Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Blog

  • Cambridge – Fitzwilliam Museum (William Glendonwyn by Sir Henry Raeburn)

    Cambridge – Fitzwilliam Museum (William Glendonwyn by Sir Henry Raeburn)

    The reason I pondered this painting is that I’m not sure that by today’s standards that Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823) has portrayed Glendonwyn well. There’s not much to be readily found out about Raeburn’s subject, other than Glendonwyn was a wealthy Scot and his surname is linked to the Glendinning family.

    The notes by the painting mention that the light falling on his forehead is deliberate, it’s meant to show that the subject has intelligence. I’m not sure that this effect still holds, although this was painted in the 1790s and things were just a little different then and now he looks more aloof. Raeburn, who became the official portrait painter in Scotland to King George IV, painted over 1,000 artworks during his career and he rarely used preliminary sketches.

    The painting came up for sale at Christie’s on 22 February 1890 and was then in turn acquired privately by the Fitzwilliam Museum in 1892. At the same auction in 1890 the accompanying portrait to this, that of Glendonwyn’s wife, was sold, but the whereabouts of that are unknown.

  • Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 161

    Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 161

    The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the current health crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored….

    Hot Pot

    This isn’t the definition that I expected from Grose, which is “ale and brandy made hot”. Grose didn’t mention this in the dictionary, but it’s likely a phrase used in Norfolk and Suffolk in the eighteenth century, simply meaning a warm ale or a warm brandy. This is a literal definition, as ‘pot’ used to mean a drinking vessel, and a few real ale drinkers still use that word.

    Incidentally, and as an aside, the English dish of hot pot likely has a different meaning, from ‘hodge podge’, or a random collection of ingredients.

  • National Express : Cambridge to Norwich

    National Express : Cambridge to Norwich

    And, that’s the end of my little adventure in Cambridge. The National Express pick-up is clearly signed at the edge of Parker’s Piece and there’s a covered bus stop there.

    Another packed service….. I think there were five people on board, including the driver. Unlike the coach on the way to Cambridge, there was no hand sanitiser on this coach, it looks like it has got knocked off the panel where it was behind the driver’s seat. There were also no announcements to passengers, although I joined mid-journey, so perhaps they’d already done it. My wrist wasn’t checked on entry this time, instead my forehead was measured for temperature. I still have no idea if that actually works, but I’m happy with it if the driver is.

    It’s not quite as exciting as getting the exit row on an aircraft.

    This is the television screen at the front of the coach, which I quite enjoy watching. Even when I could just look out of the front window, I still find myself watching the screen. Anyway, the driver was more than competent and the journey was trouble-free. The power worked, the toilet was clean and the temperature was a little cold, just as I like it.

    And safely into Norwich, a few minutes ahead of time. The journey cost around £10 including the booking fee, which is good value compared to the price of the train.

    As an aside, and something I forgot to mention before. I try to avoid coaches because I prefer trains, but I find National Express just a little odious with their NX Rewards scheme (and here’s the Trustpilot reviews about it). I know some people (well two – and they were idiots to fall for it) caught by this, they try and get people to claim a discount of £17 off their next National Express fare, but there’s then a charge of £15 per month for anyone who forgets to cancel as it’s a subscription thing. And the cancellation system is rather unusual, involving a PDF form rather than an on-line cancellation. Having never joined up, I’m not quite sure what people get for their £15, but not a great deal is the sound of it, it seems to be less a loyalty scheme and more some Quidco type set-up. It looks though like anyone who complains on Trustpilot is getting a refund, but this isn’t really the look of a professional company.

    National Express can do what they like, but I think it cheapens their brand and if Flixbus (OK, I’ve grown to like them) include Norwich in their expansion plans, I can switch entirely away from them.

    Incidentally, Flixbus currently have these routes in the UK:

    London – Birmingham
    London – Bristol
    London – Portsmouth
    Guildford – Portsmouth
    London – Brussels
    London – Paris

    And just in time to get to Tesco in time for their discounting. How lovely.

  • Cambridge – Fitzwilliam Museum (After the Wedding by Laurence Stephen Lowry)

    Cambridge – Fitzwilliam Museum (After the Wedding by Laurence Stephen Lowry)

    This artwork was painted by LS Lowry (1887-1976) in 1939 and as the name suggests, it’s themed around the wedding that is taking place. Well, and the Corner House pub. Lowry had started to paint these matchstick men in the early 1920s and they became the imagery that is mostly now seen to define his career. I’ve been meaning to visit the Lowry Gallery in Salford, but have never quite got round to it.

    I can’t add much to this as the Fitzwilliam’s image database is down for security issues, so all I know is that it was given to the gallery by Mrs FJ Collard in 2002. I don’t know whether the Corner House pub actually exists, or whether it was a figment of Lowry’s imagination. I like that, despite the overall theme, the top half of the artwork is all about pollution and industry, the wedding isn’t given automatic prominence here. And, indeed, even the wedding party aren’t seen as the main central characters, everyone seems to have a purpose here and is no more important than anyone else.

  • Cambridge – Cambridge Brew House

    Cambridge – Cambridge Brew House

    The Cambridge Brew House is another of the pubs which is operated by the City Pub Company, which includes the Old Ticket Office in the city, and it has obtained itself a decent reputation. I decided to book a table for myself and had to make sure I got there, as there’s a £10 deposit per person which is charged for no-shows. I can understand why they do that though, it must be a nightmare to get a heap of no-shows.

    I wasn’t entirely thrilled at this as, personally, I think this is a slightly unbalanced choice of beers with nothing remarkable. I’m sure others would disagree and I’m conscious at least they’re making their own beer.

    The decor is all modern in its style, with everything feeling clean and organised. Incidentally, I liked the table I was given as it gave a vantage point over the pub. It reminded me that recently pubs and restaurants have been very good at giving me a decent table despite sometimes booking just for me. I’m hoping gone are the days that sole diners are shoved in a corner near the toilets on a wonky and rickety table.

    The strong point of the pub was though the staff, they were exceptional in terms of their engagement, helpfulness and welcome. There were certainly no issues with customer service that I noted during my visit. I was also pleased to note that the City Pub Company were giving customers £5 off if they used the pub’s app, so along with the Government’s ‘eat out to help out’, this was making it a good value expedition.

    The King’s Parade from Cambridge Brewing Company, which is the brewery that is attached to the pub. It was fine and had a malt flavour of some depth which let me pretend that I was eating biscuits, although there was a limited depth of aftertaste.

    The starter of crispy salt and pepper squid with chilli mayonnaise. The squid was well cooked and evenly coated, although there was no evident salt and pepper taste to it that I could discern. The mayonnaise was rich and the squid did have that melt in the mouth texture, with the dish being well presented.

    OK, I probably didn’t need fish and chips for the second time in one day. The fish was slightly over-cooked, but at least they’d drained it properly and so it didn’t make the chips greasy. The fish was of a high quality, but I’m not convinced that batter was fresh, it was lacking in flavour and was quite bland (and the batter should be the tastiest bit as far as I’m concerned). The mushy peas were though decent and the tartare sauce was marvellous, I liked the chunks of capers and gherkins, two of my favourite items.

    As mentioned, the service was excellent and the environment was clean and comfortable. I liked the whole relaxed feel to the proceedings, a service style which was informal and that suited the environment. The total bill came to £10.50 (although that’s after the food was made half-price and they gave me £5 off), for two courses and a pint of beer, which I considered to be entirely reasonable. Other than the customer service, I’m not sure though that there was anything exceptional here as there were no beers I’d particularly mention to others and the starter was above average, but the main was firmly just average.

  • Cambridge – Boathouse

    Cambridge – Boathouse

    Another Greene King pub and as Nathan said when I told him, “I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed”. This one has a beautiful location by the river and it’s also next to the boarded-up Tivoli (visible in the above photo) which is the JD Wetherspoon outlet that caught fire and never re-opened.

    Fortunately, this isn’t the pub’s name given what I think about snakes.

    I can’t keep going on about the dreadful choice of beer at Greene King venues. But here, once again, is the best choice of drink that I could find. A half-price, thanks to eat out to help out, Coke. It was fine.

    The staff were friendly and the track and trace procedures were being followed, with a staff member guiding me towards a seat outside after I expressed a preference for that. Which was very brave given that I’m normally attacked by wasps or other insects. I didn’t get any photos of the interior of the pub, but it’s quite a modern decor that looks like Greene King has paid a fair sum to a design agency. I wish they’d pay a fair sum to someone who would install some decent beer, but I’m labouring that point now unnecessarily.

    I braved the outside area, which has its own bar, although this was rarely used as most people seemed to be paying via the app. The river is off to the right, and that’s the much-missed (well, by me anyway) Tivoli behind, which would have at least had likely had some decent beer. Anyway, I’ve veered into that again. I have to be fair to Greene King though, at least they’ve given the pub a better name than when it was called the Rob Roy.

    The new temporary entrance to the pub, where they’ve built a little obstacle course of having a mini river of what smelled like beer in front of the steps up.

    The reviews for the pub aren’t great, indeed, they’re towards the lower end of licensed premises in Cambridge on that front. I was amused by the review, and this is the entirety of it, which said:

    “Ordered a mixed grill which says two sausages. Only came with one. Serving staff lied and are rude, avoid!!!”

    I love listening to drama like that, I wish I’d been there. And, yes, I need to get out more.

    All told, this is a perfectly acceptable pub for sitting and watching life go by on the river, with the staff being friendly and helpful. But, as I keep finding myself writing, there’s nothing particularly exceptional about the pub and it’s all a bit generic and formulaic.

  • Cambridge – Fitzwilliam Museum (A Village Festival by Pieter Brueghel the Younger)

    Cambridge – Fitzwilliam Museum (A Village Festival by Pieter Brueghel the Younger)

    This painting by Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564-1638) is my favourite in the Fitzwilliam Museum, with its full title being “a village festival with a theatrical performance and a procession in honour of St. Hubert and St. Anthony”. It was painted in 1632 and came into the collections of the Fitzwilliam in 1927 when it was donated by the first Viscount Rothermere. Actually, that’s an awkward thing for the museum, as the politics of Rothermere are controversial to say the least, but there’s not much that can perhaps be done by the museum about that now.

    My photo of the painting isn’t great, but there’s so much going on that it’s like some epic by William Hogarth. It looks like a night out in the city centres of today, but then again, that’s often what fairs were like and the authorities were frequently appalled at what people got up to at them.

  • Cambridge – Fitzwilliam Museum

    Cambridge – Fitzwilliam Museum

    I’ll write about some individual items in the collection that I think are interesting in separate posts (everyone should contain their excitement….) but it’s fair to say that the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge was as quiet this morning as I’ve ever seen it before.

    I had a ticket, which are free of charge, to get in at 10:00 and the staff here are really very friendly and most welcoming. Some visitors were turned away as they didn’t have tickets and the museum clearly wanted to be very much in control of the numbers. I noted that backpacks had to be carried by hand, which would have been fine, but the most helpful lady near to the entrance was more than happy for me to use their free lockers and that made things much easier.

    I spent a couple of hours in the museum and, certainly, for the first hour, there were more staff members than there were visitors. Everything was spotlessly clean and it’s clear that great efforts have been made to try to work out the visitor flow. It’s not always obvious, but it mostly is, with the entrance being shifted to the courtyard rather than the standard main entrance area.

    Anyway, some photos of how the museum looked……

  • Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 160

    Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – Day 160

    The Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue was first published at the end of the eighteenth century, and given that the current health crisis is giving too much time to read books, I thought I’d pick a daily word from it until I got bored….

    Horse Ladder

    There’s something quite brilliant about any dictionary definition which starts “a piece of Wiltshire wit”. It carries on to define the ‘wit’ as “this consists of sending some raw lad, or simpleton, to a neighbouring farm house, to borrow a horse ladder, in order to get up the horses, to finish a hay mow“. No doubt much hilarity ensued….

    Ironically, a horse ladder is very much a thing now, although the rugged types of Wiltshire would have course never needed anything like that. I’m not sure that the term was ever much in common usage, but it’s a lovely little phrase in any event.

  • Imperial War Musuem – British Army Cadets in Cambridge During First World War

    Imperial War Musuem – British Army Cadets in Cambridge During First World War

    Rummaging once again through the photographic collections of the Imperial War Museum, these are some photos of officer cadets in Cambridge during the First World War. The photos were taken by Horace Nicholls, likely taken in late 1917. There’s a timeless feel to the backdrops of the photos, the troops though are the reminder of the tragedy that was taking place elsewhere.

    Cadets of No. 5 Battalion parading in the Great Court, Trinity College, Cambridge, for Divine service.

    Cadets of No. 5 Officer Cadet Battalion entering the chapel at Trinity College, Cambridge.

    Cadets of No. 5 Officer Cadet Battalion in the dining hall of Trinity College, Cambridge.

    Cadets of No. 2 Officer Cadet Battalion halted at the gateway of Jesus College, Cambridge.

    Cadets parading outside Ridley Hall (a theological college), University of Cambridge.

    Cadets parading outside Ridley Hall (a theological college), University of Cambridge. December 1917.

    Cadets of No. 5 Officer Cadet Battalion assembled in Neville Court, Trinity College, Cambridge.

    Cadets seated round the fountain in the Great Court, Trinity College, Cambridge.

    © IWM Q 30318

    © IWM Q 30323

    © IWM Q 30297

    © IWM Q 30298

    © IWM Q 30311

    © IWM Q 30320

    © IWM Q 30312

    © IWM Q 30317