Aylesbury, England

[TheMercenary]

wow, small world.

[Sundae]

Thanks Memories - it's always good to know that somethign I chose almost at random can mean something to someone else

In my memory it has only ever stood next to the Telephone Exchange - with the carpark right next to the pub. I'll ask Mum & Dad, but as they only moved to Aylesbury in the 60s they might not know about the cemetary either. In fact they only moved into the house we are in now just after I was born (1972) so they wouldn't have had any reason to pass it before then.

I took a couple more pictures for you today.

First is just a close-up of the area behind the building.
As you might know, the door in the picture has the sign Gents on it. I assume they were outside when you lived there too.
I honestly don't remember the Ladies being outside, but I did only drink in there once or twice and just might not have needed to go. Behind is the Telephone Exchange as mentioned above.

Second shows the busy junction it is on. It's completely and utterly different even to when I grew up. The sorting office is on the left of course, but they pulled a lot down to open up Upper Hundreds - you're seeing all the way down to the Vale Park. To your right is Cambridge Street, and there would have been a row of shops and the Nags Head pub.

[Sundae]

One more to show the position.
Standing with my back to Cambridge Street - New Street runds away to the left, Cambridge Street continues down in front of us. Again, the lower part of Cambridge Street has changed enormously (I remember houses where there is now a retail park, even the Fire Station has moved). The County Arms used to stand halfway down the street, that went with the houses.

And finally...
Fading, but still there, an advert for the Aylesbury Brewery Company - long since defunct of course.

Of course you were very young when you lived there, so the chances are you would not recognise the streets around it anyway. But I thought you might still like to put it in perspective the way it is today. Hope these bring back happier times for you!

[xoxoxoBruce]

What do they sort in the sorting office, the mail?

[Sundae]

Yes - in the larger version of the picture the Royal Mail sign on the building is quite clear - it's not all that obvious on this one.

It used to be a main sorting office, but that is done in Hemel Hempstead now - theirs is HUGE! Our little one gets the post from there and further sorts it for Aylesbury and the surrounding villages. It's also where you go if you have to pay additional postage or if you weren't at home for a signed delivery or something that doesn't fit through your letterbox.

[spudcon]

Sundae, does the shop that sells Oddfellows Arms sell his legs too?

[dar512]

Thanks, SG for all these wonderful pictures. Better than a travelogue.

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by spudcon

Sundae, does the shop that sells Oddfellows Arms sell his legs too?

I'm afraid you are confusing Dominos with a kebab shop.

[spudcon]

What is that thing?

[Pie]

Kebab.
Think of carving thin slices off a vertical meatloaf on a spit.
It's often lamb-based, highly seasoned.
Serve on pita, sauce with cucumber-yogurt sauce.

[busterb]

Looks like Gyro to me.

[jinx]

Right, from buster's link

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the name gyros is not widely known; the Turkish "döner kebab" is more common, and the general term "kebab" is more common still. However, soldiers ("squaddies") who have served on the British bases in Cyprus often refer wistfully to the delights of gyros. Doner are a very popular post-pub/nightclub food with many high streets in the UK having a kebab house. The meat on the rotisserie is usually a poor quality ground-meat concoction, rather than the slices of actual meat used in Greece.
These kebab shops were initially primarily owned by Turkish Cypriots, hence the use of the dry, hard "pocket" Cypriot pita in place of the typically doughy, more naan-like Greek pita. The small pocket pitas are difficult to fill without breaking, and so the dish is usually served as a loose assortment in a polystyrene container. Tzatziki is rare, and replaced by generic garlic and/or chili sauce.

[edit] United States

Gyros were introduced to the Chicago area in 1968,[6][7][8] and have since spread to all parts of the country. In the United States, gyros are usually made from sliced lamb, minced beef or possibly a combination of the two. Chicken is a common alternative in many restaurants serving gyros. The pita resembles a Greek 'plain' pita. The most common fillings are generally tomato and onion. The sauce is usually tzatziki, sometimes called "Cucumber", "Yogurt", or "White" sauce. These sandwiches are often served in luncheonettes or diners.
In the United States, many restaurants (and even Greek-American festivals) sell gyros with meat which is pre-formed into strips (as though they had been sliced from the rotisserie) and frozen to meet USDA health standards. Gyro meat is essentially seasoned lamb or beef and sometimes mixed with pork. Some gyro meat is cooked on a rotating vertical spit in the same fashion as Doner Kebab. Some establishments, serving varied menus, choose to grill or pan fry individual strips of the gyro meat to prevent waste.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Chicago Gyros.

[Sundae]

Corrected for accuracy:

The small pocket pitas are difficult to fill without breaking, but staff in kebab shops are experts and have no trouble. The dish is very occasionally served as a loose assortment in a polystyrene container with chips instead of pita, but this has to be asked for specifically. Many shops also offer the option of an Indian style nann, in which the meat and salad is wrapped, althoug it is a more expensive option. Kebabs are always served with full salad unless otherwise specified and a choice of garlic and/or chili sauce.

A small point of amusement - the proper contraction of kebab is 'bab.
This is also Northern for poo.
Therefore the sentence, "I was out on the lash last night and ended up having a great big bab" can be taken more than one way.

Kebabs are usually called donners though.
Damn. Just for the point of education, I might just have to have one over the weekend!

[Perry Winkle]

My favorite chip/kebab/pizza joint in Newcastle gives you the option of chips or salad. But they always throw that soggy-ass pita in there. Sadly neither the garlic or chili sauce taste like much, so you always have to get both for any reasonable flavor.