Seeing Anew: June 2008

Sunday, June 29, 2008

The Francis Tea Rooms, Scarborough, UK...Mmmmmm!!!

I finally realized my dream of having tea in the Francis Tea Rooms in South Steet, Scarborough, above which my daughter used to live while studying abroad in 2004. I can't imagine any tea room in the UK being more authentic than this place--Toasted tea cakes, toasts of all sorts including Buck Rarebit, delicious chutneys, scones with cream and preserves, all on a quiet back street behind the Esplanade Gardens and South Cliff. The owner, Wendy, was wonderfully hospitable, and even sat down for a few moments to reminisce with us. All of South Street is undergoing a transformation with art galleries and boutiques popping up all over the place (see below). We met some long-time residents of Scarborough outside The Francis one evening. They had lived there since childhood and even remembered when the beach was strung with coils of barbed wire during World War II, to protect against Nazi invasion. One of the ladies told us that South Street was THE place to live in Scarborough during her childhood and said, "Fisherfolk like us weren't even allowed to cross the footbridge leading up to South Cliff!" Now that's it's returning to its former glory, I'm glad she gets to enjoy it these days!