There will always be an England
Phyllis Stoller
An unhurried August trip to England, brought it all back in charming ways. I used to live in London, have kept a flat there for years, and my palate still quivers at the smell of gingerbread, roast baby lamb, Chipolata pork sausages, and warm scones. During this three week trip, I avoided the Big Ben/Tower of London/ sightseeing stuff, and found myself savoring the minutiae of English life.
For a taste of elegance, I went to the Royal Opera House to see the Marinsky (formerly Kirov) Ballet. One of the six greatest ballet companies in the world and historically the heir to Pavlova, Petipa,Ulanova,Baryshnicov, tickets were half price for the same night, for Romeo and Juliet. Note: in pre recession times, tickets were impossible to get at all!!!!! Women can go to the ballet alone in London- the neighborhood is busy and lighted making a walk to the bus, even at 11PM unthreatening. Try a glass of house champagne during intermission ($16 dollars). Then check out the bar, laden with bottles of wine and champagne, bills tucked discretely underneath, waiting ‘on the honor system’ for the purchasers. This honor system is soooo English.
Equally English are the clothes women wear to Covent Garden, from black velours midi length skirts, to purple leggings, fake leopard midriff jackets, blue hair and nose rings, to proper little black dresses from the 1950’s jeweled with a strand of pearls. Note: Playbills are extra in all UK theaters. The ice cream is sold in tiny portions, but Coffee with Baileys Irish Cream quite delish.
Next on the agenda was a walk around Hyde Park past clopping horses, sunning Brits in rented lounge chairs, ending at the memorial to animals used in war. There are war statues everywhere in London: to New Zealanders and Aussies who died in WWII under the Wellington Arch, a poignant one to Canadians in Green Park, another to those killed in the bus bombings a few years ago, and a shocking exhibit about children of the Blitz in the Imperial War Museum. But animals in war is so typically English it is worth dodging the traffic to examine it closely: horses , camels, donkeys, dogs, carrier pigeons arranged around a solemn wall. Besides the metal and frieze statues, watch the watchers for a real sense of the England behind “All Creatures Great and Small”.
A street market is a must and my favorite is the organic green market behind Waitrose on Marylebone High Street, Sundays from 10-2PM. The sunflowers are as big as plates, tarts filled with hand picked fruit and South Counties’ goat cheese. There is plenty of fruit, veg, meat and dairy products all as pure as they come. And if there, the lavender vendor will hook you on his oils, soaps, dried flower and sachets plus share the history of lavender from Roman times to the present. PS check out the cheese shop on the North side of the market-there are tables inside if you wish to eat. Or picnic in the churchyard to the left of the market.
To eat well in England you should have breakfast three times a day."
W. Somerset Maugham Well maybe in the past…. but no more.
The country house hotel we adore from Merchant and Ivory films, Gosford Park and our dreams. Women fear going to elegant country hotels alone. Chewton Glen has made an effort to diversify its clientele. The hotel graciously took my solo reservation on the phone, honoring an internet special for 250GBP per night ($375 or so). On arrival I was taken to a sunny impeccable bedroom with elongated sitting room surrounded by red, green and yellow floral décor, overlooking a croquet field and outdoor garden restaurant on one side with a the pool and arbor on the other. This was not the ‘deal’ single room expected but gracious and spacious luxury.
Chewton Glen should be visited for 3 nights either from London by train or from Southampton by car or train if you are stopping at the cruise port. 9 hole golf, you can play alone, fitness center, safe walking trails to the sea, indoor and outdoor pools, a full spa, classes and monthly special events. My favorite is the posted: Mushroom seminar, hunt and cooking class seconded by pre-arranged clay pigeon shooting lessons and the day seminar on The Boer Wars. It just depends on whether you wish to try the whole British thing or just parts of it.
Mondays there is a ladies golf tournament at 9:30AM and note: in England women can go to a bar/pub un-judged for the ‘19th hole’. There is a children’s center so single moms can go and have some time to themselves. Children stay for free, and the hotel now has a good percentage of younger families as a result. There is an adorable breakfast buffet for kids. Lunch is served at a tiny table and children from 2 up are welcomed .
Rooms have flat screen tvs, dvds and players, full sound systems, wireless internet access, a plate of country fruit daily, Molton Brown products, everything one of the the best small hotels in the world should have. Did I mention the latest in travel and fashion magazines on the end tables?
Try it solo or with a friend. Dinner might be slightly daunting, but the wait staff is so warm and effusive, it can work. An alternative recommended local gourmet pub, historic Three Tuns, is a short taxi ride away and I noticed many women eating/ or having a drink quite happily.
Frankly I did not know there were such high layers of food quality. Breakfast is a buffet -yogurt is flown in from Normandy -does that say something? Lunch includes sandwiches on home made bread or salads or a full gourmet meal in the dining room. Dinner for me one night was a striped pate of beet/English pea puree/ and other vegetables, filet steak with truffled potatoes, and local vegetables followed by English and French cheeses fully explained by the staff. Clothing can be slacks, and a decent shirt or all the way to cocktail. For clothing challenged women, note: I wore brown cotton slacks, and long sleeved tee shirt , some light jewelry and flats. Meals at Chewton Glen are pricey: dinners is 60 or US90 and breakfast 20 or US 35.
The Three Tuns dinner was reasonable: fresh fish and real chips plus mushy peas (a sort of baby food that pleases forever), gin and tonics, and hot toffee pudding with vanilla bean ice cream. Dinner was 21 or $32. Puddings are something you have to try in England: steamed and full of fruit or in this case burnt sugar and ginger—they put pies to shame.
One morning from my sunny hotel windows, I watched a family play their annual croquet game with granny all the while carrying her purse, being given the honors for the apparent triumphant shot. Another time, I walked to the sea through forest on what are called ‘public foot paths’ which date from ancient times. The hike ended with blackberries from seaside bushes squished into a vanilla ice cream cone. A few times, I played awful golf with the complimentary clubs. And there was the whole spa still to use, the magazines to read, the movies to watch, the clients to check out and the flowers to admire.
So even if you are going by yourself for whatever reason, England both the street scene and the luxury lap can be done comfortably. It is all about the guts to try, and all about an optimistic view that people will be welcoming and warm. And of course it is all about setting aside the right amount of money and spending it on the right things.
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Phyllis Stoller has a BA from Tufts University, an MA from New York University and a Finance Degree from the University of the South Bank, London England. Phyllis Stoller founded and managed for 16 years, the largest tour operator for women in North America. She was voted top in women’s travel by Travel & Leisure Magazine,the first to receive this honor. Phyllis has appeared on The Today Show, CNN, Lifetime TV for Women and others. She is a consultant on marketing to women.
Phyllis now resides in New York City and London, England and is affiliated with ECPS Consulting Corporation in New York. She prides herself on her family: husband, Eric, a ‘keeper’, sons Nick (comedy writer and director of Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and Matt , a progressive political strategist who works with liberal Democratic candidates. Phyllis can be reached at Phyllisnycity@gmail.com.
Past Articles
TRAVEL TIPS FOR TOMATOES
For more great tips, visit Phyllis at the Examiner.
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Phyllis in Marylebone Market
Wellington Boots at Chewton Glen
