Sunday, June 21, 2009

Visiting Cliveden and An Afternoon with Anglo-Indians

Sunday, June 22, 2009
Maidenhead, London


Another gorgeous day in London meant that I could look forward to a wonderful day out in Maidenhead. I had been invited, many months ago, by my friends Henry and Marian Holley to join their group of local Anglo-Indians at their quarterly gathering in Maidenhead. Since I had not been able to make it there on past occasions, I really was determined to get there today and since Maidenhead is close to Windsor Castle and is reached by a train journey, I looked up my map to find out if there were any National Trust properties close by that I could visit--with the intention of killing two birds with one stone.


Well, it turned out that Cliveden (pronounced 'Cliv-din"), another fabulous property, is in the small town of Taplow, which is just a hop, skip and a jump from Maidenhead. I had consulted with Henry on the possibility of combining an excursion to this place with an appearance at his meeting and he graciously offered to pick me up from Cliveden at the end of my visit and drive me to Maidenhead for the Anglo-Indian do.


More National Trust Peeves:
So I left my place at 9 am, took a bus to King's Cross (as "planned construction" at Farringdon has closed down the Tube stations for the past few weekends--bummer!) and took the Tube to Paddington from where I caught the 10. 15 train to Maidenhead (9. 50 pounds round trip). A taxi that I hailed outside the station (because, once again, there is no public transport available to Cliveden--double bummer!) meant that I had to fork out another 14 pounds to get there. However, I realize that I have no choice in the matter and that until and unless the National Trust decides to run a shuttle service from the railway stations to its properties, visitors like myself will simply have to deal with the expense and the convenience.


When I arrived at Cliveden, however, I was faced with another huge disappointment. Entry to the mansion at Cliveden (which has been converted into a fancy deluxe hotel) is open to National Trust members only on Sunday (so says the website, which also refers to "timed entry"). Timed entry means that only a few visitors at a time can take guided tours inside. However, nowhere on the website is it mentioned that these timed entrances and guided tours begin only at 3. 30 pm with last entry at 5. 30 pm! Can you believe how irritated I was when I discovered this? Well, again, what could I do but deal with it? What would it take for the National Trust to state on the website and in their publicity literature that tours are given only between 3. 30 and 5.30 pm? That way, visitors would organize their day in such a way as to spend the early afternoon touring the gardens and then take the tour! Is this too much to ask of a national organization that has existed for over a century??? Really, I do believe it is time they got their act together!


Touring Cliveden's Gardens:
Well, left with no choice, I began my tour of the garden. I had exactly one and a half hour to do this as Henry was due to pick me up at 1 pm. The map I was handed was very helpful indeed and I soon found my way through the various individual gardens that make up the property.


Before I began my own walking tour of the gardens, I watched an introductory film that filled the visitor with interesting information about the history of the house which is associated mainly with two persons: Waldorf and Nancy Astor. These were multi-millionaires who were also associated with politics (Nancy was elected MP four times). They gave glittering balls and welcomed some of the leading lights of the era into their sprawling home including members of the royal family. The house received rather unsavory attention in the mid-1970s during what has been termed The Profumo Scandal which involved an MP called John Profumo who cavorted by the pool with a young lady named Christine Keeler who was, at the same time, involved in an affair with a Russian named Ivanovic, who also happened to be a spy. All hell broke loose in the press when the affair was made public and it brought down a government at the time.


After the passing away of the Astors, the property was left to the National Trust who, for a time foolishly leased it out to an American university whose students treated the grand manor and the gardens in the way they would a student dorm--i.e. without the slightest respect for its noble antecedents--much to the horror of the retainers who watched their beloved Cliveden decay before their very eyes. When the lease ended, it was decided to turn it into a five-star hotel--an idea that has worked superbly. The Cliveden is considered one of the greatest hotels in the world and, no doubt, brings valuable revenue to the National Trust.


My wanderings took me, first of all, to the Long (Italianate) Garden with its large bird shaped topiaries and its classical statuary. The Secret Garden was larger than I expected (most secret gardens are tiny and tucked away--this was neither), but it was charming indeed with delicate arbors, more statuary and a variety of flowers with an emphasis on the colors yellow and purple. Needless to say, I could not stop clicking and I soon ran out of memory space on my camera--most frustrating. I loved the Ilex Grove that was full of wild purple foxgloves. When I reached a clearing in the thickly wooded grounds, I had fabulous views over the Thames Valley with the thin ribbon of the river gleaming in the bright sunlight. Really lovely parkland for casual walks and I saw many couples strolling hand in hand as well as babies being pushed around in strollers.

I then found myself looking up at the beige mansion itself and had a chance to appreciate its classical architecture--its balconies and balustrades, its gold headed Clock Tower and its castle-like roof. It was designed by Charles Barry, the same one who designed the Houses of Parliament in London in the mid-1800s. From the Duke's Garden with its lush herbaceous border beds with their vivid patches of color against brick walls, I made my way to the rear Terrace where I could see the Parterre with its Elizabethan Knot Garden stretching ahead of me. A few feet below me was the Chapel, a classical architectural feature to be found in a great many formal gardens...and a little further was the War Memorial Garden.


Soon it was almost 1 pm and I had to return to the Reception kiosk and on asking my way there, I passed by the Blenheim Pavilion (another classical architectural feature). I am so pleased that I made the choices I did in the past few weeks as these varied gardens have allowed me to see and appreciate the same features that make up some of the more famous English gardens such as Chatsworth and Stowe which happen to be too far away from London and not easily reached by public transport. This way, I have made the most of my National Trust membership, have reached gardens that are superbly representative of English country styles and have completely satisfied my appetite for summer garden outings.


The Anglo-Indian Gathering:
Then it was 1 pm, and Henry arrived to pick me up. In less than ten minutes, we were at the church hall of St. Edmund Campion in Maidenhead where the meeting was held. I had expected a much larger crowd, similar to the one I had found at the South London Anglo-Indian Association's Thursday meeting but saw that there were no more than thirty folks comprising many elderly Anglo-Indians with a few white English people scattered through--the fact that it was Father's Day probably accounted for the smaller attendance. Henry made a general brief introduction and we headed straight towards the counter where I met his wife Marion and their lovely daughter Karen who handed me a glass of orange juice. No one was drinking any alcohol which rather surprised me.

On one table was a selection of pickles and marmalade for sale--the prawn balchow was made by Henry and I couldn't resist taking a bottle home for just 2 pounds. There was also another table full of food items on raffle. All these items were donated by the various people who had arrived there and all the proceeds raised by these raffles went towards the donations made to Anglo-Indian organizations in India. Seated at the table with me over lunch, Henry explained to me what these various charities are--they help schools in Calcutta and Madras (such as the Bateman's School in Madras).

I also met Philip who with his partner Sue help street children in Bombay through the various charities they fund. Last year, they made donations of over five thousand pounds to charities in India. Philip explained to me the ingenious ways in which this money is raised--he receives all the rejected items from department stores like John Lewis which he then sells to the public at heavily discounted prices through car booth sales. He and his English partner Sue personally visit these schools, once a year, to supervise the activities. I was astonished to discover that they have donated computers, school buses, water coolers, etc. to these schools and will continue to do so. Indeed, in most places I go, I find the Anglo-Indians supportive of charity ventures in India, many donating through Sr. Marisa in Calcutta. Their goals and their achievements are highly impressive and perhaps more so because so few people really know how much they give because their efforts are rarely publicized.

Lunch was a marvelous pot luck affair all laid out on long tables. Everyone had brought a dish or two and there was everything you could imagine--from samosas and spring rolls for starters to parathas, steamed rice. pea pullao and a huge variety of curries: green chicken curry, beef curry, pork vindaloo, vegetable curry with raita to cool the palate. On another table stood a variety of desserts. Of course, these being my weakness, I made sure I saved room for some: my favorite Waitrose Black Forest Gateau was present but, by far, the most popular dessert was the sliced tinned mangoes with vanilla ice-cream, though I have to say that the Marks and Spencer Pecan and Meringue Roulade that I tasted for the first time was scrumptious and definitely something I will buy to enjoy myself before I leave from here.

Most of the folks had heard about me and my work from Henry over the past year and they were warmly welcoming, making a special effort to come up and talk to me over lunch. I found them a truly jolly lot and it was loads of fun to get to know them. After lunch, Henry said a few words to bring the crowd up-to-date on the state of their charities and to prep them for the big Anglo-Indian Day that is held in Croydon on the first weekend in August. Alas, though I have received many invitations from so many different groups to attend this, I simply cannot as my visa expires on August 1 and I have to leave the UK before that date! However, this group has a Bottle Sale on that occasion as well as other fund-raisers--all of which go towards the support of their less-privileged counterparts in India.

Henry then invited Nicholas Thompson to address the group and give them an update on the Bateman's School that is run by his Cambridge-educated daughter Alex in Madras. Nicholas, an Englishman who served in the British army in India during the war, was stationed for a large part of his life in modern-day Pakistan and his daughter Alex was born there. Both of them have devoted their lives to India and to the welfare of her downtrodden.

Henry then invited me to address the crowd and tell them about my work and I was delighted to do so as well as to invite those folks who'd like to share their life stories with me to come forward and give me their names and telephone numbers. I was so pleased when so many of them came forward to meet me personally and volunteered to become a part of my study. I am even more thrilled because now I will probably return to the States at the end of July having reached my goal of 50 respondents--not only will this make my survey sample substantial enough to be recognized as a valid study group but it will increase my chances of getting my manuscript published as a book by an academic press in the UK or the USA.

So, I am truly grateful to the Holleys in ways that words cannot express because they have been supportive of my scholarly work from the very outset. It was Henry who saw the notice on the Anglo-Indian Portal website inviting Anglo-Indians to come forward to contact me. He did so and we have struck up a fine and very productive friendship for which I am very grateful indeed.

Then it was raffle time and at five pounds a pop, several folks bought 10 pounds worth of tickets--at the end of the day, the group collected almost 100 pounds that would go towards their charitable ventures. I was fortunate enough to leave the venue with a box of Cadbury's Roses chocolates (Llew's favorite) and a bottle of Buck's Fizz--the very essence of an English summer! However, there were folks who went home with as many as five and six prizes that included everything from chocolates and bottles of wine to ceramic mugs and tins of sweets.

When the event came to a close, everyone pooled in to clean and clear out the space. It was at this point that so many folks came forward to give me their names and telephone numbers. A few of them live as far away as Oxford and they have promised to get together with me when I am in Oxford next week. I was so taken by the willingness with which they offered to share their stories with me. It makes me feel as if my year in the UK was a hundred per cent productive in terms of my research.

Henry and Marion invited me back to their home in Maidenhead for a cup of tea where we were joined by close friends of their--Royce and Leona and Terry. Seated in their living room over cups of Marion's steaming cups and joined later by daughter Karen, I sat back and drowned in laughter created by these folks as they reminisced about their growing days in India and about the many hilarious experiences on their trips back--for they do return as tourists and travel on Indian trains, and as they recalled the various cultural misunderstandings that have assailed them, I doubled up with laughter. It was a hysterically funny evening and I don't think I have laughed so much in a very long time. Clearly, these folks have the deepest affection for the land of their birth and they return to it with the warmest anticipation. Despite the many changes they have seen in India since their departure for greener pastures and the many inconveniences they face when they are there, they clearly have a fantastic time with their family members and return with a bagful of priceless memories.

Then it was time for me to leave. Henry dropped me back to Maidenhead station for the 7. 06 train. I arrived home at exactly 9 pm but was so stuffed from all the eating I had done all afternoon that I skipped dinner (they had also sent me home with a load of leftover curries which will keep me fed for the next couple of days!). I spent a while reviewing my email, blogged a little bit, downloaded my pictures from my camera and went to bed about 11. 00 pm. after what had been another truly memorable day.

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