Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Newark

Lake District Week – The Friendly Farmer

[I originally posted this in September 2018, but have reposted it to fix some broken image links]

The blog this morning started well, I was so engrossed with posting my first little piece of drivel that I didn’t realise that Steve and Gordon were outside in the car waiting for me. But, anyway, all is well, and we’re now off on our hill adventure in the Lakes.

The first stop en route wasn’t to a Greggs, as we fancied something a little unhealthy as a treat instead. So we went to the Friendly Farmer near Newark, something Richard has been in I think, which I’ve passed on numerous occasions.

The interior isn’t quite what I expected from the exterior, there was a combination of a modern design but with some slightly old fashioned counter layouts. The food wasn’t particularly well displayed, and there were no chicken bakes, which to me seemed a ridiculous omission for these modern times.

Anyway, the service was friendly and efficient, and Gordon bought some plum bread as he’s quite middle class. Steve went for a sausage roll, but I want to save myself in case we go to another bakers later on in the day…. So I sat with my latte, which, to be honest, was hotter than the centre of the sun. It needed rather a lot of sugar to be drinkable, but it was reasonably priced and it came with a little biscuit.

For those who wanted hot food, there was an interesting selection. There’s also a little shop in the Friendly Farmer, and I was tempted to buy Bev another present, but I think I’ve already spent enough so I decided against it. But, it’s the thought that counts, and I thought about it.

So, we’re now back on the road driving (by we, I mean Steve) ready for our next stop!

September 15, 2025
2022 US Trip – Day 30 (British Airways Flight from Newark to Heathrow T5)

After an entertaining couple of hours in the British Airways Galleries lounge in Newark, I then walked the short distance to the gate, an earlier flight than I had been anticipating. I was very impressed with how BA handled this, they made it easy not just to change flights but also to ensure that my seat reservations were carried over.

I don’t like the seats on this Boeing 777-300 aircraft, they’re too narrow for me. However, I was in an exit row on the aisle, which is my favourite, meaning that I did have plenty of space. The three seats were all taken, but I was fortunate that the person sitting next to me didn’t veer into my space once.

The crew members on this flight were exceptional, making an effort to build rapport with customers where they felt appropriate and being ever present. I’m rarely disappointed with the friendliness and engagement of BA crew, with the pilot making chirpy and positive announcements.

It’s fair to say that I had enough leg room.

The first drinks round took place around one hour after take-off and the crew member seemed pleased that I asked for Brewdog Jet Stream by name, so she gave me both cans on her trolley.

The crew member didn’t let me down with the Brewdog beer, she remembered me from before and pro-actively asked “would you like another Brewdog beer?”, which of course I did. So she went off on a mission and came back with another four cans, two raided from a different cabin, the other two from the trolley on the other side of the aisle. Apologies if anyone else wanted Brewdog Jet Stream, but the crew member was wonderfully hoarding them up for me. Incidentally, that’s the film Belfast on the IFE, a story about the violence in Northern Ireland during The Troubles.

Onto the food, these meals are catered in the United States and it all entirely met my expectations. I can’t quite remember what sort of chicken dish this was (and I probably wasn’t entirely sure at the time), but it tasted better than it perhaps looks. It comes with a couscous starter, a chocolate dessert and then some cheese and crackers. For an economy flight, which cost me just £220 or so return, I felt I had received excellent value for money with this whole arrangement.

I then thought I’d have a nap after enjoying the heap of Brewdog Jet Stream cans that they had given me.

I admit this wasn’t to my taste, the breakfast option was a cheese bagel or a cheese bagel with turkey. Very innovative. I don’t like the smell of certain melted cheeses and unfortunately this went into the bin, as seemingly did many of those given to other passengers. I rarely eat the breakfast options on aircraft as they’re not often appealing to me, but BA seem to want to provide some sort of hot option. It’s a shame they didn’t have a cold option of just a cereal bar or something, it’d likely be cheaper for them and lead to less waste.

I had a two hour connection before my flight to Dublin, but there was a long delay disembarking and then it was a bus to the gate which all took up time. I was moderately disappointed that this was all eating into, well, my eating time in the BA lounge, and I was partly wondering whether I might be able to miss my flight to Dublin and get a later one since I was in no hurry.

Still my favourite airline, although American Airlines aren’t far behind. Who needs Emirates and Qatar?

And off we go to Heathrow T5, where I’ll pick up my flight to Dublin in my next post.

December 30, 2022
2022 US Trip – Day 30 (Newark Airport – British Airways Galleries Lounge)
As anyone who knows me and my travel habits knows, I don’t like arriving late for anything. I don’t even like arriving slightly early, I’m always far too early. But then again, I don’t miss anything so there’s a win there I think. Unlike my friend Liam who seems to consider arriving at an airport two hours before the flight acceptable, I’m very risk averse. The reason I’m mentioning this is that I actually arrived at the BA lounge two hours before the flight. However, by this, I mean the flight before mine, I was about six hours early for my flight.

The lady at the desk was personable and engaging, saying I was of course welcome to enter the lounge early (after she checked I wasn’t one of those Priority Pass customers who can use the lounge earlier on during the day) and she said that I hoped I enjoyed my time in it. Then she looked at my boarding pass and said she was concerned, I would miss my connecting flight to Dublin the next day because of the late outgoing flight that I was booked on. I explained that I wasn’t too concerned as I wasn’t in a rush and that I had an emergency exit row seat on the aircraft with plenty of space so wasn’t keen on moving to a central seat.

The staff member was endlessly helpful, she had a look at the options and said that she would be able to move me to the exact same seat on the flight before mine. She said that way I’d get time to visit the lounge at Heathrow and also get a couple of hours in the lounge in Newark, arriving in Dublin actually earlier than I was ticketed. Given this, I was sold and my new boarding passes were issued for the earlier flight and she was also able to replicate by seat on the London Heathrow to Dublin flight. I’m not sure if anyone else got booted out of the seats I was given but I was surprised that the seats were available that close to departure.

I really liked the friendliness of all the staff members here, but the agent at the desk was everything I associate with the United States (well, not the guns) in terms of her willingness to help and offer excellent customer service. The above photo is of the snacks area which I first thought was the entirety of the food options so I wasn’t initially delighted.

I really should wear glasses and I’ll get that sorted at some point, but until then I use my phone to zoom in on the beer options in the fridges. They weren’t breathtaking, but they would suffice me as I only had a couple of hours.

There were some extensive views over the tarmac from the lounge and it was suitably bright and colourful.

I’ve mentioned this before, but there’s something very comforting about seeing Speedbird as I’m one of the fanboys of British Airways and it to me offers the reassuring nature that I’m going home. I remember particularly feeling this when I went to Chengdu and spent a week struggling to find anyone who could speak English, so it was beautiful to see Speedbird in all of its glory at the airport, although British Airways have long since given up flying there. Over the last few years the airline has become even more US centric, something I can’t much complain about.

The taqueria station and this was my favourite of the food sections. It was all self-service, although there were additional food items that could be ordered using the app. There’s a separate dining area for those who want to use it although the staff were ridiculously efficient. I had a slight problem that I got myself a drink and put it on the table to go and get food, then it was cleared away as they thought it was abandoned. I returned and put my food on the table to get another drink and then had to rescue that plate from being collected when I returned with my replacement drink, even though it was full of food.

The cheese station.

The charcuterie and New York deli station, which is all combining to be my favourite foods. I started to regret changing my flight to an earlier one and indeed I wondered if I could just move into this lounge permanently. To be honest, I’d have given thought to have spending the entire trip just in this lounge, I can be quite easily won over by food.

Big pretzels. What a time to be alive.

My second beer, the Brooklyn Lager, I had already had the Nut Brown Ale from Sam Smiths. The staff member at the bar remembered me from my first drink and was about to get me the same beer again, I think she thought I must have been disappointed with my Sam Smiths but it was more that I like variety. And I don’t want to support Sam Smiths too much as they’re a ridiculous brewery led by one of the people I consider who has most trashed the atmosphere in pubs with his joke of a company which seems to take pride in shaming their own staff. Anyway, I’ve rapidly digressed, but I’m quite appalled at the actions of Humphrey Smith and it’s no surprise he’s become a figure of fun.

It looks simple, but it was absolutely delightful……

At that moment, I was done in the lounge as the flight was called. I was content with the amount of food and drink that I worked through, really handy just before getting a meal on board the flight. This was one of my favourite lounges, it wasn’t too busy, there was an excellent range of food and drink which felt tailored to my own personal tastes (I accept that it wasn’t designed that way, it was just chance) and the staff were friendly and keen to help. It was a positive last note on which to leave the United States.
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December 30, 2022
2022 US Trip – Day 30 (Busy Bus 62 to Newark Airport)
The bus trip from Newark city centre to Newark Airport usually only takes around twenty minutes, although it was one of the busiest services that I’ve been on for some time. I managed to get a seat, although had to ask someone to move their bag, which was fortunate given that the bus seemed to pick up what seemed to be about ten people at every stop. I was fortunate that my destination was at the airport where plenty of people were getting off, as it took significant ingenuity and just a little brute force to get off any earlier than that.

The fare was very reasonable, as bus trips so often are in the United States, costing $1.60. There are no contactless payments available and you can overpay the fare but there’s no facility to get any change. Fortunately, I had planned ahead and had my $1.60 ready in change. Although by change, I mean six quarters and a dime which I carefully placed in the coin slot whilst trying not to annoy the driver by dithering.

It’s not entirely obvious, but there’s New York in the background and where I had stayed for just under a week earlier on in my trip.

And thanks to NJ Transit, safely at Newark Airport, hours early as usual.
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December 30, 2022
2022 US Trip – Day 30 (Blaze Pizza in Newark)
As it was day 30 of this trip and I was about to head to the airport, I decided against doing anything exotic and different but instead went to one of my favourite chains. I was pleased that staff member made such enthusiastic comments about my English accent and I privately agreed with the server’s suggestion that it was marvellous to hear someone speak English properly. Only privately though, I didn’t want to upset anyone else nearby by stating that she was correct.

I’ve written about Blaze Pizza before numerous times, not least earlier on this trip in Charlotte and in their original unit in Pasadena. It’s a simple concept, pick the base you want, the toppings and they make it in just a few minutes. Drinks, like they usually are in the United States, are refillable and cheap. Unusually, they also spelt my name correctly and that’s visible to the bottom right of the pizza.

I’ve just had a look at how the chain is getting on and things look bright, they’re signing up new franchisees at some pace and opening additional units across the country. I’m not really in the market to open a restaurant in the United States, but if I had to pick a franchise I suspect that this would be high up my list. Over 70% of their franchise holders operate multiple units which is usually a positive sign, they’re competent enough to be able to manage them in a professional way. My only negative comment is that they’re blocked Europeans from visiting their web-site for reasons unknown, perhaps forgetting that makes it impossible for anyone to order on-line if they’re roaming.

It also seems, if my visit was anything to measure matters by, that this unit was doing well with plenty of lunchtime customers eating in or taking their pizzas away. I can also confirm that Dr. Pepper complements a sausage, banana pepper, jalapeno, pepperoni and olive pizza perfectly.
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December 30, 2022
2022 US Trip – Day 30 (Tom Otterness Sculpture in Newark)
I understand that this sculpture in Newark is by Tom Otterness. I’m not going to write anything further on that as the artist is hugely controversial for in the 1970s adopting a dog from a shelter, chaining it up and then shooting it dead to make a video which he thought would shock audiences. When questioned in 2007, he said:

“Thirty years ago when I was 25 years old, I made a film in which I shot a dog. It was an indefensible act that I am deeply sorry for. Many of us have experienced profound emotional turmoil and despair. Few have made the mistake I made. I hope people can find it in their hearts to forgive me”.

Whether hypocritical or not, I thought I’d rather limit my comments to the man rather than his art. Other than to add that if I was in Newark again, I’d walk down a different street to avoid this artwork so that I didn’t have to think of the artist.
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December 30, 2022
2022 US Trip – Day 30 (Old Fire Station in Newark)
I’ve been able to find out relatively little about this building on 55 University Avenue, other than it is now a meat packing warehouse. Indeed, I can establish more about the building from what is still on the front, namely it was the home of Ladder 2 of the Newark fire brigade and it was constructed in 1881.

There’s something of a story here which is wrapped up about what Newark has become. It’s a city which has had some traumatic recent times, although it felt as though it was in much better shape than when I visited a few years ago. But, back in 1881 there would have been optimism for the future and this would have been a functional and well designed building. Despite being relatively central in the city, the structure tells its own story of decline, a lack of care with the preservation of Newark’s past and it’s a tangible sign of that optimism having been lost at some point.

No attempt is being made to tell the story of this building, there’s no information panel and no cleaning of the frontage. Indeed, it’s perhaps fortunate that the structure even stands. So, this is the photograph that I think represents Newark, a once bright future which has slipped back, but there’s still hope of sorts for the next few decades. Determined as I am to finish writing about this US trip, this is my image from the city.
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December 30, 2022
2022 US Trip – Day 29 (Comfort Suites Newark – Harrison)
I’ve been to Newark before and after 24 hours on board a train, I wanted to get straight to my hotel so that I arrived before it got dark.

I’d booked using Priceline as it was cheaper than booking directly with Choice Hotels themselves, always a slightly ridiculous situation that they’re paying a third party. It transpired that I was charged twice, once by Priceline and once at the hotel despite them saying they were only taking the deposit. I queried this when back in the UK with Priceline who immediately phoned the hotel up, who then denied this could have happened. However, ten minutes later I got an alert from Chase saying that my account had been refunded, so the hotel made what I assume was an inadvertent error and at least corrected it without delay.

The room was on the ground floor which I don’t usually like as it can be noisy, but I didn’t have any issues during the stay. I had a desk, a sofa and plenty of space, it was a bit more expensive but it was comfortable and it was my last night in the United States on this trip. I always feel the need to sit on a sofa in a hotel room, well as long as it doesn’t look like it’s been lifted out of a skip, just to get use out of it. However, I read a book for about five minutes on the sofa and then return to the desk chair or lying on the bed, but I feel better from getting value out of the furniture. I sometimes wonder just how sane I am, but there we go.

There was plenty of choice at the included breakfast, but as usual, little was to my taste and I remained unconvinced about American chain hotels and their options. The turkey sausages and eggs looked frightening, the waffle machine isn’t my sort of thing, but the cereals were sufficient along with a heap of cakes that I didn’t need. The orange juice is processed but tastes fine, although the coffee always tastes slightly odd. I was starting at this point to really be craving some proper breakfasts as might be served in Poland….. There we go, I have to mention Poland at least once every five posts.

I felt slightly guilty as the hard-working breakfast attendant asked if I liked their breakfast and I didn’t have the heart to say that some of it downright frightened me. I don’t know if they actually wanted feedback anyway, but they didn’t get any from me on the matter. That’s not least as judging from the reviews most of the guests seem to love their breakfast, my continental European tastes just aren’t quite in tune here. The rest of American cuisine is bang on target with me to be fair, so that’s not a sneering reference in general to the food in the United States.

I left the hotel refreshed and planning to spend a few hours in Newark before catching a bus to the airport and then leaving the United States to return back to the UK. That meant that unless anything went wrong, I wouldn’t be spending any more nights in the United States on this trip. And as an unexciting spoiler, I can confirm that nothing did go wrong.
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December 30, 2022
2022 US Trip – Day 28 (Amtrak Train Journey : Birmingham to Newark – Over 24 hours in coach)
I’d had just under 24 hours in Birmingham and I have to note that I got the impression that the Magic City felt troubled. It’s been depopulating for decades and the urban core feels quite hollowed out. Property prices are startling low, the homeless population seemed substantial and I didn’t get the impression that they got large numbers of tourists visiting the city. There were inevitable high points such as the Birmingham Museum of Art, but parts of the city felt on edge. I had visited to get an understanding of the civil rights history of the city, which was told well with information panels in the centre and I learned a lot. However, that was nearly the entire story that Birmingham seemed to be telling, as if it is still struggling for a new identity.

With that visit completed, I was going from Birmingham to Newark, which is a journey that is I suppose possible in the UK. It would though be a much quicker rail trip, the one that I was about to undertake in the United States was going to take 24 hours and 30 minutes. In coach.

The Amtrak station doesn’t open until two hours before the train departs, which is something hard to imagine in a European rail station. A security guard bounded up to me when I entered and asked what I was doing, which is again something hard to imagine at Norwich railway station. I replied that I was getting an Amtrak train and so he pointed towards the ticket counter, which I acknowledged but ignored as I already had a ticket. He seemed surprised that I had a ticket, despite that clearly being what most travellers have. It’s really not the welcome that any public transport facility should have, but it’s going back to that troubled city status I mentioned. The staff here are on edge and they’re trying to stop people coming in who might want to harm them. Just as with the bus station, they threw several people out whilst I was waiting, something dramatic has to change in Birmingham for this to stop happening.

The staff weren’t actually unfriendly and one came over to me and asked if I happened to have a cable for a phone that another passenger on the Greyhound service needed urgently. He said he understood that I wasn’t local and so it was unlikely, but by good fortune I did have the cable he needed. There were three security staff and so it was hard not to feel safe inside the Amtrak station and I felt that I did my civic duty and duly received the cable back just before I needed to depart for my train.

Then it was announced that the train would be boarding in five minutes so the doors were unlocked and we were finally allowed to go to the platforms. It felt like a hospital.

I wouldn’t have minded a sleeper service, which I’ve never gone on in the United States, only in Ukraine.

A few decades ago platforms in railway stations across the United States would have been bustling and busy. It seemed like those days were long ago, but the services are still running and passengers are still coming, but there’s a lot of work to do in the United States to improve the rail network. There are areas of the country where it does well, not least on the east coast connecting large cities together, but the coverage nationwide is poor. High speed rail services in the United States really aren’t a thing, getting planes for domestic journeys is how that’s done.

I could hear the train coming before I could see it, as they’re not subtle things, and I got my usual childlike sense of excitement that I get when Amtrak trains come charging into the station.

And here’s the beautiful lump of metal. I do adore these things.

I was at the back of the queue to board as I had been faffing about with taking photos, but it wasn’t a particularly long queue and why rush when you’ve got 24 hours on the train?

This was to be my seat for over 24 hours, or at least, the one I’m sitting in when taking the photo. The guard was nonplussed with my long journey to Newark, there were many doing similar trips including those going a little further into New York.

Laptop attached to the power, connected to the wi-fi and I was good to go. The train was the Crescent, a 2,216 kilometre (1,377 mile) long rail service which goes from New Orleans to New York and it has been in operation in some form since 1891.There are 33 stops along the route and for anyone taking the service for its full length, it takes just under 32 hours end to end.

I had acquired a two litre bottle of Fanta from Publix, I thought that I’d need it to stay hydrated.

It’s not the best photo that I’ve taken of the buffet car, but there were seats here for those wanting to dine whether that be snacks or full service meals.

The prices on board, which weren’t unreasonable.

Who needs a full service meal anyway? Doritos, coke and noodles, the food of champion long distance rail passengers. The noodles are $2.50, so around £2, it’s an affordable hot option.

There’s something a little charming about returning to a location from earlier on in the trip and that was the case here in Charlotte, North Carolina. I’d got the train here a few weeks earlier on during my US trip and this was when I started to feel that the trip was coming to an end and I was coming home. It was also where I got someone sitting next to me for the first time as the train filled up, but he was marvellous company, polite and he didn’t cause me any disturbance. He was going to New York, so his journey was hardly a quick jump either.

I spent nearly the entire trip either dozing off, working on my laptop or staring out of the window. To be fair, there’s not much else to do, but I was certainly well rested by the end of it. There’s no rush when you’ve got 24 hours, everything is leisurely and I was surprised just how quickly the time went by. It also feels like an adventure, albeit a passive one where I didn’t have to do much, although there’s a lot to be said for those.

Arriving into Greensboro in North Carolina as dawn breaks. A little earlier there was some excitement on the train, which I videoed and might well upload at some point, when the police boarded the train. A male passenger had been accused of exposing himself to a female passenger (I’d better add here that I didn’t video that bit, not least as I was asleep when this whole incident started to kick off) and the Amtrak conductor was there saying he wanted the police to remove him. The passenger was keen to explain his rights and say he wasn’t leaving. The police said they weren’t taking any further action, but he was being removed from the train as that was the law when Amtrak staff made that decision. This went on for a few minutes before the guy gave up, protesting his innocence. He made a good point that what was he supposed to do in the middle of the night at a railway station in what was in relatively the middle of nowhere. The police said they didn’t mind what he did, which isn’t quite what he was asking. Worn out with all this unexpected excitement, I went to sleep again after he had been booted off.

If you travel across the United States you see a lot of trees, water, fields and settlements seemingly miles from anywhere. It’s not as barren as when I’ve travelled in more westerly parts of the United States, but it’s glorious to travel by small towns with their nineteenth century buildings and streets that look remarkably unaltered.

This looks oddly cramped, but it wasn’t, there is more than enough space to lie back and be nowhere near the seat in front.

This is Washington DC where they have to do technical things to the train (the line is only electrified between Washington DC and New York), so passengers can have twenty minutes to wander around. I didn’t intend going off to investigate things on the concourse as we were told we could, and being naturally cautious this is as far from the train as I deemed it safe to go, just in case it rushed off without me.

I’ve been to Baltimore a few times, I’d like to go back and I always slightly regret going through a city that I don’t get the chance to visit properly.

Philadelphia is another city I’d like to visit again, but it was so near, but yet so far.

This time though, that’s pretty much all that I was going to see of the city.

Some very American messaging there, diets don’t work….

And that’s that, I arrived into Newark as timetabled, 24 hours and 30 minutes after setting off from Birmingham. The journey cost me around £90 which isn’t cheap, but I felt it was very reasonable given the huge distance covered. The time had melted away, I was refreshed and felt that the seat was sufficient and I hadn’t needed a sleeper carriage. Obviously the sleeper carriage and full service meals would have been a different and more decadent experience. But, it’s not authentic to me, like being in a car it’s just shutting off from the real people and the exciting events that happen. I accept that watching a man be arrested for exposing himself isn’t really a fine example of that, but I very much liked the conversations, the excitement and the experiences.

This was my final expedition on Amtrak on this trip, but I hope to be back in 2024 as I want to be back there on another rail service. I have fond memories of this rail journey, it felt like I suspect a cruise would if I had experienced one. It’s watching the world go by whilst being comfortable, relaxed and productive in terms of work. I read books on my phone, listed to podcasts and was just a little bit jealous at every stop when passengers got off at towns and cities that I wouldn’t get chance to on this journey. The staff on board were relentlessly friendly, visible and it felt a safe environment. Well, other than the dodgy man who was arrested. But everything else was magical and just as I hoped it would be.
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December 30, 2022
United States – Newark – Newark Penn Station

It’s a shame these photos were taken back in 2015 as the quality on my phone back then wasn’t great, but this is the seventh most used railway station in the United States and it has very frequent connections to New York.

It’s just visible if clicking on the photos, but the sign above them says that the seats can only be used by ticketed passengers and then for only two hours. They enforce that as well, or at least try to. The waiting room is grand in height, but not particularly large in size for such a busy railway station.

The railway station building dates to 1935, so is relatively recent, and was constructed during a period when railways were much more important to the transport infrastructure in the United States. It’s all about cars now, but at least this is one of the railway stations which has survived. The station was designed by McKim, Mead and White, who also designed one of the greatest railway stations in the world, Pennsylvania Station in New York. This was torn down in 1963 and was perhaps one of the worst architectural decisions made in New York, although it at least led to the creation of numerous heritage organisations.

I can’t recall exactly what was going on here, but it looks like something that I’ve constructed.

May 19, 2020