"MY THIRD VT MEETING" Personal Page by Britannia2

Gillybob kindly organized this meeting to welcome Appleseed (Shirene) from Singapore and Alex who is also from Singapore but studying at Newcastle University to England.
Members present were myself, Ricky52 and Sheila, Dao, Davesut and daughter, Gwynfiguy and Musteral, Gillybob, a lapsed member coming back to us Mike Sowden and of course Shireen and Alex.Alex looked very smart in his Newcastle United jacket and I didn't have the heart to tell him that my team Hull City had put Newcastle in the next league down this season.
As always the VT people are so friendly - I had met all of the UK people in Manchester last year and had seen Dave just the previous month in London.

Shirene looks in amazement at the cakes!

Our meeting place was Bettys - one of Yorkshires most well known chain of restaurants (they have shops in York, Ilkley (my favourite), Harrogate and Northallerton). If you want to know more about Bettys you can read the history of the firm at their website at http://www.bettys.co.uk/. Now in 1919 when Bettys opened the idea was to greet customers by a tempting array of delicious Yorkshire and Continental confections in the shop, and an elegant Café Tea Room that served teas and meals in the traditional English style. 90 years on and its still an experience to come here - a wonderful bakery shop with all kinds of breads and provisions as you walk in and then the cafe which is on two levels - we were directed downstairs to where four tables had been pushed together for us to all sit together. The staff are immaculately dressed and so polite - crisp white uniforms for the ladies and dark grey suits for the men (and lady supervisors). I think Shirene and Alex were suitably impressed and the photo shows Shirene when the waitress put the cakes she had ordered in front of her. Her expression is a delight to see.

Part of the window display

The shop deserves a mention and also the window displays - the window displays are a craft in themselves and worth looking at even if you do not go in to the shop. In the shop the staff are as impeccably dressed as the cafe staff and this is something England really excels at - in my limited travels overseas I have never seen anything as refined as this.
Bettys are linked to Taylors of Harrogate - another well know Yorkshire firm who specialise in teas and coffees and their goods are on sale in the shop. There are also extensive ranges of breads, cheeses, meats , confectionary and although expensive the quality is first class. You can buy on line at http://www.bettysandtaylors.co.uk/

Shirene at the Punchbowl

After Bettys we moved in to Stonegate to the Punchbowl pub - this was Shirenes first visit to an English pub and the photo shows her outside. I did not realise I had asked her to pose next to the food advertising board but if you are going here you can see here what food they offer.
I must have walked by the Punchbowl a hundred times before but had never been in and it is very welcoming - if you are in England like Shirene was and you want to see your first English pub this is one of several in York I would choose from (see my York pages). The Punchbowl has been a pub for over 400 years and has had two major fires in the last 150 years but has always been rebuilt to reflect the historical street it stands in. The front extension was only added in the 1930s but fits in well and is always covered in hanging baskets with lots of colourful flowers in the summer.
The pub is haunted by a young girl and also by one of the landlords who perished in one of the fires the pub suffered.
The day ended here and once again I really enjoyed another VT meeting.

Frank Spencer - long before VT was even thought of

I have to mention the VT badge! Ricky52 makes these really good badges for VT meets and they have your VT name and your real name on the front and a flag of your home country - I always have England on mine and not the Union Jack. I'm English and not British. The VT badge really made a few of us spontaneously laugh when we first saw the back - in case anyone does not know this is Frank Spencer from the famous BBC comedy Some Mothers Do Have Them - his catch phrase was Ooh Betty! And of course we went to Bettys cafe for our tea ( and of course only English people will understand a word of this!)