Peterborough is a pleasant surprise

I took last Friday off to head to Peterborough here in the UK with my friend, with a view to inspecting the resting place of Queen Katherine, the first wife of Henry VIII. She was a formidable woman in her own right and governed for Henry in his absence in 1513, while also conducting the Battle of Flodden successfully against the Scots. There is no news about her dairy dietary preferences, except pomegranates were her representative fruit and there still seems to be a regular collection at her grave.

His other wives get a lot of press, but she was the OG, to quote the kids. Her burial in Peterborough was well, one of benign neglect. Her daughter Mary had a lot on her plate and so I don’t think moving her mother’s grave to Westminster was top priority, and her ex-husband didn’t do anything about it.

Certainly, Queen Elizabeth I was not going to do it either. James I did move his mum Mary Queen of Scots from Peterborough to Westminster, however. So, there Katherine sits. Under a marble slab paid for by the readers of a national newspaper in the 19th century. Not the most fancy of graves.

It is a magnificent cathedral, however. The docents will come along and tell you all about the various aspects of it as well. And it’s a fairly quick jaunt from London on the train.

We then went for a dip nearby at the Peterborough Lido. It is what they call “hacienda style”, and built in the 1930s. I would also recommend going there. Facilities were excellent – hot showers, good lockers.

We finished the afternoon with a quality gelato ice cream, by the poolside. They really thought of everything there. There is nothing like a dairy product on a hot day.

This week, we are headed north again, for the Society of Dairy Technology‘s Summer symposium (where we have a stand) and annual dinner. Plus the always amazing International Cheese and Dairy Awards. I  look forward to seeing you all there.

• Suzanne Christiansen, editor, Dairy Industries International.
  Keep in touch via email: [email protected]
  Twitter: @dairyindustries