London Hideaways Talk About Tea!

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by: Katia Provencher

There is nothing more quintessentially English than a good cup of tea. In fact, along with bulldogs, bowler hats and red telephone boxes, tea drinking has come to symbolize the very essence of the British experience. When traveling to London you may want to indulge yourself in this genteel ritual, London Hideaways has a few tips to ensure that you will have a memorable tea drinking experience.

First a bit of history about the English Tea trade:

Tea came to Britain in the 16th century when Dutch merchants first imported this Asian beverage from China. The Chinese had been drinking tea for centuries (with limited supplies of clean water, boiling it with aromatic leaves was a good way to ensure a safe and tasty drink).

By the 17th century, tea drinking was in fashion throughout Europe and British entrepreneurs were quick to capitalize on the trend. The famous Twinings company established a warehouse in London in 1706 and is still in business today.

Twinings: London's oldest Tea shop

The distinctive clipper ships are a product of the British tea trade. Built for speed, these sailing vessels would stock up on Chinese tea and race home to be the first with the new harvest.

The most famous clipper of all, the Cutty Sark, has been preserved and can be visited in Greenwich just east of London.

Fortnum and Mason is another institution which opened just a year after Twinings, in 1707, selling to the royal household and the local gentry. When in London, visit "Fortnums", as they are known, and see the liveried shop assistants.

In fact, one of London's best-loved institutions also has it roots in the tea trade. In 1834, Henry Charles Harrod opened a tea wholesaler in the East End. Today Harrod's in London's Knightsbridge is one of the world's most famous department stores.

The world's taste for tea made many men rich and helped establish Britain as an international commercial powerhouse. And, of course, where there is money to be made there is money to be taxed: it was Britain's taxation of tea in the 1700's that helped fuel the American independence movement!

English tea times:

In Britain there are different tea drinking occasions associated with different times of day.

For instance, elevenses is a morning tea comparable to a coffee break. Low tea is an afternoon meal that may include sandwiches and scones (the name originates from the habit of enjoying the meal in low armchairs!) The famous English cream tea may feature scones and clotted cream, marmalade and lemon curd. Royale Tea is a social occasion that includes champagne or sherry served before the tea. Perhaps the most well known tea drinking occasion High Tea. It started as an evening meal for laborers and typically might include meat and potatoes (really more of a dinner than tea). These days, you may enjoy High Tea at two in the afternoon. It is a fairly elaborate meal with cake, biscuits and pastries.

Tea etiquette:

Mostly followed during Victorian days, it still has its importance in some Etiquette and English Schools and circles, here are a few light hearted tips.

London's Ritz serves one of the best London Afternoon tea

When sitting down to tea, place your purse on your lap or behind you on the back of your chair. Unfold your napkin and place it in your lap (should you need to leave the table, place your napkin on your chair). Put sugar in your cup first, then a lemon slice if you wish. Milk goes in after the tea is poured. Lemon and milk are never used together and cream is never added to tea. Do not stir in a circular motion - gently move the tea back and forth with your spoon. Never leave your spoon in your teacup - leave it on the saucer behind the cup. Split scones horizontally with your knife and add cream and lemon curds to you plate. Spread the cream and curds on your scone before each bite.

It is a misconception that polite tea drinkers extend their little fingers when holding a cup (although it is a good practice to handle food with only three fingers).

Enjoying tea in London

First be aware that no self-respecting tearoom will use tea bags, always loose leaves.

When in London you may want to indulge in the tradition of tea at the Ritz - the world famous hotel that overlooks Green Park and Buckingham Palace in the distance. It gained popularity in English society in the early 20th century as a place where ladies could enjoy a meal without a chaperone. These days the Ritz welcomes everybody. The tea sandwiches and cakes are world famous!

Served in the spectacular Palm Court, Ritz Traditional Afternoon Tea offers a choice of several varieties of tea, finely cut sandwiches, freshly baked scones, jam and clotted cream and a range of delicate pastries, combine to make for an unforgettable afternoon. Although there are five sittings every day, booking at least twelve weeks in advance is absolutely essential, especially for weekend bookings. There is a formal dress code in its public areas. Ritz London

The English Tea Room of Brown's Hotel in Albemarle Street, Mayfair serves an excellent Afternoon tea. This fine, traditional hotel was founded in 1837 by James Brown, butler to Lord Byron and his wife, who was Lady Byron's maid. Their hotel quickly became a meeting place for the local nobility and today is frequented by a wide clientele carrying on the tradition of enjoying English afternoon tea.

Curious about tea?

When in London visit the Bramah Museum of Tea and Coffee, 1 Maguire Street, Butler's Wharf

http://www.london-hideaways.com

London Hideaways is an entity of Charming Hideaways Ltd, and is registered and based in London. Katia Provencher is the Director of Charming Hideaways, and has several years experience in the vacation rental and tourism business, including being vacation rental owner herself and also having been a long-term resident of London.

For further details on London Hideaways vacation rentals, please call + 44 (0)208 144-5887, via Skype Parisrental, email contact@london-hideaways.com or visit http://www.london-hideaways.com.

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Soaring - A Family Outing With A Difference

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by: Tim Parish

You've read articles I'm sure, about taking the family out to some kind of week-end activity. But for something really different, something that touches man-kind's yearning to fly, why not go out to see a bunch of soaring pilots in action? You or your son or daughter will come home dreaming of joining them one day, I promise you. With just a little organization, you can make this happen and have everyone talking about it for days afterwards. That word 'soaring' pretty much means to fly like a soaring bird. The kind that can stay aloft for long periods without flapping their wings.

In most countries, you can observe some kind of soaring at any time of the year. From a spectator point of view, the winter months are somewhat better. Why? During summer, soaring pilots have a habit of disappearing over the horizon on long cross-country flights! Too far away even for your binoculars.

Soaring is enjoyed in every continent. Here's an ever-so-brief re-cap of soaring in various parts of the world. The U.S. and Europe have clubs throughout their length and breadth, and most people there are within reasonable driving distance of some flying. Australia, a big and relatively empty country, has many soaring opportunities within reasonable driving distance from most capital cities. In Africa, it's the South Africans who have taken to the soaring sports in greatest numbers. Plenty of opportunities to observe soaring there, if you look for them. Asia has a paragliding hot-spot in South Korea, but there is growing interest and flying activity in other countries as well. For example, China, India, Taiwan and Japan.

Clearing Up Confusion

I mentioned paragliding in that last paragraph, which is just one of the three main groups of soaring sports. Here's a quick overview of the different types of soaring aircraft now, in case you're confused. For a start, all these aircraft are under complete control of their pilots, who are able to plan ahead and land at any particular spot within gliding range.

Paragliders look like sports parachutes, and are the lightest and slowest of all gliders. No, the pilot doesn't jump, he or she just walks down a slope into the breeze! Next come hang-gliders, with their rigid, fabric covered wings. They are somewhat heavier and faster than paragliders. Finally, sailplanes are beautiful, streamlined craft with long gleaming wings. Commonly called 'gliders', they are very much heavier and faster than paragliders and hang-gliders.

Now here's a little note about soaring sports in general. Since they are so dependant on the weather, it is not unusual to have to wait a while for an opportunity to see some flying. Particularly if you can only go on weekends. Even once at the site, a little waiting around is inevitable. In fact, paragliding pilots have coined a name for this - para-waiting!

Since gliding of the various kinds is often done on land with restricted access, it is important to contact a local club or group of pilots to organize a day of glider-watching.

Para-Man Sails Past

Para-Man over there sniffs the sea breeze. Direction is good, strength good. Turning, he starts to inflate his paraglider. Up and up, billowing full and tight, like an enormous kite. It's overhead, hovering like a shiny spaceship. Slowly he turns underneath, checks the wing once again and takes a few purposeful steps into the breeze. A moment later, gaining height slowly, he flies away from the grassy ground. With a gentle pull on a brake toggle he turns, following the slope.

Getting ever smaller in the distance, he joins a few stray gulls enjoying the salty air with him. A while later, here he comes again, sailing right on past with the soft hiss of his lines straining the air, the dead-smooth ocean breeze. An hour later, he decides to return. Briefly, he guides the chute-like craft downwind and then turns back, smoothly dropping out of the sky. About to land, Para-Man instinctively pressures down the brake toggle in each hand. Like a swan on the local pond, he lands not far from us, takes a couple of steps and waits for the colorful canopy to deflate to the ground behind him. Para-Man is back.

Hangy-Man Spirals Away

Hangy-Man has finished rigging his machine. The hang glider looks awkward on the ground, one wing down. Every taut panel deflects some of the gentle summer breeze wafting up the mountainside from the valley below. Hangy-Man double-checks the rigging, clips himself under the attachment-point and picks up the craft easily. Harnessed up with wings outstretched he strides to the launch spot. Minutes pass.

Now the moment is right. Hanglider and man depart at a good swift running pace. Bar in a little, he picks up speed and moves straight out across the valley, brown earth dropping away below. Legs and torso tuck away into the pod harness, man becomes bird. Losing height ever so slowly. And still going down.. but wait... A bump. Another bump, and the audio-vario exclaims deeeee deeee dee dee dee! as Hangy-Man cranks his weight to the right. That sinking feeling now, followed by a surge and more happy variometer song. Stop the turn, waaaaaiiiit for more lift, then the obedient wing cranks over again. Spiraling upwards now, another hang-glider is closing fast, wanting some of the action.

We have driven ahead to the local landing field, waiting until Hangy-Man has had his fill of local soaring. Shading our eyes from the late-afternoon sun, we see him on approach. Getting low, he gently pushes out the bar, skimming the ground and slowing to jogging pace as the nose rises high. As if pointing longingly to the sky from whence it came. He's down, and Hangy-Man's Bird is machine once more.

Glider-Girl Hurled Into The Sky

Glider-Girl runs through her checks, in charge of the launch from the perspex covered cockpit. The glistening white aeronautical marvel is poised on the hard dirt strip. Thumbs-up she signals to the wing-runner, the towline takes in slack. As it tightens, girl and glider seem to move tentatively, but soon gather pace rapidly as the wing-man lets go of the wing tip and the glider surges off the ground.

Smoothly, Glider-Girl allows airspeed to build before nosing high, high into the cool winter air. The sailplane climbs like a fighter jet, high-tensile cable reeling in quickly to the V8-powered winch exerting itself far below. Finally, she lowers the nose, pulls the release and the cable is gone with a jolt. Girl and glider fly in silence, covering ground so effortlessly compared to those other more flimsy craft.

But it is winter, even a sailplane must soon land, if it has no rising air to frolic in. 900 feet above ground, Glider-Girl runs through another checklist and joins circuit. Flaps set, undercarriage down.. the familiar pre-landing routine. We see her flying the cross-wind leg of her circuit, now turning gracefully onto final approach, a slight curve in those magnificent long slender wings. Glider-Girl pops the airbrakes halfway out.

Getting closer but still a little high, she rotates the brakes out some more, they claw at the breeze over the wing. It's a delicate job, a coordinated dance of stick, rudder pedals and airbrake lever, but she does it well. She floats over the runway threshold, gently lowering the heavy machine's main wheel to the dirt strip. A few small rattles as the tail wheel contacts at almost the same time, now slowing, now dragging a wing tip in the dirt as the craft slows below flying speed. We walk out to meet her, and help to push the machine back. Like a pelican, it seems so clumsy on the ground after such a display of grace in the air.

In Conclusion

Why not make a phone call or two so your family can see your local Para-Man, Hangy-Man or Glider-Girl for yourself! And perhaps dream about flying as they do.

Tim Parish is a motorless flight enthusiast, the webmaster of http://www.paragliding-tales-and-reviews.com, a site which will introduce you to many aspects of paragliding, with a sprinkling of humor. Tim has had the pleasure of soaring in sailplanes, hang-gliders and paragliders in the past, both real and simulated. His enthusiasm for these activities is evident in his writing, which he hopes will inspire others.

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Skydiving As It Used To Be

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by: Malcolm Snook

After World War Two a skydiving club was established at Thruxton airfield near Andover in Hampshire, southern England. The British skydiving Club used old (even then) Jackaroo biplanes, ex military parachutes and the club members were pioneers who would go on to found other skydiving clubs, become National Coaches and so on.

Today we're quite familiar with square parachutes that glide and perform like a hang glider, indeed it's possible to strap an engine to someone's back with a propeller in a cage, attach a modern square parachute to their shoulders and hey presto they can fly. We're also accustomed to the idea of buddy jumps where a would-be skydiver, or someone who just wants a one off experience can be attached to the front of an experienced jumper and do a minute's free-fall from twelve thousand feet on their first jump, often their only jump for the 'I've done that' box ticking character.

The buddy jump is only possible because these days reserve parachutes are worn on the back as well as the main parachute, which has traditionally been worn there, this in turn is a result of parachutes getting smaller and lighter, making it possible for two to be worn mounted one above the other in a tandem rig as they were originally called. No need to differentiate today, all kit is like that.

Not so long ago all parachutes were round, heavy and bulky and reserve parachutes were worn on the front of the body. Strangely parachuting as a sport may even have peaked in the nineteen seventies, when this was still largely the case. In the early nineteen seventies the Parafoil square parachute became available and even triangular parachutes based on the Rogallo wing were experimented with, whilst other companies developed the high performance round with an inverted apex, extended high pressure area and a myriad of slits, holes and control lines.

None of these designs was a hundred percent certain to open without malfunction, so skydivers used a plain round reserve that was more than ninety nine percent reliable! The first commercially successful square parachute was the Strato Star, later followed by a larger version, the Strato Cloud. Early 'Stars' had a reefing system using lines and rings around the periphery to control the potentially back breaking opening shock. This was also a complexity that could lead to a malfunction and it was ordinary sport jumpers who pioneered the use of a slider which slid down the rigging lines as the parachute opened to control the opening sequence.

The slider itself could cause a problem if too large or too small and sliders with holes in and various designs were experimented with until reliability was achieved. Today, sport jumpers use square reserves and are happy to wear them on their backs, where they cannot see them, nor reach them with their hands, so reliable has the equipment become.

In the nineteen seventies experienced sport parachutists generally jumped high performance rounds and by the end of that decade pretty much all of them were jumping squares, all students however were still jumping rounds, usually ex military kit even then. Experienced jumpers on squares still trusted to round reserves. The accelerated free-fall course hadn't been invented and the sponsored jump for charity was a new trendy innovation.

Both Britain and America had a plethora of sport parachute clubs and there were quite a few in Spain, France and elsewhere in Europe not to mention Australia and elsewhere. The British Parachute Club at Thruxton did not survive but the RSA Parachute Club moved to Thruxton from Blackbushe airport and at it's peak in the mid seventies trained as many as seven thousand new jumpers a year quite something given the British weather. The other full time club at Peterborough almost certainly did similar numbers and before long there was a third full time club at Headcorn in Kent as well as weekend only clubs spread around the country. For an in depth understanding of the skydiving scene in the nineteen seventies get a copy of the book 'Of Land, Sea And Sky'.

Malcolm Snook has been a skydiving instructor, car and motorcycle racer, dance teacher, advertising executive and entrepreneur and a long distance sailor. He currently lives on an old sailing ketch and writes.

http://www.oflandseaandsky.com

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