WS Blog

My final posting about food will be about what to expect at mealtimes and when!

My English friends and I joke about the number of cup holders in American cars and how British cars hardly have any. That is because the Brits don’t eat or drink when driving. They don’t grab a coffee for the road or a bottle of pop to drink along the way. They always stop and have their refreshment then carry on. Meals, whether they are just a quick “tea and a bickie” or a full meal, are always a sit down affair.

MEAL TIMES
Breakfast is fairly informal. A quick bowl of cereal or a full English breakfast is served based on the time you get around. Lunch, however, is from 1 to 2pm, a bit later than we are used to. Dinner varies a bit depending on where you are but is usually served around 6pm.

TEA TIMES
One of the most delightful habits I’ve observed in England is how often they stop for tea. Besides our regular three meals a day, the English stop for “tea and a biscuit”(cookie) around 11 (called ‘elevenses’) in the morning and 4ish (called ‘teatime’) in the afternoon. It doesn’t matter if you are at home or out shopping… at tea time, it is time to stop what ever you are doing and sit.

ORDER OF SERVICE
When I first visited England, it seemed that dinner time was a bit formal. There was always china plates (the Brits don’t use disposable dishes or plasticware…ever!), lots of different silverware (Brit Speak: cutlery) to choose from and no one picked up the dishes until everyone at the table was finished eating. Besides the main dish, there were several more courses served before you leave the table: dessert (Brit Speak: pudding)…then cheese and biscuits (crackers) and, finally, a tea or coffee. It seems a bit stiff for us but it is just everyday life for a British family who all still sit at the table together for the evening meal way more regularly than American families. While on occasion I’ve had dinner in front of the TV (Brit Speak: tellie), it hasn’t ever happened when I’ve been a guest.

CUTLERY, CUTLERY AND MORE CUTLERY!
During World War Two, Americans who went to fight for the British before we officially entered the war had to learn to hold their knives and forks like Brits in the event they got caught so the enemy wouldn’t know they were American. The English hold the fork in their left hand and a knife in their right during the whole meal instead of just using a fork held in the right hand like us. They also hold the fork upside down to us. I used to find it awkward but now find it is really great to always have the knife ready to help scoop up stray morsels. My hostess and I had many fun hours trying to use each other’s way of holding a knife and fork. Give it a try…it is good fun.

Because dinner has so many courses, there is a lot of cutlery set around your plate. For example, besides the usual fork and knife on either side of a dinner plate, you’ll also see a spoon and fork across the top of the plate. It took me a long time to find out about this because I was too shy to ask. These are for the pudding. You don’t have to use them both, just pick the one you like best when you eat your ice cream or cake.

Have fun with these different ways of taking meals. It is a great way to bond with your hostess and her family. Give new things a try and never hesitate to ask for help or an explanation. You’ll find your family delighted that you interested in trying things their way.

France and England have a long running rivalry. It is usually good natured, like sisters who tease each other. Food is one of those places that France often teases England saying English food is boring and bland. That is far from the truth. Modern British food is a delight. I hope after your visit you will agree. To help you choose what to try, I’ll tell you about some dishes you might encounter… and the places to find them.

Chip Shops – Everyone has a favourite “Chippy,” a place to get fish and chips. My favourite is Taylor’s Fish Bar on North Road in Lancing or The Blue Ocean by the pier (South Street) in Worthing. Sometimes after school, students stop off at the local chippy to get “open” chips or chips in an open container to eat on the way home. The container is paper folded into a cone with a wooden fork to eat them. Instead of catsup (Brit Speak: Tomato Sauce), the English have salt and malt vinegar sprinkled over the chips. It tastes really good and I encourage you to give it a try. If you are not a fish lover, you can try one of the battered sausages (hot dogs) with your chips, instead of the traditional battered cod.

Indian Tandoris – The first time I had an Indian meal, I was very confused because I didn’t know what anything was. I did know that I don’t like spicy food so my friends recommended a Korma and now I recommend it to you. It has lovely gravy, kind of sweet and a pretty saffron color, served over rice with chunks of meat. I like the chicken. Top off you meal with Indian bread call Nan. (I like the Peshawari Nan…it is sweet, too).

Pub Grub – On a budget and need a “cheap and cheerful” meal? On the road and need a place to stop for a quick meal and rest? Try Pub food. Hamburgers, chips (French fries), or a big dinner, the pubs serve it all. I like gammon (ham) or a Ploughman’s lunch (slices of ham and cheese with salad and a big chunk of bread.) They will have a “specials” board and these meals will be your best value.

Finally, a couple recommendations for inexpensive cafes serving traditional English food:
The Bluebird Café in Farring is a seaside café that caters to seaside strollers and dog walkers. It is a friendly place that is a nice starting point from which to explore the local seashore. You’ll notice, like most restaurants near dog walks, there are watering facilities for dogs (who are also welcome to come inside and sit with their owners.)

Shoreham Airport Café is a great place to sit and visit with friends while watching planes come and go at the oldest licensed airfield in the UK.

Garden centre tea rooms are set in the middle of plant nurseries and wonderful place to have a coffee and scone (like a sweet biscuit) with friends, particularly on gray and gloomy days. Flowers all around in landscaped displays, British garden centres are much more than just a place to buy plants.

Anywhere you go, there are certain standard British meals that will be served whether it is at home with your hostess or in a café:

Sandwiches and drink: If you go out for the day, your hostess will probably pack you a lunch. Packed lunches are much more the norm in England than in the USA. Tomato and Cheese, Cucumber, tuna and sweetcorn are just a few kinds of sandwiches that you find in your lunch. No peanut butter and jelly or bologna here, I’m afraid.

Cottage Pie: This is like a hamburger stew with carrots and peas topped with a layer of mashed potatoes.

Bangers and Mash: Sausages on mashed potatoes with onion gravy.

Bubble and Squeak: Usually a dish made from left-overs, particularly potatoes, swede (rutabaga), or other vegetables.

Pasty: Originally made for coal miners, it is a full meal enclosed in pastry with a ridge of pastry for the miners to hold so not to get coal dust on their food. Filled with meat (beef or lamb) and potatoes.

Soups: British soups are hearty and a meal on their own. They are always served with a big chunk of fresh bread, too. They have some different flavors but I like Carrot and Coriander, Leek and Potato, or Highland Broth (like a lamb stew).

Dessert: Always called “pudding” over here, the English have wonderful treats. Most of them are similar to ours but with different names. My favourites are trifle (a layered dessert of cake called sponge, whipped cream and fruit), treacle (golden syrup over cake) and banoffee pie (banana and toffee cream pie).

A word on produce… many items are the same in the US but have a different name: Swede is Rutabaga, coriander is cilantro or courgette is zucchini. So don’t judge a food by its name…it may be something you are already enjoying at home.

You’ll notice that almost all food in England is made of fresh produce, including fresh bread and real butter. You won’t find many processed or frozen foods served…even at camp. There are much fewer preservatives in British food. As a result, you’ll find things that you don’t usually enjoy will be very tasty.

Whatever you choose to eat, don’t hesitate to ask what something is. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when choosing from a menu. As I’ve said before, your hostesses will be absolutely delighted to know you are interested in their culture.

Did you know that a good number of people in England are vegetarian? As a result, every place has vegetarian options on the menu…even McDonald’s! (They have a very nice veggie burger.) Even WS camp will have veggie options at each meal.

Did you know that the number one take-away (Brit-speak for fast food) in England is Indian food? Diversity in England is evident from the different and popular types of restaurants: Indian, Thai, and Chinese are all readily available.

More traditional British food is really like American food with a few differences. Sunday roast dinner and fried eggs and bacon for breakfast are two examples.

When you interviewed for your place on the WS trip, I bet you had to try some weird foods. That was probably to see how you would react if your host family offered you something that you weren’t sure of rather than having to actually eat the weird stuff in England. So here is a list of things I remember having worried me when I first visited:

Drinking Squash (or barley water): It isn’t really made out of squash and “barley water” is an old fashion name that just stuck. It is a drink young people like and very similar to Tang or Kool-Aid. Young people don’t drink many sodas (they call them fizzy drinks) but they do drink squash. It comes as a concentrate and you just mix it with water. Very yummy and comes in orange, lemonade, and currant (kinda like grape) flavors.

Beans for breakfast! A full English breakfast has fried eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, beans (like pork and beans), and if you are lucky, fried bread. It is a lot and it is yummy! Eggs are always fried and either sunny side up or over easy. Bacon is like thinly sliced ham. They call American style bacon “streaky bacon” and isn’t really served a lot.

The English are just like us…they like some things and not others. My hostess didn’t like the grilled tomatoes with breakfast and I didn’t like the mushrooms so we always traded.

Marmite…Hmmm, what can you say about Marmite? You either like it or you don’t. It kind of reminds me of the pan drippings after a roast. If you are adventurous, give it a try…but just take a little! It is a very strong taste.

Flavors… The English do like some interesting flavors. This is most evident with crisps (potato chips). In England, I had my first steak flavoured chips. Prawn is popular, too, as is cheese and onion or salt and vinegar. Those fizzy drinks I mentioned? Well, besides the usual flavors they also have burdock and dandelion soft drink. The fizzy lemonade is actually like Seven-Up. They are all very nice. Experiment!

Later, I’ll say more about specific food dishes you will encounter on your trip. In the end, I hope you will see that food here is like language: the same with some interesting little differences.

When you come to WS2008, you will notice that the days are very long. Daylight will break just after 4am and it will stay light until 11pm. I love the summer days. Along with the English summer comes English gardens, the Dawn Chorus, and decisions about weather you need a jacket or not.

English Gardens
The English are keen gardeners and everywhere you go you will see brightly coloured flowers growing in any little patch available. (By the way, they call their front or backyards “gardens” even if they don’t grow vegetables!) Every stately home you visit will have an elaborate flower garden. Even the tiniest apartments (called flats here) will have boxes hanging outside their windows to grow flowers. Take a walk down one of the residential streets and look into the front gardens for a real treat. See how many different and interesting plants they have used to create little hideaways and sanctuaries for urban wildlife like foxes, squirrels and badgers. My favourite street to walk along for “garden spotting” at the moment is Grinstead Lane in Lancing.

The Dawn Chorus
In the morning at WS camp, just before you open your eyes, listen… you will probably hear songbirds singing as the sun rises. The songs are amazing. Whether you are in the city or country, there will be a chorus of birds singing in the morning in what the English call their “Dawn Chorus.” There are special birds to be listened for, too, like the lark who leads the chorus or the cuckoo who heralds the summer.

Weather
Well, it is England after all and it does rain a bit. But the rain here is gentle, more like drizzle, and stops nothing. Everyone carries on. During the summer, even with the rain, it is not really that cold. To dress for the weather here, dress in layers: A fleece, sweater or sweatshirt for warmth and a light waterproof windbreaker to go over it and you shouldn’t need anything else.

Still, you can’t tell if there will be any rain at all! Most of the camps I’ve attended had perfect weather. So come for the sun but carry your waterproof.

Well, you can start with the obvious (London!) but let’s save that for another time and start with things to do and see closer to your host families.

Shopping!
Taking the bus to Worthing or the train to Brighton are great days out for shopping or just looking around. Montague Street in Worthing is the nearest big shopping area for Lancing and Sompting. Shops with clothing, music and books all line the promenade. When school’s out, it is where a lot of students meet. There are often outdoor markets set up by local farms with all manner of English goods and small cafes to sit and visit with friends over a cup of tea and scones.

Brighton has an American style Mall called Churchill Square but it is farther away from Lancing. You can get there by bus or train. The Lanes, another shopping area in Brighton, are a maze of little streets chock full of shops and cafes of every description from vintage records and clothing to Mongolian Barbeques and 16th century buildings.

Theatre or Cinema?
There is a difference! In England, a theatre is a place to see live performances such as plays, comedy shows, and concerts of every kind. A cinema shows films. Every town and village will have a theatre group but cinemas are few and far between by American standards. Worthing and Brighton each have cinemas but I encourage everyone to see a live performance if they can. I saw my first play in Worthing’s Connaught Theatre when I first went to WS and have been seeing them ever since. The Connaught is near the pier in Worthing and easily accessed by bus.

The Pleasure Piers
The best part of a trip to Worthing is the pier. Pleasure piers can be found all along the coast of England courtesy of Victorians who appreciated fresh air strolls by the sea. Each pier has an amusement centre and Worthing’s is the best. It is full of video games and tuppence (two penny) play machines.

Brighton has a pleasure pier, too. It caters to tourists so tends to be a bit more expensive. The pier is also a great place sample a “99.” This is a wonderful soft serve ice cream with a “flake” or big stick of chocolate stuck in the middle. Don’t forget to try a bit of “Brighton Rock,” a local hard candy.

Other Amusements
Amberley’s open air museum is easily reachable by train and allows you to step into a world gone by: England at the turn of the century! One of our Guiders drives the Steam Roller there. Say “Hi!” to Margaret when you visit.

Arundel is a picturesque village reachable by train or bus. Homemade fudge, a castle, cathedral, wild bird sanctuary and ruins of an old abbey are all part of why Arundel is a great day out. Lunch at the Black Rabbit is served at canal side so you can watch the boats.

Go to Littlehampton by the train as it passes between the sea and the South Downs. There is shopping and a carnival overlooking the mouth of the Adur River, the fastest flowing river in England.

Coombes Church was erected in Norman times and is still in use today, a thousand years later. It is in a farmer’s field and can be reached by car or by walking over the Downs from Lancing.

While you are walking to Coombe’s Church, take an afternoon to explore the Downs (long rolling green hills made of chalk)on foot. The views are awesome and over look the sea and Lancing to the south. To the north, you can see the Weald (a big bowl shaped valley between the North and South Downs). Flint, chalk, wildlife and Iron Age Hill Forts like the Cissbury Ring will be all around you in the Downs.