Thanks, Vee! I don't think we'll have time to go to Hampton Court. We're planning to visit the Tower (of course), Kensington Palace and the Banqueting House. I would also love to go to Westminster Abbey. We are staying in a hotel right across the river from the Tower. I have heard the traffic in London is awful (but, hey, it's awful here, too) so we figure a lot of time will be spent traveling from one place to another. I told DH that I don't want to waste my time in the subway - I want to be out where I can see stuff! (Plus those multi-story escalators give me the heebie-jeebies.)

Donna

Donna, have you heard the story of a U.S. visitor who went to a London post office to send postcards home? He asked how much postage was required, and the answer was x pence per stamd, "the same as all the other colonies."

LOL Carolyn! A friend of mine was visiting one of the cathedrals in England. A docent asked what language he wanted the brochure in, and he said “English.” She looked down her nose and said, “Well, of a sort.” :)

Donna, as you say the traffic in London is terrible and, although I have no idea how young or fit you both are, the best way to get around would be 'on foot'. If you are staying on the South Bank of the Thames it is not a long walk along the riverside to London Bridge then over to Whitehall for the Banqueting House. Westminster is a bit further away but still in the same direction.

Westminster Abbey can be a huge scrum of humanity (as can the Tower) But as you will be almost in the 'City'* you might have the energy to look at a couple of 'Wren' churches (built by Wren after the Fire of London had destroyed so many of the medieval buildings) Many of them, unlike St Paul's, don't have many visitors and can be an oasis of calm from the crowds on the streets

* You may not realise that London is divided into the City of London, which was the old, Roman bit, with the various 'gates' that led out into what was countryside Moorgate, Aldgate etc. It is North of the Thames and known as the Square Mile; now the main financial area. The City of Westminster, still North of the river is much bigger with many of the 'tourists' places of interest Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament, the theatres and big stores etc.

Re 'English' (as it is spoken) over here we, simple fools that we are,
think we speak 'English' whereas a US RPer suggested what we actually
speak is 'Anglo Saxon' as Americans speak 'English' . . . my spell
checker says I speak/write British English . . . but only makes corrections in American . . .

And I had never heard of a 'docent' 'til I met it on RP. It is a word never used here!

Regarding Ugg boots, it was reported on the news that a firm in the US has the rights to the brand name Ugg Australia with them being manufactured in China! Crazy world, hey?

Vee, I discovered the word docent a couple of years ago when in the US - it's never used here either. We just have guides.

I’ve encountered docents in WA. In fact, for a while I was one.

I love to read various recipes and came across this puzzle: what exactly are "floury potatoes"?

perhaps it means older, starchy potatoes ?

or does it refer to potato starch which is similar to corn starch and used in breads for the same purpose ?

It was a Brit recipe so I await their answers. :-)

yes yoyo usually older spuds, but as you know there are many different types some waxy, good when 'new' for salads etc and the floury ones used for mashing, roasting in their 'jackets' etc.

Was the Brit recipe from England Ireland Scotland or Wales where potatoes are cooked in many different ways?

Mary did you check out the answers to your question about plimsolls . . . above?

Yes, Vee, thanks for the prior post. I'm not sure which of the above the recipe came from. I would guess England. I never had heard that term before in any recipe.

Vee, updating the recipe info. It is for Duck Confit Pie. It also calls for "rooster" potatoes and "King Edward" potatoes. What are those?

Mary, I had never heard of rooster potatoes but nothing daunted have looked them up. So called because they have red skins . . . rooster is not a common word over here. I know you in the US use it for a male chicken/fowl but we are more down-to-earth and say cock or cockerel. King Edward's are a very common type of spud with a floury texture used for all sorts of dishes.

Nor have I heard of a duck confit pie; it sounds as though it might be served at a pretentious dinner party.

Potatoes

Vee, thanks for posting the info on potatoes. I suppose we would call
roosters "red potatoes." Interesting how all those were labeled so precisely. We mostly see Yukon Golds and tiny "new" potatoes here.

Many years ago my State's Potato Marketing Board decided that only King Edward potatoes should be grown commercially. I didn't like them as they had little taste and were only used by me mashed with butter and salt or fried. I sometimes used packets of flakes which tasted good but were expensive.

When I went to the UK in 1990, I was staggered by the varieties available.

By the time I returned to Australia, things had changed and there was more choice. Names are different in the other States though, which can be confusing.

Annpan, I think the huge variety of potatoes is partly because the plants are so susceptible to blight. so scientists are always developing new strains to over come this problem. We find many of the new/improved varieties are little different from their older cousins and the really quirky ones (bright red/blue throughout) have little or no flavour.

Btw we always grow a few rows of spuds here, usually 'second earlies' or 'salad' rather than 'main crop' and find if we don't get them out of the ground by August they start to develop blight, the first signs being blackening of the leaves; because we live in a dampish climate almost at sea-level. As you know all our UK 'seed potatoes' are produced in Scotland with its cooler climate.

I was remembering the wonderful taste of New potatoes from the Channel Islands and unusual small ones like fir which I found in packets.

The trend here is for supermarkets to display labels and other information to advise which is the best use for a particular potato. Some are sold in light-proof bags to slow deterioration.

A bit of a change from the ones from my childhood which usually had soil clumps attached!

Vee, do you cook with barley very often?

I ask because I remember my Scottish landlady did. She would throw a handful of 'pearls' (as she called the barley grains, never measuring anything except by eye and hand) into soups or stews. She also made barley 'side dishes' -- barley with onion and barley with apricots (? not sure if apricots are right, but it was some sort of dried fruit, minced). She used barley in lieu of potatoes, if I recall correctly.

I developed quite a liking for barley dishes in Scotland, so that when I moved back south I missed them. I got the impression that barley is not liked very much in England. I just commented casually to an English landlady about barley. She curled her lip with a sneer as if I were insulting her with the suggestion of using barley. Was her reaction just an idiosyncrasy or a wider spread disdain? I don't think I ever had barley as solid food in England. One English person told me barley was only good for beer brewing or distilling spirits.

Barley is not commonly eaten in the U.S. either -- at least not in the parts I know best. John Barleycorn is the personification of liquor (strong spirits) here -- or once was -- however.

Frieda, re barley. I always have a packet of pearl barley in the store cupboard and use a handful in soups and stews to add a bit of 'body'. Regarding its popularity I think these day with people having neither the time of the inclination to prepare 'proper' meals as in our Mothers' day many of these slow cook grains have become a thing of the past. On the other hand there is this new phenomenon of getting back to natural ingredients veganism etc that in some quarters is encouraging us to use these cheap and wholesome grains. Porridge oats for eg. has become a popular breakfast food over here.

I love pearl barley and add it to soups and stews too, especially with lamb.

I like farro even better than barley as it doesn't tend to get "mushy" like barley does. All these grains are so nutritious, I'm happy to see they are having a comeback in recipes.

Here in the US, the older healthier grains are indeed having a comeback, such as farro, barley, and others. Here in Charleston, there are a number of vegetarian restaurants with very creative menus. It used to be that various forms of pasta were used in ethnic recipes. But recently, I've noticed that its substitute can be couscous or in particular, Israeli couscous, both of which I like. There are some Middle Eastern restaurants, as well, here in the city.

I'm not familiar with 'farro' and don't know if it is available over here, unless in specialist shops. Is it just made up of wheat grains? My daughter has introduced us to couscous and a friend swears by quinoa although it didn't tickle my taste buds when I first tried it.

Farro is grains of one of the ancient early wheat species, spelt, emmer or einkorn.

Thanks colleen.

Vee, farro may go by a different name in the UK. This link might be helpful:

https://www.thestar.com/life/food_wine/2012/04/09/farro_is_a_trendy_grain_that_goes_by_many_names.html

A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's social rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles, but historically, she does not share the king's political and military powers. The late Queen Mother was a queen consort. A queen regnant (Elizabeth) is a queen in her own right (oldest heir to throne when Daddy George died) with all the powers of a monarch, who has become queen by inheriting the throne upon the death of the previous monarch.

The question concerns Phillip. Why isn't he a king consort?

yoyo, I don't think there is any law that says the husband of a queen (in her own right) cannot be a king/king consort . . . but . . . by tradition this has never been the case with the few queens who have been on the English (later British) throne. Queen Victoria was very keen for Albert to be made king consort but her ministers would not agree. They saw the possibility of him wielding too much power, and not just 'behind the throne'. From their point of view they felt they would have far more 'say' over a then unworldly young woman who needed to be led by their wise old heads. They certainly didn't want a German prince telling them how to run the country.

I don't know if HM Queen ever felt that Prince Philip should take over the role of 'King'. I doubt it, as by the 1950's precedent (ie what had happened in Albert's case) was well established. It is often claimed that P Philip has had to 'carve' a role out for himself. After a very active time of duty in the Royal Navy it can't have been easy to play second fiddle to his wife but he has involved himself in a wide range of interests/causes, travelled all over the world and seems to have kept the Palace officials on their toes . . . and doesn't take fools gladly!

And slightly off topic did anyone in the US hear that the Prince of Wales (also with a wide range of interests) had a possibly one-sided conversation with Pres T. recently on the question of global warming and associated matters?

Thanks Vee !

Here's a link that might answer your question:

http://time.com/5339439/donald-trump-queen-elizabeth-piers-morgan/

I always thought that a king outranked a queen, therefore if someone married the queen regnant, he couldn't be king.

In a couple of the books I've read lately, there have been references to people wearing jerkins. Is a jerkin the same as a vest? Or something other than a vest?

Kathy, in the UK a vest is an undergarment, although we have now taken on the US meaning of the day-glow yellow outer clothing worn by by what you call construction workers and we call builders. A jerkin was/is a hard-wearing sleeveless strong longish waistcoat often made of leather mainly worn by country people for hunting/shooting etc.

Of course there is a sub-set of folk who dress up as country dwellers, wearing tweeds, expensive wellingtons and so-on. They are usually seen outside London at weekends and they make sure they never come into contact with anything as unfashionable as mud. There may be fashion-house designs of jerkins designed with them in mind.

From what I understand, in the US 'country folk' are looked down on as as straw-chewing, grunting beings (rather like Cletus Spuckler in 'The Simpsons) and there are a few like that over here but 'country-living' is considered quite chic . . . especially if you have a pad in the city for the rest of the week.

Vee, thanks for the info on jerkins. I was surprised that you have the impression US country folk are looked down on. I am acquainted with and rub shoulders with a number of country folk, and in general, I like them just fine. They don't always think the way I do, but from my perspective, they seem to be salt-of-the-earth type folks who you can count on for honesty and assistance, no matter who you are. Just plain good people.

Kathy, thanks for the country info. Perhaps I shouldn't look at Hot Topics where so many hate-filled folk regard themselves as all-knowing, East Coast elite graduates (with a few from CA) who cannot even accept other folk might have a different p.o.v without being the Devil's spawn.

Country folk are the backbone of our country ! I know of no prejudice against them. I believe the US is a country of many different types and consequently we embrace all law-abiding folk regardless of where their roots are :0) The US is too large and diverse to get picky !

Although the New Yorkers and Californians refer to rest of us as living in fly-over country. I'm a real country girl born in a rural part of a poor state before electricity and indoor plumbing reached us. I did, however, take to the convenience of city living quite easily. Sidewalks are nice (pavements, Vee),

Thanks for putting me right on town mouse v country mouse. I shall take it that unflattering comments about 'rubes' on the HT thread are by puffed-up people with little comprehension of what made/makes your country 'tick'.

I too come from a small-town/edge of country community and now live with fields all around (though unfortunately with a very busy main road running through our village) and enjoy the conversations with 'old-timers' about a way of life now largely gone and a gentle sense of humour that 'gets back' at the slick 'townies'.

I have to jump in and defend Hot Topics. Not everyone who posts there is elitist, snobbish, or insulting. I post there myself and I've lived in both country and city. I've found a surprising diversity at Hot Topics threads and there are many who post there from "fly over country."

Woodnymph/Mary of course not all the people at HT are rude/insulting but maybe it is because I am from England where, although politics can become heated it is not usually to the degree of not being able to see the other p-o-v or where everything is either black or white. Nor do we 'discuss' subjects such as abortion or religion in this way. They are considered private and in no way political. But as most of the 'members' at HT are Americans with a smattering of polite Canadians and a vitriol-fuelled English female who is a dyed in the wool Marxist and 'drug grower' . . . I think it better that I keep a low profile and let others put the world right!

I'm reading my first Susan Hill mystery (so far, so good!) and I've come across the expression "po-faced" which I'd never heard before. I looked up the meaning (having a solemn, serious, or earnest expression), but I am curious as to whether it is commonly used in conversation. Anyone know?

Kathy, yes po-faced is an expression most English people would be familiar with. It might be considered a slightly derogatory way of describing a person's 'look' maybe in a "we are not amused" way as is claimed to have been said by Queen Victoria.

Thanks, Vee. And yes, it was used in a slightly derogatory way in the book I'm reading.

Can anyone here tell me what a "lamington" is? It was used in connection with a tea served in Australia.

It is a plain sponge cut into bars then rolled in runny chocolate icing/ frosting then in desiccated coconut.

"Lamington Drives" are popular ways to make money for schools and charities etc.

Thanks, ann. It was praised by Jill Ker Conway in her memoir.

Here's the recipe for Lamingtons.....it looks YUMMY !! :

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/17201/lamingtons/

Yum, my kind of dessert.

Carolyn, not so much a dessert as a small cake served mainly at tea time. The shops sell them either as the traditional bar in a pack or a whole Lamington style round cake.

A good lamington is my fave! I have baked hundreds in my time :-)

Often they are sold in bakeries split through the middle and filled with red jam (usually raspberry) and whipped cream, or just the whipped cream but I prefer mine plain. Pink lamingtons are made by dipping the sponge in raspberry jelly (US jello) that has been made with a little less water and allowed to get to the thickening up stage of setting before rolling in the coconut.