Another Long Weekend

Just like last weekend it was another long one.  Today is the May Day Bank Holiday but Friday was an extra day for The Royal Wedding.  Prince William and Kate Middleton got married and to celebrate the day was declared a Bank Holiday.

The Wedding itself was watched by 2 billion people worldwide with another million lining the route along the streets of London.  Some people had street parties, some watched it in the pub.  Clare and I watched it at home with family and friends. Clare made cakes and put on a buffet (and an unexpected evening meal) 

Our friends arrived at about 10.30am and we started with Bucks Fizz. Once the champagne had gone we moved onto wine.  I felt a little drunk by midday!

The day went really quickly and considering the early start it was gone 9 by the time our friends left. 

I know that a Royal wedding is not everyone's cup of tea but it I enjoyed the whole thing and to have my friends and family around me to celebrate was a good way to start the weekend.

Saturday, a day out in Chester.  We drove up to Shropshire to pick up a friend, taking the leftovers from the buffet to give to her pig. 

The weather was lovely and sunny but the breeze made it feel somewhat cooler. 

Chester is a lovely place. Having poked our heads into the Grosvenor Museum (a great contemporary art exhibition. You could vote and even buy copies of the work. There were a couple I liked but at £850 quid it was a little out of my price range. We also  looked at some Roman artifacts including a Roman skeleton found at the bottom of a well) we headed for the shops. I like the fact that it has a good mixture of chain stores and independent shops. 

After the shops we had a look around the cathedral but stopped short of paying the £5 entrance fee.  Instead we had a look around the perimeter before walking along the city walls.

It looked fantastic down by the river, especially in the sunshine and Clare and I decided we would have to come back and spend a long weekend there as I don't think we got to see much before it was time to head home.

Yesterday and another journey up the M6.  This time to Monkey Forest in Trentham. 

Part of the Trentham Estate the forest spans 60 acres and is home to 140 Barbary macaques.  They run free throughout the forest and as you wander around the paths the monkeys can be seen in the trees and all around the forest floor. Sometimes walking across the paths in front of you.  A word of warning, don't stand beneath one!  The walk is about three quarters of a mile and the forest looked fantastic in the sunlight. 

At £7 to get in it is fairly priced. There is also a cafe and some climbing frames for the kids (not quite an adventure playground as billed). There is also a picnic area.  I really enjoyed it and got some great photos!

We walked the three quarters of a mile path before visiting the cafe and afterwards walked it again before heading home.

Today has been a quite day although an historic one. We awoke to the news that Osama Bin Laden had been killed in a raid by US Special Forces at a compound in Pakistan.  The Al Qaeda leader was shot during a fire fight.  As the news unfolded and we watched the scenes of jubilation in America I spent my time catching up with bits and pieces. I also spent a couple of frustrating hours putting software on my new laptop.

Monkey Forest Website

Grosvenor Museum Website

Bank Holiday

My long weekend is coming to an end, it's been fantastic, and as I write I can feel  the Sunday blues creeping up on me (albeit on a Monday).

The weather has been glorious and on Friday Clare and I decided to take our first walk along the canal this year. Starting in Knowle we headed to Hatton Craft Centre.  Although the canal was quite busy with boats, walkers and cyclists, a lot of them could barely manage an hello. 

As we walked our route took us past The Black Boy and so we left the tow path and had a quick drink before carrying on our way.  We seemed to be slower than last year (out of practice) but strolling along in the sunshine was a great way to start the weekend.

Nature wise we had a great day.  We had a Grey Wagtail and a Swallow. We also heard a cuckoo. At one point I heard a rustle in the bushes and upon closer inspection found a grass snake.  More rustling in undergrowth further down the path and a shrew appeared  for a split second before scampering back the way it came. Young rabbits, Pheasant, Speckled Wood & Orange Tip butterflies as well as all sorts of birds made for a lovely walk.

Eventually we came to Hatton and left the canal and headed to the craft centre.  There have been a few changes since last year.  Having paid the best part of a fiver for a baguette and a sit down we had a wander around.  It seems that some of the small shops have gone but the kids area, cafe and garden centre have expanded.  We left feeling a little underwhelmed.  We walked the short walk back along the towpath to the station and caught the train home.

Saturday was a complete contrast to the peace and tranquility of the day before.  Having started the day with a breakfast at Morrison's we went to see my young nephews who were in Birmingham for a few days.

Afterwards I headed off to the Stirrup Cup in Sheldon for the annual St George's Day Parade.  This was it's fourth year and has been growing steadily ever since.  Numbers were slightly down this year but there was still a decent turn out. After a drink in the sunshine it was time to take to the streets along with the marching band.  The parade itself lasts about half an hour and the amount of people in cars and houses who come out to applaud is brilliant.  This year money was collected for Help For Heroes and although we are still awaiting the final figure I reckon it will be around the £400 pound mark. 

After the march we stayed at the pub to watch the football but the less said about that the better (Blues lost 5-0 up at Liverpool).

Having said I would be home no later than 7pm I finally stumbled in over 3 hours late.

Sunday. After a sound sleep it was an early start. Clare and I were heading for Wolverhampton to see Beady Eye but before that I had to see my nephews as I'd promised them a water fight! 

Having spent the morning chasing and being chased around the garden (I managed to stay pretty dry) we headed home packed our bag and set off for Wolverhampton.

The Weekend

Had a quiet Bank Holiday weekend.  Enjoyed it though.  Saturday was spent trawling charity shops in Moseley, Kings Heath and Shirley.  Clare and I do this from time to time.  She looks for books and I go looking for CDs.  It was a successful trip with 9 CDs and 5 books between us.  We stopped at the French Cafe in Moseley. I don't know what it is called but it's a bigger version of the one up the road in Kings Heath, Maison Macy’s. The weather was grey and wet which is typical for a Bank Holiday Weekend.

We spent the evening watching Eurovision.  Belgium should have won hands down but Germany came out on top. The United Kingdom came last!  Why we never put forward and established artist is beyond me.  We have some of the greatest artists in the world and yet we insist on putting forward unknown rubbish.  Still, the public gets what the public wants.

Sunday brought blue skies and sunshine, so we went for a walk along the canal tow path. We saw a half submerged branch in the water and lined up along it were 9 ducklings with their mother.  All asleep with their heads tucked away.  I tried to take a picture but as is usually the case it didn't come out very well.  We walked for a couple of hours but headed back to watch the football.

England were playing in their last match prior to The World Cup.  Another unconvincing display against Japan. We won 2-1 but if we are to beat USA in our opening World Cup match we need to play much better than that!

We watched the football with friends who had invited us over for a BBQ.  After we'd eaten we went for a walk in a local park where we found an ancient oak tree that was quite unusual in as much as it stood in the centre of a ring of smaller oaks which has grown from it. The circle is a perfect ring and is quite rare. Apparently it is in danger of being built upon by a supermarket chain. It would be a great shame were that to happen.

Yesterday was a quiet day.  Watched the cricket and Terry Pratchett's Going Postal.  I enjoyed both.  Bangladesh put up a bit of a fight but England won by 8 wickets and had it all wrapped up by tea.  Going Postal was really good.  I've never read a Terry Pratchett book and probably never will but as a 2 part TV special I thought it was great.  Had it been a series I probably wouldn't have watched it all but over 2 nights it was perfect.  All in all a quiet, lazy but enjoyable few days.