Benedetti briefing - Scarborough, as requested.

[Dave]

Okay, Sis - this is opinion, not fact (in case of a visit by Sue, Grabbit and Runne - Purveyors of Litigation)
The south side of the bay and, to an extent, the north side show the achitectural building facades of Scarborough as it was in its pomp.
One surprising thing was a shortage of litter bins - it doesn't detract from the experience as it appears that they are only needed when the floor is full around the harbour!
There's a "tiredness" air around the place - one adjudicator of a national pastime seemed singularly dispirited. As we walked away from the harbour area at Light Infantry pace ( bloody quickly), her calls of "On the red, 5 and 7, 57" and "Blue 3 and 1, 31" rang out with enough verve to cure insomnia rather making you giddy with excitement whilst searching for the line or full house !
One enterprising public house offered Karaoke at lunchtime but karaoke in the evenings to even it up.
I saw several cases of child abuse taking place - adults letting their children enter the North Sea (a fascinating shade of dung brown) until the arctic current had turned them a shade of khaki-blue or washed them up around Spitzbergen and on to Murmansk !
One striking similarity to that of Giallos of 3 or 4 years ago was that view - from the harbour wall - of attractive buildings standing out in the rays of sunshine as they covered the hillside rising up from the water's edge. That and the enormous dredger in the middle of the small harbour !
Beach looked fine for families - although perhaps bathing costumes and fur-lined parkas are a touch over the top - and the donkeys were the very antithesis of Symi Horse. Sleek coats, well fed.
To summarise the opinion of SWMBO and myself :
Best place to eat - Whitby (at the Magpie)
Best place to stay - Whitby
Best scenic viewpoint - Whitby
In short, if the Wee Man insists on going, use any one (or combination) of the following to dissuade him :
1. Manual restraints - leg irons should do the trick.
2.Electric cattle prods
3. A taser gun
4. Grass him up to Bin Laden as someone who voted for Tony Blair.

Even the previously pleasant walk around Peasholme Park was disappointing due to it's run down appearance. Bloody shame, that.
Walking back from the north side down towards town to rejoin the steam-hauled train back to York, Gail spotted a smile playing across my face and she asked me why I was smiling. " We've just gone passed The Samaritans and in the window was a card saying 'Open to visitors' - I'm not bloody surprised after what I've seen as a visitor today !"

[Dave]

In the interest of balance, Sister Benedetti, we were talking with a delightful couple whilst having a (pretty good) cup of coffee in the pleasant ( but quietly soulless - well, most go by car now) surrounds of the railway station. They had just spent a couple of days in Scarborough as a nostalgic trip having spent their honeymoon there 47 (count them - 47) years ago.
They both - whilst agreeing with our disappointment of some areas - pointed out just how pleasant it was at the south end of the bay. Quiet, clean, lovely appearance of the buildings, good hotel and some fine ( though tired - it's been a funny old year for them I suppose) italianate gardens to stroll through.
You pays your money, you takes your choice.

[Allan]

[quote="Dave"]

You pays your money, you takes your choice.
[/quote]
I have and I have and it isn't Scarborough
Twelve days and counting......

[Dave]

Dohhhhh!
Doncha just hate a guy who can't see a belt without hitting below it !

Enjoy, my boy. Enjoy - but they won't sell you a freshly cooked piece of haddock, crispy batter and moist white flesh like I had.

Nope - it's not working on me, either. Even I don't believe myself. Damn.

[Allan]

Oh I don't know. They tell me that nice Mr Manos chappie sells fish. I'm sure he could rustle up haddock and chips for a reasonable sum.

[Sheila and Andrew]

Yes, Manos is your man for fish. Although I think he'd struggle to get fresh haddock to your plate. And being Greek, he'd serve the fish (whatever it turned out to be) with maybe a couple of potatoes and some salad. And you'd pay royally for it, unless you know him well enough to pull a friend's discount. Chips with fish is something I've never seen on Symi - unless the local restauranteurs are now going for the English Pound by offering it along with the English Breakfast Teabags which have now allegedly replaced the espresso coffee following the departure of the Italians, Maltese and other Mediterranean nationalities. No - fish and chips is for eating out of newspaper, ideally whilst watching blokes in the distance digging lugworm on a deserted and windswept seashore whilst the seagulls wheel and cry overhead, with the attendant risk of one of them adding a little dressing on your chips. Having said that, we did ask for chips at Manos once, and, bless his cotton socks, he went out to one of the other tavernas and came back with a bowl of chips for us. Sitting with us, he explained how Greeks concentrate on the fish itself, eating the skin, tail, fins, eyeballs, sucking the head clean of any fleshy bits and leaving just a few cleanly-picked bones. He said that it amazed him how so many people leave so much tasty food on their plate. On the subject of restaurants, though, I have to say that my favourite is Tholos, out on the road to Nos - so quiet in the evenings with the wonderful view back across the harbour. One I've never been to in the evening, though, is Metapontis at Nimborio; I don't even know if it opens in the evening but I'm sure it would be a wonderful place to go for an evening meal, especially arriving and departing by boat (if you could get one). In the meantime, back here I have become very fond of tuna and sweetcorn sandwiches from the Waitrose sandwich counter. Very nice indeed, firm and flaky as opposed to the mush you usually get. Their crayfish and rocket sandwich is also very nice, but a tad expensive so I save it for high days and holidays.

[Dave]

Mmmmmm! Sounds great - the sandwich that is, not the other bit about the fish head.

No wonder I got strange looks from the nice guy Aris when I first asked if they could take the head off Gail's fish before serving it. Now I can cope with the "dead-eye" whatever I'm doing, but SWMBO draws the line at the fish staring and making her feel guilty !

And "firm and flaky" .......... reminds me of someone I know of !

[benedetti]

Thank you Dave, got your message at last. Gremlins in the system methinks.
Just to rub it in seven days and counting although wee Jimmy counts our night in Gatwick as the start of our Symi experience. I think it will be a winter trip to Scarborough . Oh dear, Scarborough or Venice what a choice.

[Dave]

The choice is Scarborough in the winter or Venice?

That's a difficult one - now let me think .........er, errrr? Nope, I may have to spin a coin!

Now, pound coin or euro ?