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December 5, 2024
Sublime Rambling
By Vicki L. George
The Bandera Prophet
English Epistle #4
January 12, 1998
Run, don’t walk, run down to your nearest video rental store and check out the movie, “Mary Poppins!” We saw it again the other night and were amazed that it accurately depicts Penzance, England! Julie Andrew’s accent is properly King’s English and Dick Van Dyke’s accent is cockney which is very close to Cornish. That is, Cornish drops the “h’s” and clips the words and speak fairly rapidly. Also, pay attention to the chimney sweep scene where they are all walking and dancing on the rooftops. From our high position in the hotel that’s exactly what the rooftops of Penzance look like. Also, the houses and the street signs are the same. When you see that movie, you see Penzance.
The food is pretty basic — like middle American “meat and potatoes.” That is, it’s like that in the pubs and it’s pretty good. They don’t season much and most dishes need salt and pepper, but otherwise it’s fine. The nice restaurants go in for fancy dishes at much bigger prices so we don’t eat at those places near as often. But everything we’ve had in the nicer places needs salt and pepper, too. The English just don’t season much.
Since the hotel room includes breakfast we eat that meal at the hotel. We’re offered a choice of starters (appetizers): orange juice, grapefruit segments, stewed prunes, porridge (oatmeal). The main course choices are: fried kipper (bony fish), eggs any way you want them, English grill (fried egg, slice middle bacon, link sausage, mushrooms, tomato — all cooked on a grill). There’s a choice of white or brown toast and a choice of tea or coffee.
About the bacon — what Americans call bacon is long, thin, with meat and fat in long streaks in it. That’s what the English call “streaky bacon.” What they call “bacon” is called middle bacon in the grocery store, which is more like what we call Canadian bacon.
When Hubby is off work we usually eat lunch at the pubs. What they call beef casserole is what we call beef stew. The fish part of “fish and chips” is always battered and deep fried Cod. Chips are French fries. And they serve peas with almost everything. There’s “mushy peas” — just peas but mushed up (makes me think of refried beans). In the store I’ve seen cans of “peas porridge” — peas cooked up like oatmeal (“porridge”).
“Scones” are biscuits. “Biscuits” are cookies. Sometimes, biscuits are crackers. And cookies are cookies. The adults still drink a lot of tea but coffee has become more popular. The teens are more into soda pop but not as much as American kids.
A very popular dish here in Cornwall is the Cornish pasty. That’s right — pasty. It uses a tough pastry type dough, which is folded over like a fried pie. Inside there’s a mixture of beefsteak, potatoes, onion, swedes (turnips) and it’s well seasoned with salt and pepper. It makes a handy, easy to carry, easy to eat meal.
Candy is “sweets.” Other sweet things, like pastries, are “treats.” You’ll find them in the Sweets and Treats section of the grocery stores.
Never eat Italian food here — they really just don’t know how to do that. There is no Mexican food, no barbecue. We are beginning to crave American food and some of our favorite home dishes. We’ve seen no meat loaf. No mashed potatoes. No fried chicken — unless you count the KFC we found in the city of Plymouth. But, yes, there is a McDonald’s in Penzance — although we’ve not been there. And they have never heard of grits!
The food is pretty basic — like middle American “meat and potatoes.” That is, it’s like that in the pubs and it’s pretty good. They don’t season much and most dishes need salt and pepper, but otherwise it’s fine. The nice restaurants go in for fancy dishes at much bigger prices so we don’t eat at those places near as often. But everything we’ve had in the nicer places needs salt and pepper, too. The English just don’t season much.
Since the hotel room includes breakfast we eat that meal at the hotel. We’re offered a choice of starters (appetizers): orange juice, grapefruit segments, stewed prunes, porridge (oatmeal). The main course choices are: fried kipper (bony fish), eggs any way you want them, English grill (fried egg, slice middle bacon, link sausage, mushrooms, tomato — all cooked on a grill). There’s a choice of white or brown toast and a choice of tea or coffee.
About the bacon — what Americans call bacon is long, thin, with meat and fat in long streaks in it. That’s what the English call “streaky bacon.” What they call “bacon” is called middle bacon in the grocery store, which is more like what we call Canadian bacon.
When Hubby is off work we usually eat lunch at the pubs. What they call beef casserole is what we call beef stew. The fish part of “fish and chips” is always battered and deep fried Cod. Chips are French fries. And they serve peas with almost everything. There’s “mushy peas” — just peas but mushed up (makes me think of refried beans). In the store I’ve seen cans of “peas porridge” — peas cooked up like oatmeal (“porridge”).
“Scones” are biscuits. “Biscuits” are cookies. Sometimes, biscuits are crackers. And cookies are cookies. The adults still drink a lot of tea but coffee has become more popular. The teens are more into soda pop but not as much as American kids.
A very popular dish here in Cornwall is the Cornish pasty. That’s right — pasty. It uses a tough pastry type dough, which is folded over like a fried pie. Inside there’s a mixture of beefsteak, potatoes, onion, swedes (turnips) and it’s well seasoned with salt and pepper. It makes a handy, easy to carry, easy to eat meal.
Candy is “sweets.” Other sweet things, like pastries, are “treats.” You’ll find them in the Sweets and Treats section of the grocery stores.
Never eat Italian food here — they really just don’t know how to do that. There is no Mexican food, no barbecue. We are beginning to crave American food and some of our favorite home dishes. We’ve seen no meat loaf. No mashed potatoes. No fried chicken — unless you count the KFC we found in the city of Plymouth. But, yes, there is a McDonald’s in Penzance — although we’ve not been there. And they have never heard of grits!