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 Did you know all the tennis balls made for
Wimbledon are manufactured here in
the Philippines?" asks Peter Beckingham,
ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland. His wife Jill explains: "The
Slazenger factories are in Bataan, and they ship the balls to
the UK." The couple, who has been based in Manila for almost
three years, chat more about the other charms of Britain-
from Yorkshire pudding to The Hebrides.
What places would you recommend to first-time tourists
to the UK?
PB: London, obviously-it's got beautiful parks, nice
restaurants, and lots of contemporary music and art. Edinburgh for the architecture; Yorkshire and all northeast of England-the countryside and the coast, where one can
visit old houses and castles. Either Oxford or
Cambridge for a taste of a university town. And
the Lake District, made famous by poet William
Wordsworth and where author Beatrix Potter wrote
all her works.
Are there any off-the-beaten-track places
to visit?
PB: The Hebrides islands off the coast of Northern
Scotland. They're pretty remote-during a holiday there, we
realized how isolated it was when one of our daughters had
a minor accident. We had to charter a fisherman to take us
to another island where there was a doctor. Another place is
Wales-the area around Snowdon, their biggest mountain,
is very rugged. In the summer it's quite an easy climb to the
summit.
What food should visitors try?
PB: A traditional English roast served with horseradish,
potatoes and Yorkshire pudding. Sausage, particularly black
pudding, where dried ox blood is incorporated into the meat.
It's served as part of a traditional English breakfast of eggs,
bacon, muffins, toast and marmalade. The British also love
Indian food-chicken tikka masala is often called a national  dish (laughs). I personally like a plate of English cheeses like
Stilton and cheddar.
JB: Traditional pub food would be steak and kidney pie or
bangers and mash (sausages and mashed potatoes).
What is a typical British souvenir?
PB: A bottle of whisky from Scotland! It's pure nectar and can
make anyone on a bad day feel better.
JB: In any seaside town, take home rock-a round sweet about
a foot long and flavored with peppermint. It has the name of
the resort where it was made-so if you're in Blackpool you get
Blackpool rock. One can also buy famous Wedgwood pottery.
When is the best time to visit the UK?
JB: Summer, from May to September. If you go to Scotland in
June it's not dark until 11pm, and in London, until 10pm! It's
lovely, you can have longer days.
PB: It's less crowded in May or September; in July and August
there are more tourists.
What do you love best about Britain?
JB: The culture and the countryside. It's just magnificent-if
you're there on a lovely day, when the sun is bright and warm,
there's nothing like it.
PB: Going through the countryside with cows grazing and a
farmhouse in the distance, one can walk down to the pub,
have a nice pint of beer and listen to good music.
The Beckinghams’
Must-Visit List
Suggestions to fill your itinerary
- Visit structures like
St. Paul's Cathedral,
the Tower of London
and Westminster
Abbey
- Tour royal palaces
like Hampton Court
Palace, Windsor
Castle, Buckingham
Palace and Hever
Castle in Kent, which used to be the family home of Ann
Boleyn, second wife to Henry VIII
- Visit stately homes, like Longleat in Somerset, which has
a hedge maze and its own safari park. The National Trust
(nationaltrust.org.uk) has a comprehensive list of other
homes open to the public
- Visit the construction sites in London for the 2012
Summer Olympics
- Take literary tours of
places made memorable in
the works of famous authors
(such as Shakespeare, Jane
Austen or Thomas Hardy)
- Tour different Scottish
distilleries-and taste test
the final product!
Live with farmers' families
and experience their way of
life in a farm-stay holiday
- Trek through The Pennine
Way, which stretches for
over 200 kilometers along "the backbone of England"
- There are lots of festivals-the Edinburgh Festival is the
largest art and cultural festival, with live plays and music
performances
- In the winter, see a football match. There are about
90 professional
teams. You feel the
atmosphere and
the passion people
have for their
particular team
- Catch a tennis
match during
Wimbledon in July
- Another sport to watch is horse-racing-three of the
biggest events are the Royal Ascot typically attended by
the Queen, The Grand National in March considered
one of the toughest in the world, and the Epsom Derby
Festival held in June
- Play golf in Scotland, where it was invented-a lot of
legendary golf courses are here, you just need to book in
advance
The Beckinghams'
Must-Visit List
Suggestions to fill your itinerary
Radcliffe Camera,
Oxford
Costumed
guard at the
Tower of London
Snowdon in Wales
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