Good Friday - A few Sailors, a drink and a Hot Cross Bun

Hot Cross Buns have a colourful and lengthy history. Amongst the superstitions, sailors would take Hot Cross Buns baked on Good Friday with them on their voyages, as it was said to prevent shipwrecks. Located not too far from the East End docks, the associations with the Widow's Pub in Bow in East London are incredibly strong.

The legend goes that in the early 19th Century a widow lived in a cottage with her only son. Her sailor son left for the sea but promised to be back on Good Friday, 1824. Awaiting his return, his mother baked him a hot cross bun, but he never arrived. Every year until her death she baked a bun on Good Friday, hoping to welcome her son home, but she never saw him again.

In the 1840's a pub replaced the cottages called the Widow's Son and the tradition has been carried on with a Hot Cross Bun baked every Good Friday and hung in a net above the bar. A service is held in the pub and a member of the Royal Navy adds another freshly baked to the net admist singing, a few jovial drinks and a lot of goodwill.

Another story says claims the Widow was the publican of a pub already on site - but we will possibly never know.

  

Thanks to a tip off by the lovely Miss Regula Foodwise, we couldn't resist popping along, and chatting with the friendly locals (proper proper Cockney Sparra's) - some who have been attending the service for over 50 years and Navy members - some fresh from a 6 month voyage.

 

 

 

Sadly there was a fire about 15 years ago in which many of the age-old buns were burnt, but a few were saved and have been treasured with their fresher counterparts.

It's a real festival atmosphere; everyone crowded in at 3pm glasses in hand, rock music pumping and the buffet kindly laid on (over the billiard table) and such a nice atmosphere.




The legend is such a heartbreaking tale, can you imagine what the Widow would have to say if she knew that the tradition is still being carried out over 125 years later? Maybe as the MC said “Another year, another Good Friday, another bun.”

We especially loved the sign hanging above the pub of the Sailor returning many years later to the pub, with the many buns hanging in their net. The old Facade can be seen here.


There are many superstitions surrounding Hot Cross Buns and Easter:

• Sharing a hot cross bun with another is supposed to ensure friendship throughout the coming year, particularly if "Half for you and half for me, Between us two shall goodwill be" is said at the time.
• Another encourages keeping such a bun for medicinal purposes. A piece of it given to someone who is ill is said to help them recover
• If hung in the kitchen, they are said to protect against fires and ensure that all breads turn out perfectly.
• Eggs laid today will not go off
• If a child is born today & baptized on Easter Sunday they will have gift of healing

The Hot Cross bun has very contested origins, with Pagan claims, some claiming a connection with Eostre (a Germanic god, the namesake to Easter), some to the Ancient Greeks but the most widely accepted seem to be the Christian origins, with the cross on the buns representing the Crucifixion.

Awesome fact: the London Clerk of Markets issued a decree forbidding the sale of hot cross buns and other spiced breads, except at burials, on Good Friday, or at Christmas. The punishment for transgressing the decree was forfeiture of all the forbidden product to the poor.

If you fancy joining in next year, the pub address is The Widow's Son, 75 Devon's Road, Bow, London, E3 3PJ.

I hope you are having a lovely Good Friday!



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GIVEAWAY: Foodie Festival NOW CLOSED

I have something to brighten your day. With the dank, dark and snowy weather unrelenting, I think we all need something to cheer us up, and get us all through the rain/snow/wind/rain/rain/hail weather pattern we are having and it's a thank you for reading my little corner of t'internet. The organisers of the largest UK Foodie Festivals have kindly offered 2 of my readers a pair of tickets (each pair worth £30) to their London Foodie Festivals - meccas of delicious food, lovely drink and a chance to meet the people behind their products. 

We went last year (as independent paying, escaping from the office, excited-to-enjoy-the-sunshine customers) so how would you like to try a little of the below (obviously I can't guarantee the sunshine though!).

Did I mention the New Zealand wine stockists who exhibited last year? See, Kiwis ARE taking over the world.



 

Now in its eighth year, new highlights will include:

• A Chocolate Theatre to showcase the world of chocolate and confectionery demonstrations
• A Wine Village, bringing together international producers and wine regions, including English producers
• The extensive Producers’ Market sells a vast array of artisan produce from the local area and incorporates the Guild of Fine Food Great Taste Market’s award-winning British produce.
• New dining and VIP area serving signature dishes from top local restaurants including pop-up versions of Ed Baines’ restaurant Randall & Aubin, Jamie’s Italian Kingston and Masala Zone, run by Veeraswamy, the oldest Indian restaurant in the UK. 
• City Beach where families can chill out on deckchairs with an artisan ice-cream or an afternoon tea whilst children build sandcastles.
• This year’s Children’s Cookery Theatre will be operated by local cook school Kiddy Cook who will run a series of workshops incorporating gastronomic experiments. 
• Specialist tea, coffee and fresh juice vendors can be found around the site.
• The entertainment stage features live music acts including Gloria Miller performing every day
• A spectacular Bake and Cake Theatre in association with Electrolux incorporating a ‘bake-along’ with members of the audience invited to participate.
• The new market section Homeware Village offers visitors the chance to shop for kitchenware and gadgets

Thank you to Foodies Festival for providing these tickets for the readers of Adventures of a London Kiwi, and for inviting me to the festival this year.

 I can't guarantee you will get these abs by attending, but the smile I can!

How To Enter:

• Simply complete the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries
• Entries can be via blog comment, Facebook, Twitter etc
• This competition is open to UK residents only. Please read the rules below .
• Leaving a blog comment is mandatory and failure to do so will void any other entries.
• Closing date -  12th April 2013 12.00 pm 

*Terms and conditions

1. This offer is only open to UK residents
2. Complimentary tickets are valid for one day only at your chosen venue.
3. Tickets are non transferable. One pair of tickets per winner only.
4. Complimentary tickets obtained through this offer may not be duplicated.
5. All tickets will be scanned on entry to the show
6. You may enter for both venues but will be required to complete the entries through both rafflecopters separately.

How Entries and Rafflecopter works:

• You will need to complete the mandatory entry first by making a blog comment. Click 'leave a comment' at the bottom of the post and leave your reply. The comment won't show immediately as it needs to be moderated, however rest assured it will appear on the site, so carry on with rest of your entries.
• Go back to Rafflecopter and click the green button to tell me you have made a comment, this will unlock all the other options. All entries are checked to see that the mandatory question is answered, if its not all bonus entries will become void.
• Rafflecopter will tweet, like and follow on your behalf.
• For information on how to find the URL of your tweet click here.
• For bonus entries you can return to this page and enter the daily bonus entries.
• If you are still unsure as to how Rafflecopter works please do check out this short video.

Enter here to win tickets for

Hampton Court Palace – Saturday 25, Sunday 26 and Monday 27 May 2013

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

London Clapham Common: Friday 7, Saturday 8 & Sunday 9 June 2013

 

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(Mostly) Wordless Friday

Sometimes, I do wonder if this blog should be called 'Baking Misadventures of a London Kiwi'.


From careful planning and a trial cake (I somehow typed 'tria cakel'??), to successfully baking it, making Lime Curd from scratch, cutting through the centre and filling it with Lime Curd and tucking it away for decorating when I got home from work...

to:

Enough said.

This week did however have a few bright points: we saw the end of 'Marmageddon' (it even broke into the UK Telegraph news and the BCC)

(Not mine sadly, not yet)

Perused some interesting Tube Artwork:

And decided to have a week-long sugar hiatus. That's it, no more sugar. I think I may possibly be crazy, so watch this space! So far it's going well.

Bring on the weekend of adventures! Wine, a FPP personally delivered, a horrendously cute pupp, Steak, an exceedingly tall building and Football all await.

 

 

 

What would your perfect weekend entail?

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A genuine TARDIS: London Living

Monday blues. Everyone wants to turn back the clock, and make it 4.30pm on a Friday afternoon again. Well, the writers of Doctor Who came up with a very creative solution - a blue 1960s London public phone box, originally used to contact the police re-purposed as a time machine on Doctor Who. Who'd a-thunk it? (Sorry for the pun).

Please let me introduce the ‘Time and Relative Dimension in Space’ or better known as the one and only TARDIS, a machine used for travelling through time and space. It's also a brilliant 'alternative' Tourist attraction for Sci-fi loving fans. Ok, so maybe it's not expressly for escaping the Monday blues, but it would work perfectly!

 

Currently holding the Guinness World Record as the longest-running science fiction television show in the world first screening on the BBC in 1963, Doctor Who holds a dear place in many peoples hearts (and those who don't like it were probably scared of the pretty advanced-for-the-time monsters).

 

The lead character, simply known as "the Doctor" is a Time Lord - an extraterrestrial from the planet Gallifrey, who travels through time and space in an internally vast time machine called the TARDIS which appears relatively small when seen from the outside, but is in fact very large on the inside.

The Eleventh Doctor and his assistant Credit.

The Doctor flits about the universe, usually with a companion having adventures, saving the universe and fighting baddies. There have been successive generations of actors playing the character, explained by the act of the Doctor being able to regenerate (much like the Bhuddist reincarnation).

Most people have a favourite Doctor, normally the one they grew up with - I have two - Tom Baker '74-'81 and (somewhat controversially) Christopher Ecclestone '05. (For further information, more than I thought was possible, check out here).

I have such fond memories of Doctor Who; the mad adventures, the travelling and exploration. My hubby does also - mostly of Daleks peered at from behind the safety of the sofa. We've been enjoying the new series' too - some great new monsters, and re-invention of the baddies. Favourite new episodes include Blink, Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways and World War Three. Christmas day with our UK family you'll find all the kids in the house (including big ones like me) and the cat gathered round the TV breathlessly awaiting the Christmas special.

Thankfully if you are a Who-vian, you don't have to travel to Gallifrey or the ends of time to find a TARDIS, as there is one conveniently parked outside Earl's Court tube station. Neat and very random, huh? It's another of the things I love about London, you really don't know what to expect next.

The directions are really easy: Take a District or Picadilly Line Train to Earl’s Court Station. Exit the station (take the Earl's Court Road exit), immediately turn right, walk about 10 feet and it's on your left, between you and the Road. You can't get inside, unless you know the Doctor, or an incredible special effects team but it's still awesome.

 

I've also heard rumours of other TARDIS sightings over London - at Winston Churchill’s Britain At War Experience, Tooley Street; Television Centre, Wood Lane (probably now moved to the BBC's new headquarters in Manchester) and of all places, Hendon Police Training College where it can be glimpsed from Northern Line trains. 

 

Oops, there it goes again! 

 

Beam me up! No, wait...

 

Are you a Doctor Who fan? Who is your favourite Doctor,  companion and Monster?

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St Patrick's Day: The London Kiwi's Guide

Ahh, St Patrick's Day, the Irish public holiday day of celebrating' and drinkin'.

One of my favourite holidays to adopt, it usually involves claiming some Irish ancestry (vague is normally fine, you'll be called a plastic paddy), wearing green, finding your local Irish pub and drinking a heck of a lot of Guinness. If you can't find a good pub and live in London, I would highly recommended wandering up to Trafalgar Square from around 11am tomorrow morning & enjoying the immense party and parade put on. (I've just found TNT magazine, the great antipodean bastion, have a few more suggestions here.)

Credit: Glitterazi

Did I mention they usually dye the Trafalgar Square fountain Green? It's not just your eyes playing tricks, I promise.

 

Random facts to read/amaze your friends with/bore the annoying drunk on the train home:

• St Patrick's day was originally associated with the colour blue.
• As a feast day/holiday St Patrick's has been celebrated since the 9th Century.
• "Success to bold St. Patty's fist / he was a saint so clever / He gave the snakes and toads a twist / and banished them forever." Sadly they were symbolic snakes (non-Christians ) he converted, but it still makes a natty folk tune.
• It's an official public holiday in Ireland.
• As a side-effect, many takeaway shops make a lot of money from St Patrick's Day. Kebabs in the UK especially.
• Green ribbons and shamrocks have been associated with St Patrick's day.
• The restrictions of Lent are lifted, just for the day.
• The phrase "the wearing of the green", meaning to wear a shamrock on ones clothing, derives from a song of the same name.
• The Queen Mother used to present bowls of shamrock flown over from Ireland to members of the Irish Guards on St Patrick's day. (Cheers Wikipedia)

My cousin has braved Dublin this year - I've got to say she's a hardy soul & hats off to her!

If getting your daily vitamins via copious pints of Guiness aren't your thang, there are a variety of ways to celebrate your Irish (however vague) roots: Soda Bread, Cabbage & Bacon or Colcannon. Perfect also for hangovers...

Credit.

 "Did you ever eat Colcannon, made from lovely pickled cream?

With the greens and scallions mingled like a picture in a dream.

Did you ever make a hole on top to hold the melting flake

Of the creamy, flavoured butter that your mother used to make?"

 

The chorus:

Yes you did, so you did, so did he and so did I.

And the more I think about it sure the nearer I'm to cry.

Oh, wasn't it the happy days when troubles we had not,

And our mothers made Colcannon in the little skillet pot."

 

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daoibh! Happy St Patricks Day.

Slainte! Cheers!

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(Mostly) Wordless Fridays

This really was an astonishingly Kiwi week. When I first came to London I was determined not to do the stereotypical 'live in a Kiwi/Aussie share house in Clapham/Fulham/Shepherds Bush, get a job behind a bar and drink myself silly'. I did temporarily get a bar job but some things you just have to do when finding your feet. 

 

 

Bar that, my life is pretty Kiwi-free bar the odd goodie box and lamb chop. In the last few months doing this blog though, I've rediscovered a lot of old favourite recipes from home, come across some gorgeous places to eat and met some lovely people.

 

Speaking of Kiwi-ana, is this not the randomest decal in the middle of London?

 

 

Some lovely handmade treats (recipe soon)

 

 

Attack of the robots?

 

 

 

Does anyone have any idea what a Soursop Guanabana is when it's at home?

 

The weather certainly has been horrendous. C'mon London, it's MARCH already.

 

I'm going to leave you with a London Castle I discovered on my wanderings, enjoy.

 

What is the strangest thing you happened to Stumble upon?

 

Ps. With the Google Reader dying a quiet death, feel free to add Adventures of a London Kiwi to your bloglovin'. The link is here.

 

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Gone Girl: Book Review

Have you ever found a book you want to like, but couldn't? Every day for weeks I walked  past a display in a booksellers window, made entirely of copies of this book. I heard reviews of it, listen to friends gush about how incredible it was and generally heard a lot of good things about this popular novel.

 

It's a fascinating idea: a crime/thriller set in the modern day US, a woman's disappearance and presumed murder by her husband. The twists and turns are really interesting - let's put it this way, I wouldn't want to annoy anyone with a mind like Gillian Flynn.

Maybe it was just too long, but the characters didn't pull me in - I did finish it, and I didn't necessarily see the twist coming, but it missed a spark for me. The characters sounded a little forced in my view, but I really enjoyed the multiple view/hall of mirrors style of narration, but for such a long book the characters were flawed and not full enough. You may be thinking that it's out of my normal genre, but I loved Before I Go To Sleep review recently and grew up on a diet of crime/thriller (Dean Koontz is one of my top 5 favourite authors) as well as my favourite fantasy and history books.

I read a lot (having a commute to fill will do this to you), and I don't often pick up books that are currently popular. Maybe it's the hippy side my Mother raised me with, but I often find that books that are over-hyped tend to be disappointing. Maybe it's the expectation setting it up for a fall, but this was the same - really interesting, clever premise and idea, but it just didn't rock my world as much as I though it would.

It was however on the New York times bestseller list last year for eight weeks and (date date of posting this) has sold over two million copies (print & e-book, according to Wikipedia). Just #keepingitreal

(Ps. just found a website for suggesting books (ahem above) when you are searching for a new one to read: Book Country)

Have you read it? Do you agree/disagree?

(Please note any links to Amazon are through my Amazon Associates account, which means I make a little money (less than 5%) from any purchases made after clicking through these links and it adds nothing to the price of your book. This helps support my book addiction, so if you are interested in buying the book, please click through the top link)

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"Pray when will that be?" say the bells of Stepney. Oranges and Lemons

Located on Stepney High Street, a church has stood on the site prior to 925AD. This is the third incarnation, and was erected in 1580. Located within the Oranges and Lemons remit, there are ten bells in the belfry, some dating back to 1385 and some of which were made in the Whitechapel Bell Foundry.

Of the Churches visited, it seems they are the most visibly proud of their architectural, & Oranges and Lemons heritage:

"Oranges and Lemons" say the bells of St Clement's.

"Bull's eyes and targets" say the bells of St Margaret's.

"Pokers and tongs" say the bells of St John's.

"Pancakes and fritters" say the bells of St Peter's.

"Two sticks and an apple" say the bells of Whitechapel.

"Old Father Baldpate" say the slow bells of Aldgate.

"Maids in white aprons " say the bells of St Katharine's.

"Brickbats and tiles" say the bells of St Giles'.

"Kettles and pans" say the bells of St Anne's.

"You owe me five farthings" say the bells of St Martin's.

"When will you pay me?" say the bells of Old Bailey.

"When I grow rich" say the bells of Shoreditch.

"Pray when will that be?" say the bells of Stepney.

"I'm sure I don't know" says the great bell of Bow.

Here comes a candle to light you to bed,

Chip chop, chip chop, the last man's dead.

 

 

As per their information board, Stepney has strong links with London's dockyards and the ancient ports, and it is thought that the phrase "When will that be?" could refer to the wives waiting for their husbands, brothers and sons to return from voyages - in the 16th and 17th Century many sailors were employed on Voyages of Discovery to the New Worlds. A two year wait for their kin (and their wages) wasn't unusual.

 

 

Just remember when visiting - no taking your horse (because everyone in Central London has a horse?) and no practising your golf swing on the grounds. You know who you are.

 

For further info, opening hours etc. check out their website or Twitter.
For great old photos: http://www.stdunstanstepney.com/photos-historic.html

Could you wait for someone for two years without Skype, Facebook, Twitter or phone communication?

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A London Folly; Paleys Upon Pilers (Palace On Pillars)

Whilst wandering Aldgate recently (we found a great little cafe just next to East Aldgate station which I'm keen to revisit) we happened upon a modern folly. Cute, no?

A folly, is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as "a costly ornamental building with no practical purpose, especially a tower or mock-Gothic ruin built in a large garden or park." The UK is dotted with them - the Telegraph has a gallery with their 'best ofs' found here.

Opening at the start of the Olympic Games, Paleys upon Piers is a timber 'palace' markinf the exact spot of Aldgate, and celebrates Chaucer, Aldgates' most famous resident. It also acts as a gateway from the City of London to the Olympic Park, which hosted the 2012 Olympics Games (oh how I wish they were still on!)

Designed by StudioWeaver, it was inspired by "by two dream poems written by Chaucer while resident in the rooms above the gate in the 14th century: The House of Fame and The Parlement of Foules, or Parliament of Fowls."

These oddities make London for me.

What is your favourite Landmark? It is Local or is it Global?

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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Peel Society: Reading Recommendation

Firstly, happy #worldbookday!

“ I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.”

Recommended to me by a lovely lady via Twitter, I simply didn't want this to end. A series of letters jsut after the Second World War, between a London newspaper columnist and a group of unlikely friends on Guernsey (who invented the society to hide a dinner party feasting on a forbidden pig which eventually evolves into reality), this tells the story of the effect the Nazi occupation had on the lives of the Guernsey people and how the bonds of friendship helped them cope with the daily monotony and atrocities of their occupation.

I couldn't put this down. I'm not normally one who enjoys multiple view-point books, and written entirely as an Epistolary novel (taking the form of letters) to and fro each of the characters establishing who they are and the events, this book charmed my socks off. I also didn't know a whisker about Guernsey.

It's a soft, charming, sad and funny book, and one you open it, you will struggle to put it down. I'm a sucker for anything London (you would think living here I would be sick of it, but no) and anything War related, and this was no exception. The American authors Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows made a very credible post-war England and Guernsey, and I can imagine walking down the streets. The braveness of Elizabeth is heartwarming, and she epitimoses the war spirit a lot of people had in such harrowing times.

 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I was sad to see the book end - I laughed, I cried, it made me yearn to explore the small island and find out more. The authors are American, but write with believable conviction. There is criticism floating around that it's not a challenging read (umm, hello read War and Peace if that's what you are looking for) and that the characters all 'wrote' in the same 'voice' but I think they didn't, and to exaggerate the individual voices any more would skew them slightly.

I loved it!

(Please note any links to Amazon are through my Amazon Associates account, which means I make a little money (less than 5%) from any purchases made after clicking through these links and it adds nothing to the price of your book. This helps support my book addiction, so if you are interested in buying the book, please click through the top link)

 

 

 

 

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