And in my series of random posts from newspapers of 200 years ago this week. This is the court report of the Norwich Mercury and the punishments issued.
“George Thurlow, convicted of stealing a quantity of lead from Rev. W. Manning, of Diss—2 years’ hard labour in the Castle. George Archer, convicted of receiving the same—14 years’ transportation. Wm. Bayes, convicted of fowl-stealing—2 years’ hard labour in the Castle. Robt. Dawes, an old offender—7 years’ transportation. Thomas Norgate, convicted of pig-stealing—18 calendar months’ hard labour in the Castle; and Robt. Pawley, convicted of receiving two of the same pigs—14 years’ transportation. Jonathan Forder, convicted of a violent assault on a child at Langley, pleaded guilty—to be imprisoned 6 calendar months. Chas. Dunham, convicted of stealing a quantity of butter from his master—2 years’ hard labour in the Castle.”
Note that the violent assault on a child received only six months in prison, whereas someone who received stolen lead was transported for fourteen years, although he stole it from a reverend which probably made matters worse in terms of his sentence.
With regards to George Archer who received this stolen lead, he was sent to New South Wales on the Sesostris, which had been launched in Hull in 1818. The ship set off on 23 November 1825 and arrived in Australia on 21 March 1826, but George had died en route on 11 December 1825.
From the Norwich Mercury 200 years ago this week was an article about Ivy Hall being for sale. The article read:
“TO BE SOLD BY AUCTION, BY WM. SPELMAN,
At the Greyhound Inn, Surry-street, Norwich, on Wednesday, the 20th day of July, 1825, at Four o’clock in the afternoon, in one Lot,
A Desirable ESTATE, called Ivy Hall; consisting of five dwelling-houses, fronting King-street, in the parish of St. Julian, Norwich, with gardens, privy, wash-house, and pump at the back thereof, in the several occupations of Messrs. Baldwin, Sainty, Haverstone, Mason, and Sheene.
The above Premises are Leasehold of the Dean and Chapter of Norwich for a term of 40 years, from the 7th day of June, 1825, renewable every 14 years, at the rent of 1s. per annum.
For particulars and conditions of sale apply to Mr. Alfred Barnard, solicitor, St. Andrew’s, or the Auctioneer, Duke’s Palace, Norwich.”
I hadn’t heard of this building, but after some checking it was previously the Hildebrands Hospital located on what is now Argyle Street, located just off King Street. The hospital had been founded in around 1200 and adjoined St. Edward Chapel, with the institution welcoming the poor, aged, travellers and pilgrims. It was passed to the Dean and Chapter of Norwich Cathedral after 1497 and as the advertisement above shows, they still owned it in 1825, although the church element was pulled down in 1547. There are, unfortunately, no traces of it remaining today, but it’s not a building that I had previously known about.
I stayed at a hotel that was, as estate agents would say, “conveniently located” which was only five minutes from Bratislava Airport. This meant I could rise at the decadent hour of 06:00 and still breeze through security by 06:30 for a 09:25 flight. I could’ve slept longer, but I’m a creature of paranoia and prefer to hover near departure gates like a Victorian ghost just in case something happens to go wrong in the 250 metres between the hotel and airport.
The airport terminal.
All good, my flight looked on time.
This is the airside area with plenty of seating. The security process took just three minutes and the staff were helpful and upbeat.
The gate area was also suitably calm and the Wizz Air staff here were efficient, with the queueing process being made clear. The border control desk had no queue of note and the border guard didn’t sit and count my passport stamps, but he did ask for help finding the Bratislava stamp that the airport had put into the passport last week.
The aircraft was G-WUNA which I went in December last year from Poznan to Luton which happened to be its first anniversary (the aircraft, not Poznan).
Boarding the aircraft and I was pleased that the seating Gods had given me an aisle seat near the front. The flight was yet another one operated with care and precision by Wizz Air, the crew were friendly, the pilots made clear announcements and the aircraft was spotless. There were a couple in the middle and window seat who were quiet and calm, which meant that I didn’t have to be annoyed at anything.
Luton was colder than Bratislava and this pleased me. There was no wait to go through border control, so I was able to leave the terminal within fifteen minutes of landing. Another well spent £9 with the Wizz Air Multipass.
The stall and there were a few customers around when we arrived and it remained consistently busy. We were greeted by a friendly team member who smiled, made eye contact and was focused enough to take orders and remember what everyone had ordered when their food was cooked. Indeed, not only that, she was also cooking the food, a combination of things and level of multi-tasking that would have confused me.
The price increases here are the highest that I’ve seen so far, with nearly everything having increased by £2 or £2.50. Something like the Baby Dosa has increased from £4.50 to £6.50, which has taken this from being a keenly priced stall to one of the more expensive. Although now I’m sounding like I’m taking some sort of bold leap into “I remember when this was all fields” territory.
I’m not personally a fan of these as it makes anyone paying by card feel like they’re not supporting local businesses as much with signage worded like this. But, each to their own. To be helpful, I paid by cash, but noted that no other customer did. They can obviously put what they want, but a “cash preferred” sign would seem a little more welcoming than a suggestion that you don’t support local businesses by paying by card.
I had tarka dall when I visited before and thought it could have had a greater depth of flavour and I noted that next time I might have chicken biryani. Well, that moment came and that’s what I went for. They dished what James had ordered first and there wasn’t much information on mine, but it was served seven minutes later and I was surprised that a microwave was used with the rice. Anyway, the biryani was freshly made and it was decent. It was at the appropriate hot temperature, there was a generous amount of chicken, the rice had a firm texture, the chicken was tender and the lime was a useful citrus addition. The portion size was decent for the money, it was a filling meal and although the prices have risen, this is still not unreasonably priced.
Unlike my overhead food shot, James, ever the connoisseur, snapped a photo on a jaunty angle that he is best known for. Well, that, and seemingly knowing most of the middle class population of Norwich as we’re walking to lunch and he keeps getting recognised. James wasn’t unhappy with his lunchtime meal, but I don’t think that he was surprised and delighted with the food, it was served promptly, looked appetising and it was a large portion, but he thought it verged just a little on the bland side and lacked the depth of flavour he craved. He moaned about the price, but he did get a lot of chicken, but he’s right that this sort of cost is now pushing it towards being a treat rather than a routine lunch.
We decided to eat at the stall as they had a section of the counter that seemed appropriate to do so, although if it was busy we would have been in the way of the queue. They seemed to have some regular customers including a lady that took a lamb biryani away for her evening meal, so they seem to be doing well. I rather liked the whole arrangement and thought that the food had a depth of flavour and range of textures, with the portion size being sufficient. The prices are just a little punchy now, but they’re still reasonable and I’d come back here as there are still a number of dishes I’d like to try.
My Wizz Air flight was the second of the day to leave London Luton, so I just arrived late the previous evening by train and then waited at Pret landside. The security area opens at 02:00 sort of time, which is really quite early for an international airport.
Not many other people were so keen to get through this early in the day. The security process was though well managed and the staff seemed upbeat, which can’t be easy at that time of the day.
At least it’s easy to get a seat at this time of day.
I’ve written about my visit to Big Smoke separately. As for the food, it was a little bland as that avocado was quite watery, but nonetheless it wasn’t unpleasant. It’s the first time I’ve been here for breakfast and the first time that I didn’t order beer, I instead went for a pineapple juice.
I then popped to Avalon for a chicken and avocado salad, along with a Fanta, that most typical of breakfast drinks. This is expensive, well it would be if I was paying for it, at £12 and it was rather dry but I think there was a healthy element to it.
And then an almond croissant and half a pint of Menabrea. It’s a generic lager, but it was free and although the croissant wasn’t very authentic, it was light and was a satisfactory snack. The service here is always warm and friendly, although I was dreading them making an error with the number of guests as Priority Pass might have found it suspicious if I had phoned up again.
And then a double espresso. My flight was called to board twenty minutes earlier than advertised, so I thought that I might as well wander over.
It’s all happening now at Gate 21.
The joys of the bus gate.
Boarding the aircraft, which is G-WUKT, an A321 which has been in service since April 2022.
The flight was uneventful yet again, although the seating Gods gave me a middle seat. However, the two neighbouring passengers weren’t annoying, so the flight went quickly enough (it’s a one hour fifty minute journey), not least as I was asleep for half of it. One advantage of an early morning flight is that everyone seems to be asleep as they’re so exhausted, and I suspect Wizz Air has a fair number of customers who haven’t had any sleep at all, so it’s an extra peaceful arrangement. The crew were quite bouncy and keen, the airline does recruit some really good people and the pilot announcements were all as expected.
And safely into Bratislava, where it was evidently too hot. There was a queue of twenty minutes for border control, but although she did look at my passport stamps I was saved having to wait whilst she counted as she just stamped the passport. All very easy, and another £8.99 well spent with Wizz Air for my first time to Slovakia.
The title of this post sounds rather tabloidy, but there we go, it’s 04:00 in the morning at Luton Airport and I’m going to take what excitement I can. One thing that I’ve discovered is that Big Smoke are one of the first outlets to open airside at the airport, being open at 03:00 which is earlier than their advertised time and an hour ahead of many other venues. That at least was handy.
The service was friendly, but the restaurant was in something of a state. The sauce bottles had a not inconsiderable amount of dried up bits of sauce on them and the menu was so sticky that it was hard to open. The surfaces had also not been cleaned the night before, nor had the floor, which felt an odd situation. But, it was early and I was content. I was using Priority Pass which gets me £18 to spend and I specifically mentioned, as I always do, that I had zero guests.
However, almost immediately I received an e-mail confirming that Priority Pass had helpfully charged me £18 for my guest, the one that I didn’t have. I queried this and the staff member insisted that was right and I should have been charged. It evidently wasn’t and I showed him he had typed two guests. After some faffing about he came back and told me to make a claim with my bank. This is a ridiculous way of doing it, that would be a chargeback for Priority Pass, as well as a heap of paperwork for them and the bank. So, I asked for someone else and the manager, who really didn’t seem that engaged either way, came over.
The manager repeated the poor advice and I queried what happened if Big Smoke said there were two people and not just one? They said that they couldn’t do anything, so I asked if they could just note on a receipt that there was just one guest. The manager didn’t show any interest and she didn’t do that, she just ignored the situation. Fortunately, I discovered that Priority Pass have a 24 hour call centre and so I phoned it, at 03:30 in the morning which I thought was rather decent. After some internal querying what to do, Priority Pass said that as I was still at the restaurant they were willing to refund the extra guest as it was a mistake.
No-one came over to check on this situation, so I meandered off. It’s hardly the issue of the century, but I’m not keen on managers shifting responsibility to other people and causing others a heap of work when they could have easily dealt with it. Moan over….
This is week 18 of James and I eating at every food stall at Norwich market and this is the former site of Cocina Mia which was honoured with third spot when we did this in 2023. It only closed a few weeks ago and there’s some hype about its replacement, City Taco. On this week’s ‘how many middle class people did we bump into that James knows?’ the tally was 5, including one actually at the food stand which I think is a first. At this rate, James will be hosting his own artisan networking brunch and LinkedIn masterclass by mid-July.
The menu is limited in size, but I think that’s very often a good thing. I’m not sure that there’s much here for vegetarians and I’m not sure if there are plans to expand the menu offering in the future, but everything looked tempting to me.
The service was excellent, engagement about the menu, general conversation and clear enthusiasm about the food. I think it’s really positive when there’s that excitement from the team members, it all bodes well. I did mention to James that it reminded me of the tacos that I’ve had in southern California, but reading on the stall’s social media, that’s understandable as the owner spent several years living there.
I couldn’t decide between them so I went for one carnitas taco and one beef taco, so a total of £6. James went for the same, but he’s often creatively inspired by me even if he doesn’t admit it. The pork one is on the left, the beef one on the right. The sauce in the pot is the consomme and the team member mentioned we could either use it as a dip or down it, which transpired to be a good suggestion as I tried it both ways. Both tacos had a depth of flavour to them, they were well presented and at the appropriate temperature. I enjoyed them both, but the delicate nature of the beef and dipped in the consomme was my favourite of the two.
James remembered to take a photo this time, which will save him having to draw the whole arrangement. He said something about enjoying them, being pleased about not spilling them down himself and also thinking they were a little small but still decent value. To avoid any bird attacks, we had our food whilst standing at the stall, as the neighbouring dining area shared by Toby’s Beers and formerly Cocina Mia now seems to be closed.
Although it’s a shame to have lost Cocina Mia, this seems a really quite decent replacement. The service was some of the best we’ve had yet and the food had a depth of taste and flavour. The pricing was reasonable as the food was surprisingly filling, with everything seemingly well managed. I look forwards to returning here and trying the burrito to get the full taste experience.
This is week 17 of James and I attempting to eat at every food stall at Norwich market. I visited this last time in 2023, on that occasion with Nathan, and it was a very positive experience where we thought we’d both likely visit again. I hadn’t noticed when taking the photo, but James is standing there looking studious whilst reading the menu. As usual, it took us several minutes to fend our way through all the people in Norwich who know him, nearly all of whom seem to be middle class or above. However, I don’t judge.
The menu which had plenty of choice. The prices seem reasonable for the market, there’s an inevitable cost to this sort of produce and making it fresh, but they’re not charging exorbitant prices. There’s a choice of eating in or taking away, fortunately there were seats and so we were able to dine in to get the full experience. The service was friendly and prompt, with the stall accepting cards and cash. The surfaces in the stall were clean and I noticed that they were cleaned again numerous times when we were there. The area was also a seagull free zone, which is a win for everyone. There’s talk of doing up the market, but I’d personally just like to see a few more of the food stalls have their own seating area, it adds to the experience.
The specials board (and those meatballs sound delicious), although when someone next to us tried to order they’d run out of a few things by that point. Although that is perhaps the excitement of specials, their very temporary nature. The selection available here really is quite impressive given the limited size of these stalls and the small food preparation area, but the whole process seemed efficient. Customers were always welcomed promptly, spoken to politely and their food and drink served after a reasonable period of time. It all felt like a competent set-up and I felt welcome throughout. Incidentally, they also have authentic Spanish food ingredients and drink which customers can take home with him, so it operates a bit like a deli arrangement as well.
The food arrived and looked well presented, with the chorizo having a depth of flavour and it’s always a bonus to have it served fresh from the pan. The roll tasted fresh and of a high quality, James was particularly engaged with this. It was also filling, this wasn’t one of those times I’ve left a stall after eating feeling just as hungry as when I ordered.
I wasn’t going to have a drink, but as we found a seat and we were asked nicely if we wanted one, I thought I’d have an Alhambra Reserva 1925 which was malty, light and went down well with the chorizo. There aren’t a large number of stalls where you can get beer with the meal, so it seemed sensible to take advantage of the opportunity. They were a little low on beer stock as the first two I asked for they didn’t have, but I’m ever helpful in finding a beer based solution.
The kitchen area and the whole set-up felt authentic and there were vibes of being at a Spanish market, so full marks for the atmosphere.
James forgot to take a photo of his food, so he kindly did a drawing instead. It’s this kind of professionalism that has made this blog what it is today…. As mentioned, he very much liked the roll element, so he’s focused on that in the image. I suspect that he forgot what was inside, as that element of the drawing is quite vague, although when I helpfully mentioned this, he said it’s clear that it’s chorizo but that he had forgotten the beer and that was very vague indeed.
I very much enjoyed this visit and it’s up there as being one of the best so far this year. The service was friendly, the food was freshly prepared and had a depth of flavour, with the atmosphere feeling authentic and welcoming. The menu was broad, the stall was clean and there was a choice of different beers, so all rather lovely.
A quick breakfast in the lounge and I’m always delighted to have a Greek salad. I had two as I was so delighted. This is the Etiuda Lounge which is in the non-Schengen one, although I usually go to the Preludium Lounge which is in the Schengen area. My logic is that I’ve been caught at border control for quite some time on a few occasions and I now prefer to clear that bureaucratic gauntlet first, lest I be detained indefinitely while someone scrutinises my passport like a cursed manuscript. I noticed that the border control agent was being very assiduous with the stamps of the passenger in front, indeed, the English traveller said “I’ve got too many stamps” which didn’t bode well for me. Anyway, the border agent looked through my passport and looked like he didn’t have the energy to deal with it, so just stamped it.
After my starter and main course of Greek salad, along with mochas and Fanta, I had a dessert of chocolate and beer. I think there are some healthy elements to that meal.
Anyway, after a peaceful time in the lounge, it was time to board. Yet again, the process was well managed, clearly signed and efficient. They were doing numerous bag checks but they didn’t look very long at mine, the benefit of having a soft bag. It’s the firmer type bags they stop, with a few customers charged £80 or so for having bags that are too big. The moral of this story really is pack like you’re going on a short hike and not moving house.
I had a middle seat, but when I boarded there was someone in my seat and I queried it in my perfect English. The Polish guy pointed at the lady in the window seat and said “wife here, I sit here, you sit there?” pointing at the aisle seat. This to me was a win, I like an aisle seat. He did proceed to spill slightly into my seat space like an enthusiastic houseplant, but I forgave him. The aisle seat was mine, and that was victory enough. The seating Gods work in a mysterious way.
The aircraft was 9H-WDX, an Airbus A321 which has been in the Wizz Air fleet since December 2023 and yet another aircraft that I don’t think I’ve been on (this exact one, I’ve been on rather too many A321s….).
And back at London Luton. The whole process was efficient again, nothing of note to write about as the crew were friendly, the pilots were informative and the aircraft was clean. The border at Luton Airport was busy, but I was through within twenty minutes. That now means I have two hours in McDonald’s by the railway station before my train back home, but I’m sure it’ll speed on by.
Luton Airport doesn’t do connecting flights as they’re a point to point airport which meant I went landside after coming off my earlier flight that day and then couldn’t go airside again as it was too long before my flight. I thought about walking into the delights of Luton town centre but it was too hot and I wasn’t brave enough to risk dehydration for cultural enrichment. I instead spent some time at the Pret landside whilst wondering how early I could go through security and I think the answer is six hours. After going through I meandered to Avalon which is included in the Priority Pass card and they are always helpful in offering extras to take it up to the allowed £18 value.
I then popped to Big Smoke which I find consistently decent and they have a range of beers available. I was seated whilst the waiter went to find the Priority Pass machine and then another waiter told me that I wasn’t allowed to seat myself. As a consistent rule follower I was inwardly most put out that I looked like someone that would transgress the obvious rules of a restaurant, but my original waiter came back and shooed away the interloper.
My normal selection at Nolito is pineapple juice and calmari. For the second time over recent months, these calamari were inedible, dripping in grease and the texture was all wrong. It’s annoying from the perspective of when they get it right, they’re really rather good. I declined the offer of them making more as I thought it was time to pop to the lounge. I’ll try something different next time. The state of that laptop as well, it gets quite compressed when in my bag which makes the screen look dirty and seemingly stops four of the keys from working properly,
My Lounge said they were busy but No 1 Lounge had space, so I went there for the first time. It’s a much smaller lounge than I had expected, but it was near empty and the staff were friendly. This is the main meal of pulled chicken with potatoes, it was entirely agreeable. I’ve written before, but the value from these lounges at full-price is questionable unless you drink a lot of alcohol. They’ve over £30 to get in, so most people would be better off just sitting in a restaurant in the airport terminal. If you want a lot of drink, the lounge proposition is better. I had my usual one Birra Moretti as that’s always enough of that.
There weren’t any capacity issues in this lounge and it all feels modern, comfortable and clean. There were also plenty of power points which was handy.
It was then time, finally, to head to the boarding gate. All very efficient again from Wizz Air with the signage being clear.
The aircraft was HA-LXJ, an Airbus A321 they’ve owned since September 2016, so one of the oldest in their fleet and I don’t think I’ve been on it before.
I thought that the seating Gods had given me a middle seat and they sort of had, but there was no aisle seat as it was this crew seat which faces the other way. This was all rather fortunate, it meant that the seat was effectively an aisle seat which meant that I had the space I hoped for. The elderly gentleman in the aisle seat kept busy for the entire flight: up, down, into his bag, back again, rustling, unwrapping, standing, sitting, wandering, repacking. A one-man tribute to the art of perpetual motion. Each to their own, but I was glad that I was able to lean into the crew seat (as the crew weren’t in it other than for take-off and landing) to get some peace.
We landed slightly early and the flight was once again a delight, with the crew being efficient and helpful, with the pilots making announcements that were appropriate and interesting. Wizz Air have an ability to operate flights which are just efficient and not noteworthy, which is really just as an airline would want it.
Unfortunately, there was an issue with my passport again and I was the last person to leave border control. The staff tried to count the stamps in my passport, just hours after this happened in Kaunas, and thought I had spent too long in the EU. Three staff this time came to count the stamps and they were apologetic as they said they had to do it, but the senior staff member did a count and said the matter was fine. I’ve realised the problem here, nearly every airport stamps my passport out next to the corresponding entry stamp. However, the Romanian stamps are slightly less careful and there’s one page which makes it look like I’ve been in the EU for twelve weeks solidly. I’ll definitely be glad when this new IT system is introduced as the current situation is sub-optimal. Luckily I had booked the cheap airport hotel which was only a five minute walk, so only just after 01:00 I arrived there safely….
