England – Famous bards and chocolate bars

July 10-11

Hello everyone!

Having read through my previous post, I have come to the conclusion that I was overly critical of Birmingham. This conclusion is based upon two unrelated ideas: firstly, that I lack the interest and intelligence to understand and appreciate art; more pertinently, we didn’t actually spend much time in Birmingham.

You see, Birmingham’s main attraction is arguably its location and its close proximity to two fantastic places. One of these is a short train ride to Bournville, which may be a hint to any British confectionary consumers. The other, an hour away on the train, was the home to a man of imponderable significance to me, you and just about every person who speaks English on our dear planet. A man called William.

No, not him. This one…

Stratford-upon-Avon, a delightful town in its own right, was also the birthplace of William Shakespeare. You will have heard of him. To be or not to be and all that. As an homage to the man also known as ‘The Bard’, I will attempt to write this blog in iambic pentameter.

When Will was young, he grew here, in Stratford.

The house in which he came to us is here.

My goodness, this is so hard to achieve.

Now I’ll stop or else you’ll stop reading this.

The amount of time I spent (probably incorrectly, as I focused on writing ten-syllable lines rather than strictly following the unstressed-stressed pattern) constructing those last four lines arguably shows my limitations as a writer, yet also demonstrates how impressive a writer Shakespeare was. Iambic pentameter is evident in two of his most famous plays: Macbeth and Romeo & Juliet. We also learnt of many commonly-used expressions which are said to emanate from his work. These are listed in red in the picture below, including ‘in a pickle’, ‘short shrift’ and ‘foregone conclusion’.

The fact that such a prodigious talent was raised in Stratford-upon-Avon has led to the town becoming a popular tourist destination. It has been for longer than you would imagine. People were said to have made pilgrimages to the house in which he was born as early as the early 18^th century. Not just ordinary folk, either: signatures of Hardy and Roosevelt are in the guest book.

Clues to his importance and popularity are regularly found when strolling around the centre of the town.

Is there more to this town than Shakespeare? In reality, not much. Yet does there need to be? Not at all. Similarly, does there need to be anything else in Bournville besides this place?

The home of Dairy Milk, Wispa and the revered Crème Egg. The producer of chocolate-stained grins on beaming children’s faces for over a hundred years. Cadbury World.

After arriving slightly late due to the fact that we were waiting for friends at the staff entrance, we ventured into the entertainment branch of this British confectionary institution. There are many things to do, see and, most importantly, sample. Being given a bag of Buttons and a Wispa upon entering a series of tunnels explaining the history of chocolate.

The history of Cadbury’s is interesting in its own right. From John Cadbury opening a small shop in Birmingham in 1824 to moving their production away from the factory fumes of the city and into the countryside, the tour of Cadbury World emphasises a certain ethical philosophy. This is indeed why we were in Bournville, with the company building the amenities needed for a happy workforce.

The adjoined factory is fully functioning, and produces a ridiculous amount of chocolate. Here are some random facts about Cadbury’s production:

250 million bars of Dairy Milk are produced every year;

More than 160 million Crème Eggs are sold in the UK between January and Easter;

The amount of milk used in a year’s production of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate would fill over 14 Olympic size swimming pools.

 Walking through the factory is a sweltering ordeal, as temperatures in some areas are in excess of 45’C. It is in this section where you get arguably the highlight of the tour: liquid chocolate. Melts in the mouth and certainly melts your heart.

The site is geared towards children and entertaining them. Consequently there are many interactive areas for them – and adults – to enjoy. Games include arcade-style machines using Crème Eggs as bullets and an amazing screen which drops buttons for you to balance and manoeuvre using your shadow. The technology on show both in the factory and in the entertainment zone demonstrates how the company, now owned by the American manufacturing and processing giant Kraft, has kept up with the times and stayed at the top table of British confectionary production.

Linked to this embracement of technology, there are also two ‘rides’ for you to enjoy at Cadbury World. The first is reminiscent of ‘It’s a Small World’ (found at any Disney World), complete with vibrating snowman which didn't really seem appropriate. The second was a 4D film in which you are transported through a whole new Avatar-esque world and ride along many of Cadbury’s famous adverts.

Cadbury World is a great day out: captivating for children and entertaining enough for adults. Well, unless you don’t like chocolate.  

Both of these places clearly revel in their history. Stratford-upon-Avon has maintained and played up its Tudor heritage. Bournville’s sweet, chocolaty air drifts aimlessly through the streets. These are two fantastic, educational and entertaining days out. All just a short distance from Birmingham! See, it’s not so bad after all…

Love you all

Matt

England - A tale of two cities

England – A tale of two cities

July 7-9

Hello everyone!

We’ve spent the last week visiting two cities in England: Manchester and Birmingham. Two places which will rarely be seen by tourists, be them domestic or from more exotic destinations. Two places which, unless you have an affinity to them for a particular reason, you wouldn't generally put in your must-see list when talking about the delights of the United Kingdom. Yet one has hidden gems which are indeed worth your time. As you read on I'll sure you'll discover which of these northern lights is worth your time.

Both cities (and others, especially if you live in Yorkshire) claim to be England’s ‘second city’. Both have been historically important in their own ways. Both are now large, ethnically diverse cities with large shopping complexes full of generic and global brands dominating their centres.

Whilst Birmingham was a new experience for me, I already have plenty of affection and time for Manchester. The simple reasons for that are that I went to university in Manchester and spent three fantastic years living in its vibrant and colourful locale. One of my chosen football teams also hail from the region. This is not the time to get into the age-old debate of whether Manchester United are from Manchester; the team are certainly closer to Manchester than Birmingham.

The reason for returning to the land which, according to t-shirts, God Himself created on the sixth day was the same as my previous visit three years ago: to see my little sister. She was graduating, you see. Clever girl. The grandeur of Whitworth Hall (which I had been in twice before: once to enrol and once to graduate, and not a single time in between) was the setting for her entry into the real world.

To celebrate, we half-scaled Manchester’s tallest building: the Hilton hotel. Halfway up, on floor 23, is a bar from which you can take in all of the city’s…umm…splendour. Whilst not the most stunning view you’ll ever gaze upon, it is nonetheless a nice place in which to toast a job well done. Just don’t do this with a bizarre cocktail called a Black Berry Smog, which was inexplicably recommended to me by the waiter. It smelt of a burning chimney. The worst thing is that it was supposed to. Whether it was supposed to resemble that in your mouth is another question entirely.

Partly due to my increasing irritation with seeing the same shops on remarkably similar high streets across the UK, one of my favourite places in Manchester is a building called Affleck’s Palace. It is an old four-floor structure bursting with strange, eclectic shops at every turn. You even have to walk through some shops to get to others, yet they seem to work in perfect harmony to one another. It is the world of the alternative: T-shirts with messages so explicit that even Primark wouldn't dare allow their Bangladeshi army to make them; tattoo parlours displaying magical, intricate artworks. It is a breath of fresh air compared to central Manchester’s main shopping district, the Arndale.

Manchester is also home to the Museum of Science and Industry. This place is a child’s dream. Wonderfully interactive and informative, the top floor hosts a variety of experiments which bamboozle schools and adults alike. We were particularly fond of the challenge demonstrated so woefully below, which affects your movement with mirrors.

As for Birmingham…even after visiting, I don’t have much to say about the place. It may be due to the fact that most of its attractions are art museums, a topic which struggles to interest me even in my rare, culture-hungry moments. We enjoyed a curry (south Birmingham is apparently home to the ‘balti’ dish) with an enormous jug of mango lassi, and spent time relaxing in a park near the Edgbaston cricket ground. Yet in the centre of Birmingham itself, there seemed to be little to occupy a visitor which couldn't be done elsewhere. Namely, Manchester.

In sum, two major cities north of the M25. One of them is worth your time. The other one is Birmingham.

Love you all

Matt

France – A first class Parisian adventure

July 3-4

Bonjour!

Many people more famous and respected than I have great things to say about our next destination. Here are just a few:

Oscar Wilde: When good Americans die, they go to Paris.

Audrey Hepburn: Paris is always a good idea.

Friedrich Nietzsche: An artist has no home in Europe except in Paris.

Why so popular? We had less than 24 hours to find out.

I have been to Paris before, though not since I was a boy of 6 or 7. Since that time, Paris has hosted a World Cup, had openly gay and female mayors, unsuccessfully bid for the 2012 Olympics and been the location of innumerable strikes and other demonstrations.

Many of the reasons for visiting, however, have stayed the same. Monuments such as the Arc de Triomphe and the Notre Dame cathedral…

The Eiffel tower…

…and many others.  But you already know about these places; you’re aware that they are worth seeing, and will be surrounded by tourists. What else does Paris have to offer which makes people swoon over it so lovingly?

Paris may host a full platter of monuments, but it is also a foodie’s feast. We spent a while ambling aimlessly around Rue Mouffetard, stomachs churning with the variety and quality of food on offer. I was particularly enamoured with the fromagerie; the owner cheerfully informed me that they stock over 160 varieties of cheese. If only we had access to a fridge, I would have left this place with fewer Euros and a large, cheesy grin. I instead opted for a more than adequate replacement in the form of a coffee éclair, which was exquisitely wrapped. It was almost a shame to rip the packaging apart to savour the thick coffee cream inside.

 

We ate this in a garden which was swarming with locals on this scorchingly hot day: Jardin du Luxembourg. Interestingly, it was one of the few places we went to where the predominant language seemed to be French. Irrespective of the incredible number of foreign tourists, the notion of French people refusing to speak English seems to be a misguided stereotype.

Another common stereotype is that Parisians aren’t the warmest and most hospitable of hosts; again, I found this idea to be flawed after our journey home. Whilst waiting for our Eurostar train to return us to London, a smiling official from the company approached us. Do you like football, he asked. Are you aware of the World Cup, he continued. Finally, he got to the aim of his conversation. Would you like to enter a keepy-uppy competition?

If you’re into life lessons, I’ll offer you one right now: always say yes. There’s a film about that. I said ‘oui’ and, with partner in crime, was soon involved in a competition of keeping a football off the floor in the entrance to the Eurostar platform in Paris’ main train station. Though comprehensively outdone by Hannah (she got 16, I got 6: I had bad shoes), we still outscored our Italian opposition. Our prize? A football.

We’ll put it to good use. However Hassane, the gentleman who had a boyish enthusiasm for fun and football, informed us that ‘we were all winners’…and had all been promoted to first class for our journey to London. Lovely. Cannot complain at all! They also possibly were taking pity on my attempt at being French by not shaving: not necessarily an inappropriate stereotype, but I agree that I looked unkempt and pretty awful.

Brazilian culture has been a recurring theme throughout our French escapade. From delaying the take-off of our flight to Paris to watch a Brazilian penalty shoot-out to witnessing a capoeira session under the Eiffel tower, Brazil’s main passions have been on show in Paris. Football fever has certainly been evident. The upgrade to first-class from playing in a keepy-uppy tournament in Gare du Nord is the cherry on top of a very enjoyable slice of French pie.

Love you all

Matt