10th February 2026
Len Parker, an elder in the UK, called me up before I left on this trip. He was hoping we could get together during one of my stopovers. I’m happy to say it happened. Lena and I had met Len and his wife Sandra at the feast a few years ago. My flight landed almost exactly on time, but unfortunately for Len there was lots of traffic in and around London so it took him longer to pick me up. Once we found each other (and found his parked car) we were off, driving out of the city and through all the small towns.
We stopped to grab coffee and a light breakfast at a place called Pearce’s Farm. A delightful little cafe with a store, butcher, fishmonger, and scenic views. Great coffee and delicious scones. We headed down the road. The rest was, as Len put it “a cook’s tour” of mostly Essex.
At a certain point we picked up Sandra in Saffron Walden, the town where the Parkers live. Then we headed for historical Lavenham, a town known for its medieval cottages. We stopped in the historic Swan Hotel for a coffee (my fourth for the day—4am airplane coffee, flat white at Pearce’s, to-go flat white from Pearce’s, cappuccino at The Swan).
As we were making our way back to Saffron Walden past closed roads, diversions, and rain, the sun peaked out. Len and Sandra kept telling me how dry the area usually is and how mich more beautiful it would have been in the sunlight. At least we had a taste of it.
The Parkers dropped me off at the Cross Keys Hotel, the only hotel in town. I freshened up and met them downstairs for dinner. We walked in the pouring rain down the street to The Eight Bells, a traditional village pub, part of which was converted from a barn. We enjoyed our meat pies and pints next to a crackling wood stove. Afterwards we walked to the Parker’s little apartment to end the evening with my last coffee of the day.
In the morning I’ll get up, have breakfast, and take the train into London to meet Dave for lunch.
-Lewis VanAusdle
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