Wordsley, Stourbridge, England: 18 degrees, warmish, sunny and slightly cloudy.
It is a bank holiday in England; I don’t know why, but it is. I don’t have classes until four or five this afternoon, so I am free to do something good until then.
I am up early, having a typical morning, talking with Julie, exercising both inside and outside on the patio. I bought some crypto, so the day is starting well. I can’t write a blog post because my laptop’s charging cable is acting up; I need to buy a new one as quickly as possible.
Julie picked me up around 10:30 with Austin – The Man. I had the great idea of visiting Bridgnorth. It is another one of these small, charming English towns near where my mother lives, with the River Severn running through it.
The town is split into High Town and Low Town. It is also famous for antiques; there is usually an antique fair every Saturday in the High Town area, but other fairs are held throughout the town in shops and warehouses.
It took us nearly half an hour to reach the centre of the town, and finding a parking space was relatively quick and easy. All towns in England have sufficiently large car parks for visitors. The car park is situated on the high part of the town. I haven’t been to Bridgnorth for at least 30 years. It is an old, historic town with a mix of touristy shops, antique centres, and many bars and restaurants for visitors.
We took a walk around the high part of the town. I do not remember Bridgnorth from my past, but I was impressed by how nice and beautiful it is. As we tried to figure out the town’s layout and get our bearings, we finally realised how to reach the low part near the river.
Before catching an old cable car that takes us down, we decided to stop at a vintage-style café on the corner of the street for a coffee and a cake. The café was dimly lit, filled with many antique artefacts, some a little gawdy and tacky, scattered among and around low, old leather sofas leaning against the walls.
Julie went and paid for the coffees and the cake, with Austin always alert to what either of us is doing, like a shepherd. If one of us goes off in a different direction, he wants us back together as soon as possible.
Dogs are so special, like little angels from above sent to help us. Often, we think we are taking care of them, but in reality, they are helping us much more, and we don’t realise it.
The coffees and the cake were very good; the cake was a type of tart that was divine; something different. After enjoying what we had bought and chatting with a couple who, funny enough, were from Kingswinford, we left. Around the corner, we joined the queue to take the communal cable car down to the lower part of the town.
It looked like something from Harry Potter, at least 100 years old. The descent with about 10 people in the car took all of 3 minutes. Upon leaving the cable car station, we found ourselves directly in front of the River Severn with a beautiful old bridge connecting one part of the town to the other.
We walked along the banks of the river, able to let Austin loose, which he loves, and he does not stray far, always staying within a couple of metres of us. Exploring the town was divine; exploring anywhere is exceptionally rewarding, no matter where it is.
There are obviously exceptions, but within reason, it is very enjoyable. It also depends a lot on who you are with; it is not logical to do something special or try to have a good time if you cannot because of who you are with.
Fortunately, Julie and I seem to be good all the time. There are never any big issues, and we always appear to be having fun, laughing, and joking about her own silly jokes and the silly things that happen.
How good and special is that?
After exploring the lower town, we made our way up to the high town via some side streets. We were looking for a place to eat. We couldn’t find anywhere that we really liked; there was always something wrong with each place.
Finally, Julie suggested we buy fish and chips, as there was an excellent chip shop at the front of the High Street. It seemed busy all the time, which is always a good sign for bars and restaurants.
We bought fish and chips and came across a small elevated public area on a ledge with benches overlooking the town, the river, a neighbouring farm, and the hills. It was sublime and surreal simultaneously. On the way back to the car, we discovered a very nice upmarket clothes shop that, unfortunately, we did not purchase anything from.
Back at the car, we were soon in Wordsley within half an hour, being dropped off after a lovely day with special company. It reminds me that, unfortunately, it always ends this way.
In bed by 10:00 p.m.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.
Richard
