Mr C woke up at 7.17, precisely two minutes after the alarm was due to go off! When we opened the curtains sunshine blazed through the windows and the Malvern hills were layered in soft mist. Breakfast was freshly cooked to order and lived up to our expectations.

We settled our bill and, before departing took a walk around the hotel’s garden which was delightful in the sunshine. We had hoped to visit the nearby Grade I listed St. Leonard’s Church to see the frescoes. However when we arrived the church was closed and there was no indication of opening times. So we headed off in the direction of Croome where the Shutterchance meetup was taking place later in the day.

On the way, we stopped off at a viewpoint showing the positions of the the armies during the battle of Worcester. Trees were obscuring some of the locations making them difficult to see. We got to Croome early so we took a slight detour down country lanes to Defford before returning.

At Croome our first port of call was a drink in the cafe before venturing into the grounds. The sunny weather showed off the grounds in a favourable light unlike our previous visit when it poured down. The field in front of the house contained several large hay bales which enhanced the scene.

We returned to the cafe for lunch and to find some of the Shutterchancers had arrived so we joined them for a chat until the rest of the group arrived. We all headed off into the grounds, cameras at the ready.

At the house we were able to join one of the attic guided tours which was very interesting because the attic is being used to store items until the property’s various rooms are sufficiently restored to be able to display them. We were shown paintings of former owners and residents of the house and given a brief history about them. Some of the rooms also held restored and partially restored furniture.

In one of the rooms the guide pointed out some markings on the floor that had mostly been covered over with shelving (for now) partially protecting them. The guide advised that this was the place where exorcisms took place when the hall was the headquarters for The International Society for Krishna Consciousness in the late 70s and early 80s.

After the tour, we made our way back to the cafe where everyone was congregating to celebrate a 70th birthday. Yes, there was cake and very colourful it was too. All too soon it was time for us to begin our journey home.

Today I am spending the day in Nottingham with my brother to celebrate his birthday and tomorrow is the long awaited Shutterchance meet up at Cosford Museum.  As a non shutterchancer I will be gatecrashing the meetup again

I am not at all sure about ‘WANTED young girls for bottling and pickling’…

For those who are interested in the technical details:

The Hay Inclined Plane connects the canal at Blists Hill with the canal at Coalport, lifting boats 63m using a combination of steam power and gravity. The inclined plane was opened in 1792 and remained in use until the end of the nineteenth century. It survives today as one of the most impressive structures of its type in the country. Spectacular views of this monument can be had from the bottom at Coalport; it is also well worth the walk to the end of the canal at Blists Hill to see the remains of the basin and the base of the steam winding engine at the top.

I have had a hectic few days (again…).  In the past couple of weeks the kitchen and the dining room have been decorated. This  involved emptying the dining room and returning everything to it’s place before visitors arrived to stay over the weekend.  It was almost back in one piece before they arrived on Saturday, but not quite!

There was a busy itinerary whilst my visitors were with me;  Attingham Park, evening dinner at Mum’s, Daniels mill (I remembered my camera this time), Dudmaston Hall, Much Wenlock and a Sunday evening meal out.  On the morning of their departure (Monday) my visitors got up unexpectedly early leaving me feeling rather spaced out.  Their early departure did however leave me with plenty of time to get ready for my afternoon ‘bloggy meet up’.

Ginnie (from Vision & Verb) and Astrid were visiting the UK and had arranged a meet up with friends who blog at Shutterchance.  You might recall I met them both at the Black Country Museum last year.  This year they had arranged the meet up at Blists Hill museum, which is not far from Ironbridge.  It was so lovely to see them both (and the other shutterchancers) again.  We all had a fun afternoon together exploring Blists Hill, chatting and getting to know each other better.  Oh! I nearly forgot, we all took lots of photos too

I booked today off to relax, but…

The day was taken up washing glasses and ornaments before returning them to the dining room.  I moved some furniture around too, to make better use of the room.  I am pleased with the result

I invite you to join me over at Vision and Verb where I talk about meeting up with Ginnie and some Black Country history.

Follow the links to see photographs from the meet-up:

A Spoon Full of Medicine by Astrid

The Whole Gang by brianaw

Birthday Cake for Chris

The Shutterchancers by Ginnie

A Fine Day out by Les

Olde Worlde by Tadpole

Lens Envy by Penny

Street Games by Richard

Group Shot by Tracy

Shutterchance Day Out by Yellow Bear

My weekend has been rather hectic but a lot of fun.

On Saturday night I attended a small birthday gathering to celebrate the 14th birthday party of the daughter of one of my friends.  On arriving at the small village where they live I noticed several men in fluorescent jackets  standing around on street corners.  They had large signs next to them stating in big black letters; Council Worker.  Then I noticed a lorry that was parked up by the side of the road.  On it was a small penguin wiggling about.  Realisation dawned that the carnival must have taken place during the day.  I was almost correct in that thought, the carnival was in fact going to take place that evening.  You have to love the quirkiness of rural villages and  I began to regret not taking my camera along.  But as I watched the sunset fade into dusk before the carnival procession started I didn’t feel so bad about that, it was now too dark for photographs.

The floats were all excellent and the carnival parade was a good start for a birthday get together.  After the procession had finished we returned to the house for a buffet, wine and a large slice of birthday cake that had been made by one of the other guests.  Luckily, after such a lot of cake, the Wii emerged (as it tends to do on these occasions).  When we all finally left for the evening I was told that my Wii bowling was awesome…

Sunday morning arrived rather too quickly because I had an earlier start than is usual in order to visit the Black Country Museum.  A few days ago I had noticed that Ginnie, from Vision and Verb, was coming to England for a few days and had arranged a meet up with friends  who blog at Shutterchance.  The Black Country  Museum, where the meet up was to take place, isn’t too far away from where I live.  I had left her a comment to say I would try and meet up with her there.

The weather started off quite grey and mizzley but turned to glorious sunshine in the afternoon.  After a slight mix up with the exact meeting place I managed to find Ginnie, Astrid and the Shutterchancers, none of whom I had met previously.  It was lovely to meet  Ginnie,  Astrid and the other Shutterchancers and to spend a couple of enjoyable hours exploring the museum together and especially nice to meet up with a blog friend and get to know each other in person.

That was everything that was planned for the weekend until my brother phoned at the last minute, hoping to meet up on Sunday.  So following the museum visit, we had a family get together which involved food and wine in a local pub.  Another good time was had by all.