Banoffee Pie

"Ammaiya, can I help you", ---This is what Kirtana asks Saroja, whenever she is cooking meals or preparing murukku,thattai, thenguzhal, etc.

I intervened and said "Kirtana stop this lip service. You have never been near a kitchen, so how can you help Ammaiya?"

"No Thatha, I am an amatuer cook. I like to try my hand and prepare authentic food by watching tv programmes and cookery books", she said.

I challenged her by saying, "If you are such talented, why don't you prepare a dish made of banana (vazhaikai, pazham, thandu, poo etc) and send it to Raja mama , who is inviting recipes with banana as main ingredient."

She said, "Banoffie pie is one dish, I can cook like a'pro'"

I put 3 conditions forward saying that 1) she should use only cooking gadgets commonly used in Indian household, 2) ingredients should be easily available in India and thirdly she must demonstrate to me, so that I am convinced that not only she knows how to make it, but also should be delicious to eat.

" Thatha, I accept all your conditions and I would prepare the dish immeidately" she said and left the house to get the ingredients from a nearby shop. I asked her?What is the meaning of Banoffie pie?" for that she replied "Wait and see".

She returned shortly and engaged herself in the preparation. It took little more than 2 hours. She served the dish to us that night as desert.

It was 'yummy' and without shy, I asked for a second helping. She explained to me that this dish is a pie made of banana and toffee. It is classic, indulgent English desert. It is creamy, crunchy and full of flavour.

The recipe is given below.



This is Kirtana’s way of making it. I warn you that it is a costly dish, time consuming and very rich in calorie. I can, however, assure you, that you will fully relish it.

Banoffie Pie


You will need……

200/250g tin of condensed milk, milkmaid (available in India)
3 large bananas
1 pack of digestive biscuit (marie, or good day biscuits can be used instead)
100 to 150ml whipping cream (fresh cream whipped in mixer)
50 g chocolate powder/shavings
3 Tbsp of butter, melted

Crush the biscuits in a freezer bag with a rolling pin until they are reduced to crumbs. Gently heat butter in a saucepan until liquid (or just leave some out at room temperature to soften).
Pour biscuit crumbs and melted butter and mix in with the crumbs until they start to bind together. Transfer the biscuit crumbs to a round dish (a large Pyrex dish is good) and pat with a spoon so that they cover the base. Place in the fridge to set.


Put the tin of condensed milk in a pan of boiling water (NB- don't open the tin first!) and allow to boil for 2 hours . You should put a lid on the pan to prevent all the water boiling off. When done, remove the tin and leave to cool a little (you could pour cold water on it to cool the outside).


When cool enough to handle, open the tin carefully - the condensed milk will have caramelised/toffee and may well shoot out the opening.

Pour/spoon the toffee from the tin onto the biscuit base of the Pyrex dish. Place back in the fridge to cool.

Slice the bananas and arrange them on top of the toffee. Whip the cream in a blender/mixie, and pour over the caramelised topping. . Dust with chocolate powder/ chocolate shavings for effect. Keep in the fridge until needed, covered with cling-film.

Serve after chilled.

Library Services in London

When we shifted from Abhirampuram to Besant Nagar, I went to the district library at Shastri Nagar and asked the librarian the procedure for becoming a member. The librarian gave me an application form, asked me to fill it up, get it attested by a gazetted officer and submit the form with a deposit amount of Rs. 20 as a caution deposit.

When I asked him, where I can I go and search for a Gazetted officer, he said contact nearby Govt School, where some of the senior teachers would be in Gazetted rank. As usual, I was lazy to go and search for an obliging Gazetted officer and dropped the idea of becoming a member of the District Library. This was in 1996.

When I landed in London, I asked Uma and others, whether any of them is a member of their local library. They said ‘no’, as they are all busy in their own way; they had no time to go to library. Kirtana and Aadit were members of their school /University libraries, from where they get books connected to their studies.

During the initial part of my visit, Aadit was my guide to show me new places. We found there are two libraries, near to the house –one was at Barkingside which is 1.2 miles away and the other at Gants Hill—about a mile away.

We selected the Gants Hill Library, because we saw more Tamil books here. We approached the librarian and enquired the procedure. She said “it is very simple, please fill up the application form and hand over to me”. Aadit filled the form---name, address and phone number. Immediately a library card was issued in his name and also a pin (similar to ATM pin). We were told that we could borrow up to 20 books at a time and keep them for 3 weeks. I selected 4 English books and 1 Tamil book.

In all the libraries (I have visited quite few after that in different areas); there is one or two computer like touch-screen interactive self check console. With this service you can ‘borrow’, ‘renew’ and ‘return’ book. After selecting the books, we went to the console, we selected the type of service we needed, which was ‘borrow’. A message comes ‘please place the membership card facing the bar code up at a place shown’. The next message ‘place the books at the place shown’ we did it. Everything was recorded on the console and we could see the title of the books borrowed and the due date to return, we also got a print out.

This console is compatible to interact in French, Tamil, Hindi and Urdu; I understand that in Green Street, West Ham Library, you can operate with Bengali, as there are many Bangladeshis.

I had borrowed 22 books so far, that is from 17th July to till date, out of which 3 are with us to be read. I will not be doing justice to the library services in London, if I do not mention the personal care, the staff extend to the members.

Jackie Collins mentioned in her novel ‘Lovers and Players’ that the hero and heroine have same taste in books, TV shows, music etc. Their favourite author is John Grisham and James Siegel. I had not read any books by James Siegel. So I approached the librarian, he searched on his computer and confirmed the non availability. However, he checked on his computer and found that the book was available in the Main Ilford library. He arranged for the book to be transferred to this local library, and on the third day he telephoned home and informed that the book is ready for collection. An excellent customer service!!

When I was in US, Freemont, with Satya, he became a member of the library by showing his social security card. In that library, the arrangement was different. ‘Return’ books are sent down by a conveyor, books ‘borrowed’ by self check out console. There also the system might have changed by now for better.

Hope we may get such services in India, at least during my life time.

Brighton Beach

Ilford Hindu Centre had organised a trip by coach to Brighton – a town on sea shore on English Channel – for Ganeshji’s Visarjan on the September 12th 2010. They had arranged for 2 coaches (buses) with 50 seating capacity. Initially Uma was able to reserve 2 tickets only. Mr. Vijay, the organiser of the trip promised Uma that if there are any cancellations, he would offer the tickets to her first. (Uma had asked for 6 seats). Luckily on the 6th September he telephoned to confirm that he had 2 more tickets available by the grace of Maa Amba.

On the 11th we performed Vinayaka Chaturthi puja in a befitting manner. All the things required for puja are available in plenty in local stores. Aadit did the puja, while I read the mantras. This year we had an opportunity of doing the puja to golden pilliayar (a gift from us to Aadit for passing his GCSE with high grades—7.5 A* and 4 A’s).

On 12th morning we left our house and reached the temple at 8.20 am. The 2 coaches left the temple at 9.30 am. Our co passengers were mostly from Punjab and Gujarat community. On the way, many bhajans were sung in praise of Ganesh, Durga, Krishna, Sri Rama etc. and after a while antakshari was played mostly by the youngsters to pass the time.

Brighton is around 52 miles from Ilford. On our way to Brighton, the coach stopped at a service station —similar to our dhaba/wayside restaurant—where varieties of food shops, coffee shops, book shop and souvenir shop are situated. The management committee of the mandir had arranged for Indian style breakfast here. Delicious samosas, walker’s crisps (potatoes chips), juices in tetra pack, also garam chai followed by mysore pak were provided in plenty.

We reached Brighton around 12.30 and the coach stopped at Marina Drive. We had to climb two tiers to reach the main beach via steps (45 to 50 steep steps on each tier). The first two floors is a long corridor just like a balcony and the lowest floor is where the beach lies. Unlike other beaches I have so seen so far, this one is very unique. It is called shingles beach, because it is covered with pebbles—koozhangal (not sand). Walking on the pebbles is very difficult and to get to water there is another steep way paved. The pebbles were of all shape and size and I collected few as memento.

A white sheet was spread on the slope, about 6ft away from the water. Three Ganeshji idols were kept there—one from the temple and the other two belonging to individuals. The pandit of the temple did a elaborate puja to three idols . After the puja we were all given flowers to shower on the idols. Niveydham and Arathi were performed with the community prayer. Then the Ganeshji’s idol was taken into water for few yards before immersion was done by three individuals and their families. Sundar also had a good merits to do immersion of a small Ganesh idol.

Then we had lunch, brought from home, puliyodare and vadam accompanied by yoghurt(curd). We were told that we can go and explore the place and should be back at coach /bus stop at 4.30 pm. We walked and reached a road adjacent to the beach by crossing a level crossing. Yes, there is a mock up railway line on the beach, the station is in the middle and two electric trains with two bogies run between east and west and people , mostly children go on these merry rides. The distance is 1.6 miles.
On our way to Brighton, I saw many motor bikes passing us and all of them were going towards Brighton. On the reaching the beach road, we found out the reasons for so many motorcycles coming here. That particular day was the annual fare for motor bikes. Many manufactures displayed their products on both the sides of the beach road. Something similar to our mattu chandhai—cattle market. All the latest models of motorcycles were displayed , we had not seen such models anywhere earlier,.Latest models from Suzuki, Honda , Kawasaki , Yamaha , Ducati , KTM, BMW to name a few. Worth seeing.

There is a children’s park by the side of the beach with all the playthings including fountains. The small children were having a fabulous time playing on these fountains. These fountains work when a green button is pressed and to stop there is a red button. They were having showers like bath . These buttons are on the ground and the children operated them with their tiny feet. . It was real pleasure to see so many children enjoying themselves. The other play things were also unique.

We were surprised that throughout the stretch of beach there was only 2 food stalls , though there were few café’s and pubs around.

After tiring ourselves by walking we wanted to go to the top level. We saw a lift named Madeira lift. This lift is 400 years old and this was recently renovated by the council of Brighton. The capacity is 6 people and there is full time operator to man the lift. So we had an opportunity to travel on vintage lift as well. From the lift the bus stop was only 5 minutes walk.

We left Brighton at 4.30 pm and reached the mandir at 9 pm, due to heavy traffic on the road. This time we travelled via Gatwick, another air port around London. We could see many flights taking off and landing from close proximity.

We reached home and had dinner prepared mainly by Kirtana and Aadit and final finishing touches given by Sundar. We went to bed totally satisfied and had a sound sleep.

Bless us all, Ganapati Bappa.

Palace of Westminister, Parliament

The Palace of Westminster, or the Houses of Parliament as it is usually called, cannot fail to instil a sense of awe and a respect, every time you see it. It is one of the most recognised buildings in the world, and has come to represent England as a symbol of democracy. Many would have marvelled at the design of the building from exterior and I am proud that I had the opportunity to visit this splendid architecture and view it from inside.

Saroja and I had seen this building from outside many times, during our visits to London. I had always had a strong desire to see the building from inside. We had seen Indian Parliament, way back in 1978, courtesy to Mr and Mrs Ratna, when we visited Delhi. I expressed my desire to Sundar, who then contacted his local MP and made the arrangement. The entry pass was sent by post one week before the scheduled visit on 10th September.

On 10 September, all of us excluding Aadit, (as he could not miss his school), reached Westminster by underground train. We started our visit at Portcullis(which is the official symbol of Parliament) House. As we entered Portcullis house we were faced with a lot of policemen with large guns. Passing through the airport style security checks, our photos were taken and we were issued with name badges, and we were allowed into the building and taken through an underground passageway into the Palace of Westminster itself.

Westminster Hall
As we emerged from the tunnel, we found ourselves in the ancient and very chilly Westminster Hall. The age of this hall overwhelms you; built in 1099, it has a beautiful wooden hammer-beam roof (the largest medieval roof in northern Europe). The size of this hall takes your breath away. This is where the old parliament used to function up to the end of 17th century. The hall has been used for many things: coronation, banquets etc. Her majesty, the Queen, addresses both the houses. Many of these events are commemorated on brass plates set on the floor. When members of the Royal family die, their bodies lie in state here, the most recent being Queen mother’s. The only non royal member to lie in state was Winston Churchill. Most recently the Pope on his state visit addressed the public from here.

Here we met our entertaining and informative guide for the tour.

Stephen Hall
Initially this was a chapel where the royals worshipped when they stayed in the palace. From 1550, this Hall has been used as a debating chamber for the House of Commons. This Hall is also famous because, King Charles I attempted to arrest MPs in the 17th century,which triggered the civil war between Parliament and the Crown. For this very reason, till this day, the Queen and members of Royal family including their aides are forbidden to enter House of Commons. The doors of the House of Commons are closed when royalty is present in the building.

Central Lobby
Moving out of Westminster Hall into the Central Lobby, the sense of history really hits you. This lobby is often seen on the news, a place where reporters interview MPs. It is a meeting place for Members of both Houses and also a place where MPs can meet their constituents. We were told that public could meet their MPs here without appointment and the MPs if they are in, should not refuse to see the public (to maintain the tradition,--‘ of the people, by the people, for the people’) Once again, the beauty of the structure takes your breath away. The room itself is an octagon shaped with beautiful tiled floor and on the walls scenes from history painted on the wall. We could see a painting of the ancient East India Company also here. The ceiling had mosaic paintings of 4 saints that represent the four parts of the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland).

In the corner of the lobby is an incredibly old post office; with iron grills and looking as if it has been transplanted directly from a Victorian street, and we were told that this is for employees only. There are 1500 rooms, 3 banks and many restaurants and a salon here inside the parliament.

The House of Lords
We were taken down the south corridor to the splendour of the House of Lords, the most lavish and opulent room in the Palace. The chairs were made of red luxurious leather seats, the ceilings were gilt panelled and the windows had beautiful stain glass –and this grandeur was overshadowed by the ornate gilded Royal Thrones for the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh and also golden seating’s for other members of the Royal family. We were not allowed to go fully into the Lords, but could see from the entrance, while our guide reminded us that the Queen only sits on the throne once a year, and named some famous Lords (Sir Alan Sugar,Lord Mandelson etc) who currently sit in the House and most of they are experts in their field.

The Members Lobby
Walking back through the central lobby into the north side of the building, we found ourselves standing in the members lobby. Here MPs pick up messages and business papers and congregate during the sittings of the House before and after business in the Chamber. I was very aware of standing in the footsteps of some of the most famous politicians in history as I looked at the MPs pigeon holes and message boards. Full size statues of Churchill, Lloyd George, Atlee and Thatcher loom hugely on pillars around the room. Each of them has their place due to the mark they made on history; Churchill in the war, Atlee for social reform (National Health Service), Thatcher for being the first woman Prime Minister. Churchill's foot is worn away by the tradition of MPs touching it for luck as they enter the House.

In this room, we could see for the first time signs of the bombing during WW2 that devastated the House of Commons. The chipped and broken arch leading into the chamber is known as the Churchill arch, as it was Winston Churchill who suggested that it was rebuilt from the rubble as a reminder of the sadness of war. Many wooden doors weighing tons were donated by the Indian government.

House of Commons
Initially I was taken back by the simplicity of the House of Commons after the breathtaking beauty of the Lords. Rebuilt after the Blitz (WW2), has a rather functional and austere style, with its famous green benches, and wooden panelling. As we moved further in however, I was struck with an immense sense of history. We walked along the front benches and I briefly stood in front of the dispatch boxes, amazed at the thought of the great men and women who had stood on that exact same spot. Our guide entertained us with stories and scandals. As we looked at the red lines that ran along the carpet in front of the front benches, he explained that they were exactly the width of two swords apart, so that opposing sides could never attack each other, as they were never allowed to cross the line. There is central big table and on that a casket is placed where all the religious books are kept for swearing in, and this we were told was a present from Government of Canada.

The Commons affected me just as strongly as the Lords; although it did not have the breathtaking architecture, the strong sense of history and occasion made up for it.

Division Lobbies
The division lobbies were a fascinating part of the visit. Two of these long, book-lined corridors run along each side of the House, and they are where the voting takes place. Our guide explained that one side is for Ayes (YES) and the other for Noes (NOS); as the speaker calls for a vote, those voting Aye (Yes) to any proposition walk through the division lobby to the right of the Speaker and those voting No through the lobby to the left. At the same time a bell starts ringing all through parliament, in the hairdressers, in the meeting rooms, and in several pubs in Whitehall. The bells rings for eight minutes, and MPs must come running to vote, since the door keepers shut the doors firmly in their faces once the bell stops ringing. The whips stand at the entrances, pointing the MPs in the right direction so that they vote with their parties.

I loved this detail. I was told that Tony Blair tried to change the voting system to an electronic system but his attempt to modernise failed.

The journey of English Parliament started with the signing of Magna Carta charter (in 1215), which laid the foundation for representative government by the public. The Magna Carta process moved the world one step closer to the types of governments that are seen today. This building had seen evolution of democracy through the centuries(900 years) and every nook and corner has history to speak of.

The whole visit was well managed and totally fascinating, and I was sorry that it had come to an end. The trip was very special and a very informative.

Platform Number Nine and Three Quarters

"Hogwarts Express leaves at 11 o 'clock, from Platform number 9-3/4 on 1st September from King's Cross St Pancreas station."
Reading this, its probable that you may get confused or think I have gone mad. This will happen to you, if you are not in the following category;

a) a young one
b) at least young at heart
c) interested in reading story books.
d) aware of the Harry Potter series by the one and only J.K.Rowling.

In the first book of this series - "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", the above details are given, where the hero goes to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry via this platform 9 3/4.

On 5th September 2010 , I proceeded,along with Aadit to see if such platform exists in reality.Thus, we got the train from the Gants Hill station to Bank station, via the central line. We then took the Northern line to Kings Cross St Pancreas Station.

We proceeded to the surface overground station(with the same name). Not wanting to make a fool of ourselves, we cautiously enquired at the information desk, the location of platform number 9 3/4 as were not entirely sure if it does indeed exists. Much to our delight we were directed accordingly to the platform. We both were immensely excited and curious to witness the most famous platform in the world.

You can see that in the photo the luggage trolley half pushed into the platform. It was truly amazing to witness this platform as a Harry Potter fan. There were many tourist clicking away, taking photos of platform 9 3/4. Needless to say, I also got myself photographed!

I love London for many things.
One of them is for its regard to their heritage, respect for the literature. Londoners have a sense of humour and pride in their history and culture, and for that I believe it is truly one of the most spectacular cities in the world!

Sherlock Holmes is a fictitious character, created by Sir Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes was supposed to have resided at 221B Baker Street. Sir Conan Doyle lived from 22 May 1859 to 7 July 1930 at Baker Street. When underground rail was constructed, they made a railway station here and named it Baker Street in his honour. Once you come out of the station, you can see the beautiful statue of Sherlock Holmes . Madame Tussuad's is on the left side of the station and Sherlock Holmes Museum is little away on the right side.

A similar tribute to J K Rowling the author of Harry Potter series, is the platform number Nine and three quarters. An ingenious memento. Hats off British people , especially the Londoners.

Cambridge Return

On 4th August, we all went to the historic city Cambridge by National Express Bus. Normally one way fare is £13. However, by booking online, Uma got a good bargain for Saroja and me as senior citizens .

In Cambridge University, there are about 35 colleges. Each college has its own chapel and its own history. Most of the colleges—to name a few, Kings, Queens, Trinity, St John College had an entrance fee of £2-£3.

Cambridge is situated on river Cam, hence the name Cambridge.

Boating is called Punting in Cambridge. College students and some tradional punters arrange the sightseeing by small boats-similar to Vallam in Kerala, and Nattu padagu in Tamil Nadu. The vintage looking boats have seats provided along with cushions and rugs to give a rustic feel . A long wooden pole is used to row the boat, which requires tremendous stamina . The punter is the boatman and is usually a Cambridge student working part-time. The punter also acts as a tour guide.

Visualise a river flowing in a semi circular way, meandering its way through the celebrated university. On both the sides of the river lie colleges. With a history that extends to over 600 years old, it is a site for spectacular architecture, incredible stories and most importantly a place that has given the world its most respected and renowned scholars and academicians.

It was awe-inspiring to remember that remarkable Indians had studied here such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Man Mohan Singh, Ramanujam. Moroever, other notable and incredible alumini includes historic figures such as Sir Isaac Newton (the father of physics) , Francis Crick and James D. Watson ( the scientist who discovered the double-helix of DNA) and Charles Babbage ( the father of computers).

We were lucky to get a punter who was fascinated by India and had thus travelled there numerous times. His girlfriend was from Bhutan, and brought up in Jharkhand, now living in US with her parents, which meant that he was aware of the Indian way of life which made it easier for us to relate to him.

The punter studied in UK for 5 years and had excellent grades, however he could not qualify for domestic fees applicable for UK students as he needs to be here for at least one more year. The annual fees for foreigners is £20000. He has to complete one more year, to qualify as a domestic student.

After a tranquil boat ride which lasted 70 minutes, we went on to explore the city. It was interesting to see a merging of the old and new,where, the historic architecture of the colleges blended with the new buildings of shopping centre and vast amount of shops. We visited these places and also into some of the colleges and took photographs.

Whilst exploring , we came across a gold cockroach clock that seemed familiar to all of us. We had then realised that this was in fact the clock that was shown in the film Paa where some of the initial scenes were shot at Cambridge. It is a part of Christ Corpus College, and inaugurated by Stephen Hawking, the well known physically handicapped scientist of modern era.

We proceeded on taking numerous photographs. It was a thrill to walk in the streets,
where great personalities moved about.

Cambridge is around 53 miles from London and it usually takes about 90 minutes.
Needless to say the roads are very good. The driver was good, the coach was superb , all in all an exteremelly memorable trip to one of the most iconic univeristy in the world. I can now proudly claim that I am infact a Cambridge return!