Sydney didn’t feel great today, so he spent the entire day in his room. I, not knowing what was going on and reluctant to leave him on our last day together, also spent the day in his room. But by around 4:00 things began looking up, and I suggested a walk. On my last day here, I wanted fun food, and the oranges, granola, baked beans, and milk of Sydney’s pantry weren’t going to cut it. We walked north, away from Oxford, for a little while, marveling at the traffic attempting to get out of town. After walking much farther than we needed to and stopping to ask for directions, we found a Marks & Spencer about a 12-minute walk from Sydney’s place. He’s been pretty disgusted with the produce we’ve seen in England so far, but I think he’s much more satisfied (if not fully so) by what could be had at M&S. We not only brought home things like hummus, kiwi, melon, juice, and soup, but Sydney also got a rich strawberries-and-cream ice cream (made with clotted cream and other such things) and fruit compote. We have just finished off an entire honeydew, as well as the ice cream and compote, and Sydney is keeping me at arm’s length, afraid I’ll try to hug him and thereby put undue pressure on his full stomach. Since we haven’t been seduced by Guinness or found ourselves being loaded with clotted cream (we’ve stuck with groceries, rather than pub food), we figured this was our way of experiencing real English diet–heavy on the cream.
Always with an eye to food, here are some strange things we’ve noticed about the grocery and other things in England, and then I’ll sign off to spend my evening hugging him before I leave in the morning:
THINGS THE BRITS DO WELL
– Yogurt, milk, cheese, cream, ice cream, butter: I’ve had some of the best yogurt of my life here. Sydney is settling in for two months of milk-product heaven.
– Tea, of course. One nice thing is that you can find it anywhere, and it’s served in your hotel and restaurant without having to ask for it.
– Leeks, parsnips, radishes, beets. The cool, wet climate is great for these veggies.
– Baked beans for breakfast. This is a particular favorite of Sydney’s, since “continental breakfast” just makes him roll his eyes.
– Things from elsewhere. This includes French imports like patisseries and most baked goods, as well as Belgian chocolates (yum!). We’ve also heard that the Indian food is great (I wish I had gotten around to trying it while I was here, but I’ll send Sydney to confirm).
– Gardens. Even in winter most houses have evidence of green stuff all around, from hedges to careful beds. Since even places that don’t have permanent residents (like Sydney’s) have gardens, we’re not totally sure who does the work to produce such things, but it’s nice to be in a green place. We also read in the paper the other day that most towns will have garden allotments for their residents–and these plots are as large as all of Sydney’s in Ithaca combined!
THINGS OF WHICH WE DO NOT HEARTILY APPROVE
– The smoking here is outrageous. Much worse than in the States.
– All supermarkets we’ve seen (granted, only half a dozen or so, and most in city areas) are dominated by two things: liquor and prepared food. In Oxford, the Sainsbury grocery has numerous aisles of pre-packaged containers of potato salad, frozen dinners, and sandwiches to go. And these things are cleared out of the store by 4:30 in the afternoon! Coming off 2 1/2 years of home cooking, we were pretty disappointed by the lack of raw ingredients. Since Sydney may be doing lots of simple meals during his two months here, it may not be so bad for him to have some quick-and-easy options, but we didn’t want to think about how we’d feel if we ate that all the time, much less how our finances would stand it.
– Also somewhat eerie for me was that nobody in London seemed to smile. I mean nobody. It was the most somber-faced crowd I’d ever seen. Thankfully, people in Oxford seem to smile more.
There, now you know our we’ve-been-here-two-seconds impressions.
The second “gorge” in the title of this post, by the way, refers to Ithaca’s gorges, to which I’ll be returning tomorrow. Although I’m loathe to leave Sydney and this new place I haven’t explored to my satisfaction, I will be very glad to stop living out of a suitcase, pet my cat, and get back to the work rhythm that generally makes me happy and satisfied. Sydney’s current situation is a bit sparse, but I think he’ll be just fine. Hey, he’s got a hot pot and loads of tea–he’s all set!
Erin
Alan Schmierer