Last Weekend

Monday again!  I can't believe another week has passed!

Weather wise, the last couple of days have been quite nice and what I'd expect for July but on the whole I've given up on the glorious summer I'd hoped for.  Warm and grey with the chance of showers seems to be the theme for this year.

Friday was pretty much like that but as Clare and I would be spending the evening at the cinema I wasn't too bothered.  We were off to see Mammuth, starring Gerard Depardieu at the Royal Spa Centre in Leamington.

We arrived in Leamington and headed for Pizza Express just as the heavens opened up, though it didn't last long.  Having eaten (the place was quiet customer wise but very loud when it came to background noise) we headed over to the Royal Spa Centre.  We were a little early so stopped at the Newbold opposite for a drink. 

Eventually we headed over to the Spa Centre, and before taking our seats, stopped at the confectionary stand.  The woman behind the counter warned us off the popcorn by whispering "it's really expensive".  We ended up chatting about sweets now and past, the theatre and places in around Coventry and Birmingham.  She was really pleasant and it was nice to stand and talk.  She was quite funny and  reminded me of a skinnier version of Miranda Hart.

The film itself is an odd one.  Very funny in parts and quite dark in others.  The audience (which numbered about 15) really seemed to enjoy it.  If you've not heard of it then here is a brief description from IMDb

Serge Pilardosse has just turned 60 and is about to retire from his job in a slaughterhouse. He has always worked from the age of sixteen, never been on sick leave. So, how will this man fill his days? His wife Catherine, who still works in a supermarket, notices that her husband will not get full retirement benefits since some of his former employers failed to do the requisite paperwork. So off goes Serge, riding his old Munch "Mammut" bike, in search of the missing documents.

I enjoyed it and thought the soundtrack was great.  I'm not sure it is for everyone though.

It was really pleasant night and a great way to start the weekend.

Saturday was meant to be a trip to see Macbeth in Stratford.  Throughout the summer various theatre groups are performing some of Shakespeare's plays outdoors, free of charge (if you are interested have a look at the RSC website, there is a link below). 

As we were about to head out Clare took a call from a friend who lives over that way who wanted to meet up for a drink.  We headed over to Stratford (having had breakfast at Morrison's and popped into the bookies). We met our friend outside The Golden Bee before heading in and grabbing a gin. We sat in the window chatting and watching the tourists go by.  The sound of a low flying plane caught my attention.  My friend told me that there was a Spitfire fly over and so I found myself standing n the road outside watching the Spitfire as it circled and flew low over the town a few times before disappearing over the rooftops.  Clare, unfortunately missed this as she was at the bar.

The drinks kept coming and we missed the start of the play.  As there are plenty more throughout the summer we figured we could always catch another one.  Instead, upon saying goodbye to our friend, we opted for a game of mini golf.  Despite my gin soaked haze I still managed to win (Clare beat me at crazy golf a couple of years ago in Great Yarmouth so it was nice to even up the score).

Time was getting on but we decided we would visit the RSC and head to the top of the tower for the views of Stratford.  We purchased our tickets and as we had time to kill before our timeslot went and got some chips.  We sat on a bench and listened to a couple of saxophonists murder well known songs.  If they struggled they would simply stop halfway through, move onto the next tune and murder that instead.  As buskers go they weren't the best but it still didn't stop people throwing their loose to change to them! 

The woman who controlled the lift to the top of the tower at the RSC was at great pains to stress that she was on her own and therefore it was not her fault we had to wait.  Obviously not everyone could go up together and she had to be in the lift to take people up and down.  We waited and eventually we were allowed into the lift. At the top we were greeted by another member of staff.  It made me wonder why we had to be escorted in the lift as there are no floors inbetween and so can only go to the top! Surely the person at the bottom counts them up and down and the person at the top does likewise.  5 come down means another 5 can go up.  I have used a lift before so don't know why we had to be chaparoned.

The views from the top are OK. It's a view of Stratford I'd not seen before. The guide gives you a map that shows places of interest on the horizon but to be honest it isn't very good and I found it to be more confusing than anything.  We looked, took some pictures and left. 

Whilst up the tower the rain came down and once back at ground level I was suprised at how quickly the streets had emptied.  Having looked at the swans on the river we headed home.

Sunday.  The forecast was for a sunny start, clouding over in the afternoon with rain and the possibility of a thunder storm.  Clare and I headed over to Solihull Nature Reserve to make the most of the sunshine before the rain set in.  We followed the path along the river and then over the motorway bridge and across a field before coming to a lane.  Not wanting to venture too far in case of rain we turned around and headed back.  We stopped at the cafe in Brueton Park before heading back over the Nature Reserve.  We spent a good few hours wandering around in the sunshine and it wasn't until we were heading home when the cloud finally rolled in. The rain, however, never came!  On the way home I heard a rustling in the bushes and as I looked a baby hedgehog appeared briefly before disappearing back into the undergrowth.  A nice way to round off the day.

We didn't see much in the way of birds on our travels.  Buzzard, Kestral and Goldfinch seem to have been the main ones but there were a few more butterflies, Ringlet, Speckled Wood, Painted Lady, Red Admiral and quite a few whites were present.

All in all a lovely weekend.

Oh there is one more thing.  Yesterday was the last ever edition of the News Of The World!  I didn't buy the paper myself but over the years my Dad has and I've spent many a Sunday afternoon trawling through it. 

It's demise is due to a phone hacking scandal that happened a few years ago and is now coming to light.  The original claims were glossed over and the police didn't find much in the way of evidence.  It has since emerged that this was much bigger than first thought and a new police investigation is under way.  Members of David Cameron's circle have been arrested and there are sure to be more.  Advertisers such as Ford pulled the plug and others followed. As a result of this Rupert Murdoch decided that the paper could not go on and yesterday saw the final edition.