Tag: treat

Mothering Sunday

Mothers Day this years falls on 31st March 2019, so if you're needing a Private Hire vehicle or Taxi to treat your Mum to a nice Breakfast, Lunch, dinner or day out, don't forget to book early as we quickly become fully booked on these days.

The History of Mothers Day

Mother's Day, or Mothering Sunday in the UK and Ireland, is a day to show love, gratitude and appreciation to all wonderful mums everywhere, through acts of kindness and the giving of Mothers Day gifts and flowers. Mothering Sunday and Mother's Day both have different origins; although they represent the same meaning, they originated very differently. We all celebrate the day but very few people actually know its origin. The original meaning of Mothering Sunday and Mother's Day has been somewhat lost but it's still a day to solely appreciate mum.

Mother's Day celebrations date back as far as the ancient Greeks where they would celebrate Rhea, the Mother of the Gods and Goddesses, every spring with festivals of worship. The Romans also celebrated a mother Goddess, Cybele, every March as far back as 250BC.

Mothering Sunday has been celebrated on the fourth Sunday in Lent, in the UK and Ireland, since the 16th century. The date varies in other parts of the world. Many countries follow the US and celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May, whilst other countries enjoy the day on March 8th which is International Women's Day.

Like many traditions and festivities, Mothering Sunday began with a religious purpose. Held on the fourth Sunday in Lent, exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday, it was a originally a day to honour and give thanks to the Virgin Mary, also known as Mother Mary. Such celebrations required people to visit their 'mother' church - the main church or cathedral in a family's area. The spread of Christianity throughout Europe in the 16th century increased the celebrations and firmly put Mothering Sunday on the calendar. It was believed to be essential for people to return to their home 'mother' church to make it a true family honored occasion. The gatherings reunited families and gave children who worked as domestic servants, or as apprentices away from home (from as early as ten years old), the opportunity to have the day off to join their family and see their mother.

Throughout the year in England and Ireland people would regularly and devoutly visit their nearest chapel, their 'daughter' church, whereas on Mothering Sunday, as well as baptisms, people would visit their 'mother' church loaded with offerings of thanks. Such celebrations were similar to, and most likely adopted, the Roman ceremonies of the Mother Goddess. The religious day increased its scope from thanking Mother Mary to a 'mother' church celebration and finally opened up as an occasion to thank and appreciate all mothers; thus creating Mothering Sunday.

Whilst the day had a firm following for many centuries since the 16th century, by 1935 it started to decrease in popularity and was celebrated less and less in Europe, until WWII. The Americans and Canadians celebrated Mother's Day during the war, feeling a crucial need to give thanks to their mothers whilst away at war. The Brits and other Europeans followed their comrades and they too gave thanks to their mothers; since then it earns pride of place on the UK calendar.

As with any national holiday, Mother's Day involves the giving of gifts and cards to show Mum how much she's valued and appreciated. Traditionally Mother's Day gifts included flowers and a Simnel cake. The flowers were picked by the workers on the way home from work for a day with their mum; they'd pick wild flowers from the country lanes. It is still a tradition today to spoil mum with a stunning colourful bouquet of flowers, as well as more modern gifts such as perfume, clothes or jewellery.

As with any national holiday, food always seems to take centre stage; Christmas dinner, Easter eggs, Valentine's feast and Mother's Day Sunday roast dinner. We love our food and the tradition it brings!
Mothering Sunday was once also known as 'Refreshment Sunday' it was the mid-lent Sunday where fasting could be 'eased' for the day and people could enjoy a delicious meal together as a family. It was an opportunity to temporarily indulge in some special rich food for the day breaking up the hard slog of lent. Traditionally, after church, families would tuck into a Sunday dinner of either roast lamb or veal and mother would be made Queen of the feast. Similar to today, Mothering Sunday was all about spoiling mum and making her feel happy and appreciated.

Also once known as 'Simnel Sunday', families would gather with freshly baked delicious Simnel cakes. Simnel cakes are made of two rich fruity layers that are boiled in water and then baked, before having almond paste spread on top and in the middle of the layers. Traditionally the cake would have been decorated with 11 balls of marzipan to represent the 11 disciples (not including Judas), whilst sugar violets were also a popular decoration for the cake. Such a treat midway through lent was greatly looked forward to.

Traditionally, it's believed that bread was also freshly baked for mothers on Mothering Sunday. Children would awake early and get the bread in the oven so mums would wake to the beautiful aroma of fresh bread. Nowadays mum's are either taken out for a special dinner or a home cooked Sunday roast dinner is enjoyed by the whole family - mums might even be cooking it themselves!

Pancake Day 2019

Pancake Day

If you're needing a Taxi/Private Hire vehicle to a special lunch, or Shrove Tuesday event, please book early as we can get quickly flooded with bookings, so as not to disappoint get in quick!

Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, is the traditional feast day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday. Lent – the 40 days leading up to Easter – was traditionally a time of fasting and on Shrove Tuesday, Anglo-Saxon Christians went to confession and were “shriven” (absolved from their sins). A bell would be rung to call people to confession. This came to be called the “Pancake Bell” and is still rung today.

Shrove Tuesday always falls 47 days before Easter Sunday, so the date varies from year to year and falls between February 3 and March 9.

Shrove Tuesday was the last opportunity to use up eggs and fats before embarking on the Lenten fast and pancakes are the perfect way of using up these ingredients.

A pancake is a thin, flat cake, made of batter and fried in a frying pan. A traditional English pancake is very thin and is served immediately. Golden syrup or lemon juice and caster sugar are the usual toppings for pancakes.

The pancake has a very long history and featured in cookery books as far back as 1439. The tradition of tossing or flipping them is almost as old: “And every man and maide doe take their turne, And tosse their Pancakes up for feare they burne.” (Pasquil’s Palin, 1619).

The ingredients for pancakes can be seen to symbolise four points of significance at this time of year:
Eggs ~ Creation
Flour ~ The staff of life
Salt ~ Wholesomeness
Milk ~ Purity

To make 8 or so pancakes you will need 8oz plain flour, 2 large eggs, 1 pint milk, salt.

Mix all together and whisk well. Leave to stand for 30 minutes. Heat a little oil in a frying pan, pour in enough batter to cover the base of the pan and let it cook until the base of the pancake has browned. Then shake the pan to loosen the pancake and flip the pancake over to brown the other side.

In the UK, pancake races form an important part of the Shrove Tuesday celebrations – an opportunity for large numbers of people, often in fancy dress, to race down streets tossing pancakes. The object of the race is to get to the finishing line first, carrying a frying pan with a cooked pancake in it and flipping the pancake as you run.

by Ellen Castelow

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Valentine’s day

With the days getting a little longer & a bit warmer, Valentine's will soon be upon us. It won't be long before you need to get your Valentine's Gifts, Cards and most importantly, THE MEAL!

So if you're going to plan a lovely night out with a meal be sure to book us early as we can get fully booked at this time of year, so to avoid disappointment, yes, you know the drill, use our booking form on this site or simply call us for availability.

Valentine lived from approximately 175 AD to 269 AD. It was during the years of the Roman Emperor Claudius II (268 AD to 270 AD) that Valentine was brought into captivity.
Claudius II fought many wars during his reign and needed the enlistment of many men to fight these wars. However, the men were not coming forth to enlist as soldiers. Claudius II assumed the men were not enlisting because they were married and had families. He put forth a ruling that single men were not to be married which would lead to their enlistment into the army.
Valentine, a priest, did not abide by this ruling. He secretly married many couples and also helped many persecuted Christians. Claudius II found out about Valentine’s disobedience and imprisoned him. Claudius II tried to convince Valentine to worship idols and to give up his deep faith in Christianity but Valentine refused. Instead of accepting the idol worshipping custom, Valentine tried to convert Claudius II to Christianity.

While in prison, Valentine prayed daily to God. One guard, who overheard Valentine praying, requested a special prayer for the healing of his daughter who could not see. Valentine prayed to God for the restoration of the daughter’s sight. In time, the daughter’s sight was restored.

Claudius II did not acquit Valentine of his disobedience. Around 269 AD, Valentine was beheaded for the disregard of the law and for the refusal to renounce his faith of Christianity.
In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius proclaimed February 14th as the day in which St. Valentine would be honored for his martyrdom. February 14th was believed to be the day in which St. Valentine died.
St. Valentine is the patron saint of engaged couples, lovers, bee keepers, greetings, love, travelers and young people. He is also the patron saint against the plague, fainting and epilepsy.
St. Valentine’s Day is celebrated throughout the world on February 14th of every year. Love, romance and kindness are shared with others through the giving of gifts such as candy, cards, flowers and jewelry. The color red is associated with St. Valentine’s Day along with chocolate, cupid and the shape of a heart.

The first Valentine’s Day cards were handmade with ribbons and lace. During 1847, Ester Howland of Worcester, Massachusetts, began the mass printing of Valentine’s Day cards. Since then, the practice of gifting a card to a loved one became popular. In today’s world, other gifts are also given to those who are smitten with each other or who care for each other. Gifts can include a special dinner, a perfectly chosen card, a special bouquet of flowers or any special love from the heart. Only one’s imagination is needed in fulfilling the love for this day.

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Chinese New Year 2019

Chinese New Year

What is the animal for Chinese New year 2019? It's a Pig!

So If you're needing a Taxi/Private Hire vehicle to a special lunch, or Chinese New Year event in London, please book early as we can get quickly flooded with bookings, so as not to disappoint get in quick!

When is Chinese New Year celebrated?

Marking the turn of the lunar year, Chinese New Year has been celebrated for centuries in China. Also known as Spring Festival and Lunar New Year around the world, this colourful celebration starts on the last day of the last month in the Chinese lunar calendar and ends on the 15th day of the first month with the spectacular Lantern Festival.

In 2019, Chinese New Year falls on 5 February and celebrates the Year of the Pig. The main Chinese New Year events take place in London’s Chinatown, the West End and Trafalgar Square on 10 February.

Watch the colourful Chinese New Year parade pass through the streets of the West End and Chinatown London. Head over to Trafalgar Square for stage performances and all-day entertainment, or visit stages dotted across the West End for more Chinese New Year celebrations.

The story of Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is based on various legends, including that of an old man defeating the wicked mythical beast Nian with the help of firecrackers and red paper defences.

The festival gives people a chance to remember ancestors and to pay tribute to gods. On Chinese New Year’s Eve (the evening before Chinese New Year’s Day), families gather together for dinner and children often receive red packets with money for good luck.

Traditionally, every family would clean their house in the build-up to Chinese New Year to ward off any bad luck from the current year, and to make room for good luck in the coming year. Openings such as doors or windows would be given a makeover with red paper decorations to bring in good fortune, happiness, wealth and longevity.

Chinese New Year is celebrated across the globe, with the nature of the celebrations varying depending on the location. But whether you’re on China’s mainland, in other Asian territories such as Singapore and Thailand, or in Chinatown neighbourhoods in major cities, such as London, you’ll be sure to have a good time with firecrackers, lion dances and festive food over Lunar New Year.

Chinese New Year celebrations in London

The London Chinatown Chinese Association (LCCA) was founded in 1978 to help businesses in Chinatown, to provide support for British Chinese and to raise funds for disaster relief in China.
Today, the LCCA continues to help the Chinese business community in London, alongside organising the annual Chinese New Year events and the Mid-Autumn Festival in London.

The Chinese New Year London celebrations began as a small community event in Chinatown more than 20 years ago; the festivities have now become the largest of their kind outside Asia, attracting hundreds of thousands of people to the capital each year.

Having grown across the West End, the Chinese New Year celebrations in London include the colourful Chinese New Year parade, lion dances through Chinatown and a spectacular stage show in Trafalgar Square.

Top 10 tips for Chinese New Year in London