Day 9

Got up early to put in a load of laundry. The porters sell detergent and the machines are free. Luckily the laundry was in Peckwater, exactly 1 1/2 minute walk from my digs at Canterbury. Have you ever done laundry in an 18th century basement?

Then breakfast. It was still early, and the Cathedral was open and I went in. They were probably three people in there with me. It was so beautiful, just exactly the way you would think a small English cathedral would be. They have an early morning service and the incense was still hanging heavy in the air.

The first part of our lecture, this morning was very interesting. A former student made some Swedish dishes for us to try. Smoked reindeer heart (I passed, but several people said it was delicious), a canapé made with chopped anchovies, butter, egg, and parsley (also passed), and some very stinky Swedish cheese. I did NOT pass. 

Lito brought in flavored gin that he had in his restaurant. One had Garam Masala spices, the other had been infused with peach and mango tea bags. They smelled divine, and I even tasted both! It’s still gin.

And that was the highlight of the class.

Here’s what I learned. A saucer is named that because it was a small dish for sauces.

We were a bit late to lunch because Julia wasn’t keeping track of time. We had to eat quickly because we had a bus at 1:30 to take us on our excursion to Hughendon.

It’s about 50 minutes from Oxford and was the estate of Benjamin Disraeli. 

There was a self guided tour, you just wandered from room to room and read about the decor. It is much the same as it was almost 150 years ago. It’s owned by the national trust, and there were very nice guides in most rooms that would answer questions.

The gardens were lovely, and after the visit to the house and gardens I met Pat and some of the members of our group in the stable yard, which has become a café and gift shop. Diet Pepsi, and a fruit scone for us!

All 50 or so of us got to the designated spot to meet the bus, but the bus did not meet us. We waited over half an hour and finally boarded for our return trip.

Consequently, we were almost late for dinner, so it was a rush to clean up a bit and get to Hall. 

The starter was a small round of baked Camembert with a delicious little salad, then lamb steak with English roasted potatoes and French beans. Dessert, tiramisu!

Meals are so much fun, people are talk talk talking and there’s always something new to talk about.

We walked over to the lecture hall where we had met on our first evening. As soon as we all sat down, the fire alarm went off. We were told we had to leave and go to a muster point. We waited around five minutes until they decided somebody went out a fire door. We returned, the side show begin again, and the alarm went off again. This time we just sat for a few minutes until they figured out how to turn the alarm off. 

One of the tutors gave a lecture about cartoons with a side bit about 60’s music stars in photos. He’s the tutor of Pat’s class on the Beatles. Very entertaining.

I am tired out! More tomorrow.

Love,
Lynn