BUZZon - British Fare

Catherine and Chris fuel up Cream tea, Cornish pasties, blood pudding, Devonshire cheeses, bangers and mash… We have been on the hunt for British culinary specialties and eating them often in their land of origin. On every other trip to England, I’ve been mostly disappointed with my food choices so this time I decided we would eat as much and as well as possible. So far, I have gained at least five pounds from all this cheese, cream, bread and sweets but it has been well worth it.

Chris [Gauthier] and I landed at Heathrow airport in London after an overnight flight from Halifax and were feeling fairly destroyed by the journey when we were greeted by our new friend Hedley. Our driver for the two weeks, Hedley has been an amazing guide and saved us from the terrifying prospect of driving on the other side of the road. Neither Chris nor I were quite up for that challenge. Hedley has also served as CD seller, sound man, tour guide and British interpreter.

We drove directly to my booking agent’s house in Cornwall where we were treated to one of the finest curries of my life and a trip to the pub for some “real ale.” The next day, before driving across the Cornwall border into Devon, we grabbed some very fine pasties, one of my old favourite treats from when I lived in Australia. These hand-held, half-moon pies were originally made by the wives of the miners so that they could eat with their hands and without touching their food, hence the big crust on one side.

Once across the River Devon and over the stunning Dartmoor, we were faced with cream teas—hot tea and scones served with clotted cream and jam. So sinfully delicious and filling, we didn’t really need to eat an evening meal (though we did). We played that night in Torquay, known as the British Riviera, an interesting summer vacation spot right on the sea.

The next day we traveled north into Oxfordshire past Banbury Cross (as in the old rhyme, “ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross, so see a fine lady ride on a white horse…”) to a tiny little village called Cropredy. Famous for being the birthplace of Fairport Convention, Cropredy is now the home of Fairport’s own summer festival when 25,000 people descend upon this village for three days of music. We actually played in the pub where the members of Fairport Convention would sit and write the songs for their first few albums.

Off then to Colchester, the home of a native species of oyster which we did not get to try, sadly. Colchester, interestingly enough, is also the home to three famous songs and rhymes—Humpty Dumpty, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Old King Cole.

On to London, we played the Slaughtered Lamb and then followed that with a visit to Bob Harris, England’s most famous and influential radio host. Everywhere that we went, people would come up to me and tell me that they had first heard me on Bob Harris’ programs. To top that visit off, he had just finished a session with my heros Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.

Now I find myself in northern England, halfway through the tour which is just flying by and nearing closer to my ancestral home of Scotland. Who knows how many more local traditions we will try in kitchens and pubs, but we will do our best to keep up on our quest. Just trying to figure out what people mean when they say certain things can be confusing, even to other British folk. The word tea can have several different meanings as well as timings. Biscuits are cookies, flapjacks are oat cakes, pies are savoury but when done right, they are all delicious. The one thing I will really enjoy when I get home, though, is a good, strong cup of coffee.

Racoon Bandit ←		Night Out with the Girls →

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Notes from the Roadby Catherine MacLellan

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Notes from the Road
by Catherine MacLellan