On Friday 19th June seven members of the “Aprons and Appetites” group set off for a day in London. Departing on the 9:05 train from Newark we arrived at King’s Cross on what would turn out to be possibly the hottest day of the year so far. Undeterred we navigated the many bus stops and used our bus passes to travel towards our first destination, the historic Temple Church, built by the Knights Templar to be England’s Jerusalem between 1214 and 1219.
We were lucky to be able to hear a fascinating talk given by volunteer Colin who explained the importance of the Church’s links to the Magna Carta and its most famous knight and statesman William Marshal.
We then made our way to Gray’s Inn, one of the Inns of Court where we were privileged to have lunch in the impressive Dining Hall due to one of our number, Maria, being a member.
We got a sense of the customs and traditions of centuries seated below the Benchers’ table as Maria described the ceremonial aspects of the formal dinners. A large carved screen at the opposite end of the Hall is said to have been given to the Inn by Elizabeth 1 and supposedly carved from the wood of a captured Spanish galleon.
It was an interesting experience and the food was good too!
As a group we next made our way to Trafalgar Square then walked down to look at the Banksy statue at Waterloo Place. Situated near the Crimean War Memorial and other military monuments the sculpture is widely interpreted as a comment on blind patriotism and has become a major public draw.
With temperatures rising and legs tiring the group split up to explore various London attractions, including the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery for some and a Thames riverside walk for another.
All too soon we needed to get a bus to take us back to King’s Cross in plenty of time to catch our 7:00 train back to Newark.
Aprons and Appetites is a food and cookery group which, as well as meeting and cooking in each other’s homes, enjoys widening our food experience by visiting a range of venues to sample different cuisines and cultures. Our London adventure certainly lived up to expectations.
Judith Moore and photos by Terry