THWARTED EXPECTATIONS
The morning started a little rough. I had a vision of sitting on a nice leather sofa in a sweet little coffee shop sipping a decaf Americano and writing this blog. This ended up with me in a greasy café eating a large lump of whipped egg on dry toast while outside there were major (and very noisy) road works going on. After this the day did get substantially better.

Interesting note that I learnt this day: “The name derives its origins from WW2 when American GI’s used to pour hot water onto their coffee. It was then adapted in the United States by large chains who sought to create a marketable fusion of drip coffee and espresso to sell to a mass market”.

BETRAYED BY COSTA
I went to Café Nero and got the coffee I had been  desiring. When I lived in the UK my favourite coffee shop was Costa Coffee, it was strong and suited my taste buds. As coffee and most other product experiences are your own personal preference it is hard to argue with a friend that one is better than another (although many do try). So when I came back on this trip I went to Costa first to relive my former coffee love experience. Well, there was only disappointment and my former romantic memories were quickly eroded. It was weak and had coffee grounds in it. I asked for it to be remade and although there were  no grounds in this one the taste was weak and not hitting the mark. I did not finish the drink. The gentleman also ‘accidentally’ shortchanged me 7 pounds, good job I know how to count. Then I found Café Nero where the coffee is strong, bold and fits my taste bud requirements. As a branding expert it is another example of how fickle we are as consumers and how loyal we can be to a brand until that brand relationship is upset or severed and how easy we will ‘jump ship’. I didn’t give Costa a second chance, one bad coffee experience was bad enough and with so much competition selling the same products I played the market and found a new coffee love.

A HISTORIC WALKABOUT
After I had finished my cup of dark coffee love I headed to the meeting point for the London Walks, London’s award-winning, original, foremost, signature walking tour company.
This specific tour was titled Hidden London, exploring the hidden places and forgotten nooks of the world’s most elusive city. There was a surprising large amount of people who had turned up (35) but it was not a problem, the guide’s voice traveled well so that everyone could hear clearly, and was also a good sign that this was a popular attraction. I have never done a guided tour and I have to say it well exceeded my expectations. I like the fact that it was by foot, not only did we get some exercise  but we were able to go down lots of little side streets and inside buildings which would not happen if we were on a bus tour for example.

In summary the guide was fantastic,- very knowledgeable, personable and had a great sense of humour – as we had to cross many roads he informed us (with a smile) “before crossing the roads wait for the walking green man sign – or the green lady wearing trousers”. Brilliant.

We met at Monument which was built to commemorate the great fire of London 1666 where 4/5ths of the city burnt to the ground. We learnt many facts about this from the religious politics of the time to how the city was rebuilt as it was ‘pre-fire’ due to land rights rather than the suggested design which would have resulted in today’s city being less congested and easier to navigate (oh well).

It was fascinating to learn how things we take so for granted today came to be. For example we in the UK drive on the left side of the road because in 1722 when this law came into play it was decided that when on the road you needed to have your sword hand free, and as this was your right hand it made sense to travel by horse on the left so you could battle your oncoming opponent. Now as Napoleon controlled a lot of Europe at the time, and as he was left handed, and as he didn’t really like the English, he decided that Europe would drive on the right side. I think all the European right -handed sword men got a rough deal there.

The year 1665 saw the last great London plague. At the time there was very poor sewage and people would throw the contents of their bed pans out of the windows into the streets (imagine the smell). As the plague spread the intellects of the time thoughts it was the dogs and cats that carried the plague, so 40,000 cats and 20,000 dogs were slaughtered; but with no results. They later discovered it was the fleas on the back of rats that carried the plague and as this specific species of rats were ‘sociable’ (they liked humans and lived among us) the disease was easily spread. Years later the Norwegian rat (now the common rat in modern London) came on boats to England and dominated and killed off the rats of the time. As this rat is ‘unsociable’ and lives in the drains and doesn’t socialize with humans it saw the end of great -plagues as the fleas didn’t spread from rat to human. I wonder what happened to all the dogs and cats and if there is a marble plaque in their memory.

The tour was filled with most fascinating facts like the one above, ones that you could relate to modern times so you could have a personal connection with and not the usual boring historical facts that sends you to sleep.

Another favourite funny descriptions, was that “squirrels are rats with good PR”.

And then there was more: Floats in a parade date back to the Lord Mayer parade on the river Thames as companies of the time had their exhibitions on boats that ‘floated’ down the river.

The name Grocers came from the salt and pepper merchants who started to buy their product in bulk, hence the term grocer from the French “grossier” meaning wholesaler.

The streets of old London were named after  the industry performed on that street . For example there was and is Bread street, Garlic street, Candle street etc. How easy would this have been.  It would obviously not work in today’s society as we have so many options. It got me thinking to how easy and spoilt we are in today’s society, not connected to how our food is grown, or where products are made and how they are imported.

In summary the tour was amazing and wish I had done it earlier in my trip as I would have for sure done other tours during my stay.

SWEET AND CRUNCHY
We went to a great little Vietnamese restaurant for lunch called ‘Viet’. We are spoilt in Vancouver for amazing and affordable restaurants and Vietmanese is a regular favourite. So I had high hopes and couldn’t help comparing the London and Vancouver experience. In summary the starters were amazing but the main course was disappointing. We had a simple prawn roll in fish sauce – nice and refreshing. Then we had the pancake lettuce wrap – wow, this was so good. It was somewhere between a pancake and egg omelet stuffed with bean sprouts, pork and tomato ‘yummyness’. Wrapped in a cold lettuce leaf it made a very interesting combination of temperatures, crunch and chewy, flavours and sweet and savory. I will be having more of these on my return to Vancouver for sure. The inside was basic but clean. The staff  were friendly and quite lovely.

TIMES HAVE CHANGED
The day continued with a trip to the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising. “To walk through the magnificently cluttered time-tunnel of cartons and bottles, toys and advertising displays is to locate your own place in history” Time Out. The museum is small and intimate, but boasts over 12,000 original items to view, admire and reminisce about. The museum was organized by decade starting with the Victorian era and continuing to present day. Throughout the amazing packaging there were wonderful and informative cards describing how and why certain packaging trends changed due to environmental reasons like the war or the development of new packaging materials. I have seen a few displays of old packaging before but I was still sucked into the history of old products, some which have changed a lot over the years and some brands that have stayed rather true to the original designs through out the decades.

By far my favourite area was under the ‘Brands’ section where rather than showing the products by era they showed them by specific product.

For example they showed the development of Johnsons Baby Powder from the 1920s to 1990’s and the same with the pop drink Tango, Nescafe and HP sauce. It was fascinating to see each brand displayed in one row where you can easily compare the similarities as well as the developments in design and packaging. The museum was small and a quick visit but well worth the trip, the staff and the overall experience was one of professionalism, friendly and very interesting. I read later that the space is available in evenings and weekends for private hire for drink receptions, parties and lunches. I think this would be a perfect location for any design party.

HIGH HOPES FOR THE PEAR
This great day continued and after a 30 minute walk I have found the pub I am looking for. I got the information from Google, searching ‘Perry in London’. After asking for directions five different times I finally found the right street name. The bar is called Chimes Wine Bar, at 26 Churton Street, SW1V 2LP. So I have been after a sip of this mysterious brew for several months now ever since watching ‘Oz and James Drink to Britain’ where I learnt about an English Cider specifically made from the Perry pear. I have had other pear cider since visiting the UK but not Perry. The bar is quaint, open, well lit and laid back. Seem like a perfect place to relax and enjoy a nice glass of cider or wine.

“So how is the drink?” I hear you enquiring.  Well it’s rather nice. I am not a cider fan but this is very enjoyable. I am not ‘Oh My God, this is my new drink’, and I would rather be outside sat by the river bank on a nice green park sipping this cider on a hot and sunny summer’s afternoon. That said it is light and not too heavy. I find apple ciders the opposite of this, heavy and dense – but maybe this has something to do with my early years where I would drink copious amount of Woodpecker cider at parties with the intention of getting wasted (and very successful at that I was!). I actually just overheard a man order a Cider at the bar, he requested one that tastes of ‘damp hay mixed with rat piss’, yum, no wonder I don’t drink apple cider. Perry still has a very cidery taste, there is no escaping it, but it leaves a delicate and soft after taste on your palate (no rat piss flavours luckily).

Just before leaving for London someone replied to a blog post I did about where to find Perry in Vancouver. Come the summer months I will buy a bottle and take my wife to the beach, throw down the blanket and enjoy another glass of this drink as we enjoy the sunset over the Vancouver  mountains. Until then I shall very much enjoy this glass in Victoria, London.

FANCY ASIAN FODDER
Later that night we went to Ping Pong. “A Ping Pong restaurant is a modern take on a very ancient Chinese tradition. Hundreds of years ago, merchants on the Silk Road would stop at tea houses en route to rest their weary feet, relax and drink tea with their fellow travellers and share Dim Sum – baskets and dishes of little sweet and savoury snacks, usually steamed, baked or fried”.

We had to wait 40 minutes (not bad for prime time on a Friday night in London) but as I am not one who likes to wait for food this made my initial impression a negative one. This dissolved  rather quickly due to the great customer service, it was friendly and professional. On the back of the new waiters t-shirt it said “I’m new, don’t shout at me” –  I like it.

Again, Vancouver is spoilt for its amazing Asian food especially dim sum, but Ping Pong held up. It was a swanky interior, definitely a higher-end restaurant without being too exclusive. The food was great. Rich flavours and simply served, staying true to the dim sum tradition. The interior was modern using lots of dark wood to create a very intimate dining experience. Downstairs was organized with a series of round tables but upstairs where we ate was lower, more comfortable dining, with leather seats, dim lighting and one I rather enjoyed. As dim sum is all about sharing and eating in a less formal style with chopsticks, the furniture upstairs seemed to gel rather well with the eating style. Overall I have had better dim sum food, but this is me being ‘rather picky’, it was a great night, great service, great food and fantastic company; a rather good eight out of ten.

The dinner out was a rather satisfying end to a very full day, probably my favourite day to date on my trip to London.

SEE IMAGES ON FLICKR:
part 1, part 2, part 3 & part 4

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