Oh Calcutta! First Day Exploring India’s Former Capital!

Oh Calcutta! First Day Exploring India’s Former Colonial Capital

Thursday, August 25, 2022

Waking up at 4.00 am (after having set my alarm for 4.30 am) is a sure sign of ignited nerves and I was a bundle of nerves as I left my flat in Bandra at 5.00 am to stand on the corner of my street waiting for a yellow cab or rickshaw to take me to the airport for my 7.00 am flight. Just when it seemed as if all the cab and rick drivers were fast asleep, a rick came along to whisk me off to the airport where I reached within 20 minutes as we flew along the highway.

Check in was a breeze as I did not check in a bag but took it as a carry on and sank down to enjoy the long ride along the tarmac to the aircraft followed by a non-eventful but very comfortable flight. It took two and a half hours during which time I enjoyed my own delicious home made sandwich with a bottle of water (meals were available for sale on the Go First aircraft (my first time flying with this airline). I read 84 Charing Cross Road on my IPad during the flight and almost finished the very short novella by the time we landed. I managed to take pix of take off in Bandra with the Sealink and the Bay of Worli plus good pix of the Brahmaputra river (which becomes the Hooghly river in West Bengal), of the green paddy fields of the state (brought to mind all those films of Satyajit Ray that I have seen over the years) and the urban density of the sprawling city of Calcutta. Wonderful touch down and landing!

It took me half an hour to get a pre-paid cab at the airport as there were too many people in the line and too few vehicles available, but when I did (for Rs. 300), I was dropped off easily at my Hotel Elgin Fairlawn on Sudder Street right in the heart of old Calcutta. The Hotel is like a green oasis in the midst of a busy, bustling neighborhood and dates from the late 1700s. I have been staying here on my trips to Calcutta since the days when it was run by the venerable Armenian Violet Smith and later her daughter Jennifer. After Violet’s death, it was sold to the Oberoi’s and definitely looks much more spiffy now than it did in the old days when it exuded shabby chic!

Entering the lobby is like returning home for me. The old-world graciousness of the staff, the arrival of a magical welcome drink (I so needed it after my hot and long journey from the airport during which time traffic simply crawled) and the fact that I was instantly upgraded to a deluxe double room because I am a frequent user of this hotel, did wonders for my spirits. After finding my room at the end of a long verandah on the top floor, I stashed my stuff away, used the facilities and left. It was about 12. 15 pm by then, long after I had actually expected to reach.  Still, without wasting any further time, I took directions from Manish, the nice receptionist, and made my way towards a half day of sight seeing.

Taking the Metro to the Victoria Memorial:

I love Calcutta’s Metro system and by the time I bought my ticket for the princely sum of Rs. 5, and stood at the platform waiting for my train, I felt as if I was back in Manhattan again and waiting for my subway train! It was spanking clean and gracious. I was in the train for just two stops—Maidan and the Rabindra Sadan (my stop). I followed instructions to the T (given by Manish), but I had to say that the walk from the station to my destination was LONG and since it was hot and really humid, I was tired within ten minutes of walking. Asking all along the way for the entrance to the Victoria Memorial, I finally found it a good half hour later, by which time I was already quite wiped out.

Exploring the Gardens of the Victoria Memorial:

I needed an urgent sit-down and I found it on a bench overlooking one of the reflecting pools of the vast gardens that surround the Victoria Memorial. It is truly a spectacular monument and I simply could not get enough of it on my camera. I photographed it from every angle to take in the glory of Viceroy Curzon’s vision for a memorial monument that would commemorate the recently-dead Queen Victoria (which makes me wonder…can you imagine what they are going to build after our current Queenie pops it—longest reigning British monarch and all that ???) It was a good time to eat my other sandwich and down half a bottle of water as I needed to rehydrate myself urgently. I was losing moisture through perspiration at an alarming rate as the humidity was so high. When I felt refreshed in the shade overlooking the gorgeous building, I walked all the way around it to arrive at the main entrance as I had arrived on the south side past the sculptured monuments to Edward VII, Victoria’s son. From the main entrance, one sees the grand bronze sculpture of the seated Victoria sculpted by George Frampton and just on the other side, is the grand marble sculpture of Curzon whose brain child this building is. Meanwhile, there are gorgeous fountains, roses in lush flower beds, reflecting pools—all the elements that make for grand Edwardian gardens. I loved it and took it all in.

Inside the Victoria Memorial:

It is funny how I visit this building on every trip I make to Calcutta (as I love it so much) but never remember much of its interior details. So it is always with a sense of awe and wonder that I take it in each visit. The grand Rotunda (with its soaring dome) in the style of Andrea Palladio’s rotundas the world over, the Greek columns that hold it up, the dentil molding, and at the very top (simply too far, in my opinion, for the human eye to take in details), the half moon mosaics that record key moments in the life of Victoria—from the day she received news that she had become queen, to her coronation to her death bed. Needless to say, Prince Albert features in a lot of the depictions and I was stunned and wished I had a pair of binoculars with which to take in the minute details at the top.

Next, I made a bee line for the gallery that holds the collection of colonial paintings by the uncle-nephew team of Thomas and William Daniels. They arrived in India in the 18th century and traveled around the newly-acquired colony of Bengal documenting their progress as they painted monuments, landscapes, people. They have left us a brilliant record of India in that era. I was disappointed that only a handful of their works were on display—on previous visits, I have seen a far bigger collection.  However, in honor of the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence, most of the galleries were taken up new exhibitions to mark the occasion. There was a huge one of Calcutta’s most famous son—Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and the army he created in Singapore to overthrow the British by using tactics far removed from the non-violent ones advocated by Gandhi.  In another gallery upstairs (mercifully air-conditioned), there was a whole other exhibition on the attempts by Indians based overseas in the 19th and early 20th centuries to either muster support for Indian Independence or to overthrow British rule in some form. The history buff in me found all of this fully fascinating and it was with great difficulty that I managed to tear myself away after carefully reading all of the curatorial notes (in three languages, English, Hindi and Bengali). It was all beautifully curated and I felt less disappointed that room had been made for these new exhibitions by removing the majority of the colonial paintings as well as the section of Indian paintings that, in the past, had featured some of the great painters of the Bengali Renaissance.  There was so much to read, so many pictures to see, several videos playing on a loop in many corners of the vast galleries and so many visitors (I was thrilled) that filled the space. 

When I was done, I left the building and, asking for directions, made my way to the next item on my agenda: a visit to St. Paul’s (Anglican) Cathedral that is literally just across the road. 

Visiting St. Paul’s Cathedral:

St. Paul’s Cathedral is the oldest and most striking Gothic structure in Calcutta. It dates from the 1700s and is an impressive, pure white building with a crenelated central tower. I have visited it before because I love the quiet serenity of its interior, but mainly because I  love one of its stained glass windows. It was designed and executed by Edward Burne-Jones, one of the members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood of whom I am a huge fan. Inside, the Cathedral reminds me of St. Thomas’ Cathedral in Bombay.  It is full of mortuary monuments in marble, including a giant one of Bishop Hebbar who introduced Anglo-Indian schools in Calcutta. Photography is strictly prohibited inside the church and I had to find special permission at the church office to be able to take a picture of it for my fiend Dr. Fiona Mann, who is a scholar of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in the UK. Naturally, I too wanted a picture of it as I am, as I said above, a huge fan of the Pre-Raphaelites. Mission accomplished, I left the church and found my way to the exit.

I could not face the idea of walking back in the exhausting heat and humidity back to my hotel but I could urgently do with a nap by this time. So I hailed a cab and made my way back to my hotel, where I ran into my friend, Dr. Robyn Andrews who had arrived for the conference from Massey University in New Zealand. We had a happy reunion and since I was dying for a cup of tea, by this point, I chinwagged with her for a bit while ordering a tea tray which I sat in the restaurant and enjoyed with two cookies. It was the best pick-me-up and just a little later, I returned to my room where I sank down in the blissful air-conditioned coolness and promptly took a nap.

Exploring New Market and Finding Dinner at Park Street:

It was exactly 6.00 pm when I decided to leave my room again and continue sightseeing. I had two more items on my agenda for the day: a visit to New Market and Park Street. I was determined to fit them both in before calling it a day.

New Market, whose real name is the SS Hogg Market (Sir Stewart Hogg Market), is just a five minute walk from my hotel and I easily found my way there. It is a huge covered market in the fashion of Crawford Market in Bombay and is probably of the same vintage—ie. Late 1800s. This one was erected by S Hogg who was knighted by the British.  

You could spend a whole day in New Market because you can, literally, get everything under the sun here. But I was focused on three shops: Nahoum’s, a Jewish bakery dating from the late 1800s which is really popular at XMas time for its incredible plum cake; Chamba Lama, a Tibetan store that sells handicrafts and is known for its semi-precious stones set in silver jewelry; J.Johnson, a grocery store known for selling Bandel Cheese to which Indians were introduced by the Portuguese. After they were taught by the Portuguese how to cause milk to curdle in order to create cheese, the Bengalis used the curds to fashion all sorts of sweets—hence, the Bengali sweets such as rosgolla, Cham Cham and sponge ‘sandwich’—also sondesh. I decided to buy some cheese to taste. I found it very salty. It is sold in small discs, in plain and smoked varieties. I bought the smoked sort. My friend Ashley told me about this cheese and requested me to buy him some—which I did. From Nahoum’s, I bought rich plum cake and light fruit cake to take to my Dad and Russel, as well as vanilla and chocolate fudge and a rum ball for my dessert. I have to say that I enjoyed strolling around the market, but I was already so tired from my morning wandering that I kept my rambles to the minimum. When my purchases were in the bag (literally!), I walked out and made my way to Park Street which was a 15 minute walk away. 

Park Street was completely different from the New Market area. It is hip and spiffy and filled with expensive designer stores, boutiques, restaurants that had their heyday in the 1950s, 60s and 70s and confection shops such as Fleury’s. I passed by all of them to take in their ambience which was all the more enticing with the bright lights switched on by this time. However, I was focused mainly on buying myself a kathi kebab roll that had been introduced to Calcutta by a restaurant called Nizam’s in New Market. The same Nizam’s rolls were touted as being really good at a small hole-in-the-wall place on Park Street called Kusum Rolls and it was there that I bought a mutton kathi roll to go. I had to wait for about 15 minutes as the place was mobbed and offered only take-out service. With my roll in the bag, I walked along the main road to my hotel.

I was really knackered by this point and all I could think of was throwing myself on my bed in the wonderful cool serenity of my room. I had only enough energy to eat my dinner and my dessert, chat briefly with Llew, brush and floss my teeth and get straight into bed. 

It had been a hugely tiring day but a hugely productive one as well and I was grateful that I had such a lovely place in which to rejuvenate myself through a very early night.

Until tomorrow…

Last Full Day in London: PCR Test, Lunch with Roz, Riding the Elizabeth Tube Line, Dinner with the Colcloughs

 Last Full Day in London: PCR Test, Lunch with Roz, Riding the Elizabeth Tube Line, Dinner with the Colcloughs

London

Saturday, May 28, 2022

    Finally the day arrived when we would have to face reality--our wonderful two-week break together was drawing to a close and we had formalities to fulfill, packing to accomplish and departure worries to consider.

Getting a PCR Test:

    We awoke to join our friend Bande for breakfast. He had warmed fresh croissants for us and with butter and lovely ginger preserves, we had a nice breakfast washed down with mint tea. After showers, we got dressed and left for an urgent errand on Oxford Street. Llew had received word from American Airlines that he needs to take a Covid-19 test and be proven negative to be able to board his aircraft. The very reason why we had postponed going on vacation to the UK, six months ago, and had gone to Dubai instead, was threatening to engulf us once again. Quick inquiries with Bande informed us that the large Boots Pharmacy on Oxford Street did walk-in tests and that we could get the results in 24 hours (because Llew was not supposed to do the test prior to 24 hours before his flight took off)! 

    A bus towards Marble Arch from Edgeware Road then saw us get off right after Selfridges to reach Boots, where sadly, we drew a blank. I also spied a store called Ola London with the kind of clothes I knew Chriselle would love. So, I nipped into Ola, bought her two dresses and a blouse (to send back to the States with Llew) and then joined Llew at Boots only to be told that a 24 hour return result was not possible. He was told to go to the Bio-Clinic on Morton Street where 24 hour results were available. 

    So our quest for Morton Street behind Bond Street Tube Station began. Except that Llew heard the name incorrectly--it was Molton Street, not Morton. We walked several blocks away from Bond Street before realizing that we were on the wrong track. I then stopped a lady on the road and asked if she knew where Morton Street was. She whipped out her phone and began to check when she asked what we needed.  When we mentioned PCR tests, she said, "Oh! You need Molton Street, not Morton Street!" A quick check on her phone found us the location and in a few minutes, we were making inquiries there.  However, walk-ins were not possible. We needed to register before the clinic would conduct the test for a fee of 89 pounds (for 24 hours results) or 55 pounds (for 48 hours results)--extortionate prices!!!!

 Well, we had no choice--so I left Llew to return to Boots, where there was a wifi connection, to do the registration while I excused myself and went to NYU. I had to drop off a book for the Assistant Director of the campus and decided to find my way there. But first, I decided to stop at the House of Fraser department store on Oxford Street to buy a glass and chrome hand soap pump I needed for my bathroom. It is such a sad sight to find Debenhams, BHS (British Home Stores) and C & A have closed down--these were the stalwarts of Oxford Street for generations.  It's a good job that Marks and Spencer and Selfridges are still there--also who knows for how long! Happy also to see that Peter Jones is still at Sloane Square. And, of course, one hopes there will always  be Harrods. Even if the prices are astronomical, its presence reassures, as it means that the moneyed still have deep pockets! 

    House of Fraser did have the glass pump container I wanted. I bought it for 15 pounds and nipped out and because I exited through one of the back streets, I simply continued walking on it parallel to Oxford Street. This allowed me to avoid the jostling crowds and discover some new and interesting parts of London that I had never before traversed. There was a beautiful brick-clad church, for instance, right ahead of me and I simply had to take its picture. On I went through streets totally unfamiliar as I headed in the right direction. I expected to reach Tottenham Court Road anytime and when I did, I discovered that I was, in fact, at the right end of Bedford Square and, within minutes, I was at the entrance of NYU-London. Sadly, since it was a Saturday, there was not even a porter on the premises. I had expected either Mark or Mo to be there even if there were no students or faculty members around. But it seems that their routine too has changed following the pandemic. Luckily, I found a mail basket attached to the main door and I was able to post my book with a note to Ruth for whom it was intended. That errand done, I walked to Bury Street, opposite to the British Museum to bring a small gift of tea for my cleaning lady. I know that they sell tea in very good packaging in that store--the place from which I have purchased tea and biscuits for years. That errand also accomplished, I walked briskly to Holborn and took the 98 bus back to Oxford Street. As planned, I met Llew at the Boots. He had registered and as it was close to 1.00 pm, we bought a couple more things from Boots before he got his test done. 

    For his birthday, Llew had been given a beautiful tin of English Breakfast Tea from Fortnum and Mason by our friends Mary and Sam in the Cotswolds. But, of course, it was not decaff and since Llew does not drink regular tea, Mary had advised us to get the tin exchanged at the F&M store in Piccadilly. So that was our next errand. However, I felt uncertain that the store would make the exchange without the receipt or proof of purchase. I, therefore, told Llew that we ought to call Customer Service and find out instead of making a trip there in vain. As expected F&M could not carry out an exchange without the bill and so that saved us having to get there. Instead, we called our friend Roz and asked if she could get to the spot we'd picked for lunch early as we had finished earlier with our errands.

Off for Lunch to Lisson Grove:

    It was hard to believe that we had reached the end of my almost month-long stay in the UK and had not yet eaten fish and chops. When our friend Bande told us that a place in Lisson Grove served the best F&C in town, we simply had to try it out. We told Roz where to meet us and off we went, via Marylebone Underground Station (which is also a National Rail station) and met her 45 minutes later. In taking that path, we happened to pass by the London HQ of BNP Paribas on Harewood Avenue, an address with which Llew was familiar as he had worked for the bank for several years.

    The F&C was delicious--I had the cod, Roz had the cod goujons and Llew had the shrimp scampi...but our order was terribly messed up by an Oriental girl who was clearly new at the till and had no idea what she was doing. We also ordered mushy peas to go with them but our delivery did not include it. We sat outside on a really nice afternoon, but somehow all the confusion with our order spoiled our mood and we really did not have a very good time. Later on, our friend Bande told us that we ought to have gone and sat in the proper restaurant (The Seashell) next door as we had, by mistaken, sat at the take-out place which is simply not the same. Oh well! Next time...

    About an hour later, we bid Roz goodbye and ran along. We really had to get back home to do our packing before we left for dinner that night. Llew was getting anxious as he takes a look at all my buys and panics at the thought of my having excess weight. Back on the Tube, we arrived at Paddington and resolved to use the brand-new Elizabeth Line on our journey in the evening to our friends, the Colcloughs, as we wanted to have the privilege of having used it a day after it had been inaugurated by the Queen on her very own Platinum Jubilee week. 

Packing and Getting Ready to Leave:

    And so, we spent the next couple of hours working on our baggage. Llew had brought a whole bunch of my things from Southport and I had not even opened them or looked at them. So it was good to see my supplies of decaff tea and coffee, some of my shoes, perfumes, etc. waiting to be transported to Bombay. I divided the weight of all the things I had bought in London between the two bags and with that aspect cleared, we weighed the baggage repeatedly and felt satisfied that we had done our best to avoid being hauled up for excess baggage upon departure. 

Off for Dinner to Chelsea--By the New Elizabeth Line--but first, the Chelsea Flower Show:

    Our friends, Bishop Michael and Cynthia, had invited us to their home in Chelsea for dinner at 7.00, but we left earlier so that we could figure out the use of the new Elizabeth Line. Luckily for us, there was a station stop at Paddington--so we walked up to Paddington and discovered that there was a brand-new entrance to the new Elizabeth Line: a high-speed new Underground Line that will get you from Ealing to Central London in 15 minutes (it currently takes about 90 minutes). When we arrived there, we also found that there is a stop at Heathrow Airport--so, in the future, if we are arriving in London and staying with our friend in Paddington, the Elizabeth Line will be much cheaper an option that the Heathrow Express which has swelled to 25 pounds in fare for a single ride. 

    The stations of the Elizabeth Line are wide, spacious and very well lit. Announcements are clear (if a tad too loud), the stations have double doors (for additional security and to ensure that no one can fall down by accident or enter the Tube lines) and the trains run right through with no doors connecting cars. When our train did arrive, we found that everyone was excited to be on the new line (not just us) and were all taking pictures of themselves in the brand-new cars. The line is Purple (for royalty) and the seating reflects this color choice--the upholstery is in striped purple as well.  Clearly, a lot of thought has gone into the construction of this line which has been on for at least six years. Maybe it was a good thing--this way, it was ready to be inaugurated on the very week of the Platinum Jubilee when all of the UK (at least all Royalists) are jubilant! 

    We got off at Tottenham Court Road, changed to the Northern Line going south, then the Circle Line and were in Sloane Square about 20 minutes later--as the Elizabeth Line is really very fast. You can feel the velocity of it when you are riding it as the stations just fly by. 

    When we arrived at Sloane Square, we found that all of Chelsea was jubilant too because this is the week of the annual (and very famous) Chelsea Flower Show that goes on for two weeks each May. When I had lived in London, I had made sure to get tickets for it and had the privilege of spying Ricky Gervais at the show with his partner, Jane Fallon. Since it is such a huge community affair, all the retailers along the King's Road, have gotten into the act and go out of their way to present the most amazing floral facades at the entry of their shops.  This year, the theme is the Platinum Jubilee and almost every big-name retailer on the street (Ralph Lauren, Hatchards, Club Monaco, Les Nereides, Massimo Dutti, NARS and Aspiga --to name only a few) had gorgeous flower arrangements to welcome their patrons. People were walking with bags full of plants and bouquets of flowers that they had obviously bought from the show which is truly a gardener's paradise. I remember how blown I had been by the show when I had seen it in person myself. It is a real stunner and every horticulturist in the UK tries to be a part of this event. Seeing it all from the top decker of a bus was an inspired idea as we could whizz through the street, get off at M&S to buy the lemons I wanted to take back to India (yes, bags of them!) as you cannot get them at a reasonable price there (sour limes yes, no lemons). I have to say that Llew indulges me in all my hair-brained schemes and, a few minutes later, armed with lemons from M&S, we crossed the street, jumped into a bus going down Sloane Street and were at our friends' place about ten minutes behind schedule.

Dinner with Our Friends:

    Bishop Michael (retired Anglican Bishop) and his wife, Cynthia, are like my relatives in London--we are that close. Cynthia and I consider ourselves to be sisters. When I had lived and worked in London, they had taken me under their wing and, through the years, our bond has grown firmer and more cordial. They never allow us to leave London without a meal at their place. I had met them at the beginning of my stay here and with Llew in town, they called us over again for dinner. With drinks (a G&T for me, a lager for Llew) and crisps for nibbles, we caught up on a whole lot. Then, we adjourned to the dining table to enjoy a simple but very good home-cooked meal--Chicken in Tarragon Sauce, carrots, broccoli, boiled whole potatoes. Dessert was ice-cream with stewed fruit--apples and plums. While we were at dinner, Llew received his Covid-19 test results and discovered, much to our relief, that he was negative. It was a great end to a fraught day. More than the pleasure to be derived from the food was the sheer joy of the Colcloughs' company and we had a lot to gab about before it was time to say Goodbye--to them and indeed to London.

    We took a bus from right outside their home to Sussex Gardens and were home, having our last lingering looks of London with its fully illuminated monuments, as they flew behind us. It had been an absolutely wild two weeks with Llew and just as fulfilling a ten day period (partly alone and partly with Amy) before he had arrived. It amazes me how much we were able to cram into our travels in the UK and how well we used every second. But, I have to admit that I had begun to experience tourist fatigue and with all the walking we had done, our feet had begun to protest. So, we were happy to call it a day and return to the comforting pace of routine.

    We were back at Paddington in less than half an hour and since our friend Bande was still awake (it was just before 10.00 pm), we had a chance to bid him goodnight before we crashed for the night.    

    Until tomorrow...when I shall write about our departure from London, I say...cheerio!     

           

Last Day in Oxford: Extensive Walking Tour and Visit to a Colleague at St. Antony's College.

Last Day in Oxford: Extensive Walking Tour and Visit to a Colleague at St. Antony's College.

Oxford 

Friday, May 27, 2022

The day finally dawned when we had to leave Oxford. Having spent so much time in the Cotswolds over the past few days, we had not really roamed around this medieval city of learning. I told Llew I could take him on a walking tour of the Town. He has been to Oxford on a few occasions, of course, with me, and had done the rounds of my favorite nooks and crannies. But he was keen to get a ‘refresher round-up’, as it were—so that was our plan for the day. In the afternoon, I had a professional appointment at St. Antony’s College that included lunch…but for the most part, at least until 5.30 pm, we were free to do as we  pleased. 

We awoke to wash, shower and pack up our bags for our departure in the evening for London. Our friends Sue and Tony would be back in the evening and we’d only have time with them for a quick cup of tea before we would need to leave ourselves. With our packing done, we got dressed and left our lovely digs on Marlborough Road and decided to walk along the river Thames to Oxford City Center. It was another glorious day in Oxford and temperature was simply perfect for endless walking. 

Breakfast at Paul’s Patisserie:

One of my favorite coffee shop chains is Paul’s, the Belgian patisserie that makes the crispiest croissants and the most delectable hot chocolate. No matter where in the world I may be, I make the time for a breakfast at Paul’s. This time round, I could not believe I had been in the UK for almost a month and had not indulged. This had largely to do with the fact that many of Paul’s outlets have closed down, probably as a result of Covid. Spying one on The High, a couple of days ago, Llew had suggested we go there whenever we had the chance as he knows how much I love their baked goods. This was the day. So, although we stopped to take pictures at the lovely perennial gardens in front of Christ Church College Meadows, where the light was just perfect, we did not linger long as our tummies beckoned urgently.

Paul’s provided the almond croissants and hot chocolates we both craved and we sat down and ate in and savored every sip and tasty mouthful. However, we did not linger too long as we did need to move on if we wanted to cover as much of the town as we hoped.

So on we marched and here are the places to which I re-introduced Llew on our walking tour. 

1. Oriel College with its lovely facade that features sculptures of Kings Charles I and Charles II. This is often a location for television serials set in Oxford as it presents a most photogenic appearance.
2. Merton College—the oldest college in Oxford, it dates from the 12th century. This was also the college in which Llew’s nephew, Cyril, elected to study British jurisprudence when he won the Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford. However, as all the colleges are open to the public only between 2-5 pm, we were not able to visit the college chapel which is supposedly striking.
3. Wolfson College—this college has a very interesting obelisk in the center of the quad that features a gilded bird that looks like a cross between an eagle and a stork. This was the location for the last scenes in an episode of Morse that had starred Geoffrey Palmer.
4. Merton Street—this is one of the oldest streets in Oxford and because it is not a main thoroughfare used by heavy duty vehicles such as buses, it has remained relatively protected. It is the only street in Oxford that still sports the cobbled stones with which every street in this town was once paved. I also practiced my videography skills on this lane as I intend to take Llew on a tour of Queens Lane at which point I would begin running my camera. 
5. Back on The High, we were right in front of the Church of St. Mary the Virgin which is the official university church. It glowed beautifully in the morning’s rays as did the rest of High Street.
6. University College—I took Llew in here to show him the Oxford college in which President Clinton was enrolled when he was on the Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford. I believe his daughter  Chelsea Clinton went to this college too (but I am not sure). I know she is an Oxonian but I have no intel on her college. Once inside the premises, we saw the lovely little bridge that forms an arch to connect two of the buildings.
7. Queens College—this college has a lovely architectural detail in the cupola that tops its main entrance. I believe the Queen in question featured in a sculpture inside the cupola is Queen Anne.  
8. Entrance to Queens Lane: This is where my video tour began. We started at the corner of Queens and St. Edmund Hall College and began to make our way down the lane. As I spoke into the camera, Llew could hear what I was saying and received information about each of the venues.
9. St. Edmund Hall College and New College—Queens Lane becomes New College Lane when it is outside New College. I showed him the entrance to New College.
10. Outside of New College Lane, you spy your first glimpses of Oxford’s “Dreaming Spires,” as Matthew Arnold put it. You see the twin spires of All Soul’s College, which is the Scholar’s College as it does not admit undergraduate students—only graduate students can work towards a Master’s degree or a Doctorate at All Soul’s. 
11. Glimpse of the Bridge of Sighs and St. Helene’s (Turf) Passageway—We broke out of the narrowness of the lanes to arrive at the point where the Bridge of Sighs which connects the two parts of Hereford College was right in front of us. However, I did not take Llew under the bridge at this time. What I did instead was make a right down a really dark and narrow alleyway that only Oxford insiders know. This passageway leads to two important Oxford landmarks.
12. Home of Jane Burden Morris—The first of these landmarks is the former home of the embroiderer Jane Burden who became the wife of the Pre-Raphaelite artist, William Morris. Thanks to the fact that she became the Muse of all the artists that comprised the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, her’s is also one of the most well-known faces in late 19th century art. The tangled story of Jane’s association with the Pre-Raphaelites is interesting: apparently, Morris was walking quite casually on the streets of Oxford (he was a student at Exeter College) when he literally brushed past or bumped into Jane. He fell in love with her at first sight and without wasting too much time, asked her father for her hand in marriage. Now Jane came from a poor, working class background while Morris was from the upper middle-class. Although their economic backgrounds were radically different, the two of them did marry and were very happy for a long while. Jane integrated herself well into artistic upper crust society and served her purpose well as she became not just her husband’s Muse but indeed that of his closest friends, Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. You will find Jane’s portrait in every single one of the paintings by this close circle of friends who bought homes and used their skills and talents to decorate them. They spent their weekends painting the walls and ceiling and floors of their homes (eg. William Morris’ Red House and his better-known home in Lechlade called Kelmscott Manor). Things went swimmingly until Burne-Jones fell in love with Jane and the two launched into a relationship that rocked the very foundations of a long and lasting friendship. By then, Jane had borne Morris children including a daughter they named May Morris—who, like her mother, became a famous embroiderer in her own right. I believe the affair was short-lived and Jane returned to Morris who attempted to repair the rift although their marriage was never the same again.
13. Turf Tavern—The second important landmark in this passageway is the Turf Tavern. This is advertised as the oldest pub in Oxford, but I have to say that the same boast is also associated with The Bear Pub on Magpie Lane which is filled with neck ties left behind by the various students who could not pay for a drink. The Bear pub is filled with thousands of ties in glass cases. The Turf Tavern was one of Morse’s favorite watering holes and was the location of many drinking breaks in the various episodes of the Morse mysteries (of which I am a huge fan). Bill Clinton is also reputed to have drunk in this tavern. It is also the venue in which he is supposed not to have inhaled!
14. The Sheldonian Theatre: Out of the narrow Turf Tavern Passageway, we made a right to walk under the Bridge of Sighs. One has a full and uninhibited view, at this point, of the Sheldonian Theatre. This unusual building was designed by Sir Christopher Wren who re-designed London after the Great Fire of 1666. This building, his first commission for the University of Oxford, was meant to be the official gateway to the world upon a student’s graduation. And indeed, it continues to be used mainly for such purposes—i.e. all official ceremonies take place in this beautiful sunken amphitheatre with its gloriously painted ceiling. It was the location for a very important section of one of the Morse episodes which, in fact, guest starred the great Sir John Gielgud playing the role of the University’s Chancellor. The Sheldonian is also used for musical concerts today and if visitors wish to see its interior, there is a small fee. Outside, the building is shaped like a horse-shoe with a lovely verdigris-green cupola that is its most distinctive feature.
15. The Clarendon Building—To the right of the Sheldonian Theatre is another one of the major official buildings of the University. The Clarendon functions as the main seat of administration and houses most of the major departments. It is designed in true Neo-Classical style with Ionic columns holding up the structure and a gorgeous pediment at the top graced by four Grecian statues. 
16. The Bodleian Library Building—Right opposite the Clarendon Building is the exterior of the main quadrangle that comprises the Bodleian Library. It is a large quad with a tower on one side of it that features King James I as Thomas Bodley gave the university a huge grant during his reign, which led to the creation of the Bodleian. The Tower comprises four tiers each of which features columns in the classical Greek styles—Doric, Ionic and Corinthian with a Combination style at the very top. In the quad, there is also a sculpture of the Earl of Pembroke in full knightly garb.  
17. Holywell Music Center—Leaving this segment of the town behind, I led Llew down Holywell Street outside New College so that he could see the Holywell Music Center. This little building is the venue of all the auditions and examinations of students majoring in Music. It played an important part in the first serial of the Lewis detective series, a spin off of Morse. In the episode, which opens in this building, Morse has passed away and Lewis has taken over as Inspector. He arrives in the building to listen to the auditions of young Oxford students looking to win the Morse Scholarship based on an endowment Morse had written in his will to support Music Studies at Oxford. It is the only time during the entire Lewis series that reference is made to Inspector Morse.
18. Parks Road to Rhodes House—We re-traced our steps to Parks Road and made a right on it to walk past Wadham College on our right and Trinity College on our left to arrive at the lovely little building that is called Rhodes House. The name Rhodes has gained notoriety in recent years as it belongs to Sir Cecil Rhodes who made his fortune in diamond mining in South Africa and used it to endow the prestigious Rhodes Scholarships in Oxford. In the era of political correctness, there was a massive drive to wipe out his name and his legacy from the university as revisionist history is re-examining colonialism from the point of view of the suffering of the native peoples from whose misery vast fortunes were acquired. However, the university won in this debate and Cecil Rhodes’ statue at Oriel College remains in place. Here, at Rhodes House, all Rhodes Scholars have a place to gather, to make friends and socialize and find common goals. Most of the time you need an Oxford University ID card and on the occasions when I have had a temporary one (when on my research grants, for instance), I have been permitted inside. The building that was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker (the two designers of the new capital of India, New Delhi) is based on the concept of the rotunda that was given to the world by Andrea Palladio. Other Palladian elements include the sash windows and the Doric columns. Inside, there is a huge tapestry entitled The Romance of the Rose based on a cartoon (draft drawing) by Edward Burne-Jones and executed by his Pre-Raphaelite colleague and friend, William Morris in the Morris factories. Its twin is in the Chapel of Exeter College and I would take Llew to see it later in the afternoon.
19. The Museum of Natural History—we then made a right to continue walking along Parks Road to arrive at the stirring facade of the Museum of Natural History which is a piece of Victorian architecture that bears a striking resemblance to Crawford Market in Bombay and Empress Market in Karachi.  Indeed, this style of public building was conspicuous in the British colonies. The collection is huge and impressive and includes a variety of animal and bird skeletons, the large recreation of the skeleton of a whale (including its jawbone) and that of a reproduced dinosaur. Its most famous highlight is the real soft tissue of the Dodo, the extinct bird that Lewis Carol (Charles Ludwig Dodgson—who had a stammer and pronounced his name as Do-Do-Dodgson) felt an affinity to and used as an important character in his Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass. I showed Llew the Dodo and then we moved on.
20. The Pitt-Rivers Museum—the most interesting aspect of this museum is that it is concealed behind the Museum of Natural History—so unless you are an insider, you are unlikely to know this. Pitt-Rivers was a passionate anthropologist who traveled around the world amassing thousands of objects to represent native and ethnic peoples. He bequeathed his entire collection to Oxford University which had to build a whole new building to house it. The end result is a jaw-dropping space that contains scores of glass vitrines in which all manner of cultural object and artifact is artfully displayed. This collection continues on the second floor—so you can just imagine how extensive and staggering it is. 
21. The Chapel of Keble College—we tried to enter the Chapel of Keble College but it was closed to visitors and would only be opened between 2-5 pm. We resolved to get back to it later.
22. Lunch at St. Anthony’s College—By this time, it was almost 1.00 pm and I had to cut across Bevington Road to arrive at the campus of St. Antony’s College where I had a 1.00 pm lunch appointment with Faisal Devji who used to be in-charge of the South Asian Seminar. He is a historian of South Asian Studies and, knowing that I am a Senior Associate Member of the College (I had been elected to this position before his time), he had invited me to give a lecture on my research on Britain’s Anglo-Indians (which had been the subject of one of my earlier books), a few years ago. I gave Llew a tour of the campus including the unusual library building shaped like a giant stainless steel tunnel that had been designed by the Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid just before she passed away. Faisal arrived at 1.00 pm and met us in the lounge just below the Buttery where we adjourned for lunch. It was institutional but very good indeed. I chose to have the Fish Pie which was lovely because I had really wanted to eat the Fish Pie at the chain of restaurants that is known as Bill’s—but it no longer carries this item on its menu! This Fish Pie was served with potatoes and a stewed concoction of leeks and tomatoes. Llew had the Lamb and Faisal had the Stuffed Tomato. Over lunch, we chatted about our respective current projects and the work in which we are involved. I also brought Faisal up to speed on my own future plans with regards to moving to India, a concept that was not entirely bizarre to him as he sees the wisdom in it, being that he has an Indian partner. After lunch and after sitting in the sun outside for a long while, Faisal had to see a student who came looking for him. It was time for us to say goodbye and we did so with promises that we would definitely keep in touch.
23. The Chapel of Keble College (Again)—By this time, it was past 2.00 pm and Llew and I were able to see the Chapel of Keble College—an unusual building in itself as it is not designed in Gothic style but rather in the elaborate Victorian manner with its combination of red and white ornamental brick work. We walked past the Porter’s Lodge to arrive at the sunken quad and made our way to the chapel where we spent a while admiring the elaborate Byzantine mosaics that run from floor to ceiling in a matt design that is very interesting.
24. Weston Library—Back towards Broad Street we went to arrive at the entrance of the Weston Library where I also pointed out the Indian Institute to Llew and told him about my connections with the building as a venue for research 35 years ago. In the Weston Library, we used the facilities and then examined the gift shop. I had pointed out to Llew the scraps of the Sheldon Tapestry Map of Oxfordshire which dates from 1590. It has pride of place on the Library’s Ground Floor and parts of it that feature Oxford are printed on tote bags that are sold in the gift shop. I bought two bags with the idea of making cushion covers with them. I know I shall very proudly place them in my apartment, a most unusual souvenir of our times in Oxford and all the neighboring towns through which our bus had passed as it wound on its way from Oxford to Chipping Norton and further into the Cotswolds daily.
25. Blackwell’s Bookstore and The Norrington Room—Just next door, we popped into Blackwell’s Bookstore. Of course, Llew has never met a bookstore he has not loved and this one was no different. He spent a while browsing through the collection and left me wondering seriously whether or not I should pick up the John Byfield Illustrated Oxford which has been on my Wish List for a very long time. Only my baggage weight concerns stopped me from buying the book. Perhaps on a future trip I will…I also took Llew down the five flights of stairs that lead underground below Trinity College to bring us to the wonderful Norrington Room, a really rare space and perhaps the only one of its kind in the world.
26. The White Horse Tavern—we then passed by the White Horse Tavern next door but did not enter it for lack of time. However, I did point out to Llew that it was also one of Morse and Lewis’ favorite watering holes. 
27. The Museum of the History of Science—From this point, we were rather quick as we were getting fatigued plus time was of the essence. If we intended to get back to Sue and Tony by 4.00 pm so that we could have a cup of tea with them before left for London, we needed to hurry things along. In this museum, the highlight is the blackboard in Einstein’s own handwriting—on it, he had demonstrated his Theory of Relativity which giving a guest lecture at Oxford It was purely by chance that the blackboard was saved and tis contents not erased!
28. Down Turl Street to Exeter College—Of course, as it was past 2.00 pm I could take Llew into Exeter College (my college) to show him the main attractions. We started off in the Chapel, designed by George Gilbert Scott, the same person who designed the Rajabai Clock Tower Building of the University of Bombay at Fort. Designed in the manner of Paris’ Saint Chapelle, it sports the black spindly spire and the closely worked stained glass windows in the royaume style. We also took in the Byzantine mosaics at the altar that are worked in glittering stone, the William Morris fabric that covers the altar and the large tapestry by Edward Burne-Jones (executed by William Morris) entitled ‘The Adoration of the Magi’. More exploration of Exeter College included the Margary Quadrangle where my room was located when I was on a research grant there, the Junior Common Room that led us to the Fellow’s Garden. Unfortunately, as there was some construction going on there, visitors were not allowed to venture too far into it and we could not climb up the stairs that lead to the ramparts of the college that offer the incredible views of the Radcliff Camera. 
29. Passing by the Dining Hall of Exeter College (that we have visited on a precious occasion), Llew and I entered Radcliff Square to take in the facade of the circular Radcliff Camera (or Rad Cam, for short) which is the most iconic building in Oxford. It was designed by James Gibbs and in decorated in the Baroque vein inside. Only students with valid ID cards are allowed inside and I have been privileged on a few occasions to spend weeks gathering data in this hallowed space where I often sat upstairs so that I was closest to the grandeur of the ceiling dome.
30. The Church of St. Mary the Virgin—just beyond the Rad Cam is the official church of the University, St. Mary the Virgin. We did not enter it today because Llew has been inside on past occasions. Instead, we used Brasenose Lane to return to Turl Street to cross over into the Covered Market
31. Covered Market—this unique market dates from mid-Victorian times and is reminiscent of covered markets in British colonies such as India (New Market in Calcutta and Crawford Market in Bombay) as well as Empress Market in Karachi, now Pakistan. It is full of one-of-a-kind shops but we always make sure we stop at the Cake Shop whose windows attract large numbers of visitors to watch the artistic bakers hard at work. There were a number of cakes on the theme of the Queen’s Jubilee which will be celebrated this coming week with much gusto.
32. High Street—our next stop, having arrived at the High Street, was a visit to Christophe who is Faisal’s partner and who I know through my friend Marianel. He works in one of the shops and it was a real pleasure to see him and reconnect with him.
33. Cornmarket—We then arrived at the fancy clock tower at Carfax, crossroads of the medieval world as it brings together four streets—Cornmarket, George, St. Aldate’s and The High Street. We walked along the pedestrian plaza that is Cornmarket, stopping only to purchase a few odds and ends from W.H. Smith (the stationery store) that was closing down. I was able to get the cello tape and packing tape I wanted at a sale price!
34. The Randolph Hotel and the Ashmolean Museum—this time we did enter the Randolph Hotel which is Oxford’s fabulous five-star hotel and scene of many an episode of Morse. In fact, so much does it feature in the series that the hotel has named the Morse Bar after the clever inspector! We peeped in at the lobby, took pictures at the Morse Bar and left. We did not enter the Ashmolean Museum this time as Llew had seen its highlights a week ago. 
35. Pre-Raphaelite Paintings in the Oxford Student Union Building: From this point on, we re-traced our steps to find the Student Union Building that was bang opposite Ship Street on the other side of Cornmarket. Our aim was to try and find the paintings in the library that had been done by the Pre-Raphaelites while they were still students at Oxford’s Exeter College. Our friend Fiona Mann, who had driven us to Waddesdon Manor yesterday, had told us about them and had instructed us to go and take a look at them. We did find someone to open the gates for us. Inside, as the students were preparing for a ball, there was a bit of commotion, but we were able to make inquiries and find our way to the library where we were instructed exactly how we could see them. They were simply amazing. Sadly, because the artists were untrained rookies, still ignorant about the need to prep painting spaces, who had taken on the assignment for a lark, the paintings are fast deteriorating (as Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of The Last Supper is doing in Milan). However, Llew and I were able to get to the upper storey of the library to see the paintings of the walls and ceilings at close quarters. They represent various episodes from Thomas Malory’s Morte d’Arthur (the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table) and are very appealing indeed.
36. With this item done and dusted, we came to the end of our walking tour of Oxford. Yes, we were dropping with fatigue as we had covered about 11 miles on our feet or 19,000 plus steps.,
37. We then walked quickly to St. Aldate’s to take the bus back to Susan and Tony’s place at Grandpont. They had returned from their own trip to Cambridge and were full of their own tales of travel. Susan made us a cup of tea and told them all about our adventures in the Cotswolds with our friends Sam and Mary. It was a joyous reunion but it was bitter-sweet as we would be leaving them and going back to London.

Not long after, we made our way to the bus stop where we could pick up the Oxford Tube. We had a wait of about 20 minutes, and when the coach arrived, there were already many passengers on it In fact, it completely filled up at Queens Lane and was packed all the way to London. Llew and I enjoyed our last sights of the Oxfordshire country as it passed outside our window. We were in London in good time and got off at Marble Arch.

Dinner with our Friend Bande Hasan at Zizzi:

A bus at the corner of Edgeware Road then took us to Sussex Gardens where, if you can believe it, the driver actually got off his cabin and on to the road  to guide us when he saw that we were confused and did not know which was the shortest walk to our friend Bande Hasan’s home. Once there, we quickly washed and got dressed for diner as he was keen to take out for an Italian night out.

I have been to Zizzi before with our friend Bande but it was the first time for Llew. As they had a nice selection of starters, we chose the Tomato Bruschetta with pesto and the Mushroom Brindisi which was scrumptious. For our main, all of us chose the Pasta with Prawns and sun-dried tomatoes—very nice indeed. I had a Passionitini—a passion fruit cocktail while Llew had a glass of Malbec. We have been singularly fortunate with the meals we have eaten out as, for the most part, they have been superb.

Another short drive in Bande’s Mercedes brought us back to his apartment where we settled down again in his guest room for the night. 

What a brilliant time we’d had in Oxford and how wonderful it was to have another 48 hours in London before we had to call it a day.

Thanks for following me on this extensive walking tour of Oxford. I hope you will have a chance to follow in our footsteps someday.

Until tomorrow…cheerio! 

Waddesdon Manor: Extravagant Estate of the Rothschilds in Aylesbury

 Waddesdon Manor: Extravagant Estate of the Rothschilds in Aylesbury

Cotswolds

Thursday, May 26, 2022

    Another absolutely wonderful day in the Cotswolds saw us tick yet another item off my long-held Bucket List: A Visit to Waddesdon Manor, estate of the Rothschilds. I had first been introduced to this place by my English friend Rosemary who had told me that I would find it particularly fascinating. I had looked into the possibility of getting there on my own, a long time ago. But the expense of using public transport while also buying my ticket was so high that I had nixed the idea. And so, I was particularly pleased to visit the venue in the company of Llew and to actually have someone who volunteered to drive us to the spot--someone who is an art historian herself and would be the perfect companion on such an excursion.

    Waking up much later than usual (at 8.00 am, to be exact, which is really late for me), I had enough time to blog, take a shower and have a hurried breakfast before our friend Fiona Mann arrived. She is a Professor of Art History at Brookes University at Oxford. I hurried through muesli with yogurt and milk and a slice of toast with orange marmalade and was just about done when the doorbell rang. She had arrived on the dot of 9.45 to pick us up! Boy, talk about punctuality! With our tickets to the venue safely in my bag, we were off and away.

   Fiona and I chattered throughout the ride to Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, as Llew and I became better acquainted with her and her work. As she is someone who works on Burne-Jones, I had begun following her on Twitter a long time ago--so it was great to have the benefit of her expertise on this excursion. Fiona has published on the Pre-Raphaelites and I was especially pleased to tell her how much of their work we had seen during this trip. It took us about 40 minutes to get into Aylesbury--a very pleasant drive along green countryside--and when we did get there, it was about 10.45 am. Our tickets were timed for 11.30 am--so we had plenty of time to make our way from the parking lot to the entrance of the site. Fiona had told us that it would take about half an hour to walk up there and we were very grateful, therefore, for the shuttle bus that cost us 2 pounds return per passenger. It would get us to the entrance of the Manor with very little grief and and would allow us to conserve our energy for the main event--a tour of the enormous mansion that lay before us.

Who are the Rothschilds?

    From what I gathered, the Rothschilds were a wealthy Jewish family who hailed from Vienna in Austria. The scion of the family, who made his appearance in the early 1800s, was Anselm de Rothschild who entered the field of banking and did exceptionally well in it. He as succeeded by his son Ferdinand who had four other brothers and four sisters. Not much is known about the sisters (of course!), but each of the brothers made his way to a different part of Europe where he continued to add to the family's fortune by his own individual acumen. Chief in terms of financial success was Ferdinand who married a woman called Evalina. He moved to England and fell in love with the English countryside. He also fell in love with European antiquities and spent a huge part of his life acquiring European fine and decorative art from the Renaissance to the 19th century. Soon, his collection exceeded his space to display it and he needed to build a mansion to house it. In 1870, he hired the services of a French architect, Hippolyte Destailleur, who was instructed to design a chateau for him in the manner of the French aristocracy of the Loire Valley. The humongous mansion that opened to the public in 1954 is a result of this financial excess. 

A Self-Guided Tour of Waddesdon Manor:

    I had booked our tickets for Waddesdon Manor before I left Bombay and I believe I paid 24 pounds per ticket. This covered entry to the house and grounds, an app we were asked to download in the reception area that offered a great deal of information on individual items that caught the visitor's eye after the item was scanned, and a booklet with a great deal of information and colored pictures. I found myself going from one room to the next, clicking pictures of those objects--paintings, sculpture, porcelain, furniture, carpets, etc. that caught my eye in addition to taking overview pictures of each room. The guides in each room were helpful, though some were better informed than others--who seemed to know nothing. The home was filled with the most spectacular flower arrangements, but when I discovered that they were silk, not real, I have to say I was astonished--they were so life-like! Each room was appointed the way it would have been in the lifetime of Ferdinand de Rothschild who was appointed Baron and then, following his death, as it was added to by his sister, Alice who died in 1922. As it is a hundred years since she died, there was a special exhibition entitled 'Alice's Wonderlands' that were were invited to  visit (this was in the stables). 

And so we went from one room to the next past two massive paintings of Venice by Guardi that were the reason why the Long Gallery was designed with its proportions--it was meant to showcase these two prized works. In many ways, this place reminded us of Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, except that it was much larger, far more opulent and did not contain gifts that two monarchs bought for each other but rather the passionate and obsessive collecting doggedness of one man (and later, his sister). We saw living rooms, dining rooms, libraries, drawing rooms on the lower level and multiple bedrooms, a billiards room, a smoking room, an armory room, and even a magnificent wine cellar--le cave! In fact, the Rothschilds became world-respected vintners and manufacturers of wine and their label is called Chauteau Lafitte Rothschilds and Mouton Rothschilds. In the cellar, we saw an abundance of bottles of wine that were products of their decades of successful wine production for the Rothschilds' wines are expensive and are used on landmark occasions by royalty. There were bottles on display sporting the signatures of a number of members of the royal family who has sipped these vintages on special occasions. The cellar is beautifully organized and while the actual manufacturing is now done in France and Italy, they did have a lot of specimens on hand to give the visitor an idea of their affluence. 

    We needed to take a break as we became hungry at lunch time and made our way to the cafe where I had a cheese and red onion pasty with hot chocolate and Llew had a vegetarian sandwich. Fiona chose to have tea and cake. During the break, we spoke about the incredible items we had seen for the manor is truly a museum that would rank among the very best in the world. After our lunch break and use of restrooms, we resumed our exploration. We took in the Renaissance room with its Tudor portraits. I was happy to find large-scale portraits of Elizabeth I and Sir Amias Paulette, her ambassador in France, by Sir Nicholas Hilliard as I have only ever seen his work on small-scale porcelain paintings (as in the Victoria and Albert Museum). There were also portraits of Robert Dudley, presumably the only man Elizabeth ever really loved and Thomas Howard, Fourth Earl of Norfolk and, I believe, suitor of Mary Queen of Scots. There were several highlights in each room and we made sure we looked at those including the items in the Treasury on the topmost floor that included jeweled sets of rubies and diamonds and emeralds and diamonds. However, the majority of the really outstandingly valuable items are part of the Waddesdon Bequest at the British Museum and I had seen those several years ago and been stunned.

    By the time we finished seeing the entire house, I have to say that I was quite wiped out. We made the slow trek to the stables but although the Alice Exhibition was much advertised, there was nothing there really. However, the stable buildings are fantastic--also designed in the French style, the buildings reminded me very much of my exploration of the chateaux of the Loire Valley including Blois and Chambord which I had visited a few years ago. 

    It was about 4.30 pm when we were finally ready to leave. It had  been a day-long excursion and we were exhausted. Fortunately, the shuttle bus for which we had purchased a return ticket, came along and dropped us back to the parking lot. Fiona then took the wheel and began our return drive home.

    As we had made plans to meet Elizabeth and David Longrigg, my former Oxford landlady and landlord, who now live in Summertown, we requested Fiona to drop us there. It was no more trouble for her to do so and on Summertown High Street, we went into a Boots so that I could buy the stock of lipstick I needed for the whole year. We then went into a couple of other shops to kill time as we were early.

Drinks with the Longriggs;

    It was exactly 6.15 pm when we rang the bell of the lovely couple who were once my landlords when I was on a research grant at Oxford and who have, through the years, become good friends. I always make sure I see them when I am in Oxford and they always make sure they invite me over for tea or drinks. We took a bottle of wine for them and I carried pretty necklaces for both Elizabeth and Celestine, the lady who has been her right hand woman through the years. I knew Celestine when I stayed with the Longriggs and I am happy to know that she is still working there. Sadly, she was visiting her mother--which meant that I could not meet her myself. But I did make sure Elizabeth gave her my regards and my gratitude. 

    It was very pleasant chatting with the Longriggs who have now reached their 90th year. Elizabeth, who was a don (an Oxford professor) of English at St. Hugh's College, is still a prolific writer and continues to write and publish novels (through Amazon) at 90 plus. She has slowed down considerably and now uses a walker; but she is still sharp as a tack. Her husband David gifted us copies of his books--on chess and on the walking pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella--which we requested him to inscribe for us. 

    Having spent the entire evening with wine for them, elderflower cordial for me and red wine for Llew and a variety of nibbles--smoked salmon on cream cheese with bread, nuts, salmon rounds on crackers, cheese straws and a box of assorted chocolates, we were ready to take their leave. It had been a most delightful two hours with them. They were meeting Llew for the first time and you could tell that the pleasure was mutual as we left their home.

Picking Up Dinner from a Food Truck:

    By this point, we were really tired and I was glad when we spotted a food truck still doing business on Summertown High Street. We ordered doner kebab in a bun for Llew and a cheese burger for me with salad and with our take-out meals, hopped into a Stagecoach 2A bus heading for Oxford City Center as we were too fatigued to face the thought of eating out. There, we changed into a local bus and arrived at Sue and Tony's place really quite dead. 

    Llew poured himself a glass of wine and with the telly on, we sat to enjoy our meal. We then cleared and cleaned up the kitchen and did our packing as we will be leaving Oxford tomorrow evening. I wanted to make sure our friends found the place spic and span when they returned and I cleaned the house thoroughly. With my packing done, and their home all ready for their return, Llew took charge of the garbage bags which our hosts had instructed us to leave outside their door for rubbish clearance by the bin men tomorrow. 

    All that done, we were finally able to get to bed. It had been a most wonderful day and as our holiday slowly draws to a close, we are beginning to feel the need to start thinking about being homeward bound.

    Until tomorrow...cheerio!          

Exploring the Beauty of the Cotswolds with Friends: Moreton-on-Marsh, Sezincote Gardens, Broadway Tower, Broadway.

Exploring the Beauty of the Cotswolds with Friends: Moreton-on-Marsh, Sezincote Gardens, Broadway Tower, Broadway.

Cotswolds 

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

    Today we were grateful for friends. And for friends with cars! Today we were able to tour a good part of the Northern Cotswolds with friends who made it a delight and a convenience as they chauffeured us around one of the most beautiful parts of the world--the Cotswolds.

    Our day began in our friends' Sue and Tony's home in Oxford as we breakfasted on muesli with yogurt and milk and toast with butter and marmalade--all washed down with good decaff coffee.  Our showers done, we left our place at 9.00 am for the brisk walk to Oxford Town Center intending to catch the 9.20 am bus to Chipping Norton (an hour away) where our friends Sam and Mary intended to meet us. But when we arrived at the bus stop on Magdalen Road, we discovered that our bus was at 9.50am--half an hour later, after browsing through Sainsbury and Tesco and a book shop that had just opened, we were on our way. The bus ride was, fortunately, uneventful, as we went by Blenheim Palace and Grounds and arrived at "Chippy" (as it is now popularly known). We spied Mary browsing through the charity shops from the top deck of our bus as we sailed in towards the last stop. 

    No sooner did we get off than Llew went to find her while I nipped into a charity shop myself. There was some china I decided to buy and a necklace that I had seen yesterday but had passed up. I had my items wrapped then nipped into another shop to buy a bag! Those purchases done (and with Mary buying a Royal Doulton pitcher "for custard"), we were on our way in their car headed to Moreton-on-Marsh.

Exploring Moreton-on-Marsh:

      This was a Cotswold town I had wanted to see the day before yesterday, but with all the bus mishaps we'd had and the many glitches with taxis, we had nixed the plan. So, when Sam suggested we start off here today, we were game. Moreton turned out to be a very typical Cotswold town with honey-yellow stone structures lining both sides of the main roads. Shops and restaurants were lined up alongside the main artery. Mary and I found distraction in a few shops and I found a few odds and ends to bring back home. However, other than its countrified charm, Moreton does not have much to recommend it. So, on we went. 

The Incredible House and Gardens of Sezincote:

    Our next port of call is on the list of Must-See Highlights of the Cotswolds and since our heritage is Indian, it made perfect sense for us to head to Sezincote (pronounced "Season-cote") next. A short drive away, we were at the entrance to one of the most visited parts of the Cotswolds and one of the most unusual.

    I am not clear who built the extravagant Indian-style house in the middle of the Cotswolds as neither the introductory brochure nor the website gives many details. I shall have to do some more digging to get to the origins of this fairy-tale place that has become a popular venue for Indian weddings--and understandably so. The onion-domes and minarets that comprise this structure could well lead one to believe one is in a palace in Jaipur. We did not go inside the house which is decorated in Western Baroque style, but we did buy tickets (7.50 pounds each) to take a self-guided tour of the gardens. After parking our car, we walked down a steep slope to get to the house and gardens which sit in a bowl, surrounding by gently-rolling Cotswold hills all around. 

    A wedding marquee was being set up as we approached but we were able to take pictures without getting those ugly structural backbones into them. We focussed instead on the gardens which are extensive and beautifully landscaped. Interestingly, they are constructed in tiers. Hence, you can stand at one spot and survey the entire landscape and decide where you would like to stray next. There is a map that is handed out with the tickets, but one is free to take the road not traveled (as it were). 

    The garden is punctuated with loads of Indian-style sculptural decor (bulls, snakes that wind around tree trunks in the middle of a pond, the pillars of a Hindu temple under which you can pose for pictures and which also creates a picturesque bridge, a pair of elephants). The plantings are lush and grouped--lots of well-established trees with shrubbery and bushes any Westerner could recognize: hostas, rhododendrons (many in bloom), azaleas (also blooming in late spring), the beginning of vast and abundant rose bushes, irises standing tall in soft shades of mauve and yellow and white). I also saw flowers with which I am unfamiliar--Mary was a valuable resource as she introduced me to primula candleabra, blooming besides a stream that flowed down in tiered cascades. There was a little programmed robot in the shape of a child's car that constantly kept up a mowing motion. This lent the garden much sensuality as almost all five senses were engaged: we could see visual delights all around, smell the scent of freshly-mown grass, hearing the constant twittering of birds in the trees and water flowing down musically, touch the leaves of bushes to examine texture. The only sense left disengaged was taste. Yes, there was a cafe on the grounds but it only sold coffee and cake. We decided to find more substantial sustenance later. Indeed, Sezincote was a delight and a completely different garden experience from Highgrove (yesterday) which was flat and divided into garden 'rooms'. Yesterday, each section came upon us as a gentle and delightful surprize. Here, we could survey most of the acreage from above--there were no separate 'rooms'--the landscape rolled gently around us, one part leaning into the next. Each garden had its own appeal, of course, and there wasn't a single element that was identical.

Lunch and Off to Climb Broadway Tower:

     At this point, after we had gradually made our way up the steep climb back to our car, we were ready for a bite. The Cafe at Broadway Tower seemed like a good bet (our friend Mary had sussed it out yesterday and recommended it highly). We drove for about fifteen minutes (how convenient it is with wheels!) and arrived at the venue but made our way first to the cafe. 

    Lunch in the cafe-cum-gift shop was a wonderful way to sit down and rest our feet a bit. Both Mary and I had the cheese scone with cheddar cheese and chutney with a hot chocolate while Llew had the tomato and red onion quiche which came with a coleslaw, potatoes and a salad and created a whole meal for him (unwittingly). Sam chose tea and cake! With our meal done, we could admire the herd of tame deer that are kept in an enclosure on the estate. We then drove towards the Tower itself as we had braced ourselves, nutritionally, to climb it!  

    Climbing Broadway Tower is another one of the highlights of the Cotswolds and indeed it has much to recommend it. It is a rather elaborate 'folly'--the kind of garden structure that the aristocrats built on their properties to provide shelter should a sudden shower arrive--as is common in England. This structure is much more than the ordinary folly. When George William,  6th Earl of Coventry, set about improving the estate at Croome Court, some 22 miles away, with the help of Lancelot "Capability" Brown, Barbara St. John, Lady Coventry, was enthralled with its tales of fireworks, signals of war and celebration. So the Earl commissioned the "Saxon Tower" as an eternal love token dedicated to her.

    From all the pictures I had seen of the Tower, I had always imagined it to be a bit like the Qutb-Minar in Delhi--a structure with an internal spiral staircase that would lead to lookout balconies and verandahs at each level. Little was I prepared for what I saw here.  This tower contains a whole house. At each level, there is a living room, dining room, bedroom and library-cum-drawing room. For the price of 20 pounds, you get to climb up, see the incredible views (of 13 counties plus the distant towers of Birmingham), a brochure that gives lovey colored pictures of the interior appointment sand external architecture and the ability to tick one more item off your To-Do List! There are no bathrooms in the Tower.  As was common, occupants had chamber pots and wash bowls in their bedrooms. When the artist William Morris came to visit one of the 19th century occupants of the Tower, he had no option but to use the enamel wash tub on the roof--a large chair to be exact. His friend, the painter Edward Burne-Jones jocularly drew several caricatures of him in the awkward position of washing himself! 

    Of course, we took many pictures from way up high to encompass the great height at which we were ourselves. It is a very exciting experience and there aren't too many stairs to climb--less than sixty, perhaps. You also pause at each level to take in the beautifully appointed and recently-redecorated place with its Georgian flourishes. At any rate, this place is a charming delight and is accentuated by the romantic story behind it. On the outside, it looks like a medieval tower with its Rapunzel balconies decorated with motifs from the Middle Ages--but its appeal is indeed timeless.

Off to Broadway:

    As our friends Sam and Mary had chosen to stay in the Northern Cotswolds (to cut an hour from their journey back home to Derby), they'd had the chance last night to suss out the town of Broadway. Mary had been raving about it and called it the "creme de la creme" of the Cotswolds. She insisted we explore it together and that we then call in at their B&B for tea before they dropped us off to our bus stop at Chipping Norton. This made full sense and indeed that was where we headed.

    Broadway is indeed a gem--a gem in a part of the country that is studded with extraordinary gems. As in Burford or in Moreton, the town is designed around a central artery that is lined with shops and other enticing places to tempt the visitor to exclaim and then part with money. There are souvenir shops, of course, but there are also boutiques, delis, cafes, antiques shops, etc. Each of these business establishments is positioned in a lovely old Cotswold stone house or mansion complete with fairy-tale chimneys and ivy draped all over. It is enchanting at every turn and I simply could not stop taking pictures. The whole town (as indeed are all the towns and villages) are strewn with flags and buntings to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of the Queen (in about ten days) and red, white and blue colors as well as commemorative china in all the windows of the charity shops tempted us inside. Sadly, we had only about 20 minutes to browse before the shops downed their shutters (frustratingly at 4.30 pm), 

    Nevertheless, it was a joy to stroll through the town, to take in the air of festivity and frolic, to make our way to the B&B that Mary and Sam occupied and to sit down with them and their landlady, Pam, to partake of afternoon tea. We loved their living quarters as well as the tastefully decorated lounge and dining room where they had enjoyed enormous breakfasts in the morning before joining us for the day. Pam provided all the fixin's of a good cuppa and over another companionable half hour, we shot the breeze. 

    It was time finally for us to leave so that we could catch the 6.50 pm bus back to Oxford from Chipping Norton. And indeed, catch it we did after saying long and loving goodbyes to our friends. It had been incredibly generous of them to give of their time and resources to come and spend two whole days with us in the Cotswolds where the weather had been perfect and the sights we saw truly memorable. 

Dinner at The Ivy:

    Back on the bus to Oxford, past Woodstock and Blenheim Palace, I told Llew that I wanted to have an Italian dinner at my favorite Italian chain, Carluccio's. But when we arrived in Oxford and went to Little Clarendon Street to find it, it had closed (another sad victim of Covid). That was when we decided to have a really nice slap-up dinner at The Ivy, the lovely posh chain of restaurants in which Llew had never eaten (although I had done--as a few years ago, in London, our friend Bande had taken me there). Llew was not too hungry as his lunch had been substantial...but he did chose to have the salad which was an excellent choice. His Asian Crispy Duck Salad with watermelon and roasted, salted cashews was just unbelievable (I had a little taste). My choices were just as amazing. I had the Gruyere Cheese Souffle for a starter (just decadent!) and the Rabbit and Langoustine Pie for a main--equally grand! I also had a martini while Llew had a glass of Rioja. Neither one of us had any room for dessert! The food was superb but the service was lousy. Anyway, if the idea was to enjoy a nice meal. we did just that.

    We then decided to take a bus from St. Aldate's for the two stops home and indeed that was exactly what we did. It had been another fabulous day with fabulous company and we were really really glad that we have managed to cram so many exciting and appealing aspects into our travels.

    Until tomorrow...cheerio!