world!