Monthly Archive for June, 2006

Bardi dancers at Stonehenge

Published
by
Tehm
on June 22, 2006
in Events
. 0 Comments

Bardi dancers, StonehengeOn Wednesday 7th we attended our second Salisbury International Arts Festival event, the Bardi aboriginal dancers at Stonehenge. The Bardi are salt-water people from Western Australia’s Ardiyooloon community. Elders and future leaders performed a story about getting lost at sea, facing peril, coming home again and meeting the ancestors through dance, mesmeric chant song and gentle rhythm beaten on boomerangs. It was an amazing but surreal affair. The audience were roped off behind one of the paths that take you around the stone circle while the dances were on the other side, hiding then emerging from the giant sarsens and blue stones. In amongst the squeezing-fup sounds of opening and closing wicker picnic basics and the rustling of carrier bags was on the one hand the drone of traffic on the A303, and on the other the baa-baaing of sheep from the adjacent fields. Very English too was the polite applause in between each stage of the dance and story. Still, it all created an occasion which was truly unqiue.

More info on the performance can be found on the website of Australia’s “The Age“.

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The Anchor and Hope

Published
by
Tom
on June 19, 2006
in Pubs
. 4 Comments

The Anchor and Hope, Winchester Street, SalisburyThe Anchor and Hope, 59 Winchester St, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP1 1HL. Gmap (shows it on the wrong side of the road!).

The Anchor and Hope is a proper pub. In the words of a local, after asking us what we thought of the place: “It’s a proper working class pub, no pretention, but you won’t get no trouble here”. There are several areas within the pub, from comfy sofas, to tables, a pool area, and a decked beer garden.

Getting down to business, the Anchor and Hope sells real ale generally from Moles Brewery, as well as Black Rat scrumpy cider, pulled straight from the barrel. This week it’s had St Austell Tribute, and Sharp’s Doom Bar, two fantastic Cornish beers, in really good condition.

If you’re hungry, rather than trying to be a gastro pub, the Anchor and Hope focusses on one thing when it comes to food: pizza. 6 different pizzas are on offer, and are available all the time. There’s no restaurant area, just eat your pizza with your beer (or cider!) wherever you’ve settled down in the pub.

It’s a cosy, friendly pub. The bar staff smile and make you feel welcome. If you leave later into the evening, the landlord thanks you for stopping by. This is a gem of a pub, and there aren’t many like it.

If you’re in Salisbury, it’s well worth a visit. If you’re travelling to Salisbury from abroad and you want to see a real English pub, you won’t be disappointed.

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Salisbury Farmers’ Market

Published
by
Tehm
on June 8, 2006
in Food and Market
. 2 Comments

Salisbury Farmers' MarketSalisbury’s Farmers’ Market takes place every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month, from 9am-2pm in the Market Square. This isn’t the most convenient of times to have a farmers’ market if the whole household are usually at work. However, I managed to catch it yesterday. A few farmers’ market stalls do make an appearance at the bi-weekly Charter Market with one stall each of trout (smoked and fresh, brown and rainbow), vegetables, home-made pies, English wine, bread, cheese, and meat (usually bacon and sausages). The Wednesday farmers’ market is a completely different affair. There are a wide variety of meat stalls proffering free range rare breed British Saddlebacks from the Pigman, handsome organically reared chickens (and their bones for stock for just 50p!), and even English bison, locally grown fresh-out-the-ground vegetables that smell amazing - yes, it’s amazing, vegetables have a wonderful scent if they’re grown properly and haven’t travelled hundreds of miles, garlic from specialist Isle of Wight growers the Garlic Farm, and cheese! Continue reading ‘Salisbury Farmers’ Market’

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Reeve the Baker

Published
by
Tom
on June 1, 2006
in Food
. 0 Comments

Whilst looking around the blogosphere for blogs that talk about Salisbury, I came across an enthusiastic review on daggle.com of Reeve the Baker, a small bakery chain that operates in Wiltshire and Hampshire.

Danny Sullivan, the author of daggle.com, discusses the merits of their shops, best times to visit them, and the wonders of the Wiltshire Pasty:

If you’re struggling among the many great things Reeve’s sells, go for the Wiltshire Pasty. It’s a great blend of potatoes and meat and carrots all baked within a bread crust. Served warm, it also stays warm if you take it to go for a picnic elsewhere. Hands-down, it’s the best thing Reeve’s has, in my view.

He’s an ex-pat American living near Salisbury, and I’m sure he’ll be writing more about the area in between his commentary on technology related issues.

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