Wordsley, Stourbridge, England: 14 degrees, warmish, sunny but slightly overcast.
Saturday was an action-packed day, with Julie and me visiting multiple places, some planned and others not. I was tired in the evening, so it was great to get a good night’s sleep of more than six hours, which is really beneficial for me.
I was up quite early for a Sunday morning, exercising and having my usual morning chat with Julie. I also finished some online work, and everything went smoothly. My mother finally got up and told me that it was not possible to have lunch with her at the Elton Centre, as there was no place available.
I was surprised, and mostly relieved, that I had already been to the Elton Centre with my mother twice before her operation. Although the lunches were very nice — a typical Sunday English lunch — the company of the very, very old pensioners was sometimes a bit tedious, with the main topics being the past, ailments, and not having to do the washing up if they were at home.
That said, I have always enjoyed their company and going there!
I am also somewhat suspicious that my mother might not have wanted me to go, as a way to punish me for leaving her alone at home while I went out with Julie. It is terrible to think this, but I know my mother is more than capable of doing such a thing.
Julie called me again, and I mentioned that I would have lunch alone, thinking that Julie would usually have lunch with her parents. To my surprise, she was free for lunch because her mother had not arranged, cooked, or decided anything for lunch-a day off from cooking!
So, we decided to have lunch together at some place, somewhere, but only on the condition that Austin, her beautiful little cockapoo, came with us; I was missing him a lot. My mother would leave for the Elton centre at about half past midday, so I arranged with Julie to pick me up at 1:00 p.m.
When Julie said she was arriving and pulled up outside my house, I was surprised and disappointed to see that Austin wasn’t with her. I asked why, and she said she was unsure about bringing him, and if I wanted, we could go back and get in.
Without hesitation, I said, “So what are you waiting for? Let’s go!”
She was a little surprised by my insistence, but we went back and brought the little man. I stayed in the car while she got him. When he saw me, he went completely nuts to be with me. This little cockapoo has so much personality. He’s not a breed that I would usually be interested in, but he’s a really fantastic little dog, full of character and charm.
Now we are complete and ready to set off!
We were going to go to ‘The Cat’ pub at Enville, which is dog-friendly, and the food is surprisingly very good. We went there a couple of weeks ago, without Austin, and the kitchen was closed. The pub is very nice, with an old, rustic interior, a working fireplace, and a very nice beer garden with tables and chairs arranged outside in an organised way.
However, Julie tentatively suggested that we go to Bewdley again, this time during the day. The last time we went was at night, when there were a lot of drunk young people in the pubs and on the streets.
I thought the idea was excellent; Julie was indecisive, but we finally agreed to go. We entered the destination into the Starship Enterprise’s GPS, and we set off. In 20 minutes, we arrived in the lovely town of Bewdley and its surroundings. Throughout the journey, Austin sat on my lap, occasionally causing a little discomfort, as he stuck his furry head out of the window, letting the wind blow in his face.
Why do dogs love sticking their heads out of car windows so much? Let’s try to see what it does for us.
We crossed the bridge where the River Seven flows underneath. Instead of turning right into a car park a little further along, we turned left immediately after the bridge. We proceeded down the side street that runs beside the river, with the river on one side and houses, bars, and restaurants facing it on the other. Further down at the back, there was a public car park.
Austin sensed we were about to stop and get out of the car before it actually happened, so he started to become both anxious and excited at the same time. When he knows we are about to do something, he goes completely berserk.
I love it!
We paid for the car park and began walking along the riverbank towards the bridge and the centre of Bewdley. We passed through the arch, which serves as a tunnel beneath the bridge, splitting the walkway in half from one side to the other. We carried on walking along the street and the pathway, moving further away from the bridge and the town centre, until we entered a park that became a dirt path.
On the right was the River Seven, which seemed to flow quite swiftly. On the other bank of the river, farmland and fields stretched out, with crops starting to emerge from the recent seeding. The further we walked from the centre, the simpler the path became, until we reached an abandoned old bridge, which, for a photographer, was quite beautiful.
We passed by a stunning old house that had clearly been restored into a highly esteemed residence, the sort of house you’d see in an architectural magazine, with beautifully restored brickwork, aged yet pristine wooden windows in white, and ivy climbing all over one side of the house, truly breathtaking. There was a large, beautiful tree in the centre of the small garden and lawn in front, and separating the grounds from the public path was a charming old stone wall.
A little further on, we reached another abandoned bridge with its towers still standing in the river, quite impressive despite missing their tops; all that remains now are the towers, serving as a reminder or even a trophy of British engineering and the industrial revolution of the past.
We passed the abandoned bridge only 100 or 200 metres before deciding to return to the centre. Other couples with dogs were either crossing us or heading in the same direction. Austin would approach each dog, compliment it, sniff it, and then move on, never bothering the owners or anyone else.
What a dog, with so much personality!
As we returned and approached the main bridge in the town centre, we were debating where to eat. Julie is sometimes a bit over-conscious about Austin, automatically assuming that most places are not dog-friendly. Instead of finding a pub or restaurant that welcomes dogs, we saw the fish and chip shop on the corner of the street, facing the bridge and the river. It’s very popular, with people buying food to sit and eat in front of the river, happily enjoying their meals at tables and chairs along the riverbank.
The plan was to buy fish and chips and sit somewhere by the river; however, Julie wanted to first buy some sweets from an old traditional-style sweet shop located across the road from the fish and chip shop at the other side of the bridge.
We crossed under the bridge again and headed up to Main Street, where the sweet shop is. There was a queue of people outside, waiting to choose their hand-picked sweets. We decided not to wait because the queue was too long. Instead, we walked up the High Street and planned to come back in half an hour or an hour before it closed.
As we strolled along the high street, we came across the usual restaurants and shops. Then we discovered a unique store entirely dedicated to dogs and cats, offering branding, merchandise, and accessories—a boutique pet shop.
We entered with Austin, and it was the typical, beautiful, small, exquisite shop for the wealthy. Everything, including the shirts, was in good taste. Julie found a blue collar with a rose gold buckle on special offer. We tried it on Austin and bought it for him.
As we left the shop, we continued along the High Street, where we discovered a museum that displayed the history of Bewdley and the surrounding area. Julie automatically assumed again that dogs would not be welcome, as the reception looked very tidy and well organised. I told her to ask, and to her surprise, dogs were indeed allowed.
If you don’t ask, you won’t find out, and you’ll gain nothing!
We entered through the reception into an old-fashioned alleyway, where each side featured sections divided into shops or small exhibition centres, all focused on a typical topic related to the region’s history. Everything was very well laid out and organised, quite impressive indeed. At the end of the alley, it opened up into a much larger square with a coffee shop, souvenir shops, and a covered area with an awning where you could sit, have a coffee, and something to eat.
We ordered two cappuccinos and a cake. The cappuccinos were really very good—strong, hot, and just right. The carrot cake was lovely too; everything was perfect. Julie went to the toilet with Austin. She’s always worried about him barking in public places. He constantly barks whenever we are about to get up or start doing something. He doesn’t bark much, and I think most people understand that he’s a dog and dogs bark.
That’s how it is; he’s a dog!
The museum. Rob, an employee, was closing the back entrance. He was also shutting the entrance to a lovely English garden with a pond. Julie wanted to stay, but Rob invited us to return and enjoy a coffee and cake in the garden.
How cool is that?
After leaving the museum, we continued walking up and around an old building located in the middle of the main High Street, which splits the street into a fork. At the back of the building, we crossed to the other side of the main street, heading back towards the river, where the fish and chip shop was located in front of the bridge. We passed in front of the St George pub, where Julie and I first visited Bewdley.
When we arrived at the riverbank, we found a table and chairs not in front of the chippy but in front of a pub. I bought half a pint of lager and lime for Julie and a full pint for myself. I then left them both and went to the chippy to buy a large cod and chips takeaway meal, which was more or less for two people.
It took ages because they freshly cooked and fried the large cod. When I got back with the food, it was starting to get chilly. Austin made a fuss when he saw me from afar, and the fish and chips were the best we’ve had together so far, with just the right amount for both of us.
After eating, admiring the River Seven and returning the glasses to the pub, we made our way back to the car and set off to go back to Wordsley.
Julie dropped me off, and we later talked before going to bed. We had seen each other on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
In bed by 9:30 p.m.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.
Richard
