Muddy tracks in The Midlands

Voluntary work delivering food parcels to people in need

We're into our third week in our comfy little flat, though actually it’s not that little. It's got everything we need, it’s very quiet, in what seems like a pleasant area and close to shops and countryside. We met Carol, our downstairs neighbour, very early on, who filled us in on bin day and which chippie and curry house to use (not that we’ve had a take out yet).

We’ve walked from the house in many directions, muddy countryside, tarmac park paths, and pavement to Aldi in one direction and Tesco in the other. It’s a great area for all that.

He's busy eating Jackie, he doesn't want strokes

We had dinner with John the other night, via WhatsApp. When I’d gone walking with him, he said how lovely it was that people brought food, but cooking is something he enjoys, is good at, and that gives him something to think about. We took him a “Ready Steady Cook” bag, steak, kidney, suet, onions and beer. Obviously my mind was going steak and kidney pudding, fortunately so was his, and it’s something he’s wanted to make for ages. So he did S&K pudding, we did S&K pie and we ate together. It was lovely.

It was Sarah’s funeral on Wednesday. I haven’t been to many, but it just seemed slightly surreal, a small group of people, not the huge number who wanted to be there, behind masks which did appear to isolate everyone and their grief. It was in a lovely setting, the room facing a big window with views over open fields, I said a few words, as did her uncles, father and brother, there was a small opportunity to talk after the ceremony, but then we all had to go our separate ways. No wake was possible in these Covid times, so we couldn't spend time with her friends and family to remember those funny moments in her life, which was sad, but we will always remember how brave she was and I know her smile will be missed by so many.

After the rain! A swollen river Arrow in Redditch

At the top of the hill, but not the views we hoped for

We had our first trip out today, delivering food boxes for ‘Support Redditch’ a new and small charity, but they seem like lovely people and it’s good to be giving something back. We are just waiting now to hear from the other charity organisation we have applied to for collection and delivery of people and prescriptions and assisting in the hospital showing people where to go.

So for us, welcome to lockdown, I know we’ve joined everyone else late, but we are still cooking up a storm, doing jigsaws and walking all the local highways and byways. Perhaps also for us it’s not that different from our ‘normal’ life. We arrive in a new town, whether travelling or housesitting, walk around the locality saying hello to all and sundry, dogs, and cats. Find the shops, chat to the checkout person, return home, cook, eat... . It feels odd to be fixed in a place and to not have a furry to care for, so that’s the minus, but the pluses are we can pop in to mum, go out for a ramble and find the butty wagon for a bacon sandwich, and that we can actually commit to some voluntary work.

Now that is a meal! Having a whole fish on the plate is just fabulous - it didn't die in vain, it was delicious (as was the wine)

What's in a name? We're staying in Headless Cross, which used to be a small village in Worcestershire but is now a suburb of Redditch. This side-by-side map (click here to open in a new window: https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=14.50583921909308&lat=52.30625&lon=-1.94134&layers=1&right=BingHyb) shows where we are. we're staying in Hamilton Road (you can just see it on the map on the right), the map on the left is of the same area in the late 19th century. Our road didn't exist then and there was a needle works nearby. Such an unusual name begs the question "Where did the name Headless Cross come from?" Well, sadly I couldn't find a definite answer. Wikipedia thinks it may have been named after Headless Cross Farm which used to be nearby, itself possibly derived from Smeethehedley, an indication of a role in Feckenham Forest. Funtrivia thinks it may derive from a pre-reformation practice of using a headless cross to mark the boundaries of church land. However the most notable fact about Headless Cross (for us) is that the heavy rock band Black Sabbath named one of their albums Headless Cross, as band member Tony Martin had links to the town. I remember seeing Black Sabbath in concert at the Town Hall in Birmingham around the year 1971 - those were the days!

A New Year and all change

 

Yesterdays 6 mile walk in the mist from Alvechurch

A new year and all change. We packed up Big Ted last Sunday to head south on Monday. 

We got as far as The Metal Bridge Inn, just into England where we planned on spending the night. After much deliberation though, what with Queen Nicola closing down Scotland, and Boris due to make an announcement at 8pm, we decided not to stay. Brian got his head down for a nap, we ate the delicious pre ordered take out dinner from the pub and set off again. 

One of the first Blue/Great Tits to visit the new bird feeder. Watched by Geraldine the giraffe

Not even straight to Alvechurch, but via Fiona in Kenilworth to collect the car. We finally arrived at mums almost 15 hours after we set off, but with a huge sense of relief. We only had one more moment of uncertainty, would we get Ted back into storage? They knew we were coming, but are generally closed on a Tuesday and Wednesday, however very kindly we were allowed in on Tuesday afternoon to drop Ted off, so all is safe and secure before lockdown came into place. We do seem to do these things by the skin of our teeth.

Views of Alvechurch (our home village). This is at the top of School Lane, the entrance ahead leading to the lovely St. Laurence Church (just out of view)

Wednesday we had to lock Brian in the loft to sort out all the stuff we had just dumped in the spare room on emptying Ted. I let him out before going for a very muddy walk along the towpath with John. I think I then had two days where I didn’t set foot outside, with B only going down the shop with mum, it was very icy! 

Views are nowhere to be seen! Beyond should have been a nice view back to Alvechurch (maybe another time!)

We weren’t idle however, the bird feeder mum got for Christmas is now firmly established and beginning to be discovered by the local birds. A new TV has been selected, ordered and delivered (we can recommend Richer Sounds) for a ‘real person’ to talk to, good advice, and prompt delivery. New broadband has also been selected and ordered, though changeover doesn’t happen for a month. This was slightly more painful, trying to talk to Talk Talk was like pulling teeth, but Plusnet seem much better to deal with, only time will tell!

It was cold enough to freeze this pond, which doesn't even have a name on the O.S. map. Its at: 52°21'00.8"N 1°55'19.4"W 

Yesterday we went out for a good two hour stomp across muddy fields to blow the cobwebs away. We walked from the house, which was great. Tomorrow we move into a furnished flat, in Headless Cross on the edge of Redditch, we have rented for a month, so we’ll be looking for walks from the door from there.

Brian keeping warm