Monday 22 September 2014

Fun and Frolics

Last Friday I was asked whether it was really wise of me to have invited a couple who I had never met into my home to stay for 3 nights.  I didn't think it was a problem - I had spoken to Valerie on Skype and she does amazing art - so what could go wrong?

Well

Nothing!  It may have been the best decision I have made in a long time.  We picked Valerie and Keith up from Birmingham Airport on Friday evening and we hardly stopped having fun and laughing until they caught the train to London this morning.

On Saturday we went to the Black Country Museum so they could see some of the industrial history of the Midlands.  We went on the boat trip into the Limestone Caverns and Keith 'legged' the boat for a while.

We watched the chainmaker's demonstration.

We accosted a total stranger to ask her to take our photo.

We drove into Birmingham and took Keith and Valerie to Gas Street Basin and Brindley Place.


We walked through Victoria Square where Keith was offered a free taste of blackcurrant flavoured lager.  Actually we were all offered it.  The rest of us refused!

We went to the Hippodrome Theatre and had dinner and then saw the musical Cats.  (I borrowed this picture off the Cats website.)

We got home and talked and laughed for another couple of hours so we didn't get to bed until well after midnight.

After a slow start on Sunday morning we went to Stratford upon Avon and managed to take a photo of Shakespeare's birthplace with no one in front of it.  Mind you we did have to wait for a man who had been having his photo taken to finish texting someone.

We walked along the river and visited the Parish Church.  We drove past Anne Hathaway's cottage ( the real Anne Hathaway not the film star) and onto Wilmecote where we had lunch and then drove past Mary Arden's house. (Shakespeare's mother's family home!)

Roger decided we should go to Kingswood Junction in Lapworth on our way to Baddesley Clinton.  As far as I am aware there are only two moated Manor Houses in England and this is one of them.  Keith would have liked to spend 2 hours there and we had 15 minutes.  We walked quickly round the house!

Even so, we were 10 minutes late for church.  Oops!  The day finished with coffee and cake with friends before driving to the Diwan for a Balti.

We were all up early this morning so that Keith and Valerie could catch the 9.24 to Marylebone for 48 hours in London.   Fortunately we will see them for about an hour on Wednesday when we pick them up from the station and then take them to the airport for them to start there very long journey home.

I hope we are able to get together again very soon.  It was SUCH FUN!



3 comments:

  1. I LOVE it! I hope you do it again...have someone in your midst for several days that you have not met personally...goes right along with your word for the year: participate! Way to go, Bernice!

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  2. Ah I'm sat this morning thinking that's the Black Country Museum and it was - you look like you managed to fit so much in in such a short space of time! Lovely!

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