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A Vegetarian in England
by John Darmanin
John is the Chairperson for the Vegetarian Society of Malta.
Armed with London road maps and veggie restaurant addresses we set out for our holiday in England. We spent seven days in London and three days in a Vegan Guest house in Devon. Just after we settled in the Royal National Hotel in London, we set out hunting for veggie restaurants. Most of these were around Soho Square area, but what disappointed us was that some had closed down as barred doors indicated or the place was run by a different business. The distances being very long to walk, we started to get weary, and it was getting late so in order to fill our tummies for the night we settled at the Pizza Hut. Soon I realized that while it is quite easy for a vegetarian to fill up in London it is not so easy for a vegan. My pizza without the cheese, with just a few bits of tomatoes, onions, some other veggies and minute extra olive slices was bland! Most dedicated vegetarian/vegan restaurants were Indian and Lebanese, and although we like Indian food, it lacks the variety we like.
Breakfast at the hotel is no problem for a vegetarian, but non-diary alternatives were not available, so we bought soya milk from Safe-way Supermarket to add to the morning cereal and coffee at the Hotel. The personnel were kind enough to keep my milk in their refrigerator. We also realized how expensive food was here. We paid 90p for 6 medium sized tomatoes, 35p for a small panina bread, over £1 for a pound of grapes and 90 p for 6 medium sized plums. The only health food store was Holland and Barret in this area sadly discovered quite late in the day. A decent meal in an Indian Restaurant costs under £10 per person which is not so bad.
I love London, for its trees strewn spaces. Nearly every square is in reality a garden adorned with magnificent trees with deep dark green leafy towering crowns, that is to say nothing of the great parks like Hyde, Regent and Green Park with their lakes and wild life they support. But what I really go for is Kew. This is the place where the spirit can roam among endless varieties of trees in the immense almost mystical expanse. Here one can really feel the beauty of nature’s wonders form the drooping magical weeping willows to the huge arms of the biblical cheddars of Lebanon and listen to the tales of history as retold by the old gigantic Sequoias amongst the songs of the birds.
Unfortunately it was here that I had a little argument with a tour leader. I felt annoyed by a useless comment on some wild fowls that came running beside our little train for their nuts. He said that they knew he had food for them but what they didn’t know was that Christmas was coming when they are best appreciated without their feathers! Neglecting the fact that not all were angels in this earthly paradise, Kew remains wonderful. Incidentally we discovered an excellent health food store just about a hundred meters from the Gate and we returned home laden with shopping. Now we could feast on cereal fruit and bread spread with Tahini which was not known of at Safeway.
Speaking about Health food stores, I was surprised that all these, sold some animal products, like salmon and tuna and even lean ham among other vegan goodies! that surprises me in London is that nowhere could I see any stray animal, whether this is due to discipline of the keepers or whether any strays are immediately pounded, I don’t know. It was customary to feed the pigeons in Trafalgar Square, but not any more. We went there to visit the National Gallery of Art, and in the square, as Mary Rose opened her hands full of crumbs, the birds flocked around her, but just as immediately there appeared a warden who ordered her to desist, warning her that feeding the birds was forbidden! What a pity! It may come as a surprise that even certain chocolate wrappers have the warning “Do not feed the birds”!
Some of you may be taken aghast to know that we visited the London Zoo! I do not regret it. London Zoo does not take animals from the wild, but from other zoos in the world that could not cope with decent animal demands. It has come a long way since I had visited it 20 years ago. The big animals like elephants and rhinos have been sent to the sister safari park Whipsnade to enjoy much wider roaming space. What was new to me in the Zoo was the fact that at every hour the keeper of a section would give an educational talk to the people. The emphasis is on species preservation and animal welfare. Of course most animals like the Gorillas would be better off in the wild, but that is assuming that Homo sapiens was not around with his shot guns. It may well be that in a few years time the only place one can see a gorilla would be in such a zoo! All in all it is a great educational place where one can start to learn to appreciate animals.
Strolling along one of the streets in one of our shopping sprees, we met two ladies behind a tray-full of leaflets. They were campaigning against vivisection and we had an enjoyable discussion. It was nice to meet similarly minded people for a change in such a big city.
On our last day in London I dedicated a few hours to visit my favourite bookshop since my childhood – Foyles’. One of the attendants directed me to the Animal Welfare section which sported a good number of books on the subject. I had to make a choice and bought 3 books which I had set my mind on before and about which you will hear in forthcoming issues. The next day we took off on our 5 hour coach trip to South Molton Devon to spend the last 3 days at Fern Tor a veggie-Vegan Guesthouse. It was a trip through endless country-side mostly fields and the occasional wood or a lake. We could see many sheep and cows grazing peacefully in the abundant grassy space, but we hardly saw any sowed fields. We arrived late in the afternoon at South Molton where we were greeted by Jeff, the owner of the house who transported us amidst winding narrow country lanes to Fern Tor.
The place is large house extended to welcome guests but different from the 900 bed London Hotel. It is set amongst the fields like a farmhouse but modern warm and cozy. We just had time to explore the animals kept in ample grounds; a few sheep, hens, rabbits and a pig all rescued from slaughter. By the time we unpacked and settled down and had our shower, it was time for dinner. Dinner is served in a small cozy dining room there was us and two other guests. Here there were no problems for vegans, both Jeff and his wife Jane are vegetarians. We had booked a main course and dessert and it was more than enough. The food is a vegan’s paradise here; with a baked main meal and with creative vegetable side dishes and exotic sauces. Equally sumptuous were the dessert menu and the morning breakfast with an assortment of cereals, dried fruit, and toast. Jeff says you won’t go hungry at Fern Tor and indeed no one did. One has to be careful not to overdo it with the main course and to leave some space for the dessert, not like I did at first!
We could have made good use of own transport but a 45 minutes bus ride West took us to the next town Barnstaple, a quiet town with a large beautiful market where we could buy home grown vegetables or an assortment of cheeses some also vegetarian at prices more like those of home. We visited the estuary of the river Sol which drains into the Atlantic. The tide was low and water fowls were resting on the temporary islands. The next day a 45 minutes bus ride East took us to Tiverton an idyllic little town with its main attraction is a canal built almost level with the roof tops of some houses. A daily attraction was the dray horse that pulls a barge along the river in traditional manner. I was impressed by the way the keepers treated the horse, helped him with the load and talked to him as an equal partner!
All that remains now is our memories of wonderful holiday with a lot of animals and a lot of nature to look at, wonder and appreciate.
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