It is Thanksgiving week in the United States. An American expat can feel a bit out of sorts during this time of celebration back home. So, on ‘Stay Whole Tuesday,’ I am writing down some things we are thankful for here in London. I’ll start with a recent visit to Southwell Minster and some dishes we will soon be making from the world-famous Bramley Apples.
I’m thankful for friends in England who have allowed us to experience things we never imagined. Like Ruth and Dean Franks, who live near Nottingham, England, on a beautiful family farm. Cathy and I made another pilgrimage to ‘Manor Farm’ this past weekend, where snow covered the ground after a mid-week storm. The weather did not allow for the usual tennis, pickleball and golf, so we decided on a Saturday field trip to Southwell, Nottinghamshire and a chance to tour a 900-year-old cathedral, Southwell Minster. (Pronounced as spelt by some but also pronounced South’ll by locals.)
About Southwell Minster
- Southwell Minster evolved from a Roman villa to a Saxon church and later became a private church for the Archbishop of York.
- Over a century ago, it became the cathedral of a new diocese.
- The Minster’s Chapter House, built in the late 13th century, is renowned for its exceptional naturalistic carvings of plants, animals, and green men, known as The Leaves of Southwell.
- These carvings are considered the finest in the UK.
We celebrated the holiday season together on Saturday evening at Taylor’s Fine Dining in Rufford, a spectacular family-owned restaurant. Before returning to London, Ruth and Dean gathered Bramley Apples from their yard. We took home a baker’s dozen of the most beautiful apples you will ever see. Cathy will soon work her kitchen magic into homemade apple sauce and maybe a pie. Now, that feels like Thanksgiving to me!
Malus domestica (Bramley’s Seedling, commonly known as the Bramley apple, or simply Bramley, Bramleys or Bramley’s) is an English cultivar of apple that is usually eaten cooked due to its sourness. [Source – Wikipedia.]
[See Igigai: About Hardship on Stay Whole Tuesday for photos from Lincoln Cathedral in Lincolnshire during another trip north to visit the Franks.]
