Bank Holiday Weekend

It's a grey and wet Bank Holiday Monday and so I'm not venturing out today,  Instead I'm going to stay at home and spend the afternoon listening to music. I'm going to do an End Of The Road playlist as this year I have decided not to go to Moseley Folk Festival and head off to Dorset instead.  With the likes of The Fall, Mogwai, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Allo Darlin' and Beirut it is too good to miss.

Despite the weather it hasn't been a bad day so far.  Earlier Clare checked her bank and it looks like we've been allocated tickets for the Olympics although we have no idea which event we will be going to (don't get me started on the whole ticket process thing. The way it has been handled is terrible but out of the 3 or 4 events we applied for we have managed to get tickets for one at least).

Although the rest of the weekend has been dry it has been grey, windy and a little on the chilly side and so we haven't ventured far. 

Friday, I met Clare and my parents at All Fired Arts before heading to the Kitchen Garden Cafe for afternoon tea.  It's not the cheapest but the sandwich was lovely. You also get a scone and a slice of cake, washed down with a large cup of coffee.
Saturday, Clare and I went into Knowle, bought bread from the The Bread Collection bakery and had a look around the shops.  On the evening we settled down to watch the Champions League Final between Manchester Utd and FC Barcelona.  A good game, held at Wembley, which Barcelona won 3-1 (which I was chuffed about). Rodriguez put Barcelona ahead after 27 minutes. Rooney levelled the score 7 minutes later.  In the second half  goals from Messi (54) and Villa (69) put the game beyond Man Utd.

Sunday, Clare and I went to Solihull Nature Reserve. We stopped at the cafe in the park before following a footpath alongside the River Blythe. It takes you through the woods and out into an open field alongside the M42.  We followed the path for a bit and then took the bridge over the motorway and onto the fields beyond.  We decided to turn around and head back, saving the footpath for another day.

Whilst following the path we came across a Greater Spotted Woodpecker nest.  A hole in a dead branch of a tree we could hear the chick calling from some way away.  As we stared up at the tree a small red head popped out of the hole! We watched for a while before moving on.

We saw about 30 species of bird including Willow Warbler, Whitethroat, Chaffinch and Bullfinch.

After the walk we headed back to the cafe where we met my parents for a bite to eat. They said they would like to see the Woodpecker and so we headed back along the path.  When we reached the field we found the gate was blocked by cows who had no intention of letting us into the field.

Having been over the reserve for over six hours we decided to head home, my parents joining us for coffee.  Not long after they had left my brother arrived. He stayed for most of the evening and when his girlfriend picked him up she also popped in for a bit.  It was a lovely day spent with my family.