Read this blog: The one where we devise BOBs Pub Crawl Wednesday 27th November 2024 The Mystery Guides’ Birmingham City Centre adventure, The Mystery of the Fake Cheque Fiasco took us to several places that Robert (erstwhile Brummie that he is) had never been [see previous post] and we passed several banking halls which had been renovated and re-imagined as public houses with grand interiors. The conclusion of The Mystery of the Fake Cheque Fiasco is happily located inside The Old Joint Stock, one of our favourite Birmingham hostelries. Presentation of the booklet for the adventure at the bar secures a 10% discount on your first order [see Selfie of the Day]. Quietly sat sipping our drinks we brainstormed the concept of a pub crawl taking in the old banks of Birmingham which have been converted into pubs and coined the phrase [Birmingham’s Old Banks] BOBs Pub Crawl, starting where we sat in The Old Joint Stock [see Selfie of the day]. Erected in 1862 the building was originally the library for St Philip’s church opposite but was swiftly acquired by the Birmingham Joint Stock Bank. In 1889 Queen Victoria granted Birmingham ‘city status’ and in the same year the Birmingham Joint Stock Bank merged with Lloyds Bank. Shortly […]
England
Read this blog: The one where we solve The Fake Cheque Fiasco Tuesday 26th and Wednesday 27th November 2024 We left the York Tap behind and caught a train down to Birmingham, fully aware that we could have travelled all the way back to London in the time it took us to get to New Street Station. We were very taken with the mechanical bull on the station concourse. This was originally the centrepiece of the opening ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games held here in the city. It moves at regular intervals, shaking its head and snorting [see Video of the day]. As Robert had had a full day’s meeting before we left York, it was later than we would usually plan to arrive somewhere when we finally reached Birmingham. We checked in to our hotel and walked to Victoria Square. Here “Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas Market” was already spreading the festive spirit [see Selfie of the day]. We went to find Chris Moose, the joke-telling, singing reindeer which has become a regular feature and focal point of the Christmas market here in Birmingham. The following morning, Matilda had invested in some entertainment: the Mystery Guides’ Birmingham City Centre adventure, The […]
Read this blog: The one where Robert queues for ghosts and Matilda fails to get her passport stamped Monday 25th and Tuesday 26th November 2024 Robert had a Great Rail Journeys [GRJ] Tour Managers’ Comms Group meeting scheduled in York and Matilda decided that since there was one side of a fully paid up double bed available she could travel up with Robert and spend the day of his meeting visiting the Christmas market and walking round beautiful historic York to start getting her in the festive spirit. The day before the meeting, we travelled up by train – naturally – and arrived in time to stroll through the market in daylight. The York Ghost Merchants had recently released a special edition Christmas tree decoration ghost and so Matilda also persuaded Robert to visit The York Ghost Merchants shop at The Dispensary in St Anthony’s Garden. Special edition ghosts are limited to one purchase per person so Matilda needed Robert with her to allow her to purchase two. Under duress, he agreed to accompany her. The queue at The Dispensary was indeed much shorter than the one for the shop in The Shambles but otherwise the experience is very similar. […]
Read this blog: The one where we discover we are in two time zones at once Wednesday 21st February 2024 The SS Great Britain was the first vessel of its kind but nevertheless she had a rather checkered history, including running aground off Northern Ireland and bankrupting her owners. Over the course of 90 years at sea she had several adaptations and she spent a further 84 years in the Falkland Islands where she was used variously as a warehouse, a quarantine ship and a coal hulk before being scuttled. In 1970 she was bought and rescued by the owner of Wolverhampton Wanderers and, although she was close to breaking in two, sufficient repairs were made for her to be re-floated and towed back north through the Atlantic to the UK, where she returned home to the Bristol dry dock where she was built. This former luxury passenger steamship is now a museum. The exterior of the SS Great Britain has been restored to show how she would have looked at her launch in 1843 while below deck she has been renovated to reflect some of her various incarnations. Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, SS Great Britain was the first ship […]
Read this blog: The one where we visit Brunel’s bridge in Bristol. Tuesday 20th February 2024 The weather forecast was for rain the next day so we agreed to walk round the sites in the better weather conditions promised for Tuesday. Matilda had compiled a list of sights she would like to visit and Robert worked out a route to include as many of these as possible. After a little misdirection and a slight detour we reached the Clifton Lido, originally built in 1849 and opened on 29 July 1850 as the Clifton Victoria Baths. It is situated on a corner flanked by Victorian terraces and impressive classical facades overlook both streets. The main entrance is Egyptian in style and originally led to the medicinal baths, the offices and the boiler room. We walked round to the side entrance, added in 1867 to allow entry to The Victoria Public House which is also part of the complex, and entered the poolside café. Wooden changing cubicles line one side of the pool whilst . . . . . . cast iron galleries over two floors provide viewing space on another two sides. The the website states that the water is heated […]
Read this blog: The one where we have a beer with some cats Monday 19th February 2024 We try to plan a regular trip away with our friends Liz and Martin in our respective motorhomes early in the year and for our 2024 visit we had settled on Bristol. In September 2021, on our way back from Tresco, Robert bought Matilda a lifetime membership of the National Trust at Godolphin House. Matilda noted that Robert waited until she was old enough to qualify for a senior rate before he indulged her but was nevertheless delighted and determined to start getting his money’s worth out of this investment as soon as possible. The following day, she identified Lacock Abbey and Village as a National Trust site which, unlike many at that time, did not require pre-booking. Since then, encouraged by her daughters and mindful that age could increasingly blunt her memory, Matilda has acquired a National Trust passport to keep a record of the beautiful and historic places she visits. She therefore suggested that Lacock would be the perfect spot to break the journey to Bristol so that she could get her NT passport stamped. She managed to convince Robert, who likes […]
Read this blog: the one where Sally says a fond farewell to Bay House, Tresco Tuesday 16th to Saturday 27th May 2023 This was to be the last year of Robert’s parents’ 30 year time-share at Bay House on Tresco and his mother, Sally, invited us and our sister-in-law, Caroline, to join her. Unfortunately Robert’s father’s health means he is no longer able to travel such distances. We arrived on Tuesday 16th May, a day later than our companions, and as Matilda still had the ear ache which first manifested itself on the mainland she went straight to the Estate Office to ask what her options were. She was given the number and advised to call the medical centre on St Mary’s. The receptionist who answered had clearly undergone the appropriate training. She exhibited the traditional professionally prickly persona and suggested Matilda phone her GP at home. However, when Matilda explained that she used to work in the NHS and that all the telephone consultations at her surgery were likely to have been allocated within half an hour of the lines opening at 08:00 that morning, she grudgingly made an appointment for the GP to call her later that day. When […]
Read this blog: The one where we visit two of The Beatles’ childhood homes. Wednesday 23rd August 2023 The childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney are both now owned and managed by the National Trust. You have to book a tour in advance to visit them and choose a pick up point: those who are driving are advised to go to Speke Hall, another National Trust property where there is plenty of parking space and those who come by train can be picked up from Liverpool South Parkway Station. Tour groups are limited to 15 taking into account the size of the houses and the capacity of the minibus itself. We drove to Speke Hall and waited for the dedicated minibus which rather satisfyingly includes the slogan, ‘Visit The Beatles’ Childhood Homes’ on the side [see feature photo]. Several groups were waiting including two women who, it transpired, had missed their booking and were hoping to join another tour. We could tell from the body language as they spoke to him that the driver was not very optimistic. As Matilda is a life member of the National Trust entry was free for both of us but there is […]
Read this blog: The one where Robert admired Urinals Monday 21st and Tuesday 22nd August 2023 Having said a fond farewell to the fruity folly which is The Pineapple, we dropped our daughters at Larbert Station to travel home by train while we set off for Liverpool. Both Robert and Matilda have visited before. As a student Robert came to play a rugby match against a local college and as a child, Matilda came on a family visit back to her father’s roots [he had cousins living in the city and was a life-long Everton supporter.] The only thing Matilda really remembers is the Roman Catholic cathedral which seemed so modern. The building which seems to have made the most impact on Robert, however, was The Philharmonic Dining Rooms and, in particular, the richly tiled urinals there. Some readers may not be at all surprised. Having checked in to our hotel, we decided to walk around the city to get our bearings and as the hotel was close to the docks, we walked down to Pier Head to see the waterfront, past the imposing buildings known collectively as the Three Graces [see feature photo]. They comprise from left to right, […]
Read this blog: The one where we experience a haunting Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th August 2023 We had originally planned that we would be taking our elderly dog, Ralf, to stay with Matilda’s sister, Clare, in Essex on our way up to spend a long weekend in Scotland but he sadly died a week before our trip. Although we were so very sorry to have to say goodbye to him, he had had a long and [we hope] happy life with us and we have such fond memories: regular readers may remember him making quite a splash in our Narrowboat Adventures in 2022. Without the need to arrange a holiday home for Ralf, we were able to rethink our plans and break our journey to York at Lyveden, as Matilda is still working on getting Robert’s money’s worth out of her lifetime membership of the National Trust and is keeping a running total of her ‘savings’. Lyveden is a remarkable survivor of the Elizabethan age, particularly as the Tresham family who owned the property were not only devout Catholics but were also involved in the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 against King James I. Sir Thomas Tresham inherited the estate […]
Monday 15th May 2023 Once again Matilda was woken early by ear ache and having had breakfast we realised that we had time to visit a pharmacy in Penzance for advice before going for our pre-booked tour of the Minack Theatre. The hotel receptionist had told a us that there was a pharmacy at Sainsbury’s near the heliport but this had closed last month [in April 2023] and we were directed to the pharmacy attached to the minor injuries unit. Here Matilda was advised to use Ear Calm [which was kept in a small cabinet on the shelves] and call the health centre on the Isles of Scilly if this therapeutic spray did not provide any lasting relief. Reading the active ingredients, it seemed to be comprised predominantly of vinegar. From here we retraced our steps towards Land’s End and the Minack Theatre nestled on the cliffs at Minack Point above Porthcurno. This is quite unique. The approach reminded us of the ‘a big reveal’ at the Eden Project: here you walk through the car park, the entrance and down a winding path before the whole site dramatically appears below you. Minack is an open-air theatre created by Rowena Cade […]
Sunday 14th May 2023 Some subscribers may know that Matilda likes to read a novel which is in some way associated with the places we visit. She was unfortunately woken early on Sunday by earache (more of this in subsequent posts) but she was pleased that this also gave her time to start Crooked House by Agatha Christie before setting off to visit Greenway. Although she has watched innumerable film and TV adaptations of Miss Marple and Poirot she had not previously read any of the novels. She chose Crooked House as it appeared in a list of the top ten Agatha Christie books; at the time of publication, the ending was felt to be too shocking even for Agatha Christie and the author’s preface describes it as “one of my own special favourites”. Matilda subsequently discovered that Dead Man’s Folly was inspired by the house and part of it was filmed there, so that will have to be added to her reading list. In 1938 Agatha Christie bought the property Greenway House as a holiday home/summer retreat [see featured photo]. She described it as being “the loveliest place in the world” but did not take up residence until after […]
Saturday 13th May 2023 We are on our way to join Robert‘s mother on Tresco in the Isles of Scilly as this is the final year of his parents’ 30 year timeshare there. Although part of the UK, getting to the Scillies is an expedition in itself and unfortunately his father is now frail and forgetful and unable to make such a long journey. We are younger and less forgetful but we still like to break the journey when we can and take in a few sights on the way. This year, Matilda wanted to include seeing both her ex-neighbour who now lives in Wadebridge and the National Trust property Greenway, Agatha Christie’s country home near Brixham in Devon. Robert had decided to break the journey first at Exeter so that we could then carry on and see both these two on one day. He usually likes to set off early to “beat the traffic” but Matilda knows that this is really cover for him trying to get to a hostelry for the end of the school day. He also wanted to watch the Saracens vs Northampton Saints rugby match. Matilda meanwhile is fighting a rearguard action to delay the first […]
Sunday 17th to Tuesday 19th April 2022 Early on Day 61, we passed The Princess, another of The Duke’s sister narrowboats. Over the last eight or nine weeks, Robert has perfected his hand gestures indicating Matilda should go on and set the next lock. After we had filled the first of the three Calcutt Locks we saw another boat following behind and as etiquette demands waited for them in the middle lock so we could travel up the flight together and conserve water. It seemed to take them a very long time to join us as they were opening and closing both gates and we were beginning to regret our decision. The boat was from Kates boatyard and was called Robert appropriately enough. The crew had only just taken possession so as we travelled with them through the top two Calcutt Locks, Robert was able to give them narrowboating tips to speed them on their way in future. At Napton Junction we turned right onto the Oxford Canal. As we neared the Napton flight, we kept hearing reports of the locks being closed. Matilda, who has been dreaming of a hot bath, was praying that this would not delay them […]
Thursday 14th to Saturday 16th April 2022 We set off early from Hockley Heath to travel down Lapworth Locks to Kingswood Junction where we had previously dropped Robert’s parents on the first leg of our narrowboat adventure way back in early February. This time we had arranged to meet our daughter Jaime at Kingswood Junction as she had kindly agreed to drive up to join us to help with the Hatton Locks the next day and then take Ralf back home. There was a moment of slight panic when she called to say that all the local petrol stations on her way out to the motorway had run out and were only selling diesel. None of us had taken into account that this was the beginning of the Easter weekend and the forecast was glorious sunshine. Thankfully, she found petrol further away from the motorway, back towards home and she messaged to say she was on her way. We were hoping that by setting off early we wouldn’t have to follow another narrowboat down Lapworth Locks refilling and emptying each one on the way. The Lapworth flight starts at Lock 2 since the Guillotine Lock mentioned previously is technically Lock […]
Monday 11th to Wednesday 13th April 2022 Leaving Brewood we came to Autherley Junction where there is a former canal toll office. The stop lock here marks where Telford’s Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal [now part of the Shropshire Union Canal] joined Brindley’s older Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. The fall is only about six inches and to Robert’s amusement both the people on the boat going through in front of us and Matilda struggled to work out which way the paddles needed to be opened to level the water. It is much easier when there is an obvious difference in the levels. From here we turned left onto the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and passed the Wolverhampton Boat Club, with an attractive bridge where a lock once was – the gates could still be seen in the open position at both sides of the canal. We also passed a man skilfully towing another narrowboat. After a short distance we joined the Birmingham Canal Navigations [BCN] at Aldersley Junction and Robert smiled quietly as knew he had returned to his homeland. Lock 21 is right at the junction and is the start of the flight taking you up into Wolverhampton. After the […]