Aylesbury, England

[Sundae]

Thanks, Scriv. Small world.

Went to Thame (pronounced Tame) on the bus with Mum yesterday. Her treat.
Got pole position there and back (upstairs front seat) which is great for looking into people's gardens, bedroom windows and at men's bald spots which they haven't even noticed themselves yet.

Mum wanted to go to the market, I wanted to go to Waitrose and we both wanted to have lunch out.

I didn't take many photos. I don't often when I'm out with her, I think it's because I have someone to talk to! Now I've come back and thought of loads I could have taken of course. Never mind, maybe we'll go back another day.

Thame is a lovely place, just over the Oxon border. I used to live and work there. I'm sure all the local yokels will say it's gone to hell in a handcart, but those of us coming from Aylesbury just see a market town the way it should be. Small independent shops, especially catering to the tastes of nearby (wealthy) villages. Tea shops and cafes, butchers that sell hand-made pies, local eggs, game. High-end jewellers that don't need to display their prices, a chocolaterie, an Aga shop (for goodness sake!). And all that and everything.

We wandered the shops first. The bookshop is still open, which delighted me. I could spend hundreds in there, much of it on wrapping and cards. I didn't have a penny on me, so I couldn't even be tempted. They've moved the children's section though. It used to be in the back room, magically lit even on the gloomiest days by a large skylight. I used to creep in there to worship all the magical books. NB I was 19, not 9!

I dragged Mum into a kitchenalia shop - wonderful. It was like being in Heal's (Tottenham Court Road). Just the sort of things you never see in a town with only retail park tastes. An electric blue mixer with a see-through bowl - POW! When I win the lottery and can afford too many gadgets this is the kind of place I will head to. Lovely local staff (local accents anyway) helping people in a friendly way buy armfuls of things on their platinum Amexs. I did gaze wistfully at the Gruffalo and Very Hungry Caterpillar melamine sets though. Within my price range if the twins get baptised.

The old shoe shop had gone, as had the shop selling clothes by Ghost (I was skinny back then, they suited me). The jewellers where Mum bought me a watch for my 21st birthday was there though. Mum found a ring she liked. Then again, what's not to like about a diamond ring that costs over two grand without being ostentatious?

On to the market. Again, I could have spent lots of money. I really wish I'd taken a photo of the sign for American Cherry's though. The market wasn't as large as I remember, but then it was much busier than Aylesbury and seemed to have more serious shoppers, come in from the villages in their smart little cars for the day, or on the bus (there's a reason the rich stay rich!) Fruit and veg stalls, bread and bakery, cheese, eggs, a meat stall (sealed cuts in generator run refrigerated units - this isn't Egypt!). Saw some nice kaftans for me to waft about the house in on hot days, again should have taken a photo - labelled Kaffans. That was the same stall selling Linnen Trousers. I could have bought five or six bags too. Not handbags, bags for toting things to school now that mine is giving up the ghost. Needs to carry lunch, book, camera, purse, mobile etc as standard, and double as a shopping bag when I go into town. Not as easy to find as you think - except on Thame Market!

The flower stall was large and well stocked too. Like being back on Columbia Road in East London. Mum already has freesias in the hall, but I'd have bought some of their glorious pinks and sunflowers for the living room and kitchen respectively. Should have taken a... ah well.

Back via the bakery stall. They sold Rum Babas! Mum and I have been looking for these since I moved back home. When Mum & Dad were first married, they used to buy them as a treat from a delicatessan in Kingsbury. That closed when I was a teenager, but supermarkets still sold them. Now, nowhere seems to. I tried to make them some using a recipe I found online, but they turned into a sodden mess. As did I, finishing off the leftover rum.

Turns out they weren't that great - they were a bit dry. Still, it was a bit of excitement. And it would be hard to live up to the memory of the early rum babas, bought at a time when the 'rents couldn't even afford a television and went to bed at 21.00 to save on electricity.

[Sundae]

Thame High Street in both directions from the front of The Birdcage.
It was a warm sunny day - the photos don't do the sky justice.

[Sundae]

And so off to find somewhere for lunch.

We had a look at a couple of menus, but nothing took our fancy.
We stopped at The Birdcage because there was outside seating and I really need a wee. I had a pint of Hoegaarden - it's not usual to find that on tap.

We debated the menu. The landlady came and spoke to us - very polite without being unctuous, very helpful. South African I think. They served a large menu of steak, cooked on volcanic rock at your table. I've had this before in France and in London, it's all good fun. They also had an exotic steak menu including Springbok, Eland, Camel, Zebra, Bison, Wildebeest, Kangaroo, Impala, Oryx, Ostrich, Crocodile, Wild Boar, Kudu and Llama [subject to availability].

The lunch menu looked nice. I would have happily settled for the grilled whitebait and shared chips with Mum, but she wanted to try somewhere else. Fair enough.

A sign outside a sweetshop, taken specially for Ali, Ducks, Zen, Sandy (did I miss anyone?) oh, Kagen.
The blackboard outside the pub.

[Sundae]

The Spread Eagle Hotel across from the pub.
When I worked in Thame we had all of our Christmas Parties there. And this was back in the days when companies paid for the whole shebang, including a free bar.

I was on the Christmas Party Planning Committee from my first year (they were themed, we worked hard) and every year the hotel threatened to ban us and every year they checked the bill, settled witout question within 14 days and every year they let us back again. The company I worked for is still doing business, but I can't imagine that they pay for such a perk these days.

[Sundae]

We wandered off to Waitrose, keeping an eye out for somewhere to eat along the way. walked past a little place called Cafe Bobo which had a good choice of fish on the Specials Board outside. Grilled sardines caught my eye especially.

So we went upstairs (always a gamble because it could be grim) and found a pleasant place, 3/4 full, all windows open and good and airy. We sat by the window and checked out the menu. I debated over all the fish and also quite fancied the potato skins. But when the waiter arrived - who I also quite fancied - I found myself ordering the breakfast! It was just the perfect breakfast for me, once I'd asked for no tomato.

Mum had the potato skins, so neither of us had fish in the end anyway!

Little niggles. The menu was lacking in detail. If I order a salad I want to know what is in it. Ham Salad is not a full description. Same with the breakfast - when it arrived I was disappointed to find one of everything. Certainly for the price. In the end it was as much as I could manage (they gave me double beans to make up for the tomato). Mum's loaded potato skins were pretty much a jacket potato cut in half. And she had to play Search the Bacon - although the slab of mozarella on top was certainly generous.

And the woman in the kitchen! OMG what a moaner! We could hear every word. An order came in for take-away and she told the (polite, efficient, handsome, young) waiter, "Well you'll have to do it yourself, I've got too many orders already!"

We waited 25 minutes for our meals. Not appalling, but I honestly think she started each separate order from scratch, rather than being able to handle multiple orders. And the couple next to us received the wrong omlette. She came out to make excuses. No, really. She showed them what was written on the order slip. Like they gave a damn. The old chap genially agreed to eat it anyway and she condescended enough to say she wouldn't charge him for the extra ingredient he hadn't wanted.

Anyway, here is my breakfast.
Don't start with the bacon mockery.

[Sundae]

Off to Waitrose to browse exotic and strange and lovely things.
I wanted the edible flowers for my salad days, but aside from eating them on the bus I acknowledged they were't really appropriate.

Got the ingredients for my fish stew - yay!
Also talked Mum into buying some blinis so next time the girls come round she can have them as canapes. I think they sell them in Sainsbury's, but you can never guarantee items will be in stock there. Anyway they were on special offer and freeze well. She also got some uncooked prawns for the Gambas Pil Pil recipe her SIL gave her.

And then she had to dash off to the toilet, leaving me with her card!
Oops.
Well, I was good. I did buy some ribs, but that's for the Sunday dinner I'm cooking for Dad & Stevo while she's away house-sitting, so it's not like I bought hard liquor and drank it in the bathroom or something. Ribs is in freezer awaiting September.

I went through the self-checkout and the lady monitoring it sidled up to me and told me my hair had brightened up her day. Which pleased me no end. Except I was a bit paranoid that she was checking out the name on the card and the fact I have no wedding ring on. Ridiculous - my own card has Mrs on it and I've never been asked about my lack of ring!

An old lady on Thame market complimented my hair too. VERY well to do, tweed skirt & pearls. She didn't look me in the eye and disappeared into the crowd immediately, as if she'd been passing underground information. It was great.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by Sundae

Off to Waitrose to browse exotic and strange and lovely things.

When I was in Waitrose just before Easter, I thought it was cool that they had goose eggs for sale.

[DanaC]

Now, see, that bacon looks tasty to me :P Just the right amount of golden brown.

Great pics and write up chika. Thame looks great. I love those highly individual little market towns. And yes, I can smell the money from here lol.

[DanaC]

I used to like goose eggs. But then I went off them. Just a bit too...eggy.


[eta]my local Sainsbury's sells a lot of odd stuff. Local produce and 'world foods'. i noticed that Cherry often seems to struggle to find less common items in her local sainsburys and I wonder if it's because there are fewer places like waitrose around here.

[glatt]

Originally Posted by DanaC

I used to like goose eggs. But then I went off them. Just a bit too...eggy.

I would have liked to try one, but they were pretty expensive. Sure, they are bigger, but you could buy two dozen chicken eggs for the price of one goose egg.

[Sundae]

It's more because we have a very small Sainsbury's, in an area with highly restricted delivery times. I worked there, as did my brother. deliveries seemed to turn up randomly, with fifteen kinds of liversausage and no sugar. It's just unreliable.

They sell world foods and more than your local corner shop. Just no edible flowers or lobster tails.

Some Waitroses sell ostrich eggs!

[DanaC]

We definitely don't get ostrich eggs :p

Quail eggs though, sure.

[DanaC]

The last time I ate goose eggs, they weren't that expensive. They were about the same price as a half dozen free range chicken eggs. Mind you, they were smaller than those goose eggs.

[Clodfobble]

You can get goose eggs and duck eggs around here, but they're mostly only purchased by people who are allergic to chicken eggs (most people with a typical chicken egg allergy can eat other fowl eggs just fine.) They are expensive here too.

[DanaC]

Yeah, duck eggs are a bit too eggy for my taste too.