A Gluten-Free Restaurant In Fitzrovia
On Wednesday, I wet with a friend to a restaurant clled Pisqu in Rathbone Place, Fitzrovia.
It was very good and I had no problem with finding an excellent gluten-free meal.
I dhall retirn!
Gluten-Free Afternoon Tea In Bettys
Bettys of Harrogate is one of the best-known traditional tea rooms in Yorkshire, if not the whole of the North of England.
As today was the first weekday of LNER’s new Harrogate service, with six trains per day in both directions, I emailed an old friend and we agreed to meet up for an early afternoon tea, which is actually served from eleven in the morning.
These pictures show my tea, which was gluten-free.
It was certainly some of the best gluten-free sandwiches, cakes and scones, I’ve ever had.
Sadly,, my friend only had time for a coffee, as she was running late, due to a horse problem. But she did show me around Harrogate.
I have been before with C, but I didn’t remember anything except that we had a coffee in Bettys.
The Outward Journey To Harrogate
I took the 09:33 from Kings Cross and we arrived in Harrogate station a minute early at 12:16.
- The journey took two hours and 43 minutes.
- The train reversed direction at Leeds
- The only problem appeared to be that the seat allocation system on the train wasn’t working. Could this be becuae, the service appeared to be timetabled for two five-car trains working as a pair and a nine-car turned up?
- As it was only the second day of the service, I would expect some teething troubles.
These pictures show the Azuma train at Harrogate station.
On the train, I met a lady who was going to see her son and his family near Thirsk. She was saying that Harrogate has better bus connections than Thirsk, so it is a more convenient station.
Train Length And Horsforth Station
As you can see from the pictures a nine-car train is a tight fit in Harrogate station.
Two trains call at Horsforth station, where a Google Map appesrs to show a platform only long enough for a five-car train.
The Return Journey From Harrogate
My return train was a five-car Azuma train.
- It left Harrogate at 15:36
- It arrived at Kings Cross at 18:32, which was a couple of minutes late.
- The journey time was two hours and 56 minutes.
I was also in Furst, so I got a delicious snack meal.
These Deli-Boxes certainly work as a snack for me.
As Adnams now do the 0.5% version of their Ghost Ship in cans, I would love to see trains carrying these beers or something similar.
Splitting And Joining At Leeds
My train didn’t split at Leeds on the way up, but according to one of the staff at Leeds, this is part of the final plan.
Consider.
- Nine-car trains are a tight fit at Harrogate.
- Nine-car trains don’t fit into Horsforth.
- Nine-car trains are needed for capacity reasons to and from Leeds.
So two five-car trains, running as a pair to Leeds, would be ideal. One train would serve Harrogate and the other perhaps Bradford or Huddersfield.
As I was tired and in a hurry, when we arrived in Kings Cross, I forgot to check if we were five- or ten-cars.
Ticket Costs
I have just looked up prices for the 14th of January 2020 for going North on the 0933 and South on the 17:36.
- Outbound in Standard costs £15.50
- Return in Standard costs £12.20
- First Class is £35 both ways.
All prices are with a Railcard.
Conclusion
The new Harrogate service is more than just a second destination in the Leeds Area.
- As the lady told me, Harrogate has good connections to a large part of Yorkshire.
- A difficult change, that can be slow is avoided at Leeds station.
- Another lady told me, that her husband used to commute to London from Harrogate three days a week and often missed the connection at Leeds.
- If you needed to go for say a business meeting in Harrogate or take your mother for lunch at Bettys on her birthday, the train service is ideal.
- The Azumas add style to a route that will also appreciate it.
I am certain that LNER have a winner.
Bettys
I would certainly recommend, their gluten-free afternoon tea.
I wonder how many will come up from London to have lunch or a meeting in Bettys and the other cafes and restaurants in Harrogate?
Note that Bettys and several other cafes and restaurants are an easy walk from Harrogate station.
My friend and I said that we’ll meet up again in the Spring. It will be interesting to see how the service is behaving.
A Gluten-Free Lunch From Pret a Manger
This picture shows my lunch today.
The gluten-free open sandwich came from Pret a Manger and the bottle of Adnams came from Marks and Spencer, a few doors away.
- The outlet opened today and a manager confirmed that they have done gluten-free for some months.
- They also have a tablet-based menu checker.
- It will be very useful for me, if it does well in Dalston.
- The beer may not be gluten-free, but my body says it is for me.
- It was a good delicious lunch for me!
It brought back memories for me of many lunches in the Bull at Burrough Green, where I would regularly have a similar lunch in pre-coeliac days.
An Oasis In A Gluten-Free Desert
I took this picture, this morning in Mark’s and Spencer’s cafe in Ipswich.
It was the only place, I could find a gluten-free breakfast in the town.
Note that Christmas must be coming, as it’s a turkey feast sandwich.
Tortillas From Kings Cross Square
If you are arriving at Kings Cross station and feel a little peckish, it is often worthwhile to check out the offerings in Kings Cross Square in front of the station.
I found these delicious gluten-free tortillas last week.
A Quick Pasta Supper For One
A few months ago Marks & Spencer started selling an Italian made gluten-free passta, that is named prosciutto & ricotta cappelletti.
Marks recommend serving it with your favourite sauce or melted butter.
So I used one of my favourite sauces adapted from Serial Cooking – Quick Pasta For One. The idea came from a recipe from Lyndsey Bareham in The Times.
These pictures show the stages.
Note.
- I split frozen peas down into small one-portion pots.
- The yogurt is a small pot of Honey & Ginger West Country Luxury Yoghurt from Marks & Spencer.
- I generally drink Adnams beer!
I shall cook the second half of the pasta in a few days, which will be the fifth time, I’ve had the meal in three weeks.
The Troubles At Pizza Express
This article on the BBC is entitled Pizza Express Set For Talks Over £1bn Debt Pile.
For many coeliacs like myself, who travel all over the UK,, the failure of Pizza Express or even a cutback in the number of restaurants would be a bit of a disaster.
I stayed the night in Preston on Saturday and the only place I trust to serve a safe gluten-free meal there, is the Pizza Express.
I didn’t actually use the restaurant on Saturday night, as the weather was so bad, I went straight to bed and then in the morning, went quickly to Manchester Piccadilly station for a decent gluten-free breakfast at Leon.
If Pizza Express closes branches in places like Preston, then it will make my journeys around the country a lot more difficult.
Rutland: England’s Only County Without A McDonald’s
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the first paragraph.
The picturesque county of Rutland boasts a Michelin-star restaurant, dozens of gourmet eateries and regular farmers’ markets – but what it doesn’t have is anywhere to pick up a Big Mac. This may all be about to change.
And the change seems to be creating an almighty row in the county.
I only have one use for McDonalds.
A couple of times, I’ve been stuck in a town or city centre and hungrily looking for a gluten-free snack.
So I’ve bought a small portion of chips and an orange juice.
McDonalds chips are gluten-free, unlike many other fast-food joints, which coat them in wheat.
Gluten-Free Breakfast At Amarone In Edinburgh
I had my gluten free breakfast in Amarone in Edinburgh a couple of weeks ago.
I would certainly go back again.
- Service was friendly.
- Price was reasonable.
- Food was excellent.
- Tea was at it should be in a pot!
It was a bit quiet, but that was probably due to the early hour.
I’ll certainly use their restaurant in Glasgow as well!
Thoughts On eScooters!
Consider.
- This article on the BBC is entitled Emily Hartridge: TV Presenter And YouTube Star Dies In Crash. It is an extremely sad tale and it has led to the inevitable call to ban electric scooters.
- There is also this article on the BBC, which is entitled Iris Goldsmith: Teenage girl dies in ‘quad bike’ accident. This is another extremely sad tale and many are questioning, what a teenage girl was doing, riding a quadbike.
- And then there’s this article on the BBC, Which is entitled Govia Thameslink Fined £1m Over Gatwick Express Window Death.
Young people and some older ones too, often do stupid things.
Many also crave danger and go mountaineering, riding on the tops of trains or jumping into rivers from a great height.
Doing things out of the ordinary is a natural reaction and is one of the reason, why humans are the most successful species on this planet.
I think the problem is the way we bring up children.
- My parents let me do anything I wanted up to a point.
- They also taught me lots of skills.
- From about twelve, I used to cycle all over London.
- I spent endless hours in my father’s print works doing things that would be frowned upon now, because they are too dangerous.
A couple of months ago, I was interviewed by a sixth-form girl student, in the volunteering I do at Barts Hospital in giving experience to prospective doctors.
She had lived in an over-protective environment and hardly left home on her own.
It was almost child abuse. She didn’t say, but I suspect she’d even been driven to and from school.
When it came to our own children, C and myself were fairly liberal and it was strange how, two became very street-wise and had the occasional scrapes, whereas the other was generally well-behaved.
Perhaps, we didn’t get everything right, but I like to think, we gave them a good appreciation of risk!
And that is one of the mot important things to learn in life, as often, those that ca’t assess risk, come to unfortunate ends.
I do feel my youngest son’s unhealthy lifestyle was a factor in his getting pancreatic cancer, especially if he was coeliac like me! But then he wouldn’t get tested!
His daughter though, seems to have a good appreciation of risk, but then if your father dies, you probably do!
To return to the eScooter, which is where this post started.
They Look Fun!
They certainly look fun and I constantly want to have a go on one.
Remember, I have crashed a twin-engined aeroplae and ridden horses in the Masai Mara.
At seventeen, I also sat on the back of a motorcycle, the wrong way round and went through the Mersey Tunnel.
Was I wearing a helmet? Of course not!
Are They Dangerous?
The risk depends on where they are used and how competent the rider is!
Ask any A & E doctor, what sport causes the most injuries and they’ll say something like rugby or horse-riding!
When A & E doctors start complaining about eScooters that will be the time for action.
Would Training Help?
Training isn’t the important thing.
However experience, especially that gained in a safe environment is important.
But to legislate that training should be mandatory will only have the reverse affect.
Conclusion
It’s a difficult problem, but we must teach everybody to appreciate risk.
When I joined ICI in 1969, I went on a formal Health and Safety course.
It has proven to be invaluable all my life an I haven’t worked on a chemical plant since 1970.
The Anonymous Widower 