St Georges Day

Beautiful weather and much going on - our national Saints Day day is picking up in peoples consciousness.

Seems the day has been relocated to Monday May 2nd by both the CofE and Catholic Church - thereby giving St George a national holiday.

Great I can celebrate on the 23rd and again in May.

Street celebrations in Bromsgrove, entertainment at the club, a Cider and Sausage Festival (New Inn), Beer Festival (Nailers) and Folk dancing at the Dodford Inn.

Its all going on and the atmosphere is truly friendly. Just great to see many of our people getting into the "spirit".

The bluebells are out and the fragrance is intoxicating. The dawn chorus for the past week has also been deafening.

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Oh, to be in England

Now that April's there,

And whoever wakes in England

Sees, some morning, unaware,

That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf

Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,

While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough

In England - now!

And after April, when May follows,

And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows

Hark! where my blossomed pear-tree in the hedge

Leans to the field and scatters on the clover

Blossoms and dewdrops - at the bent spray's edge

That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,

Lest you should think he never could recapture

The first fine careless rapture!

And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,

All will be gay when noontide wakes anew

The buttercups, the little children's dower, -

Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!

Robert Browning (1812-1889)

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The world is changing.....

This morning is bright, frosty and cold and yet you can already feel the warm in the sun.

"Talbot" still after rabbits - no success though - too big to get down the holes so she just sticks her head in and listens. Ah, the simple pleasures of life.

Skylarks present along with a buzzard. Black cat has started to get cheeky - teasing Talbot. I think it wants to be friends but Talbot wants it for dinner.

Good result for Bromsgrove RFC on Saturday - won the match against Longton 23-19 in the dying 3 minutes and so still at the top of the league. Great location... AND you can take the dog in the bar.

Despite shading 6 ft myself I felt like I was standing in a hole when a guy who must have been 6ft 10" stood behind me at the bar. Glad I don't play these days.

Finished up at the New Inn (dog friendly) and Talbot treated to a plate of carvery meat. Its good to spend time with real people - workers, farmers, drivers, builders etc. AND the Thatchers cider is good. Nice open fire, great staff and no trouble (you just wouldn't dare..).

This is the REAL England.