- Ski-Ellie -
Those hardy souls amongst you who read this drivel regularly will know that Tamworth was my remaining frontier in terms of collecting elephant sculptures this summer, so on Saturday 7th September Jane and I attempted to fill in the gaps. Alas the weather was of the persistently drizzly variety but this did not stop us from seeking out the SnowDome in order to meet 'Ski-Ellie', a sporty specimen complete with safety goggles, green helmet and skiing attire.
- Rainbow Elephant -
Also temporarily part of the SnowDome furniture was 'Rainbow Elephant', although this one had to suffer the indignity of standing outside in the rain rather than enjoying Ski-Ellie's shelter by the main reception desk. Swirling ribbons add to the colourful effect here, and the wider SnowDome facilities seemed very popular in comprising indoor ski slopes, swimming pool, gymnasium, ice skating rink and some climbing walls.
- Elvis -
I wasn't prepared to risk the embarrassment of putting my frightful lack of coordination on public display so we gave any skiing the slip by heading for the Tamworth Castle Grounds. Two more elephants awaited us here, namely 'Tamworth Pigs' (referencing the famous local porky breed) and 'Elvis', who had nothing whatsoever to do with the King of Rock & Roll but instead was a yellow floral design with gerbera daisies and Stay Positive mottoes.
- Brothwell -
The ongoing rain did not make for the best of photographic conditions so we called it quits upon finding 'Brothwell', an elephant named after the founder of St Giles's Hospice. Located outside St Editha's Church, the design in this case referenced charity shop happenings with words such as donate and volunteer clearly to the fore. I never quite managed to pin down every single sculpture but I've covered most of the herd over the last month so I've got to be pleased with that. It's certainly been a lot of fun...
- Sugar Spun Stout -
And talking of fun, we had a beer festival to get to! The revamped Assembly Rooms on Corporation Street had resumed hosting duties for Tamworth's ale and cider extravaganza so we made a beeline for the side entrance and obtained the necessary tokens and glassware. I'd anticipated that several of the beers would have sold out but there was still plenty of quality quaffage to be had on the Saturday lunchtime session, not least Sugar Spun Stout with its candyfloss aroma (Firebrick Brewery) or Green Duck's Cinderman (for hints of burnt toffee).
- The Winner Takes It All -
Jane meanwhile eagerly acquainted herself with the cider corner of the bar, testing out the Broadoak Rum & Raisin followed by Hecks Farmhouse Perry. Alas the 8% Pineapple Cider she'd most been looking forward to had already been drunk dry, but any disappointment was more than offset by the Wilkins Traditional. Tamworth often adopt special themes for their festivals and this year they'd gone with an ABBA anniversary celebrating 50 years since the Swedish supergroup won the Eurovision Song Contest with 'Waterloo'.
- Cider Contemplation in the Kings Ditch -
Our festival visit had gone swimmingly so there was no need to send out an SOS, not with the chance to then try out two of Tamworth's finest establishments. The Kings Ditch micropub has an extensive cider menu so Jane was extremely happy there - we even got chatting to a chap from Chase Terrace who knew all there was to know about anything apple-related. A Star Trek glass from a previous festival was cheekily obtained too before we switched attentions to the Tamworth Tap, winner of CAMRA's National Pub of the Year accolade for both 2022 and 2023. The place was heaving with contented punters availing themselves of the stonking selection of cask ales, but for us a Squealer cider was the perfect finale. Cheers!
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