Pie and mash

26 January 2025 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon appétit, London Reading Time:  9 minutes

© Goddards Pies Limited/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Goddards Pies Limited/cc-by-sa-4.0

Pie and mash is a traditional working-class food, originating in the Docks of London. Often accompanied with jellied eels, the dish has been popularised as “a Cockney classic”. It typically consists of a minced beef pie, mashed potato, and a parsley sauce known as liquor. Pie, mash and eel shops have been in London since the 19th century, and are still common in East and South London, and in many parts of Kent and Essex.   read more…

Clacton-on-Sea in Essex

4 July 2024 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Town centre fountain © Rwendland/cc-by-sa-4.0

Town centre fountain © Rwendland/cc-by-sa-4.0

Clacton-on-Sea, often simply called Clacton, is a seaside town and resort in the county of Essex, on the east coast of England. It is located on the Tendring Peninsula and is the largest settlement in the Tendring District, with a population of 53,200 (2021). The town is situated around 77 miles north-east of Central London, 40 miles east-north-east of Chelmsford, 58 miles north-east of Southend-on-Sea, 16 miles south-east of Colchester and 16 miles south of Harwich.   read more…

Theme Week New England – Vermont

24 February 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  13 minutes

Stowe © flickr.com - Patrick/cc-by-2.0

Stowe © flickr.com – Patrick/cc-by-2.0

Vermont borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north. Lake Champlain forms half of Vermont’s western border with the state of New York and the Green Mountains run north–south the length of the state. Vermont is the 2nd-least populous of the U.S. states, with nearly 50,000 more residents than Wyoming. The capital is Montpelier, the least populous state capital in the U.S. The most populous municipality, Burlington, is the least populous city in the U.S. to be the most populous within the state. Other cities are Essex, South Burlington, Colchester, Rutland, Bennington, Brattleboro, Milton, Winooski, St. Albans, Vergennes, St. Johnsbury, Shelburne, Hartford, Springfield, Barre, and Williston. As of 2015, Vermont continued to be the leading producer of maple syrup in the U.S. It was ranked as the safest state in the country in January 2016.   read more…

Holiday on the Thames

25 September 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

River Thames with Hampton Church Shakespeare's Temple and Garrick's Villa © Motmit

River Thames with Hampton Church Shakespeare’s Temple and Garrick’s Villa © Motmit

The River Thames is a major river flowing through southern England. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford, Reading, Henley-on-Thames, Windsor, Kingston upon Thames and Richmond.   read more…

Portrait: John Locke, the father of Classical Liberalism

1 March 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Portrait Reading Time:  8 minutes

John Locke signature

John Locke signature

John Locke (1632 – 1704), widely known as the Father of Classical Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social contract theory. His work greatly affected the development of epistemology and political philosophy. His writings influenced Voltaire and Rousseau, many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the American revolutionaries. His contributions to classical republicanism and liberal theory are reflected in the United States Declaration of Independence.   read more…

Colchester in Essex is UK’s oldest city

30 August 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

High Street © colchesterguide.co.uk

High Street © colchesterguide.co.uk

Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England. At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain’s fastest growing towns. As the oldest recorded Roman town in Britain, Colchester claims to be the oldest town in Britain. It was for a time the capital of Roman Britain and also claims to have the United Kingdom’s oldest recorded market. The town is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network.   read more…

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