Chelsea Buns for Christmas!

 

I was devastated last year when I visited Cambridge and found Fitzbillies bakery closed for business. Then Tim Hayward and Alison Wright came to its rescue and Fitzbillies, that most Cambridge of institutions, are selling their wondrous Chelsea buns again, along with – extra bonus – slices of their incredible Sachertorte cake! (So you don't have to buy a whole cake.) Others are rapturing about the delicious menus in the new café-restaurant, but I am just glad for the take-aways.
   Yes, we fell in love with Fitzbillies Chelsea buns during our time in Cambridge but are somewhat glad we don't have access to them too often anymore. They are very special food, and so what did we eat this past Christmas day? Not turkey like every other household in Britain but Chelsea buns! What a treat.
   As for the Sachertorte, having loved the Fitzbillies variety, we were very excited one year to be in Vienna to visit the Sacher Hotel, which made the cake famous. With watering mouths, we ordered our Sachertorte – and, it didn't hold a candle to Fitzbillies' version!
   You can read all about the excitement of the new opening of Fitzbillies this past autumn and their various offerings on their website. And if you can't get to Cambridge to try these delicacies, both Chelsea buns and Sachertorte are available by mail order. Enjoy!

Gog & Magog sculptures and walk

Gog and Magog are names from the Bible, specifically interpreted as a king and his kingdom, respectively. But as Christianity infiltrated Albion (the Isle of Britain), it appears that they became one person Gogmagog, leader of the giants overthrown by Brutus of Troy, according to legend.

Later, it appears the word split to refer to two people: Gog, the giant, and Magog, the Trojan warrior Corineus who killed the giant.  Gog and Magog are now feted as the traditional guardians of the City of London, where their postwar wooden sculptures, in Roman uniform, watch over the Guildhall interior.

Many fascinating legends and details surround these two, but here let's talk about tangible things. First, the original 14-foot guardians of Gog and Magog were made of "wickerwork and pasteboard" which lasted about 400 years before deterioriating. Two rounds of wooden sculptures have replaced them, but in 2006, new 14-foot wicker statues were created to showcase in the Lord Mayor's parade. After one parade three or four years ago, the statues were displayed in the Royal National Hotel lobby; otherwise they are kept at the Guildhall between parades. The wicker statues can next be seen in the Lord Mayor's Procession on Saturday, 10 November 2012.

The wicker-work Gog & Magog statues
for the Lord Mayor's Procession
(Courtesy of the Worshipful Company of Basketmakers)

But a different sort of Gog and Magog exist outside Cambridge. South of the city are the only hills visible for miles (the Urals in one direction!). About 70m in elevation, they tower over the flat fenlands. These are the Gog Magog Hills. It is possible they were named for legendary giants sleeping beneath them.

I recall the Gog Magog Hills now because they were the site of several wonderful walks, one at Christmastime, when living in Cambridge. They provided refuge from the flatness of Cambridge in the wooded uplands, gaining a good view over the plains. So this mountain-loving girl took solace in the Gog Magogs, unnecessary now living in a more topographically interesting place.

Cambridge Building Spree

Anyone who has lived in Cambridge, moved away, and then returns for a visit will be astounded what is going on south and west of the station. It is common knowledge that when the rail station was built, the colleges conspired to have it sited as far out of town as possible, out by the cattle market, the lumber yards and grain elevator.  This was to keep the students from quickly jumping on a train to London.

A bicycle bridge erected in the early 1990s opened up the area south of the tracks to new housing, and blocks of flats now line the railway. The cattle market was ended and turned into a leisure centre, marked by a parking garage and a dance venue. This was matched by downtown development of a new shopping center dwarfing Lion Yard.

But here we are in the 2010s and all sorts of construction is going on along Hills Road south of the station turnoff. At the head of Station Road, for example, a 7-storey building is being erected, completely out of character with the surrounding buildings and vying with the Catholic church steeple in height. Continuing south, one comes to a whole neighbourhood of new blocks of flats on the left in the Cambridge Gateway project, some completed, some just going up. Then at the junction with Cherry Hinton Road, the street going west is loaded with apartment blocks, while the old cattle market on the left has acquired a Travelodge, a multiplex cinema, a bowling alley, and a row of shops including the ubiquitous Tesco. Cambridge is growing southwards, with gusto!

Cambridge Gateway project with the old grain elevator in the distance;
looking east towards the station from Hills Road

The old cattle market, looking northeast from Cherry Hinton Road

Looking west from the head of Cherry Hinton Road