Queen of Chain
Across the Széchenyi lánchíd the Magician strode, while the Queen sat on her throne peering through orifices to see the Gellert baths below. The diva and the giant were doing other weird things, much of it to do with a descending cremaster muscle. Jacobin pigeons, which look cool, made an appearance. Actually we were not staring in a Cremaster epic at the confleunce of Pest and Buda but in a little Buckinghamshire town. For William Tierney Clark, before trying the construction of his famous chain bridge, first built a prototype in Marlow.
We didn’t find any satyrs with testicle issues, but there were lots of boutiques that cater for women of a certain age and a fine cook shop. My gf was delighted and flitted from crockery to coffee grinders in great excitement. We also found a park by the river in which a unseemly flock of swans, geese and ducks competed for proffered scraps of bread. To be more correct I should say a lamentation of swans, a flush of mallards and a murder of geese were there gathered.
Marlow bridge sign. In a nod to its more famous cousin, Hungarian translation is provided.
Marlow Suspension Bridge.
My gf is in thrall to another mythical figure, who does magical things with food. She has even made an exciting cake based on one of his challenging recipes. So we made the short journey from Marlow to Bray. It is a cute little village full of character, celebrities such as Rolf Harris and Terry Wogan and two famed restaurants, each with three Michelin stars! One is the Roux brothers’ Waterside inn and the other is the Fat Duck run by the ever inventive Heston Blumenthal, the Willy Wonka of the gastrome world. Heston worked in office equipment until he was 29 – a great role model for anyone who wants to change career at thirty.
The Fat Duck. Someday we will go inside.
Not having saved up the requisite cash and booked three months in advance, we contented outselves with Blumenthal’s nearby pub, the Hind’s head. Inside the decor is traditional but there are some obvious Blumenthal touches in the menu – like his triple cooked chips. We enjoyed a drink and then departed for home, our trip to the Fat Duck itself will have to wait for another day.
My gf, very pleased to sit in HB's establishment
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