I am currently sitting in a delicious bakery in downtown Kingston, reminiscing about my week so that I can keep you fully informed with what is going on. It was a busy week and, as you can no doubt tell by the title, this post will likely be long. So sit back and relax with some tea and biscuits.
I'll start with Shrove Tuesday. If you don't know what Shrove Tuesday is, then join the club! I hadn't even heard of it until coming here. Apparently Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent begins. It is tradition on Shrove Tuesday to use the last of the butter, milk, and sugar to make pancakes before the fast begins. Because of this, Shrove Tuesday has become known as Pancake Day! Oddly enough, me and some of my American friends had been craving pancakes only days before learning about Pancake Day. Becca and I decided that it would only be appropriate to get pancakes on Pancake Day, so we headed downtown to Woody's Bar and Kitchen where we'd heard they were serving pancakes all day. It turns out that the pancakes were free (though a small donation to charity was asked) so long as we cooked our own. The pan, burner, toppings, and batter were all ready. That day marked the first time I had cooked my own food in a restaurant! It also marked the day when we found out that the "pancakes" were a lie.
What we expected:
What we got:
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| "The cake is a lie" has never had a better real-life application. |
Those thin, crepe-like things are what the British call pancakes. Don't get me wrong here, they were still very good! They just weren't quite what we were expecting. If you are interested in making British Liecakes at home, here is the link to a recipe Kingston University posted on pancake day: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/basicpancakeswithsuga_66226
(Oh, and if you ever come to Britain and want bacon with your pancakes, don't expect the bacon to be what you're used to either! I didn't eat it on Shrove Tuesday, but I've had it on burgers and such before. The British apparently do not enjoy crispy bacon, and instead prefer it floppy and chewy. Again, still decent, but I personally love my bacon crispy. You have been warned.)
Right, so that was Pancake Day. The next day, Wednesday, I headed into London with Amy at 6PM. We were scheduled to attend a Jack the Ripper Tour in Whitechapel which, as many of you undoubtedly know, is where he murdered his victims. I should probably start with a history of Jack and his crimes, though, just in case any readers don't know about him. (Warning: This will get graphic. I won't post pictures, but there will be descriptions. If you don't want to read it, skip down to my ridiculously-over-the-top boldfaced message reading "ENOUGH ABOUT MURDER!") Jack the Ripper is the name given to a still unidentified serial killer who terrorized London's Whitechapel district from August to November of 1888. Canonically he killed five women (all prostitutes), though there were other murders that people speculate were his doing. The canon five were Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly. Mary Ann Nichols was discovered on August 31st, 1888. Her throat had been slit twice from left to right and her abdomen mutilated. Though she was killed near a residence, nobody heard a thing. The throat slashing would have killed her right away; the abdominal wounds were administered after death. If memory serves, the tour guide described that Nichols had last been seen with a potential client as they were walking into an ally to, er, do their business. The second victim, Annie Chapman, was discovered in the early morning of September 8, 1888. As with Nichols, her throat had been slashed twice from left to right. This time, however, the killer was more brutal; Chapman's abdomen was completely slashed open and a bit of her uterus had been removed. One witness described seeing Chapman with a "genteel man" only 30 minutes before her body was found. According to our guide, by "genteel" the witness meant "Jewish" and his comment started a hate-storm against the Jews. The next victims get interesting, because Jack the Ripper struck twice in one night. His first victim was Elizabeth Stride, whose body was found at around 1AM. She was killed by a clean incision from left to right across her neck. Strangely, that was it. There is speculation that she was either not killed by Jack or that Jack was interrupted during the killing due to lack of abdominal wounds. The tour guide told a story about the man who found her: He was driving his pony and cart through a dark alley (no streetlamps, everything was dark) when his pony suddenly whinnied and stopped short. Even using a whip, the man couldn't get the pony to move. He lit a match and saw a bundle of clothing on the ground before the match went out. The man went into a nearby building and borrowed a lamp, and that is how he discovered the body. So the theory goes that this man and his pony interrupted Jack while he was killing the woman. Of course, Jack wouldn't go home without some mutilation time, so he went off to find another woman. That is how Catherine Eddowes died. Her body was found in Mitre Square (our group stood on the very spot she was found) only 45 minutes after Stride. Her throat was slit, her abdomen was ripped open, a part of her uterus was missing, and her left kidney was missing. Half of the kidney was mailed to the London police with a letter from the killer calling himself Jack the Ripper. This is where he got his name. The letter was "from Hell" according to the envelope, and the writer claimed that he had eaten the other half of the kidney. (You weren't planning on sleeping, right?) Jack must have worked quickly because, according to our guide, police were going through that area in patrols every 30 minutes. One patrol man went through and there was nothing, the next patrol man found the body. Part of Eddowes' apron was found in another area, and there was graffiti written in white chalk on a wall near the apron. Whether or not it Jack wrote the graffiti or it was coincidence is unknown. Unfortunately, nobody knows exactly what the graffiti said because the police washed it off of the wall before a photograph was taken. They did this because they feared if the graffiti was seen by the people it would spark antisemitic riots. (Remember, due to the "genteel" description the Jewish community was already hugely suspect.) The three versions of the graffiti that officers wrote down are:
1) "The Juwes are the men that will not be blamed for nothing."
2) "The Juwes are not the men who will be blamed for nothing."
3) "The Juwes are not the men to be blamed for nothing."
There are, of course, various interpretations of the message and many questions. Why is Juwes spelled like that? What's with the double-negatives? Was it even the work of Jack? We'll never know. What do you think?
The final murder was by far the most gruesome. Mary Kelly's body was discovered in her bed. She was naked. Her throat had been slit almost to the spine. The skin of her abdomen and thighs had been removed and thrown onto a table, and all major organs were ripped out and tossed about the room. Her breasts were cut off, arms slashed up, and her face was mutilated beyond recognition. If you desire, you can go to Wikipedia and type in "Mary Jane Kelly" to see the photograph of her body at the time of discovery. After her, Jack stopped killing. Given that a serial killer like him wouldn't just get bored with
killing, I assume that he was imprisoned for another crime,
institutionalized, killed, or committed suicide. If you want to know more about the suspects (5-10 main ones including a member of the Royal Family, 140 overall) or more about the Jack the Ripper mystery in general, go to http://www.casebook.org/
NOW, ENOUGH ABOUT MURDER!
Let's move on to some not-depressing stuff, shall we? Here's a picture to cheer you up:
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| It's okay, no more scary. |
My next journey took me back into London for a field trip to Parliament and the Globe Theatre. I didn't think I would enjoy Parliament as much as I did! I have never been too interested in British politics, but it was still a fascinating tour for the history and art! (I knew ahead of time that pictures weren't allowed in most of the rooms and did not bring my camera.) Here is a write-up I did for class after the trip. I hope it is informative and sparks your interest in going to Parliament. I know I recommend it!
Parliament is run by
two houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Lords
was, until 2009, was the supreme court of law for civil cases in all of the
U.K. and for criminal cases in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. They have
the power to force the government to revise or even drop legislation. The House
of Lords is made up of bishops, hereditary peers, and life peers. Hereditary
peers, as the name suggests, pass on their titles as long as there is an heir
to inherit it. The hereditary peers consist of five ranks: Duke, Marquess,
Earl, Viscount, and Baron. Interestingly, most hereditary peers are no longer
allowed to sit and vote in the House of Lords (the result of a 1999 act). The
members of the House of Lords are not elected, but are appointed by the Queen
through recommendation by the Prime Minister. Life peers only hold their titles
for their lifetime instead of passing it on to an heir. Throughout Parliament,
the House of Lords is represented by the color red.
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| I wasn't allowed to take pictures, but Google was! |
The
House of Commons is made up of around 650 Members of Parliament (MPs) who are
elected by the public. Each MP represents a local constituency and fights for
the interests and concerns of the citizens who elected them. The MPs are
members of parties, the dominant parties being the Labour and Conservative
(Tory) parties. The government is formed by the party that has the largest
number of MPs, though sometimes there is no majority which results in a hung
parliament. The simplest summary of the role of the House of Commons is that it
proposes and considers new laws, holds committees, and looks closely and
critically at the policies of the government. When a new law is drafted, the
House of Commons will send it to the House of Lords for review. If the House of
Lords is dissatisfied, they can send it back to the House of Commons with their
complaints. The new law could go between the houses for some time until both
houses agree and the law moves forward. The House of Commons is represented by
the color green. Also, by entering the House of Commons, visitors will have
done something that even the Queen herself is not allowed to do. No monarch
has been allowed into the House of Commons since King Charles I barged in and
demanded the locations of five MPs who he wished to arrest for treason. This
action was political suicide and ignited the English Civil War.
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| The House of Commons |
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| The war didn't end well for Charles... |
The
art and architecture of the palace is stunning and makes the tour worth taking
even for visitors who may not be interested in politics. The most famous area
in the palace is also the oldest, and it was one of my favorite rooms:
Westminster Hall. It was built in 1097 by William Rufus, son of William the
Conqueror, and has been the site of some very famous English trials (such as
the trial of Charles I). Perhaps the most magnificent area of the hall is the
ceiling, which is a self-supporting hammer-beam roof made of oak beams. It was
commissioned by Richard II in 1393 and is still “the largest medieval timber
roof in Northern Europe”. Richard II was also responsible for many of the
embellishments of Westminster Hall, such as the angels carved into roof beams
and the statues of 13 kings (likenesses of every king from Edward the Confessor
to himself) which are currently in niches on the wall.
Another
amazing room for art is the Queen’s Robing Room, where the Queen puts on the
Imperial State Crown and ceremonial robes before proceeding to the House of
Lords for the State Opening of Parliament. There are paintings in the room
depicting virtues such as hospitality, religion, generosity, courage, and
mercy. The virtues are represented through the legends of King Arthur and his
court. The King Arthur legend is also depicted through intricate wall carvings
around the room. (I do not know if there is an architectural word for how the
carvings are placed, but the best way I can describe them is that they are somewhat
like the Stations of the Cross in a church.) Positioned in the center of one
end of the room is a chair that I couldn’t help but notice was curiously small,
as if it were made for a child. The tour guide explained that it was for Queen
Victoria, who was a very short woman. I felt oddly tall when we left that room.
For those of you who love to shop, Parliament has a fun gift shop. You can get everything from pens, to flasks, to vodka, to books, to teddy bears!
After our tour in Parliament, we headed over to the Globe Theatre. The tour there was much shorter (30 minutes instead of 75!) Again, I didn't have my camera. Luckily, Amy did!
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| Ceiling of the stage. |
The Globe Theatre had been shut down at one point by the Puritans who, as we know, are notorious for not having fun. It also burned down because the actors used a fake cannon in a play that they thought would just add a sound effect. Instead it sparked and set the roof on fire. The props manager was fired shortly after. [citation needed] Luckily, every one of the actors and audience members made it out alive. The current Globe Theatre opened in the 1990s, and is a replica of the one build in Shakespeare's day. They did everything exactly how it would have been done in Shakespeare's time to build it. The only thing the builders didn't know was how exactly the stage was designed, as there were no pictures. They painted the stage based on written descriptions and hoped that it looked similar. Personally, I think they did a fabulous job and Shakespeare would be happy.
After those trips, my weekend was quiet. Yesterday and today have given Kingston beautiful weather! I want to wrap up this blog post with a bit about Kingston's markets. Also, you may recall that I am sitting in a bakery: I have photos of that as well!
Kingston is an ancient market town, and the markets still exist today. There is the Ancient Market which takes place Monday-Saturday in Market Square. There are always fruit and vegetable stalls, one of which sells artisan cheese too (pictured below)! Sometimes there is a bread stall and occasionally I have seen a meat stall that sells ostrich and zebra! I might be tempted to try zebra if I ever see that stall again. (To answer your question: Why not?)
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| One of the vendors. I bought a lemon and strawberries from him! |
I struck up a conversation with one vendor there. His name is Carlo. He is extremely polite and friendly, and I highly recommend stopping at his stall should you be in the area! His stall always has eggs, apples, and jars of what looked like apple cider. He has free samples in front of his stall and invited me to try some of the cold apple cider. (Well, in America we call it apple cider. Here it's apple juice. "Cider" refers to alcohol.) Normally I am not fond of apple juice or hot apple cider, but it was absolutely amazing! It was so good that I promptly purchased two bottles of it. He explained that his products are all organic (including the eggs) and that he hand-pressed the apple juice himself! His products are from Brambletye Farm. If you're ever in the Ancient Market, you simply must sample his apple juice. He kindly let me photograph him, his stall, and his products. (He also told me that he is in a band. He plays guitar, his friend plays fiddle, and they do gigs at The Gray Horse. At least, It think that's the pub name. I'll ask him when they're playing next time I see him!)
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| Free samples! |
There are more markets in Kingston than the Ancient Market. Every Monday, there is the aptly-named Monday Market from 9:00-1:30. It is a short walk from the main Market Square and has more than just food. There are rugs, clothing, make up, books, housewares, and (my personal favorite) random trinkets! I snapped a few photographs. Some of them I took covertly while I was walking, so I apologize if they're either a bit out of focus or tilted.
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| Sideways flowers! (I forgot that Blogger doesn't do tall pictures...) |
My favorite stall to visit at the Monday Market belongs to a man named Bob. Bob sells random items such as jewelry, old money, stamps, plates, statues, and more. I first met him two Mondays ago (last Monday didn't have a market due to snow). We talked for a long time, as I was the only person at his stall (it was near closing time and a bit cold out). I bought two postcards from him that were made several decades ago. Each postcard has a drawing of a soldier from the Revolutionary War, and on the back is a description of their clothing and what unit they belonged to. I thought they were cool and it was only fifty pence for both! I also bought some stamps from him for a teacher at MCLA who collects them. Before I left, Bob finally asked where I was from (my accent isn't subtle; even Carlo asked about it). I told him I was from America and was studying at Kingston for a semester. He told me to hold out my hand and he put a coin in it and closed my fingers around it. He told me it was a lucky penny as thanks for coming out there (not sure if he meant coming to England or coming to his stall or both). I examined it further on the bus home: it's a very cool 1899 Queen Victoria penny. I think it will be my favorite souvenir from here. The best ones have great stories, after all.
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| Bob is the man on the left. |
I will wrap up this long post by showing you all the bakery that I have fallen in love with. It is located right in the main Market Square! It's called Sweet Revenge.
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| Revenge is delicious. |
The reason I first went in Sweet Revenge was because I was scouting out gluten-free places for when my dad visits me. I saw a sign in their window that said they had gluten-free cupcakes and immediately went in to test one. The atmosphere was so pleasant! The chairs and tables were quaint, it smelled great (of course), and everything was just so relaxed and welcoming! (Also, as I found out later, they have free wifi, which is how I am typing this now!) I tried out the strawberry gluten-free cupcake. It was quite good, but the frosting for the strawberry was too sweet for me personally. However, they had good hot chocolate and other delightful-looking cupcakes to try so I had to go back. I knew the gluten-free ones were up to snuff, so I moved on to regular ones. I returned the following week to try a red velvet cake cupcake, which is their second best seller. (Carrot cake is the best selling one, but was sold out when I got there.) The red velvet was one of the best red velvet cupcakes I've had, and I know and love my red velvet cake! The next time I went back was, well, about an hour ago, so here I am. I have just finished eating my carrot cake cupcake, and I know now why it sells so quickly: this is darn good carrot cake! My grandmother's carrot cake recipe is still my favorite, but this cupcake is up there with some of the best carrot cake I've had. So delicious!
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| You know you want one. |
The staff is very friendly here, too, which is another reason I keep coming back. One young woman that works here was very helpful when I asked if there were gluten-free restaurants she recommended. It turns out that she knew many because her mother follows a gluten-free diet! The man who I believe is the owner, Coco (I think that's his name, I've only overheard it), is very funny and welcoming. He occasionally offers gin and tonic, champagne, and whiskey to customers for a laugh. One of Coco's friends asked, "What will you do if someone actually says yes to that?" and Coco's response was "Give it to them! I think I have some in the back anyway."
Sweet Revenge does more than just regular cupcakes. They do layer cakes, wedding cakes, mini cupcakes, giant cupcakes, cookies, breads, and more! They also offer cupcake decorating classes and cake making classes. The owner, who I will keep calling Coco until someone tells me I'm wrong, let me take pictures of his tasty treats!
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| Remember what I said about giant cupcakes? |
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| They're huge. |
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| I knew it would be sideways, so I took more detailed pictures! See below for a sampling of flavors you could find here. |
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| Banoffee is a popular flavor in Britain. As the name suggests, it's banana and toffee. Hummingbird is banana and pineapple. |
And there you have it, the Sweet Revenge bakery! I will be here often...
