My Exotic Summer Adventure: England Outside London (gasp)

[Kyo]

Green Men in Tight Myths?!

Sign me up!

[StarG]

Nice TR as always, jjpb3.
Looking forward to the next parts.

[9V-SIA]

Love the TR so far...

Made me more than once.

And thank you for the mention

Nottingham and Yorkshire sound pretty exotic to me

[blast-off]

Nice TR Sir....

Waiting for the continuation

[Paint Horse]

I do endeavour to ensure this TR gets completed

We cannot afford to have you go on vigil again...



This thread is not associated with an unfinished TR writer ya' know?

Well I certainly hope so. These hit and run trip reports are very distressing. Even more distressing is closing famous threads. It is as if they just blew out the candle I had in the window waiting for the poor nickbots to return. What spoilsports.

But then what do I see in the next post? nickbots. I see nickbots. Does this mean they have found their way back?

[Kiwi]

What is this "outside" London you talk of? Obviously not important otherwise London would not be Center of the World according to this small airline that chose to be known by the first 2 letters of the alphabet. Or perhaps I have it backwards?

[MAN Flyer]

Nottingham and Yorkshire sound pretty exotic to me

Thanks for almost making me choke on my tea this morning....

I'll be incredibly impressed if I ever see the words 'Yorkshire' and 'exotic' in the same sentence ever again.

Luton Airport Parkway........**shudders**

[jjpb3]

Part 2: Of Mythic Men in Green Tights

After a re-charging my energy with a delicious sandwich prepared by our pretty hostess, we were off to our first destination: the legendary Sherwood Forest, home of a bunch of men happy to rob the rich to give to the poor.



We piled excitedly into our limousine



which was equipped with a GPS device recently configured by our host to speak in a ‘more English and well-spoken’ voice as it directed us to a needlessly convoluted route to our destination. We suspected that had he kept the American voice and ignored its directions, it indeed might have become attitudinal and yelled as he turned right, “Yo, fool! I said turn LEFT.”

But back to our story. It had begun to rain as we arrived, but it seemed karma was going to re-pay our restraint about exercising our PITA selves earlier in the day, by chasing the clouds away. (mec claimed it was because he brings sunshine wherever he is, but our host looked most decidedly sceptical [though politely quiet, in that lovable English manner.]) So our band of adventurers ventured into the green forest




back to the dark times



of knights and ladies



when the powerful preyed on the weak



and the evil sheriff of Nottingham



oppressed simple folks who were just trying to get on with their lives


(Tangential aside: this condemned man apparently bears striking resemblance to an SQTalker who fled SQT-Land without finishing his TR.)

There were informative descriptions about what was known and what may be folk tale about Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men, but I wasn’t in the mood for subtitles. So I’ll rely instead on what I recall from Disney’s animated feature to describe the legend’s climax. Robin Hood had to compete in some tournament



while Lady Marian looked nervously on



(I don’t recall Lady Marian brandishing a weapon herself, but I think our hostess wanted to remind us to behave ourselves:

[jjpb3]

Part 2 (cont.): Of Mythic Men in Green Tights

So, did Robin Hood hit the bull’s eye



win the tournament, vanquish the evildoers, and establish green tights as the de rigeur attire of future heroes?

You’re allowed one guess. Just look at the evidence:

1. A statue in a museum



2. Lots of merchandising



3. English boys unafraid to don green costumes as they stroll around in the woods.



(Personally I think the choice of green was a miscalculation, as the cut of the attire can leave the young ‘uns resembling Peter Pan instead. )

After our foray into English legend of yore, it was time to celebrate our luck with weather (mec continued to claim credit) with a trip to a neighbourhood pub for some filling English grub. Properly kicked off with a pint of cider, of course.





Coming up: my quest to trim my waistline suffers ignominious defeat in Nottingham.

[jjpb3]

Part 3: Pub Grub in Nottingham

I’ll keep this part of the TR short and (savoury and) sweet. Our hosts asked us what we wanted to eat for dinner, so we suggested good hearty fare at a pub. The weather gods were smiling by this time, and so apparently were the kitchen gods.

Pulpo gallego (octopus) and garlic bread with brie


Lamb meatballs over spaghetti with garlic bread


Cumberland sausages with mash and carrots


Our host dedicated this to Kyo, for whatever birthday wishes he’ll be doling out.

(Some kind of*) liver with mash


*Sorry, not a fan of liver. Can you tell? I heard it was very good.

Pork loin with cherry sauce


It ain’t much to look at, but it was oh so succulent and tasty.

And finally, as I cannot resist pies when paired with ice cream, apple-raspberry crumble with vanilla ice cream.


Oy vay, my diet, eviscerated. It took the last shred of my willpower to leave the crumble half-eaten. The dough was just the right amount of flaky, and the filling just the right amount of moist sweetness. I think this was our host chuckling as he computed how far I exceeded my daily calorie target.



But who can fret about diets after a day like this? It turned out to be a glorious English summer day (all right, mec, you may take a bow), enjoyed in the company of good friends.

Cheers!

[Kyo]

Cumberland sausages with mash and carrots


Our host dedicated this to Kyo, for whatever birthday wishes he’ll be doling out.

Such a lovely TR makes me yearn to visit the place I read about in my days of yore.

I am hereby humbled at this generous gesture by the hosts that bear such a striking resemblance to the thread starter (whose thread remains unfinished) whose TR shall go down into the annals of SQTalk history forever and ever.

Amen.

[HUGE AL]

Kyo+, I thought he was referring to the liver.

It's nice to see the nickbots on our pages again.

[SuperJonJon]

I wonder who is this man that is always cut in half and seemed to have lost his green tights?

Great TR! Very entertaining.

[SQ TPP]

Thank you for the pictures, jjpb3.
Now where are the view from above?

Food looks yummy. You had the sausages, didn't you? Liver belongs to ...
The nickbots seems such a great host! No tan yet this summer? And I wonder whether painthorse is thrilled seeing nickbot being tied up as punishment for that unfinished business.
Please do tell more about Robin Hood and his Merry Men! Imagine outdoor scene with those green tights!


PS: Don't forget to plan the visit to Hollywood for the Thanksgiving Party @ Taipei Flyer!
Nickbots, are you going to have the green tight costumes on?

[hsf]

Lovely report! Thanks.