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Nostalgia Trip #2: Warwick
Leaving Brownsover we avoid motorways and take the short countryside route via the appealing Dunchurch to our next destination, Warwick. So many visitors to England make Stratford-on-Avon a high priority; we have to say it’s their loss if they miss out on visiting the splendid nearby town of Warwick. Steeped in history, packed with gorgeous historical buildings, straddling the River Avon and boasting one of England’s most magnificent castles, any visitor would surely be thoroughly enchanted by Warwick. So why are we here on our nostalgia trip? My (Phil) parents moved here in 1979 and lived in the town for their remaining years, with Dad dying three years ago in…
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Nostalgia Trip #1: Barnt Green & Brownsover
Before we turn the metaphorical corner into memory lane, we spend good times visiting some of Michaela’s family in the West Midlands. The combination of our curtailed world trip and the effects of lockdown means we haven’t seen them in almost 18 months, so there is a great deal of feelgood in meeting up with her Dad, brothers and our nieces and nephews. Our base for this is the leafy village of Barnt Green, south of Birmingham and home to Michaela’s brother Andy and his lovely wife Claire. Barnt Green sits on the edge of the Lickey Hills which hold heaps of childhood memories for Michaela, so we take time…
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Our Next UK Tour: Nostalgia Trip
That’s the end of our music history posts for the time being, as we are now leaving on our third trip around the UK this year. There is no Cornwall involved this time, instead we will be visiting various places which play a part in our life histories, one way or another, evoking memories of some special people. A bit of a nostalgia trip. Today is the first day of June, the month we have previously earmarked for a decision on where and how we can resume travelling further afield to other countries. With a considerable lack of clarity still surrounding international travel in terms of where we can go,…
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Rock History & Me #3: An Affair With Caroline
The four of us sat at a small table in the college refectory, Cheltenham Charlie putting together another of his daft looking skinny roll-ups. “Can you actually taste anything in that matchstick?”, says John Mayes, aka Daisy. “Man yeah. My saviour” Daisy and Sylvo shake their heads and grin, Cheltenham Charlie drags on the tiny fag, oblivious. “They’ve put “Wardrobe” out as a single”, he drawled. “What? Really?” This didn’t seem right. Prog rock bands – proper prog rock bands – didn’t put singles out, it was unwritten law. Maybe Cheltenham Charlie had got it wrong. “Where’d you hear that shit?”, I asked. “Radio Caroline”. Until that lecture break at…
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Rock History & Me #2: Foxtrot
In the summer of 1973, glam rock was still in its pomp with the charts full of Chinn-Chapman productions and the TV screens bringing outrageous sequinned costumes and equally outrageous hairstyles into our living rooms. Each new release by the likes of T Rex, Sweet, Slade, Mud, Roxy Music and (dare we say it) Gary Glitter was eagerly awaited and then thrust immediately into maximum radio airplay. Best of all for me, I’d left behind the schooldays which I’d grown to despise and at 16 felt more than ready to be out earning a living instead of listening to the dullard individuals who called themselves schoolteachers. I felt a heady…
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Rock History & Me #1: Ziggy Stardust
During this period of having no new travel stories, I’m drawn to write about another passion; Michaela isn’t convinced, but encouraged both by my sense of self indulgence and our fellow blogger Leighton Thomas at leightontravelsblogs.wordpress.com I’m pressing on….. #1: Ziggy Stardust As I took my seat on the sofa for the weekly Thursday night ritual of watching Top Of The Pops, I had no inkling of what was about to unfold. Within a few minutes I was transfixed, deaf to my parents’ disapproval, hooked instantly not only to the music but to this unworldly being and his ethereal lyrics. At each chorus, these two men would put arms around…
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Cornwall: One Last Wild Walk
Although we are regular visitors to Cornwall, this has been a different kind of visit from normal, in several good ways. Our visits are by necessity normally fleeting and out of season, so to have spent 25 days here across two visits over the last few weeks has been a joy. Because our time here is normally brief, we ordinarily restrict ourselves to time around the Camel Estuary, so to have had the time and opportunity to rediscover more of Cornwall has been brilliant. Our last day here arrives accompanied by an amber weather warning for strong winds, and sure enough the cottage is being battered and is creaking like…
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Once More To Southern Shores
With this visit to Cornwall entering its last few days, we endeavour to find a further mix of road trips and coastal walks to sign off in style. Our first attempt to return to the south coast is thwarted by a jet black storm hanging above the cliffs and dumping incessant heavy rain, in marked contrast to the “light showers” forecast by the BBC. By evening things have cheered up back in Padstow and the steak and Merlot we enjoy in The Old Custom House pub easily makes up for a lost day. Wednesday May 19th we make a more successful attempt to visit….. POLPERRO By whatever criteria you judge…
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Atlantic Views
Sunday morning brings gloomy light, dark clouds and the threat of rain, the forecast is less than encouraging. By the time we’ve had coffee and breakfast the rain is pounding the windows and gathering in puddles on the decking outside the cottage, and we start to weigh up braving the elements versus staying indoors. The spirit of adventure wins, and we get rewarded on our trip down the coast, starting at Porthcothan. Remarkably we dodge the showers all day, with a cliff walk above the beach at Porthcothan, followed by a visit to Carnewas, more familiarly known as Bedruthan Steps. The “steps” are a sequence of rock pillars isolated from…
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Three Takes On Man Versus The Sea
Our next Cornwall road trip explores three very different elements of man’s relationship with the sea – in fact it’s hard to imagine three more disparate aspects than the three we explore on this single day. Our first destination is the delightfully attractive town of…… MOUSEHOLE To UK inhabitants of a certain age, the very word “Penlee” still stirs the memory of an awful disaster which took the lives of those trying to save others. On December 19th 1981, the Penlee lifeboat was scrambled to assist the stricken Union Star, a bulk freight vessel on its maiden commercial voyage from the Netherlands to Ireland, which had suffered engine failure in…
