- Bookworm Bygrave enjoys the Rose Border -
My birthday itself occurred on Monday 1st June and was spent in the company of Bookworm Bygrave at Dudmaston Hall, a National Trust property near Bridgnorth. The estate has been home to the same family for over 900 years, albeit the lineage hasn't always been especially direct over that time. We begin in the Kitchen Garden perusing species of potato, beetroot and quince, then enjoy a lakeside walk. Perhaps the most spectacular feature at this time of year is the Rose Border, comprising 38 different rose varieties layered up to give a gorgeous riot of colour and perfume. Some of the floral names are tributes to royalty or the great and good of high society - I don't know what he's done to deserve it but Thomas a Becket has two roses in his honour while Gertrude Jekyll and Abraham Darby are namechecked horticulturally too.
- Coquettish Fan Fun -
In echoes of last year's visit to Moseley Old Hall, Emily holds the edge when it comes to quoits by proving rather adept at hurling her hoops across the lawn - an unexpected talent perhaps?Licking my wounds (again), we see what secrets the big house is in the mood to reveal, and it is very much apparent that it remains an active family home. There's an informality to some of the current photographs dotted around that contrasts with the assembled historical portraiture, and we particularly enjoy mooching around the Library with its learned tomes on themes of nature, environmental conservation and country sports. The upper floor also hosts important modern art collections featuring pieces by Barbara Hepworth, Anthony Twentyman and Henry Moore. The 'Fanology: Objects of Beauty' exhibition allows my hitherto rarely-seen flirtatious streak to come out, although I perhaps haven't mastered all of the subtle gestures quite yet!
- Mitchells & Butlers Dray Lorry -
To Tuesday 2nd June and we're still fixing our eyes firmly upon yesteryear with a return to the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley. More of the 1940s to 1960s New Town has opened since I last came and a vehicular addition is a lovely 1949 M&B blue delivery truck loaded with Cape Hill barrels; this was transferred from the National Brewery Heritage Trust for ongoing preservation last year. Elsewhere, the showpiece Semi Detached Houses are more developed now hence veg patch gardens with runner bean poles and a salvaged shed containing hobby printing equipment. You can go upstairs for Liverpool and West Brom football squad photos, plus handbags and wardrobes - I love the reproduction packaging from brands such as Heinz and Cadburys. A 1968 FA Cup Final programme is tucked behind a mantelpiece carriage clock and the costumed character owner clutches a tobacco pipe as part of getting into his role.
- Those New-Fangled Paperbacks -
Today's star attraction (as far as Emily and I are concerned) is now operational having been painstakingly moved brick by brick from Holly Hall. Woodside Library is set in 1963 when mass market paperbacks were becoming a thing. Disclaimers inside books advise that items might offend modern sensibilities but it is important not to airbrush certain topics or authors out of history completely. Nearly 7,000 donations were received when stocking up the library which a) far exceeded expectations and b) means that there's a lot of work to be done cataloguing these on old-fashioned index cards. Highlights are Leisure Corner, green period table lamps and a dedicated children's room showcasing Sooty annuals. The museum's two pubs then earn themselves a visit each - Miss Bygrave being rather taken by sawdust sprinklings at the Bottle & Glass - before we get a glimpse into 1940s grocery habits courtesy of the Halesowen & Hasbury Co-op Store; this is based on a shop which once stood on Stourbridge Road and is pitched at a time when self-service was a retail innovation. Household brands such as Rinso, Horlicks or Kellogg's feel familiar and I’ve even spotted a plate of mock chocolate eclair cakes that look rather tempting - grab a basket and pick out ingredients for Granny's sponge recipe.
- The Woolf meets a Black Dragon -
Did someone mention a Beer Festival? Ah yes, that would be the Stratford-upon-Avon one as held at the town's racecourse which saw Emily, Jane and I attending for some Shakespearean supping on Saturday 6th June. The ales actually take a back seat for me this time around in favour of joining Miss Woolf in her cider scrutineering, resulting in highly appealing halves of 'Ark' (hailing from the Fleece in Bretforton) and 'Malvern Gold', both of which are classed as medium dry. Two local Warwickshire ciders also require my considered analysis with Hogan's supplying the tannic punch of 'French Revelation' - I like this a lot - while Siblings 'Jiminee Dry' comes from a Snitterfield-based producer I'd not encountered previously. Miss Bygrave is our nominal designated driver, availing herself of Apple Tango, whereas Jane concentrates mostly on her personal favourites such as Gwynt y Ddraig's Black Dragon and Lilley's Bee Sting.
- The Dirty Duck -
After the festival fun, a steady Evesham Road stroll brings us into Stratford town centre where the local bookshops are on high alert for potential custom. Jane's delight at discovering a Star Trek Klingon phrasebook is very much evident while the Bookworm lives up to her nickname care of a Bygrave bargain buy - even I get in on the act by picking out an Alton Douglas title, 'Memories of Coventry'. The Fourteas brasserie on Sheep Street is a delightful place at which to partake of cake and listen to evocative sound of Glenn Miller, revelling in the 1940s theme. Two prime Stratford pubs with theatrical connections bring the metaphorical curtain down on the week: the Dirty Duck can be found on Waterside and has an Actor's Bar crammed with the portraits of RSC thespians, then the Garrick is reputedly the oldest watering hole in town. A pint in each - Brightside Pale Ale and North Cotswold Stretton Striker - seals the deal. Cheers!
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