That Was Fun

In order to get me to a prearranged meet with blogfriends in Birmingham, M arranged for us to stay at our friends place outside Evesham.

Not a bad little pad, and for another 20K they could have bought rights to the title "Lord of the Manor". There are no pubs in any of the local villages, for historical reasons, so all there is is the "Club" where most of the locals spend their time (and no doubt drive the few miles home fuelled by alcohol) with fantastic views over to Malvern.

Well, despite the quality of my photography, the views are fantastic.
The previous day, I got a lift to Redditch for the train to Birmingham (to meet Stu and Helen and Claire and Rich and Alison and Sam and Max) at the Malt House in Brindley Place. We sat outside! In February! In Birmingham! We ordered food, which took over an hour to be delivered (later orders arriving first). It was my fault I suspect: microwaving cheese on toast must be quite a time-consuming and difficult operation.
Famous people have been to this pub

(but I bet it wasn't for the food, or the service (the waiter pocketed my phone and my camera, but only because he wanted me to touch his chest, ahem).

When I got back to Redditch, I tried to catch a cab, but the guys at the rank hadn't heard of the village I wanted and told me to catch a bus. (Really). Eventually I persuaded a driver that I could find the place, if he could get out of Redditch in the right direction. Cost a fortune, but we did it. I expect he is still trying to find a way out.
Evening was a school reunion for M, which was the reason for staying near Evesham in the first place. Six school chums (2 of whom unknowingly live within 5 miles of each other), some of whom havent seen each other for 30 years and they got on like a house on fire.

I found compensation with one of the non ex school friends, the lovely Linda from the Bronx, who I havent seen for 3 years. Quite a tactile young lady.

Ahem