Sherwood Forest - Home of Robin Hood

Robin Hood? Is that you?  Today Ed (my Google man partner in crime!) landed in Edwinstowe, England which is the legendary home of Robin Hood!  I'm writing as I do this travel so we see  where it takes us!  Hop on board and let’s get moving – I have a feeling we have a lot of forest to cover!  

  

Upon driving just a few blocks down the road, Ed comes to the Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve.   He’s giddy in anticipation as to what he will find there!  Well come on Ed – get a move on it! 

Guess what!?!?  Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre is proud to have been chosen as a site to host a leg of the Olympic Torch Relay on the morning of 28th June 2012.

 Wow!   We’ve discovered that this reserve is home to some of the oldest oak trees, over 900 of them,  that span the ages of over eight hundred years!  “Major Oak” lives in the middle of the forest and after all this time is still producing acorns!  That must be some magical soil in that 450 acre nature preserve.   Can you imagine being here?  Standing on the soil, the same soil that Robin Hood did?  (And yes, before you correct me on this, I am aware that Robin Hood was an outlaw based on English Folklore but for the sake of fun, let’s pretend, shall we?)

I just thought this picture was lovely!

 I can envision standing on these grounds, inhaling fresh air.  My toes dig into the undergrowth of the forest a bit, where rotting fallen trees and branches decay, giving all kinds of bugs and fungus’ homes.  Good thing I have on shoes, I’d hate to have fungus in my toe nails.  Ed doesn’t have shoes though – I wonder if he is bleach proof?

This blog has led me along many paths so far.  I have learned so much about the United Kingdom.  I thought I knew a lot about England, and as it turns out, I knew nothing.  Even this blog about Sherwood Forest has made me research about Robin Hood – you should too!  It’s quite interesting.  Here’s a link to help you out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hood  

Wiki's rendition of information is interesting but here is a very interesting breakdown of the insight of Robin Hood that hopefully you will find interesting also.  It speaks about the Pagan and neo pagan aspect of it all.  http://hesternic.tripod.com/robinhood.htm

By the way, were any of the Robin Hood stories in winter?  (The above link addressed this some btw) The sign above talks about ice on the road - I'd imagine it would be rather cold in the woods during winter for Robin Hood and her Merry Men!  We'll be in the UK over the winter.  Ed wants to see Sherwood Forest in person - I'll be sure to pack some warm socks!

Ed wants to take a break, so I’ll oblige.  Ssshhh… he’ll just think I’m resting but in truth, I’ll be doing more research and traveling without him on the side… don’t tell him! He’ll feel left out!

I'm off to Wales!  See you there!

Peace ~ Love ~ Happiness

Marianne

I bought British food today!

This weekend, I discovered that there was a website featuring British stuff and guess what?  Their store is here in the Dayton area!  So today, off I went to explore this store.  Wise Choice British Foods, Gifts and Candies is on Brandt Pike in Huber Heights.  While there, exploring, we first met Greg who we enjoyed talking to very much.  Then out comes the owner, who at first thought I sounded a bit British.  I kept talking, I'm sure he changed his mind ;)  Here's the owner Harry:

This store was interesting.  It had a wide variety of things from food items to personal hygiene items.  I have had a few British foods while in the UK but also have had many discussions about food with UK friends.    Here's a breakdown of what we bought and why:

Digestive  Biscuits and Butter Crinkle Biscuits

I first learned of Digestives when I went to Portugal.  We started a conversation about them at lunch one day and it was hard to understand what they were because America doesn't have anything like them.  When you hear of them, you think maybe graham crackers but they are nothing like them.  They are like .. hmm... not a cracker... not a cookie....
Then the Crinkle Biscuits are like a cookie to us.  They are sweet and delightful.  One is enough ;)


Heinz Beans

Don't laugh!  Ok, you can laugh.  Yes, Beans.  Has anyone ever seen Heinz Beans in America?  Every time I hear about English breakfasts, they say they had beans.  HUH?  BEANS?  I'm always astonished by this.  So my friend Peter and I had this huge conversation one day about them. I explained that none of the grocery stores I go to sell Heinz beans, and that in fact, Americans don't eat beans for breakfast.  Lunch? Maybe.  Dinner? Yup.  But Breakfast??? nah...
He googled it and discovered I speak the truth.  I showed him various websites that had beans on them and discovered they are quite different here - most of our beans are sweet and the ones shown above are not.   They come in a tomato base and from our talk and a google search, are served on buttered toast for breakfast.  So I bought some to try.  I'll let you know what I think.  But at $3.29 a can, I can't afford to become addicted.  I know they cost less in the UK.

Earl Grey Tea

Earl Grey is my favorite tea of all time.  Why? I love the taste.  I first tried it because I kept hearing Jean Luc Piccard order it on Star Trek when my husband was watching it and decided to give it a try.  I was hooked from the first cup.  So they had Earl Grey on the clearance rack for $6.00.  I wanted to see if it tasted any better than the $3.00 package I buy at Meijer.  I'll let you know.

Ginger Beer

Ok - most people who know me know I do not drink alcohol much.  Well luckily, Ginger Beer is not alcoholic at all.  But wow! it sure packs a punch!  Goes down smooth then hits hard!  You know you have had ginger beer when you drink it!

Here's some more pictures I took of the place.  We had a nice time visiting and learned a lot about Wales (where I'll be visiting for a few months in September).  Here is their website - it's fun to look at their site and see the different offerings from what we are used to in America!
http://www.wisechoiceuk.com/Scripts/default.asp

So if you are in the Dayton area - stop by and say hi to these nice folks!  If not, go check out their website.  It's definitely iinteresting how varied our foods are.  By the way, did you know that CADBURY chocolate here is owned by Hersheys and laiden with wax, yet in the UK, CADBURY is owned by CADBURY and is amazing???   I had a sample yesterday and OMG.  I love bringing home chocolate from Europe for this reason!    *Note: a friend just told me KRAFT bought Cadburys - I'm shocked!!*

Love ~ Peace ~ Happiness
Marianne