Wordsley, Stourbridge, England: 7 degrees, cold, sunny and slightly cloudy.
After a marathon day yesterday, I woke up briefly at 4:00 in the morning, then fell back asleep, and only woke up at 9:00 a.m.
It was a beautiful, sunny day, with the birds complaining aloud and the local church bells ringing. I wasn’t hungover, but I was feeling slow. The minimum of exercise this morning, have a coffee, think about life, stay quiet and be very thankful.
Now I have to balance my mother and Julie. My mother wants us to have Sunday lunch together, which is fair enough. The problem is that she is extremely overbearing and entitled, so if it isn’t her way, there is no way. I arranged with Julie to have lunch at our respective parents’ addresses first. I asked my mother if we could have an early lunch so that I would be free in the early afternoon and not lose the day.
At 2:00 p.m., Julie was picking me up with “The Man”, Austin, her cockapoo!!!
The idea was to go to Highgate Common, which I knew as Enville Common in the past. A vast public open space with ferns, trees, bushes, and a small pond, perfect for walking a dog, and there were many people with dogs there.
Austin loves going to meet other dogs, different from Perola, Yasmin’s dog in Brazil, who prefers to meet the owners rather than the dogs. After the walk over the common, when arriving back at the car park, there was an ice cream van.
This brought back a flood of memories from my childhood, especially when I was at my grandmother’s house. During the school holidays, I used to stay more with my grandmother than at our own place in Wollaston. My grandmother lived on a council estate; I’m not sure if it made a difference, but every day, the man with the ice cream van would come around. You knew it was coming because it would make a sound announcing its arrival.
It’s funny how over the last 50 years, some things, even being silly, have not changed. I couldn’t miss the opportunity of buying ice cream from an ice cream van that I haven’t done in probably 50 years, so we had two small cups of ice cream.
The ice cream was very tasty and quite firm, which was a pleasant surprise. I gave the last bit to Austin, and we’re off again. Because of many planes and helicopters flying overhead all the time, and around the Common while we walked there, we decided to go and have a look at Bobbington Airport, where they were coming and going, which is only a mile away.
Bobbington Airport is a small local airport that, in addition to the runway and control tower, features several hangars and bunkers used by aviation-related businesses. The entrance and grounds of the small airport, with its fields, trees, and surroundings, are quite beautiful. The hangars are old, and some of the architecture is too, but it remains a lovely, interesting, and unique place.
We parked the car and saw a large hangar with garden sculptures outside. A woman unloading items from her car mentioned it was a thrift, antique, hoarders’ paradise shop. We entered with Austin, and it was truly an Aladdin’s cave of second-hand treasures of all kinds.
We spent over half an hour exploring the maze of different rooms, examining all the clutter and variety of items, some of which we had forgotten existed. In some ways, it felt more like a museum of pastimes than a hoarder’s paradise.
During our inside expedition, we found and purchased two vintage coffee memorabilia plaques for Jim, the owner of the café where Julie works. Similar to the ones we should have bought yesterday in Worcester, but this time we did buy them.
After leaving the Aladdin’s Cave and purchasing the plaques, we took a walk around the airfield, which was quite lovely, especially with the late afternoon sun, though a bit chilly. Throughout our time walking around the airfield, we let Austin roam freely, and he absolutely loved it.
In the car on the way back, we decided to stop at the Navigation pub for two cappuccinos. The pub is just next to a canal, with a small bridge nearby, making it very picturesque. Again, we could bring Austin inside, and there were other dogs in the pub, so it was fine. The people inside were very friendly and helpful.
After the cappuccinos, we decided to take a walk along the canal next to the pub. There were many long boats berthed, and although it was still light, the sun was setting, and it was getting quite chilly. Still, it was so picturesque, postcard-perfect images of the canal, the pathway, and the narrow boats moored along it.
Austin was in his element, feeling free as he walked along the path, exploring everything that had a different smell; he is a fantastic dog!!!
Because of the cold, I lent Julie my jumper, and in half an hour, we were on our way back to Wordsley. And now, like always, it’s becoming a bit of a routine: we have a great day and then we part, returning to our respective homes.
This weekend marked a significant upgrade in our relationship, at least that is the impression I got. I’m not sure about Julie, but everything was positive, and we opened up more to each other about ourselves, our issues, and so on.
Julie dropped me off, and I talked to my mother a little about past family problems. I tried to watch a film, but Julie either wanted to message me or call. I also sent messages to Nalva in Brazil about the possibility of Yasmin going to England in July.
A great weekend, and I’m very grateful for it, thank you very much!!!
And nobody died!!!
In bed by 11:00 p.m.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.
Richard
