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Places to see, things to do

NORTHWICH

Northwich is a city that is near to where we live that also has an interesting, historical background. Rock salt was discovered in the 1670s which led to the establishment of a number of mines in the area, but the lack of good transport links hindered progress. The solution to the problem was the Anderton Boat Lift, built in 1875, which transfered boats hydraulically between the canal and river.

Here is a picture of the boat lift - you might just be able to see a boat coming out of the lift


Subsidence became a serious problem for the town from the 1870s as brine pumping was used to extract salt from flooded mines, which led to the dramatic collapse of buildings, canals and roads. After this, new buildings were built with light timber framing which could be jacked-up if the ground gave way and, in the worst cases, they could be moved to new locations.

A major programme was launched in 1987 to stabilise the abandoned salt mines beneath Northwich.

AVIATION VIEWING PARK
Manchester Airport has an Aviation Viewing Park where you can go to watch the planes come & go.

You have to pay to enter. There are 3 wooden viewing platforms that are raised up to give you a good view over the fence, which are very popular with photographers and plane enthusiasts. There is also a restaurant that is situated next to the Concorde Hangar where you can pay extra and have a tour of the Concorde.

Here are some photos from the Aviation Viewing Park

A viewing platform with a plane going by

An Emirates plane - just landed and taxiing to the terminal

A Virgin Jumbo taking off

The Concorde hangar with restaurant through glass windows


THE TRAFFORD CENTRE SHOPPING CENTRE

The Trafford Centre is a large indoor shopping centre located in Greater Manchester. The planning process for the Trafford Centre was one of the longest and most expensive in the history of the United Kingdom. Ultimately the matter was decided by the House of Lords. The Trafford Centre was opened in 1998, after the idea was born in 1984.

It has 137,346.65 square metres of retail space and attracts 30 million visits annually. There is plenty free parking and you will find most of the shops you have come to know & love in the UK including a 4-storey Marks and Spencer. There is also a branch of Selfridges – the first Selfridges outside London.

The food hall is quite impressive – you start by going through an area with different restaurants to a large open food hall that has takeaway food all around a central seating area. It is shaped a bit like a ship.


Another part of the shopping centre is called Barton square which is linked by a glass-covered bridge. The architecture of the square is italian and includes many statues and a large fountain. There is also a campanile tower. The shops in the square are mostly homeware like Next Home, BHS Home and M&S Home.

Eating out in Cheshire

We have been in Cheshire for just over 6 weeks now and these are two places we have tried out (and yes, one's a chinese buffet!)

JABULA, ELLESMERE PORT
On our 2nd day in Chester, we came across a South African restaurant called ‘Jabula’. Jabula means ‘happiness’ in Xhosa and Zulu. I couldn’t believe it - we had to go in and check it out. It is situated on the waterfront next to the Manchester Ship Canal.

They have an extensive dinner menu including many South African dishes like bobotie, Durban curry and springbok steak. The lunchtime menu had other favourites like savoury vetkoek and boerewors rolls. They also stock South African & Kenyan beer as well as South African wine. The décor is very African and Johnny Clegg was playing in the background. I had a savoury vetkoek which was filled with mince and came with chips. Richard had pap & wors – which was very tasty. For dessert we shared a lemon meringue pie. It came in a little individual pie dish, served with cream, ice cream and a drizzle of lemon which made it all very tasty. There weren’t any other South African desserts available though – just cheesecake and chocolate cake.

The prices are very reasonable and the staff are all South African. There is also a little shop upstairs where you can buy all your favourite goodies.

So that was a good find!

BUFFET CITY, CHESTER
Of course we had to find a good Chinese buffet in the area. After much research on the internet, we settled on one in Chester called Buffet City. As with other Chinese buffets, we always find a few different dishes. This time dim sum, vegetable omelette and beef satay. There was also a salad bar with some very nice fresh salads. And most importantly, there was a dessert section which included jelly with a condensed milk topping, litchies, fruit cocktail and chocolate cake. These were just the ones I tried, there were a few other desserts including deep fried peanuts in a sugar coating!

In all they have 60 dishes for £6.90 each (Saturday lunchtime price), so well worth it – and we hope to be going back again!

Buffets - a brief interlude

You may have gathered that we like our buffets. We do like to try out other restaurants too, but buffets offer such value for money and when you’re saving hard, buffets are the best value.

I guess my love of buffets started in PE when we used to regularly go to 'All you can eat night' on Tuesday nights at Pizza Inn on Cape Road. They very sneakily only gave you thick-crust pizza which meant you filled up quickly. I'm pretty sure 21 slices was my absolute best.

Arriving in the London opened up a whole new world of buffets and for a South African with limited funds, this was great! A place called 'Deep Pan Pizza Co.' offered all you can eat pizza, pasta and salad and I went there often.

We have since moved around the UK and experienced a whole variety of buffets - which I have listed below.

We mostly seem to go for chinese buffets and have tried at least one in the following cities: London, Durham, Newcastle (Metrocentre), Southampton, Portsmouth, Aldershot, Dublin, Belfast and Chester. Its hard to pick a favourite, but we do know that Mr Wu in London, with its choice of just 8 dishes, really doesn’t compare anymore.

These are other buffets we have tried out:

American Style – Big Lukes at the Metrocentre, Newcastle
We were drawn to Big Lukes as it offered things like hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza and spaghetti bolognese. Unfortunately everything was really tasteless and disappointing

Japanese – Zen in Southampton
Zen had a buffet on Sundays for people to try various different Japanese dishes including sushi. The sushi was extremely tasty. The main dishes were very similar to chinese food, dishes like chicken skewers in satay sauce, vegetable tempura and beef in black bean sauce

Thai – Kutis in Southampton
Kutis offers a very nice selection of Thai food at its lunchtime & dinner buffets. The buffet is very well set out so you can start with salads, then onto starters & soup, then the main dishes and then dessert. They change the dishes often too so you don't always get the same dish each time you go. They once had a fish soup which was really tasty - but I never came across it again.

Chinese AND Indian – Ghandi’s Chopsticks in Southampton
We had to try this one out as it offered a selection of Chinese and Indian food. However, Indian buffets are extremely filling as most dishes have potatoes in them. It was a nice experience, but I remember being too full to move afterwards.

Indian – Bombay Dreams, Montrose, Scotland
I really can’t remember much about this one, but I do remember it being a tasty indian buffet. One of my favourite Indian dishes is a spinach and cheese dish called Saag Paneer. Paneer is an unaged, non-melting cheese made by curdling heated milk with lemon juice.

Indian - Moore Street Mall, Dublin
This buffet was in an international food market area in Dublin which included an African food buffet. The food was very authentic and very tasty. The best was the biryani dish.

Italian - Puccinis in Southampton
This was an interesting one and extremely filling. Dishes included garlic bread, pasta & sausage, Bolognese, lasagne and pizza. There was also a salad bar.

Spanish – La Tasca in Basingstoke
La Tasca offered ‘Tapas for a Tenner’ where you can order as many dishes from the tapas menu as you can eat (3 at a time). Unfortunately the dishes weren’t all that tasty – but we did manage to try them all. The choice included olives, garlic bread, albondigas (meatballs), patatas bravas (potatoes in tomato sauce), paella, mixed seafood and a selection of spanish meats. My favourite was the tomato & mozzarella dish as it was very refreshing.

Pizza - Pizza Hut - various locations
Pizza Hut offers a lunchtime buffet where you can eat as much pizza, pasta and salad dishes as you like. Pretty standard - pretty tasty.


SOUTH AFRICAN BUFFETS
South Africa also has its fair share of buffets and PE has some really nice ones. You won’t necessarily find a chinese buffet, but the buffets you will find are very nice. We have only been to 2 in PE and 1 at Spier wine farm, near Cape Town but we know that there are more waiting for us.

What is nice about South African buffets is that they tend to consist of a selection of your favourite South African dishes.

BUFFETS IN PE

PE Golf Club
There is a Sunday Family Carvery Buffet lunch every Sunday at the golf club and it is amazing! You just quite simply want to try every single dish and so you find yourself going back for more and more. Desserts were amazing here too and you have to try get to the desserts early as it seems its some people’s favourite part of the meal! I'm sure some people skipped the mains and went straight for the desserts!

Bayside Pantry (dinner)
Described as a gourmet buffet that includes salads, seafood, stir fries, carvery and desserts. It was another painful experience in that we were too full too move afterwards. Bayside also has a breakfast buffet which we look forward to trying out soon.

BUFFETS IN CAPE TOWN

Spier Wine farm
We spent a couple nights at Spier Wine farm during one of our holidays back in SA. Spier has changed and expanded since we were there - around May 2002. At the time there were 2 restaurants. We stayed 2 nights and tried them both out. The one restaurant offered a buffet and it was incredible – it consisted of South African and Cape Malay dishes. I wish I could remember it all, but I do remember that even though I was too full to move, the desserts had to be tried – all of them!

There is now a new buffet option at Spier called Moyo – which we also look forward to trying. It is an enormous outdoor restaurant with dishes like steaks, potjies, salads, fish, breads, calamari, and desserts.

I hope I have made you all hungry - and not ill from the thought of all that food!! I know I am hungry and dreaming of the next buffet experience!

Do you speak English?

When you first arrive in the UK, you soon realise that even though you all speak English, you don’t speak the same English! Don’t tell a British person you like their ‘pants’ – it means underwear in the UK! I was asked how I knew what pants they had on?! All very confusing. British people also don’t understand South African English – saying ‘robot’ (traffic light) conjures up images of robotic creatures walking around.

Here’s a selective list of words that the English know and love, but which might prove eye-opening to those who don't speak the Queen's English.

absobloodylutely
Absolutely

alright!
Hello. A greeting. No answer is expected to what is inherently a question.
Also pronounced ‘awlright’.

argy-bargy
Arguing, as in “them two was having a right argy-bargy”.

bloke
A Man

box
Television, as in “Let’s see what’s on the box tonight.”

chap
A man. Usually associated with the speech of the upper classes, as in "I say old
chap, fancy joining us for a gin and tonic?"

cheap-as-chips
Extremely cheap

chew the fat
To chat

chippy
A chip shop. Except it’s usually a fish ‘n chip shop where you can also get pies &
battered sausages.

cream crackered
Tired out, exhausted. Rhyming slang for 'knackered'.

deep sea diver
A five pound note. Rhyming slang for ‘fiver’.

deffo
Definitely

geezer
A man - more ‘laddish'

giddy aunt
A mild exclamation of surprise, as in “oh my giddy aunt!”

good egg
A liked and favoured person

good on ya
Well done

governor
One's employer. Often spelt guvner.

grand
£1,000

a ton
£100

greasy spoon
An inexpensive café selling mostly fried things like bacon, sausages and eggs.

half-inch
To steal. Rhyming slang for 'pinch'. As in, “Who’s half-inched my pen?”

hole-in-the-wall
A cash point

innit
Shortened from "isn’t it"

jammy
Fortunate, lucky, as in “That jammy geezer just won a tenner on the fruit machines!”

local
A common term for a pub that is near to where you live, as in 'I'll see you down the local at eight”.

love
A friendly term of address, as in “Can I help you love?”

missus
The wife or girlfriend.

muppet
A foolish or stupid person, as in "Don't be a muppet”

nice one!
A general expression of approval.

numpty
Idiot

pants!
It can be used as an exclamation of frustration or to describe something that is bad or rubbish, as in “did you watch the Arsenal match, wasn't it pants?”

plonker
A stupid person

porkies
Lies. From the rhyming slang ‘pork-pies’.

prat
Idiot

quid
One pound

quids-in
In profit, as in "After the deduction of all my bills I was still quids-in".

skive
To avoid working, as in “the boss caught me skiving!”

shattered
Tired

skint
Without money

taters
Cold (pronounced tay-ters), as in "It's right taters today"

window licker
A name for the sort of nutter who sits next to you on the bus and does something weird.

All about Chester

We are living in NW England in the county of Cheshire. Chester is one of the largest cities in Cheshire and certainly one of the most beautiful and historical cities I have seen. I have been out and about a bit in Chester and this is what I’ve seen and learned about the city.

The Walls
Chester is also called the Walled City as it has the most complete circuit of city walls in the country. The city started out as a Roman fortress 2,000 years ago. The Normans extended the original circuit, building freestanding walls and adding towers, gates and a ditch.

A walk along the walls is a great way to see Chester - the full circuit measuring about 3km. Amongst other things, you will see the cathedral, the castle, the river and the racecourse. The racecourse is the oldest racecourse in the country and was once the site of a massive Roman harbour

This is a picture of part of the race course, also showing some of the wall (ok, I'm not a great photographer... yet)

The Cathedral
There has been a place of worship on the site of the present cathedral for more than 1000 years. In the Dark Ages the Saxons built a wooden church on the site. In 1057 the church was rebuilt and later refounded as a Benedictine monastery. It was made a cathedral when Henry VIII dissolved the monastery in 1540.

Because of its history, the cathedral has architectural styles from almost every century since the 10th - from norman arches to gothic columns, amazing medieval woodcarvings to spectacular stained glass.





Chester Castle
Chester Castle isn’t as you’d imagine an old majestic castle to be. Apparently is was once very different to how it now looks. William the Conqueror built the original structure in 1070 - basically an earth mound with a timber tower and an enclosure defended by a ditch. The tower was later rebuilt in stone with much of the work completed in the Middle Ages. After Cromwell’s success in the civil war, he decided to make the castle ‘uninhabitable’, and most of the medieval structure was destroyed. In the 18th century the ruins of the old castle were removed and a new outer wall was built to a design by Thomas Harrison. A massive gateway in the Greek Doric order was later added. Harrison's new-look castle was described as 'one of the most powerful monuments of the Greek revival in the whole of England'. The castle was used as a garrison, prison, exchequer and county court into the 19th century and the present County Hall was later built on the site of the prison.


The Rows Shopping Galleries
Shopping in the city centre is quite something. Besides enjoying walking down pedestrian-only, cobbled streets with shops on either side, many are housed in the 700 year old Rows shopping galleries. These are a unique medieval system of covered walkways with shops on two levels. The shops on the ground level are often lower than the street, so its like walking into a crypt or vault. All very old and interesting – and covered! Those folks from the middle ages knew how how make a good shopping system. There is also a shopping centre called ‘Grosvenor Shopping Centre’.

The following pictures are of the Rows - trying to give you an idea of how it looks.

This one is of a 2nd level walkway - with shops on the right and a sloping shelf to the railings.










The Architecture
Much of the architecture of central Chester looks medieval and some of it is, but by far the greatest part of it, including most of the black-and-white buildings, is Victorian. The black and white revival began in the 1850s. Architects were encouraged to use the 'rich and lively facades' of the Stuarts as a template for restoring buildings.

There are also genuine, half-timbered buildings from the Jacobean Renaissance. A good example of one of these is the pub called Bear and Billet Inn. This was the town house of the Earls of Shrewsbury and once stood in its own grounds – built around 1664.

This is a picture of the Bear and Billet Inn

Spring is here.... not!

I haven't updated my blog for awhile. I would like to be showing you pictures and telling you things about the interesting and historical area we are now living - but its too cold to go outside!

Spring officially arrived on 20 March and here are some pictures of the lovely spring weather we have been experiencing. These were taken on a trip across the Pennines. The Pennines is a mountain range that separates NW and NE England. These were taking from the car as we drove through.