Breakfast in Bellingham --- Celebrating an engagement!

Happy Husband smiles not just at his tasty cinnamon role, but at his daughter's fiancée and the spectacular delight before him -- Crab and Asparagus Eggs Benedict!

Yes, it's not Breakfast in Britain today, but Breakfast in Bellingham -- celebrating our daughter's recent engagement! 

We're at the Mount Bakery in Bellingham, 

Washington USA.  Named after the local active volcano, Mount Baker, visible on this clear day.  In the creative spirit of the Pacific Northwest, the food options are wild and delectable. 

The crab and asparagus concoction wins the prize!  And fiancée enjoys it!  My two poached eggs resemble lemon meringues, but gratefully run smoothly when pierced.

The Mount Bakery holds a special place in all our hearts -- a favourite of my parents, and we've gathered for my father's memorial service this weekend.  My father officiated at the owner's wedding -- so I guess that makes us almost family!

Many of my family gathered here in Bellingham will return over the next few days for breakfasts, lunches and baked goods in between meals!  Scrumptious variety on view.

As for Bellingham, a lovely small city of the Pacific Northwest, nestled between Puget Sound and snow-capped mountains.  Home of Western Washington State University and Fairhaven College  (a great option for a liberal education).  Also, when you're in town, be sure to drop by the Federal Building on a Friday afternoon, join those gathered for the vigil, enjoy a free meal -- and say hi to my mother.  (She's the 89 year-old in the Guatemalan jacket and shades!)

See you next week for another Breakfast back in Britain.

A Rainbow over Ladywell Village Cafe

This morning’s threat of rain keeps us close to home.  A bright half moon and street lights glow as we walk over the hill.  London’s morning skyline shimmers. 

We pass our local NHS (National Health Service) Clinic -- there are enough free public clinics throughout London that there's almost always one near enough to walk to!  What a concept...health care on your doorstep!  And if you're getting older (60 or over) and that walk seems to long, hop on a city bus for free with your Pensioners Pass. Seems like a no-brainer to us.

Washington, are you watching?

We hike down into Ladywell Village where the “Village Café” welcomes us with smiles and mugs of piping hot tea.  

Two years ago our hosts took over the café’s management, installed attractive white and black tiles, and started serving “tea concentrate” – tea brewed extra-strong in a large pot, then served with diluted water, the way we enjoyed it in Zimbabwe.  No tea ba, to figure out where to put.  Just dark hot tea.  With hot milk, this is a treat today.  

Another pleasure is the absence of food photos – just the menu board and the shiny tiles, all the way to the loo! 

There’s a TV high in one corner, but thankfully the volume remains soft until “Dancing with the Stars” comes on.   Then it fades again.

The poached eggs on brown toast make a pretty picture. Happy Husband gratefully digs in.

The main street of Ladywell Village has been recently redone.  We were expecting trees and benches and something to show for the price tag.  The main feature is flagstones instead of pavement, but nothing green and no benches that might invite passers-by to loiter….except the two picnic tables under the awning in front of our own Village Café! 

 The proprietors explain that they have had to postpone external improvements.  Because this is a Conservancy Area, regulations require they use only wood on the front exterior, and for now the cost is prohibitive.Today workmen paint road surface traffic signs, and the windows get a wash

I realize I’m in a serious men zone; no other female (other than the proprietor) enters the Café during our two hour meal. Lots of take outs.  A favourite dish seems to be Bubble, a large green patty made from yesterday’s over-cooked (my opinion) Brussels sprouts mixed with…I’ll need to look that up.

The bonus of the morning...a rainbow stretching across Ladywell!

On our way, we encounter people 

who remind us that we really are in London.  And a row of derelict sheds – might they be protected by royal edict? – add a Dickensonian flare. 

We pass the towers and spires of the old Lewisham court and police station, recently refurbished into numerous flats. 

Lewisham High Street entertains us with its daily market which has continued for close to 100 years except for a few occasions during WWII when the High Street was mostly flattened by bombings.  Only the clock tower remains.  Smells of fish, bread and fruit surround us.

We load up with fresh Brussels sprouts, mangos and garlic, a pound sterling for a bowl of each.  

So, next time you're in Lewisham, at Ladywell Village, drop in to the Village Cafe and enjoy a hot cup of brewed tea.  They're open at 6:30 am!

Verona Cafe on Drury Lane -- a place of no returns!

Boxing Day -- wonderful to have our Day Off match a Day Off for the city...We ramble in on our regular double-decker, hopping off at Waterloo Bridge for the best views of London!  We watch the preparation of the ice rink at Somerset House for another day of skating.

We stroll up Drury Lane, past the shops filled with dance paraphenalia, heading to our favourite ECo Cafe.  Alas, closed for the holiday.  But we're in luck...the lights are on at nearby Verona Cafe.  But that's where our luck stops.


Unfriendly, okay -- rude staff, hard-boiled yolks in our poached eggs, no hot milk given, and a charge of £2.20 ($3.50) for a refill of hot water poured over our used teabags add up to not a great breakfast experience. And the special deal advertised on the outside sandwich board is "not available today," and that comment right after a greeting of "Merry Christmas."  Yes, the tea was hot, but not piping, and three times the cost of a usual mug.  

 The expedition  to the loo down the stairs in the middle of the room was the icing on the cake...or the cream on the scone.... 


No stars of approval for this place -- except, thankfully, the place is dead silent which means a peaceful background as we chew our hard eggs and dry toast.  And after a complaint about the charge for the cup of hot water, the waiter reluctantly and with a snarl returns the £2.20. 

Sorry Verona, but we will not be coming back. 

Happy Boxing Day!  

Christmas buzz - Strood, Kent

Christmas buzz in the air -- delight, but a bit stressful, too -- so we decide to keep things simple today, heading east to Rochester, our favourite default Kent destination.  We park at the Castle Carpark and opt for adventure... walking back across the Medway River into Strood.  Ah, Strood, not on the touring coach itineraries!  Really, just the entry into Rochester with petrol stations, chain stores and...

an early-opening breakfast cafe!  The sign way up the side of a building catches our eye, but we're not sure where to enter.  Yes, The black metal door behind the dumpster is it!  
In we go.

Down the long corridor -- not to worry, we've entered by the back door!  Big smiles and cheery voices welcome us into the "Rest 'A' While Cafe" of Strood.  
Still dark outside, the cafe glows with florescent illumination and just enough tinsel to ring in the season.  The entire place shines with cleanliness.  No TVs and soft radio...yes!

Ozzy brings mugs of strong piping hot tea (indulging us with hot milk).  That makes for one Happy Husband, indeed!  Turns out Ozzy's home is Izmir, Turkey, where Global Ministries (http://globalministries.org) has sent missionaries for decades. We remember that in May we read of the death of missionary Fernie Scovel who served as a science and maths teacher from 1949 to 1991  (49 years!) at the American Collegiate Institute (Ozel Izmir Amerikan Lisesi) in Izmir. 

Back to Happy Husband at the Rest "A" While Cafe.  What does that "A" refer to anyway?  We puzzle over its significance, or lack thereof.  The eggs present a delightful design,  and HH's full breakfast includes fried bread, edible and delicious this time, thank goodness.

Thinking ahead to our next holiday, we inquire of Ozzy where we should visit in Turkey.  Without hesitation, he declares, "Nevsehir, Kapadokya,"  whips out his smart phone and proceeds to show us numerous YouTube videos of stunning 4000 year old rock formations in Kapadokya, including a cartoon version of the geological history -- with a Turkish narrative!  Luckily animated cartoon volcanoes look alike in any language.  If we write about breakfast in Nevsehir, you'll know when and by whom we were inspired to head in that direction!


 By the time we are ready to leave, the sun has risen and the day has arrived for Strood.  Ozzy offers to take our photo, and is happy to have us mention him on our Breakfast in Britain blog.


Strood greets us with local art, a couple charity shops, and a walk into the rising sun silhouetting Rochester Castle and Cathedral, across the Medway River again. It's a beautiful day in Britain!  

 People are out, but all the commuter cars are gone.  The tide has come in to fill the banks of the Medway.

So we look back at Strood on the Medway, stomachs full and spirits lifted.