Fish and Chips

There are a few factors which make British Fish and Chips the envy of the world.

1. Nowhere in Britain is too far away from a sea or ocean. This is an important factor re availability of fresh fish across the nation.
2. The seas and oceans surrounding Britain have fish that is eminently suitable for deep frying, including Cod, Haddock, Plaice, Sole, Halibut.
3. Specialized fish and chip frying equipment is made in the UK for the 8500 or so outlets
4. Greek Cypriot immigrants who came to Britain years ago, all of whom seemed to have the ability to produce world class Fish and Chips. 

There is a huge difference between fresh chilled fish stored temporarily in dry ice and deep frozen fish. Anything deep frozen tends to lose its texture and taste and to transport fish across huge continents, deep frozen is the order of the day. I feel sorry for you all..

Fresh water fish is really good if sautéed but you never want to deep fry it. Salmon or Trout in breadcrumbs maybe. In Beer batter? No thanks. The white ocean fish already mentioned are the best anywhere.

The fryers seen in burger joints are ok for frozen French Fry style chips, but fish and chips need space to fry properly, just as pasta needs a large pasta pot if it is to be anything other than mediocre.

Not only are Greek Cypriot people super friendly, they are the top fish and chip producers in the world. They also introduced Kebabs and chips. While I was still resident in the UK, I knew a few good Fish and Chip shops whose kebabs were so good that I stopped eating the fish.

British Fish and Chip shops also do a range of products, including fish, fish cakes, roe, sausage, saveloy, chicken, Mars bars, scallops, pickled eggs, gravy, curry sauce, mushy peas and kebabs. There is something for everybody.

Why don’t fish and chip shops do as well in other countries?? I believe that it is because only the concept is carried across, not the full product. We call them Fish and Chip shops in Britain still, but they are more than that, way more.

A note about Harry Ramsden’s. This is what made the company famous.

.. White Cross, Guisley, West Yorkshire, a large dining room with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. I have to admit that I did not care for the fish and chips here. In the North, there was a tendency to use lard in the fryers, where in the South, oil was used. As a consequence, I found the fish batter to be too heavy, and the whole meal left an after taste which I didn’t like.

HR expanded into a chain, but Fish and Chip shops are not about chains. The best are where the skills of a master fryer are passed down through generations, not an instruction sheet taped to a wall.

There was a Fish and Chip shop opposite the church on the A61 out of Skipton in Yorkshire where the fare was so good, I had to go in and get more. North, South or the bit in the middle, there are some excellent Fish and Chips shops and long may they succeed. I could list many which I regard as worth a visit, but it has been a few years and they may not exist anymore, or have changed hands.

One thing I can tell you,, the Fish and Chip places here in Ontario Canada are ok, but not like back home. The Fish and Chip shop is one of Britain’s Best that I really do miss.

Dr Who?

November 23rd, 1963, a half hour before the BBC National News slot, we heard this. Then we were taken into a set and introduced to a straight faced and slightly intimidating old man.

We have never looked back, well maybe to check to see if the Daleks or the Cybermen are on our tails.

It is the longest running Sci-fi series ever and is popular across the globe. The sets were cheap as were the special effects, but it scared us all to death. Remember that in 1963, we still had monochrome TV sets. There were no bright colours to make it all seem more playful.

After the first showing of the Daleks, I doubt that there was a schoolboy alive who didn’t walk into school, extend his arm and exclaim “Exterminate”.

Eventually, William Hartnell morphed into Patrick Troughton, then Jon Pertwee and for me, finally Tom Baker. As each character appeared, I liked the new one better, but when Tom Baker morphed into Peter Davison, I couldn’t watch it anymore. He just didn’t come across as Dr Who to me. I tried to watch the newer ones, I really did.

I picked up watching it again maybe three years ago having seen it in the cable TV program listings here in Canada. The doctor was played by David Tennant and I have to admit to liking the character.

Why is Dr Who better than Star Wars and StarTrek.? There is no sanitization in Dr Who. Space travel is haphazard and a generally dangerous business. Dr Who doesn’t try to befriend his enemies, and they wouldn’t want to be friends anymore than we would want to be friends if some strange beings arrived tomorrow with powers so obviously well in advance of our own.

Dr Who isn’t about ‘they all lived happily ever after’. It is a continuing struggle just as life has been a continuous struggle on our planet. This is why Dr Who is still being produced and why the others have all finished their missions.

For more on the best Sci-fi series in the Universe, start here.. http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw

Ford’s Transit

The most popular van in Europe for many years, you name it and the Transit has been there and done it.

Apart from ‘white van’ delivery tasks, it is used by the Emergency services (all branches), and Royal Mail. There are four wheel drive conversions, camper van conversions, ice cream van conversions, whatever you want and as long as you have the cash.

You can have long wheel base or short wheel base, regular top or high top, pickup, mini-bus, twin rear wheels for greater load capacity, and all of these choices lead to many more uses than already mentioned. 

Fancy a vacation? Large or small, the Transit can handle the load. This one is high end.. You can get them as small as the Police vehicle, but if you want comfort, the one on the left is cool.

The great thing about the Transit, and what really made it popular was the huge range of factory options, the size and the fact that Transits are comfortable and drive like cars.

I remember sitting in a South Manchester cafe, the King and Castle. There was a couple there extolling the virtues of their recently converted Transit which was basically the long wheel base delivery style van but now sporting a 3 litre engine from a Ford Capri. They talked as if it was a Rolls Royce, and I had to smile. I looked for it when I exited the cafe, and sure enough, there it was. Rust and patchy paint work didn’t bother them at all. It was the performance which put it at a level above transport used by their friends.

Don’t think that all Transits are rusty and patched up. Customisers like them as well, giving them fancy paintwork, lowered suspension and of course the 3 litre conversion. There is one more conversion which deserves a mention. The stretched Transit..

No problems getting your party into this one..

For more on this remarkable vehicle.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Transit

Edible yeast extract..

Better known as Marmite, it is a fairly sharp-tasting spread. The more you apply, the sharper it gets. In raw form, its been around for centuries, but until a German guy discovered that yeast extract could be worked on and made into an edible form, Marmite was conspicuous by its absence.

So, what has Marmite done for us and the rest of the world? Well. it can be spread on bread and butter, toast and butter, added to recipes, is the spicy part of Twiglets, can be licked directly from whatever is used to apply it, has helped win two world wars and is available across the world.

Marmite lovers are instantly recognisable as being British, and most of us born after WWII will have been introduced to soft boiled eggs and Marmite soldiers. What is a Marmite soldier, I hear you ask. It is Marmite spread onto hot/cold buttered toast, and cut into strips narrow enough to be dipped into the top of the egg. The secret is not to apply it in thick layers. Even the toughest of Brits struggle if it is laid on with a trowel.

It is available from the Brit sections in Spanish grocery stores, and can be found in Canadian grocery stores too. Here in Canada, the locals see the words ‘yeast extract’ on the label and promptly put it with other baking goods like baking powder and paper cup cases. Is it any real wonder that without instruction, Canadians don’t know what to do with it? Baking? I don’t think so..

I can see that you are itching to become a member of the Marmite Fan Club and find out more about this heroically British foodstuff.. See here..

http://www.marmite.com/ 

Lots of history, why it was called Marmite and of course the fan club..

Beer

Forget what you have read about warm British beer. It is a myth. Real beer is stored in cellars where the temperature was and still is carefully controlled.

There are two breweries close to where I used to live, Donnington and Hook Norton. Both breweries provide superlative beer in a few varieties. These beers are designed to be supped quietly in a small room, large open fire, and with no hint of plastic or ‘faux’ in sight. You can, if you want, have a bar snack, but nothing that takes too much time away from the beer.

Not all pubs are created equal. Here is a short beginners guide..

http://www.timetravel-britain.com/articles/travel/pubs.shtml

You don’t want to make a ‘Shandy’ out of any real beer, nor do you want to disgrace the brew with paper umbrellas, plastic maraschino cherries and crushed ice. Do this with the less classy gas pumped keg beers or the fancy imported designer beers if you are intent on spoiling the brew..

So what does a classic British pint look like? Well, I was born a Midlander, and beer looked like this. It does in the south of the country too. To pick it up, you put four fingers through the handle (you can see it just to the right on the glass), and then you position your finger ends and thumb comfortably into the dimples on the glass.

What you don’t want to do is hold it like you would a milk jug. It is far too easy to waste it into your lap or on the carpet.

During a sortie to the North of where I lived, (Ossett Yorkshire actually), a pint came in a conical glass. Earlier types had a ‘blown’ ring towards the top which helped stop the glass slipping through inattentive hands. This is fairly typical of what is used for lager beers, cider and Snakebites, a combination of lager and cider in the same glass.

OK, so this is my quick guide to ‘warm’ beer and some of the places where you can try it out. There are real ale breweries across the country, and all of them are worth a visit, believe me.

If ever you are a visitor to the UK, I can guarantee that when you arrive back home, you will remember the sunny Sunday afternoon you sat outside a country pub with a glass of Britain’s finest, and you will wish that you were back there, re-enacting your very first taste of the best beer in the world.

A note on Scrumpy..

This is a drink made primarily in England’s West Country. It is essentially fermented apples, nothing added, and is made in quite small quantities. Cloudy in appearance, it can be killer stuff. If ever you have seen horses stagger around after they have eaten a few rotting apples off the ground, you will have a good idea what it will do to you.

You can find it in some West Country pubs, but the best place to get it is direct from the producers. They will be happy to show you how it is made, the tours are always short, fermenting apples in a container with another container in close proximity to catch the finished product, and you can try before you buy.

Cider is a derivative of Scrumpy, way more refined, always carbonated, and way less alcoholic.

A Tale of Two Bridges

The Clifton Suspension Bridge..

Completed in 1864. It isn’t the largest span ever at only 702 feet, but the bridge is not about breaking records. It is about getting from one side of the river to the other without getting one’s feet wet, and it does that in true style. As you can see from the first photo, locations for the towers were less than convenient. This tower is called the Clifton tower and as you can see, it is built atop a solid precipice. The Leigh tower on the other side is very different and here is a link to a website which shows how it was done.

http://www.interactory.com/web/hidbrid/content/dev5

OK. Now for a scene to kill for. If you know of a suspension bridge and surroundings that looks as good as this one, please leave a comment and I will check it out..

The Forth Railway bridge..

The suspension bridge on the left is called the Forth Road Bridge and was completed in 1964. at which point the one on the right became known as the Forth Railway Bridge. From its completion date in 1890, it was called the Forth Bridge, and the ‘Railway’ part was added just in case there was any confusion over which was which after 1964. It is made from riveted steel tubes, big steel tubes, it carries a double track, and I understand that no other bridge was ever made exactly like it because it was so expensive to create. However, other bridges borrowed some of the design features.

It looks small from this angle, but when you stand on the jetty just to the left of the brick towers, you get a much better idea of just how big this bridge actually is.

It is a very strong bridge too. The engineers and designers were acutely aware of what happened to the original Tay bridge, and there was no way that this bridge was going to collapse.

The death toll of workers was quite high, ninety eight killed and thousands of non-fatal injuries sustained, but you have to remember that this is the Firth of Forth. Weather in Scotland is not as kindly as it is in the South West of England.

For more info:

The Clifton Bridge.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifton_Suspension_Bridge

The Forth Railway Bridge.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forth_Railway_Bridge

HST.. The Intercity 125

The first production car, 43002 was delivered in 1975. Rumour had it that the HST was a stopgap measure until the AP-T was perfected. It never happened and the HST became the star of British railways

The speed limit on the rails at the time was 100mph, but the light axle loading of the HST allowed for 125mph. It was and still remains the fastest diesel powered passenger service in the WORLD, setting a record of 143.2mph in 1973.

Power was delivered by two power cars, one at each end, Each end was fitted out with a Paxman Valenta 12 cylinder marine diesel engine developing 2,250hp, but due to overheating problems was eventually reduced to 2000hp. Since 2005, HSTs have been refurbished with Paxman VP185 engines

The prototype had a look all of its own, not the prettiest look for a streamliner. This is 41001 on display at the National Railway Museum in York. The buffers look decidedly out of place, and lights are close grouped behind glass in the centre..Also note that there was no provision for a view out of the sides for the driver.

The final design was a little more raked, side windows were added, the buffers disappeared and the lights were spread out and in their own nacelles, an altogether more pleasing look.

Why diesel? Well, the only overhead electrified lines ran down the West Coast main line originally. The East Coast main line didn’t get converted until the 80’s. The Western region was also not electrified, so it made sense to produce a ‘one size Diesel fits all’ The UK was up to this point lagging behind the rest of Europe in high speed trains. The lack of overall electrification and the more traditional train sets made up of Class 55’s and Mk3 coaches was not cutting any mustard.

Anyway, here is a photo of a production HST, 43058 sitting at Leicester on the East Coast main line pre electrification

The HST is a definite favourite with train spotters, not just for the rakish looks and overall performance, but also for the way its starts up. The Valenta turbocharger is really quite noisy, and standing next to an HST is not unlike standing next to jet aircraft as it powers up for take-off. Watch the video and turn your speakers up..

The HST will not be around forever so make the most of them while you can.