Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

  • Pitsea – St. Michael’s Church

    Pitsea – St. Michael’s Church

    The Basildon and Pitsea area doesn’t have many listed buildings and the situation here is a little unfortunate, as in the 1980s they knocked down most of what was potentially one of the most interesting buildings. St. Michael’s is located on an elevated position overlooking the local countryside, it’s a medieval church and there has been a religious building here since at least the twelfth century. The church was declared redundant in March 1983 and soon became mostly derelict. In the 1990s, Orange Telecommunications eyed up the tower for a phone mast and knocked the rest of the church down, primarily as it was falling down anyway. Apparently the building materials have been moved into storage, although I can’t imagine who is monitoring that and where the bits are.

    As a loss to history, it’s not enormous, as the chancel and nave were rebuilt by Sir Arthur Blomfield in 1871, with only the early sixteenth century tower being left standing. But, it’s a shame that the church couldn’t have survived.

    The outline of the church has been marked out in stone and this is the limestone slab which was thought to be the mediaeval altar. It was split into two pieces back in the Reformation and the stone is also known as a mensa (I had forgotten that, but it’s helpfully mentioned on the little plaque).

    The remaining tower section, with the former roof line still visible. This now looks similar to Panxworth Church, near Ranworth, where they did the same demolition job to the Victorian rebuilt nave and chancel.

    The door has been attacked by arsonists. Which is really likely why they had to knock the nave and chancel down, it was going to be attacked and be a bigger problem, a bit like the situation at St. Wandregesilius Church in Bixley.

    The view over the surrounding countryside and there are also still numerous graves dotted around the site, some in a better state of repair than others.

    A viewing point area with seating has been installed.

    There are some photos of what the church used to look like at http://www.basildon.com/history/churches/sm.html.

  • Basildon – Toby Carvery

    Basildon – Toby Carvery

    I’m not sure that I’ve ever been to a Toby Carvery before, so what better place to visit in Basildon? Actually, this is more related to I’m not sure what else there actually is to see in Basildon now I’ve seen the town’s sign. Perhaps its secrets will unfold to me during the day.

    There was a friendly greeting and I paid at the counter near to the entrance. I had booked a table and the staff member suggested that this was important, although I’m not entirely sure why as I wouldn’t say that it was packed. But, it seemed a welcoming location.

    The breakfast options, including tomatoes, mushrooms, beans, hash browns and fried eggs.

    As well as sausages, bacon, Yorkshire puddings and toast. I’m not sure who orders Yorkshire puddings and gravy in the morning, but there we go. Due to the current health situation, staff serve customers rather than it being self-service.

    And round one. I didn’t want much toast, that’s not the staff being stingy. The food was actually all OK, the bacon was a bit fatty but otherwise had a decent taste and was quite salty (this is a good thing in my view). The sausages were meaty, the tomatoes were tomatoey, the hash browns were a bit limp and the eggs were fine. Not exceptional, but still perfectly good.

    I wasn’t actually entirely sure if you were meant to go back up for more food, but I did anyway and no-one said anything. I think that’s the point of the carvery, although I didn’t notice anyone else going up for multiple plates. Anyway, they should have made it clear if you weren’t allowed to.

    I decided that it seemed wrong not to get Yorkshire puddings, gravy and sausages.

    The coffee was unlimited, although I had to go back to the bar area to get top-ups, but the environment was spacious and that wasn’t an inconvenience. The prices were all relatively low, the surroundings were clean and the staff were friendly, if not particularly pro-active at times. Anyway, I might come back to Toby Carvery in the future for a meal during the day to experience their full carvery options. All very lovely.

  • Basildon – Basildon Sign

    Basildon – Basildon Sign

    My friend Liam told me that one of the highlights of Basildon was the sign at the entrance to it and I think it’s fair to say it’s the most exciting thing that I’ve seen in the town so far. A little fiddly to walk to, it was placed on the Noak Bridge turn-off in 2010, a reminder of just how exotic the town is. Or something like that.

    Denise van Outen, who is from Basildon, said at the time, “sure, the weather in Los Angeles is better, but you can’t beat the people in Basildon.” I’m not sure that the sign quite took me back to Los Angeles and looking at the Hollywood sign, but I tried to picture being back in California nonetheless. It wasn’t the cheapest to install and it has received some mockery locally (and from everywhere to be fair), but I quite like it.

  • Billericay – Billericay War Memorial

    Billericay – Billericay War Memorial

    Billericay’s war memorial was unveiled on 16 October 1921 (so, by chance, 99 years to the day when I visited), listing the names of the 62 men from the town who lost their lives during the First World War. Sadly this of course wasn’t the end of war, a panel was added behind the memorial following the Second World War, with the names of 54 men who had died in that conflict.

    A photo from the original dedication of the memorial is available at https://www.billericayhistory.org.uk/content/topics/place-2/war-memorials/billericay_war_memorial/first_world_war_memorial, and I’ve thought before what a challenging occasion these sort of unveilings must have been. The fathers and mothers of many of the war dead would turn up in their finery, proud of what their son had sacrificed, but still facing the searing pain of the loss of life.

  • Billericay – Blue Boar

    Billericay – Blue Boar

    It was a bit too early to visit the Billericay Brewing Company, so I popped into JD Wetherspoon’s pub in Billericay, the Blue Boar. There was a queue to get in when I arrived, but the staff member waved me past the queue when he saw me scanning the NHS app. I’m glad I’ve got that now.

    It’s a bit of a non-descript pub in terms of the architecture, as it’s not a particularly historic building, but it was clean and organised.

    I’m on a run of having English breakfasts at the moment, primarily as I’m not in Poland to eat lots of hot dogs in the morning. The bacon was under-cooked and the staff member forget to get the sauces that he asked if I wanted, but otherwise the breakfast was fine. For the price point, it’s hard to complain, so I won’t.

    The reviews of the pub are a bit mixed, but I’m wondering about this one:

    “I had the naked burrito with five bean chilli, without any chilli (it was only when i went to another Weatherspoons in Kent I realized this”

    I’m puzzled how you could order chilli, not get chilli and also not realise you should get chilli.

    “It is not breaking news to ANYONE that girls share a cubical. Upon leaving the cubical, two male bouncers were in the toilets telling us that this was “suspicious behaviour”. This is my girlfriend of three years, accusing us of something ‘dodgy’. We have been banned for the pub without so much as a negotiation or searching us for the ‘suspicious behaviour’ they claimed. I feel as that this was not only a personal attack but also extremely homophobic towards my girlfriend and I. I wouldn’t recommend this establishment to anyone else. I am extremely hurt by this.”

    This drama sounds exciting, although two men in the same cubicle in the male toilets, two people of each sex in any toilet or two women in the same cubicle in the female toilets would likely all be treated the same.

    “We do not give out complimentary alcohol for a complaint with food but we were more than happy to refund your meal.”

    This is the manager’s response to a customer who wanted a free drink because there was a backlog of food orders, and this is a sensible course to follow….. Anyway, this isn’t overly exciting, just another little drama that was probably intriguing to watch.

    “Four of us went in to The Blue Boar (Wetherspoons) in Billericay and wanted to sit in the area by the window but we were told we couldn’t as this made the place look full??? We were told we had to sit at the rear of the pub as this was where cyclist’s had to sit??”

    By coincidence, there was cyclists in today and they were sent to the back of the pub, but they were allowed to take their bikes with them through the pub which I thought was quite helpful of the staff. I’d be humoured if staff had told them not to sit at the front as it makes the place looks full though, that’s not good….

    The pub name is one taken from a pub that was previously thought to have stood on this site, although it has transpired that it was a few doors down. It’s nice that the name has continued, a little bit of heritage that has survived, even if the original pub is no longer there. Anyway, this seemed a safe enough pub, although some loud customers were causing other customers some grief and the staff didn’t seem to know what to do with their boisterous clientele…..

  • Billericay – Billericay Brewing Co. Micropub

    Billericay – Billericay Brewing Co. Micropub

    This is the tap room, or micropub as they refer to it as, of the Billericay Brewing Co. The frontage of their building is a little, well, plain, so these marquees at the front to give extra space make it look more appealing than it might have done in the past.

    The interior is a little rustic in appearance and it’s quite small, although the aforementioned marquees have given them some extra space. It got busier when I was there and the staff member spent much of the time answering the phone to take bookings, so it’s clearly a popular location in the evenings.

    The beer selection which is chalked up on the board.

    I started with the chilli porter as I like that sort of combination of flavours, and there was a stronger kick than I had expected from the chilli. But, it was still very drinkable and I’d certainly order this again because of the richness of flavour. The chilli element also only really became evident as an aftertaste, it was a sufficiently intriguing drink that I’d mention it to others.

    My second drink (in photo above) was the Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, which seemed to be the favourite of the pub judging by what everyone else was ordering. The name adds some extra spice to the whole arrangement and was what I’d consider to be a perfectly acceptable hoppy session beer, albeit at 5% ABV.

    I liked this pub, which is listed in the Good Beer Guide, and would return here, although would be conscious that I’d need to book if visiting in the evening. Welcoming, slightly quirky and laid-back, all rather lovely. They do some experiences such as Brewer for the Day, which sounds a pleasant way to spent a few hours and they deliver the 18 pint polypin a couple of weeks after.

  • London – Hard Rock Cafe Oxford Street

    London – Hard Rock Cafe Oxford Street

    I haven’t grumbled about anything in a while, so now feels appropriate. I received an e-mail on behalf of Hard Rock Cafe saying that they had a 50% offer which was off all food in their Oxford Street location in London. This is a very good offer, as Hard Rock might be a little expensive, but that makes it quite a reasonable expedition to get food at half price. I’ve been to around ten Hard Rock Cafes over the years, with the service in Atlanta and Krakow being outstanding, and my visit a few months to Hard Rock Cafe Bucharest was also perfectly enjoyable.

    Anyway, after being quite interested in this offer, it was then noted that solo diners were excluded from taking part. So, group sizes of 2 to 6. I don’t much like this at the best of times, but it’s vaguely understandable as solo diners don’t make as much money. But, nor do three diners at a table for four. And, judging from recent reviews, Hard Rock Cafe Oxford Street is not exactly busy. Which is evident from their deluging food out at half price.

    I remember doing some work for a certain Italian restaurant a few years ago which was how to make solo diners welcome. This was marvellous, there are people who are on business trips, who might be lonely, key workers or just people who want to get out of the house. Ideally, the welcome should be positive and engaging for all of those, especially somewhere upbeat such as Hard Rock Cafe which can offer that friendly feel.

    Or, they could be like the management at Hard Rock Cafe in Oxford Street who puts two fingers up at solo diners. Unimpressed.

    Anyway, moving on, I can write about the rather lovely brewery I’ve just been to.

  • Chelmsford – Random Urban Archaeology

    Chelmsford – Random Urban Archaeology

    OK, I admit there’s no real archaeology here. But this is the view from my hotel window and I puzzled over why the road and roundabout looked a bit strange and put it down to the road once going straight through. As it happened, this was an event in Chelmsford, it was a flyover which was pulled down a few months ago. They quite liked the flyover in the city, but it was falling down and the engineers agreed that this wasn’t ideal. So they knocked it down in case it fell down on some cars and lorries. And, I think it all looks better now without having it, although car drivers in the area probably don’t agree as apparently the roundabout is now too busy. Well, there’s a solution here, and that’s more public transport. But, I digress.

    It’s an aside really, I like how urban development changes a landscape and traces of it remain. I need to get out more, I admit.

  • Chelmsford – Travelodge

    Chelmsford – Travelodge

    I’ve moved away from Accor Hotels on this trip as I’m booking everything at the last minute. Accor do this moderately irritating thing of returning their room rates to a higher price nearer the date of booking, which is fine if they’re full, but not ideal if they’re not. Travelodge just charge what they need to do to get rid of the rooms, a strategy that I prefer as a customer.

    The reception area, which was the scene of some moderate drama. I went to check-in, but there were no staff members visible. A very angry lady behind me confronted a staff member when she appeared, telling her with some force that she was tired of her key card not working. The staff member was polite, but defensive, which escalated the matter and for a good minute I watched this argument developing. At that point, I felt the need to be moderately rude to ask if I could actually check-in if they were just going to have a heated debate about how the hotel was run and what was the area manager’s phone number. It wasn’t an ideal first impression, but the staff member was polite to me, likely pleased the other woman had gone back to her room to phone the area manager.

    Incidentally, the hotel appears to be a little lax with GDPR. They had the prices of what each customer had paid for their room on sheets left at the reception desk and I was pleased to discover that I had paid the least. This isn’t really information that should be left around though and I would have been most annoyed if other customers had received a better bargain.

    The room, which was clean and well presented, with a bath and shower which only some of the rooms had (as in only some of the rooms had both, not that some rooms just had an empty bathroom). This was all fine, especially for the not much over £25 that I had paid.

    The food in the photo looks dreadful and the reviews of their bar cafe are equally poor. I’m not really sure why they persist with trying to serve mediocre meals, I can’t see any benefit to annoying customers with low quality food.

    Housekeeping cleaning rooms only once every six nights is clearly ridiculous, way more than other hotel chains I’ve been in. There’s being careful with the current health situation and just not bothering to clean the rooms….

    The milks in the room were out of date. I do check these and I probably need to get out more…..

    All in all, I thought that this was a perfectly good deal for the two nights which cost just over £50. There are extra charges for parking, wi-fi and breakfast, although I didn’t need any of these. The hotel seemed quiet and in relatively sound repair, so I was content with my stay. It’s about a ten-minute walk to the city centre and there’s an Aldi supermarket opposite for those who need supplies of any sort.

  • Chelmsford – Chelmsford Cathedral (Then and Now)

    Chelmsford – Chelmsford Cathedral (Then and Now)

    This is one of my random then and now photos, comparing what Chelmsford Cathedral (then St. Mary’s Church as it didn’t become a cathedral until the twentieth century) looks like now, compared to what it looked like in 1892. The Francis Frith photo is towards the end of this post (if for some reason it doesn’t load, it’s 31510 in their collection) and as can be seen I haven’t done a great job here of taking a comparable photo.

    The area has all been reset, so the path which once led to the church door on the right (the priest’s door) has been removed and there’s a war memorial there now. Well, mostly removed. There’s a section still left of the old paving in front of the door, although it just leads to the grass now.

    There were once iron railings separating the path from the graves, which were likely removed during the Second World War for the war effort. The tombs are all still there in the same place, or at least, they seem to be, but there are graves missing from the right hand side of the older image. What is interesting (to me anyway) is that they have numerous stones lying flat and I had thought that this was done more recently.