Dispatches from the North: A Journey from Hartlepool to America

I was reading the local paper the Hartlepool Mail last week and came across this fascinating story. Anyone who has seen Titanic (which is just about everyone in the world, right?) knows that Liverpool and Southamptom were major shipping and transport hubs in the late 19th and early 20th century. What many people don’t know is that Hartlepool also used to be one of Britain’s biggest shipping ports. This story from the Hartlepool Mail reports the discovery of a century-old diary detailing a journey from Hartlepool to New York in 1881:

The journal was written in 1881 by a William Shirley Day who was setting out on a journey on the Elpis ship from West Hartlepool to New York in the USA.

The iron steam ship was built at the town’s William Gray and Co shipyard in 1878 for Ropner and Company.

It was launched in 1879, but reported missing at sea in 1903. Chris, a 56-year-old teacher and keen historian who lives in Reading, said the diary covers a journey from Hartlepool to New York and then overland to Texas.

To read the full story “From Pools to New York in 1881″ in the Hartlepool Mail, click here

It reminded me of a story I heard from a friend of mine, Fred. Fred is soon approaching his 85th birthday and has lived in Hartlepool his whole life. Before I passed my driving test in October Fred used to give me rides to choir practice and during these rides he would always tell me the most fascinating stories from his life. One that sticks in my mind was a story he told me about when he was working for one of Hartlepool’s shipping companies. As a young man he worked in the records office of the shipping company and his job was to run from ship to ship collecting fees.

He told me an interesting tale about going through some old record books from the late 20s and early 30s while at work one day and he discovered that during prohibition in the United States that this Hartlepool-based shipping company had a fleet of ships in the Great Lakes, all which had been aprehended and seized in the act of bootlegging and bringing alcohol illegally from Canada to locations all over the Great Lakes. It is amazing that he remembered this one detail from perusing record books so long ago and that at the time it was interesting enough for him to remember it, not knowing that one day he would meet a young lady from the very place those ships were operating in. Being from the Great Lakes region I grew up hearing tales of bootlegging all throughout the region and the unique role that Metro Detroit and Chicago played in the prohibition era and Fred’s story really brought those local legends full circle for me.

I would love to do some research and find out more about the transport routes between Hartlepool and America and also about other links between the Hartlepool shipping industry and the US. Sadly, I think much like this story many of the details were probably written down in old ledgers that are long since lost and these stories may only live on in the oral tradition of Fred’s generation.

Dispatches from the North: The Tall Ships are coming to Hartlepool!

Hartlepool was chosen to be the final port for the 2010 Tall Ships Races this summer from August 7-10. The town has been organizing the event for the past two years and now that we are finally in 2010, preparations have shifted into high gear.

From the Official Hartlepool Tall Ships 2010 Website:

The Tall Ships’ Races are an internationally acclaimed annual competition organised by Sail Training International and held every summer in European waters. Each year between 70 and 100 vessels from 15-20 countries, crewed by some 5-6,000 young people from over 30 countries worldwide take part in this unique event that combines four days of activities in each port with racing or cruising-in-company between ports. The main aim of the event is to provide an opportunity for young people to develop their personal skills in a challenging and memorable sail-training environment and hence at least 50% of a Tall Ship’s crew must be aged 15-25.

This is a coup for Hartlepool as traditionally the final port for the race is a higher profile coastal European city. It is a great honor for Hartlepool to be chosen to host final ceremonies for this event, for a town this size it is like getting the Olympics. The four day festival is set to be the largest event the town has ever staged and I am really excited as all the ships will parade right in front of my flat and I will have the best front row seat to see them all coming in. I will be sure to give a full report here on Anglotopia as the race unfolds this summer.

The festivities couldn’t come at a better time for Hartlepool which has been hit very hard by the recession and was identified as a “hot spot” for unemployment. Hartlepool is expected to have around a million visitors throughout the four-day festival. Every hotel in the town and surrounding area is booked solid and it should be a great economic boost for all of the local businesses. Hopefully the influx of visitors will pump some much needed cashflow into the local economy.

The event should also attract visitors from all over the UK and it will be a great chance for Hartlepool to demonstrate how much the town has changed in the past decade. The hub of activity will be at the Hartlepool Marina, which until quite recently was the location of the docks. The formerly industrial area underwent a £60 million renovation and now houses the town’s best restaurants, shops and luxury flats all surrounding the lovely marina with amazing views out to sea. My little village of Seaton Carew is connected to the Hartlepool Marina via a wide promenade that runs along the seaside, so it is an ideal place for a stroll along the sea and to watch the ships come in. In the past Hartlepool has had a reputation around the UK as being a bit scruffy, so it will be a great chance to show off how the town has developed and attract some domestic tourism and alter attitudes many other Brits have toward our town.

As the event approaches I will be sure to post more updates here on Anglotopia about festivities and entertainment that are being organized for this exciting event.

Dispatches from the North: Riding the Rails in Britain

I am getting all things ready for my trip to London, its quite exciting and I will be getting there and back via Britain’s fantastic train system. I find that Brits complain about the transit here quite a bit, but kind of like the weather its not nearly as bad as they make it out to be. In Chicago there was no use even trying to pay attention to the CTA train times since the el never came at those times, they just came whenever they pleased. In Britain things are usually on time, and when they aren’t the train stations always have great updates on any delays so you know what to expect and can plan accordingly. Also, I grew up outside of Detroit which has virtually no reliable public transit so anything is a step up from that really.

Tomorrow I have the privilege of traveling to London on the Grand Central line. They are very nice, comfortable and fast trains that are outfitted with comfy seats, tables and electrical outlets for plugging in things like laptops for a long journey. Also, the biggest benefit I get is that the Grand Central train goes direct to London with no need to switch trains. I think that is probably the one thing about train travel in Britain that can be a pain in the bum, if you can’t get a direct train to somewhere, often times the connecting train schedules don’t match up well and you end up waiting for 45 minutes at the station for the next leg of your trip. I am really fortunate that I don’t have to switch trains so I get directly from Hartlepool to London King’s Cross in about 3 1/2 hours. It is such a lovely way to travel, and unlike flying into London it drops me right off in the heart of everything. Its also very convenient for continental travel as I can take Grand Central to King’s Cross and then walk the short distance to the St. Pancras international terminal to catch the Eurostar. My husband and I did this for our honeymoon (and traveled first class on the Eurostar which was amazing) and it is one of the most pleasant international travel experiences I have ever had. No showing up 3 hours early for a flight, the security and customs lines were short and fast, and boarding on the Eurostar was simple and expertly organized. Its really the best way to travel to mainland Europe.

We also have small National Express trains up here, which are pretty much the complete opposite of the Grand Central trains. They are tiny two-car trains, very noisy, pretty cramped and uncomfortable and a bit rickety. However, the view riding along the North Sea coast from Hartlepool through Sunderland and up to Newcastle is truly amazing and the whole journey round trip is only £7. The train chugs along a rail that runs right along the cliffs of the coast and you see the most beautiful vistas out to sea and of the coastline on the way. Newcastle also has its own underground metro system which can get your where you need to go between Newcastle, Gateshead and Sunderland and also links up with Newcastle airport which is very convenient. For travellers wishing to see the North East without a car I think flying into Newcastle and taking advantage of all of the train links to York as well as up to Edinburgh via Newcastle Central Station is really an excellent and economical way to see this part of the country.

I am also lucky enough to have an HM Forces Rail Card which gives me discounts on rail tickets for being a military spouse. Sometimes I only get about a pound off, but for this trip the combination of the HM Forces Rail Card plus purchasing my tickets on thetrainline.com gave me almost 50% off the retail price of my train tickets down to London, which on the Grand Central line can be pretty expensive. Thetrainline.com is a great site for purchasing discounted rail tickets, including London tube passes and Eurostar tickets. I even used their online chat help feature to make sure I was purchasing the right fare and they were really helpful with assisting me in selecting the tickets I needed. Just to be clear, they didn’t pay me to write this, in fact they probably don’t know I exist. I really do love their site enough to write about it.

For more information about rail travel in Britain check out these sites:

Traveline A bit of a clunky site, but it is great for journey planning because all train and bus lines are linked together on this site

The Train Line The cheapest place to purchase your rail tickets, use the other listed sites to research and plan your journey, then buy your tickets here!

National Rail Route information and timetables as well as great guides to the stations so you can check out what type of facilities the stations have. If you want a station with parking, a passenger lounge, dining facilities, or a manned information desk you can find out here.

Grand Central For route information and other specifics about the Grand Central lines.

Eurostar Chunnel it to continental Europe!

Dispatches from the North: Lest We Forget

Last year I wrote a post on my blog Anglophile’s Digest about Poppy Day, I had actually forgotten about what I had written, but when I was going back to check out what I had written about last year I decided to repost it here. As I have mentioned before, my husband is in the Royal Navy so Poppy Day is really important to him and both of our families.

Today is Armistice Day. I didn’t realize until now that this is the one non-religious holiday that America and Britain share. In America, Veteran’s Day is also commemorated on the day of the Armistice. Having experienced both holidays in both countries I am sad to say that America’s observation pales in comparison to the honor which the British bestow upon their veterans on this day. If you asked the average American civilian what date Veteran’s Day is, if they aren’t looking at a November calendar chances are they couldn’t tell you. I am sure this morning when everyone turned the page on their day to day desk calendar, more than one office worker turned to a coworker and commented “Hey, did you know today is Veteran’s Day?” I find it sad that Americans need a small italicized reminder on their calendar or date book to remember such an important day in our history. By contrast, if you asked a British citizen what date Armistice or “Poppy Day” falls on they will quickly answer “the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month”.

For about a month leading up to Poppy Day, everyone wears a paper poppy on their lapel. The proceeds go to the British Legion and one of the most amazing things is that every single television personality makes the poppy a permanent part of their wardrobe for the month leading up to Armistice Day. Even the contestants on The X Factor (Britain’s version of American Idol) wear a poppy on their outfits on stage. I guess it could be compared to the American flag lapel pin, no Member of Parliament would be caught dead without one pinned to their suit.

I suppose here both World Wars quite literally hit closer to home. The British isles were heavily bombed by the Germans and there are still reminders everywhere of the death and destruction. Here in the North, one of the biggest reminders is the depressed economy.

Before the World Wars, Hartlepool was a major English port and a hub of industry with several dozen shipping companies calling the port of Hartlepool home, accounting for nearly 250 ships. Hartlepool’s position as a major British port made it a strategic target for the Germans. On the morning of December 16, 1914 Hartlepool became the first town in Britain to be bombed by the Germans. On this day over 1000 shells rained down on Hartlepool from German ships. Guns on the Heugh (pronounced “Yuff”) Gun Battery in Hartlepool fired back around 150 shells with more accuracy than the German ships and initiated the first and only land to sea attack from the British mainland and severely damaged the attacking ships. Despite this contribution, World War I and the following Depression crippled the once robust Hartlepool shipping industry only to be revived again during World War II. Yet again, this prosperity made Hartlepool a prime target for the Nazi forces and Hartlepool was raided from the air 43 times during the course of World War II. This once and for all cut off the Hartlepool shipping industry and it has never recovered since.

Hartlepool’s story is similar to many other British towns, which is maybe the reason that Armistice Day and honoring their veterans is such a hallowed tradition here. Particularly in the working class towns of the North where the economic effects of war are still relevant decades later, these stories still hit close to home and in many cases the people who lived through them are still around to remember.

I am sitting here in my front room, I live in an old Victorian home on the sea front that was converted to flats. I imagine that the residents of this house would have had a front row seat for that first bombing in 1914. As I sit here I can see the peninsula of the Headland much as it would have looked back then. Although it is a misty day I can see a few cargo ships out to sea, but I have seen naval ships out here as well and ships of war look much different from the merchant ships the residents of this house would have been used to seeing from their front windows. I can only imagine what it would have felt like for whoever who sat right here and watched the shells being launched from the German ships onto the Headland from this distance, far enough away that the falling shells probably didn’t make much sound to penetrate the quiet of that early December morning, but close enough to see the flashes and smoke. It must have been horrific to watch.

If you had by chance forgotten that it is Veteran’s Day, please take a moment to reflect and to remember the veterans who fought for their countries and to protect their loved ones and families back home. I will leave you with the poem (written by a Canadian soldier in WWI) that was the inspiration for making the poppy the symbol for remembering those who give their lives for their country.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 – 1918)

Dispatches from the North: Parmo- Teesside’s Local Delicacy

Maybe delicacy is an inappropriate word. As with most “local delicacies” like Italian Beef in Chicago or Clam Rolls in coastal Massachusetts, “Parmo” is fast food. You can get a Parmo at pretty much every pizza place and fish and chip shop in the Teesside area.

Parmo is a term that has been shortened over time, the original name was Parmesan Escalope and now it is just called a Parmesan or colloquially, Parmo. It is kind of like the delinquent nephew of veal or chicken Paragiana in Italian cuisine. It is a piece of chicken or pork beat down until it is as thin as possible and about the size of a small dinner plate. It is then breaded, fried and covered in béchamel sauce and melted cheese and served with chips and a bit of salad on the side. Here in Teesside we like to put garlic sauce on everything, its kind of a cross between garlic mayonnaise and ranch dressing, so its usually served with a side of garlic sauce (because two layers of fatty topping just aren’t enough). Funny enough, although its called a Parmesan, there isn’t actually even a gram of Parmesan cheese in a Parmo, leave it up to Teessiders.

Photo from Wikipedia by Karl Bomersbach

When I first moved here I thought that Parmo was an English thing, but I just recently discovered that its actually a very local thing that can pretty much only be found in Hartlepool and Middlesbrough and the adjacent towns. There is really nothing like it anywhere else and its totally unique to this area.

The thing I find the most unique about this dish is that it hasn’t taken the same path as most of your local fast food favorites. Most of these unique local foods usually start out in a greasy spoon or roadside stand and now we are seeing these types of foods showing up on fine dining menus with a gourmet twist. Its all the rage these days to take something like macaroni and cheese with gourmet ingredients, add a little bit of luxury with some lobster tail or filet mignon and put it on a plate next to some kind of foam or puree and charge $40 for it. Parmo is the exact opposite though, it is an adaptation that took a fine dining dish off the fancy plate and transformed it into an inexpensive, fast food dish served in a pizza box and best consumed after a night of drinking. It is kind of a rare thing for a dish to actually regress from fine dining to pizza shops and burger stands.

I am sure you are probably not jumping out of your seat to come visit Teesside and sample a Parmo, after all you can always go to an Italian restaurant and order a chicken or veal Parmigiana and get something that is similar and probably better quality. However, Parmo is set to make its national debut and soon it could be available outside of our little corner of this island. Earlier this year, Asda (part of the Wal-Mart conglomerate) began selling Parmos in their Teesside supermarkets. It has been so successful that they are considering rolling out the product in other areas of the country. Still, even with the convenience Asda version available in supermarkets, nothing will ever be as authentic as a greasy, saucy and cheesy parmo from a Teesside shop. Maybe some day Parmo will come to respresent British street food the way chip butties and bacon sarnies do, but for now it remains Teesside’s shining beacon of culinary innovation (sort of).

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