Reading Day

Since Saturday was a travel day all day pretty much, I planned Sunday as a day of rest and editing and posting.  However, about mid afternoon I was hungry for food and adventure, so I suggested to Marcia that we take the bus to Reading for late lunch at Sweeny and Todd's pie shop.  We had both spotted it from the bus so it wouldn't be hard to find-probably near the St Mary's Butts Church.  As we were walking out the door, Mark appeared having just gotten up from sleep after his Saturday night of policing of Reading pubs.  He was enthusiastic about the idea of a pie for his breakfast and offered to drive if we would wait 5 min.  No brainer for us.

So, we got not only lunch but a tour of Reading.  Sweeny and Todds is a bit of a Reading institution.  It opened in the 1960's and was known as a place where you could get many different things besides pies.  It is right next to the police station, so these days plenty of police go there and it seems more like a proper pub.  Since it was Sunday afternoon it was almost empty which seemed a plus to us.  Apparently it gets quite loud at night. 

Before the pub we got a short tour of what used to be the local Almshouse.  They are still owned by the council which is in charge of social services, but more can be made from them as rentals with the money going to social services.  Also, social policy has changed since the time of the almshouses. 

Next was lunch.  We ordered pies and sides.  Mark and Marcia had the cider and I had an ale.  There was an amazing choice of pies.  Mark's favorite is steak, Marcia got the rump roast and Stilton and I got the lamb and beef with veggies and a rich gravy.  They weren't kidding about the gravy.  My side was cole slaw.  Since there are millions of ways to fix cole slaw I was curious.  Out came a cereal bowl filled with very creamy cole slaw-chopped cabbage with occasional big chunks liberally coated with a mixture of mayonnaise and probably cream or sour cream.  I would say swimming, but it was way too thick to swim. 

So, we tucked into our meals and enjoyed them thoroughly.  I couldn't finish mine, so the waitperson asked if I would like to take it home.  Now, this is commonplace in the states, but Mark said that it is the first time he has ever heard of it in Europe.  I generally do not ask to take my leftovers home when we are here, but when asked and when the food is good I cannot resist.  So, I got to have it again for lunch today.  I'll be going back to Sweeny and Todds.  They have pies for take away.

The downside of a huge serving of meat pie with thick rich gravy and thick rich cole slaw and an ale is digestion.  By early evening I couldn't keep my eyes open.  However, there was no need for a proper dinner.

We got a post lunch tour of Reading as well with another almshouse tucked away down a narrow street.  I loved the chimneys on this house.  See the photoblog.

KG