February 2022

A blizzard of snowdrops

Fun February Fact: The Saxons called February “Sol-monath” which means “cake month” because they would offer cakes to the gods during February. Apparently, Woden was quite partial to a Jaffa Cake…

Snowdrops and crocuses, the habitual harbingers of Spring were out in force for this month’s walk along the locks and byways of Tardebigge.

Here’s some info for anyone fancying a wander along the same route (well recommended, and courtesy of Trev).
Start: Tardebigge village car park, near St Bartholemew’s Church, Church Lane, B60 3AH. Parking is free but there is a box for voluntary donations for the church. Grid ref: SO995691

Jane tip-toeing through the crocuses…

From the car park, walk past the church for about 100 metres of the 615-mile Monarch’s Way (allegedly this is the escape route of Charles II after the Battle of Worcester in 1651. I don’t know why he went via Bromsgrove). Turn right on High House Lane, cross London Road onto a good path, with good views of the Malvern Hills. Wandering south westerly towards Woodgate, then go west using a variety of field paths and quiet lanes. Lunch at the Navigation Inn, Stoke Prior.

After lunch, take the canal towpath past the Tardebigge flight of 30 locks for about 3 miles with a gentle ascent of 220 feet. Near the top, a little detour can be taken to look at the impressive Tardebigge Lake. Back on the towpath, pass the Tardebigge Engine House which originally housed a Newcomen-Watt beam engine. Afterwards it became the Engine House nightclub owned by Martin Hone of Opposite Lock fame. Leave the canal just before it enters the tunnel, turn right onto a short path directly back to the car park.

RUSH

Cultural highlight of the month went to RUSH at the Birmingham Rep. The story of Reggae music and the Windrush Generation, and their history in Britain, featuring the music of Desmond Dekker, Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley, Lord Kitchener, Millie Small and many more.

RUSH charts the immigrant journey of a generation invited to the ‘Motherland’ (AKA Britain) to help rebuild it after World War II. They arrived in 1948 via the Empire Windrush, a former German cruise ship.

Narrated by comedian John Simmit (famed for playing Dipsy in the Teletubbies), RUSH featured ska, rock steady, calypso, gospel, dancehall, and Reggae all played live by the JA Reggae Band.

The latest Spiderman busted blocks as only Marvel studios can – always a great watch with a coffee and massive bag of Minstrels…

Sporting highlight of the month was Halesowen 4 Loughborough Dynamo 1 which propelled the local team up to second place in the Midlands Northern Premier League.

Running this match a close second in the month’s sporting event category was the Eating of the Black Country Crusty Cob, a traditional challenge that was completed to the team’s satisfaction.

More birthday celebrations this month resulted in suitable occasions to gather and get drunk.

Bulgaria and the Black Sea

It was time for sunnier climes – and a quick credit card transaction was all it took to secure a week in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria has been up and coming as a holiday destination for a few years now, and with a large beer costing 50 pence at the Hotel Lira, it is easy to fall in love with a place.

Sunny Beach is on the eastern edge of Bulgaria, a country shaped like a sloppy, ragged oval that is hemmed in by Turkey, Romania, Serbia, Greece and North Macedonia, and courted on its eastern perimeter by the Black Sea.

The Black Sea itself is not black but typically ocean-coloured. It was first named by the ancient Greeks who called it Inhospitable Sea because it was difficult to navigate and hostile tribes inhabited the shores. After further development of the coast by the Greek colonists, it was soon renamed the Hospitable Sea. A suggestion to call it Really Lovely Sea was vetoed by all concerned.

It may be called the Black Sea because it appears dark whenever heavy storms pass over. High concentrations of hydrogen sulphide in the depths of the Black Sea will cause any sunken object to be covered in black sludge – possibly another reason for its name.

The early evening light held a peculiarly opalescent quality, no doubt enhanced by those cheap beers.

Beach bars marked many a day in Sunny Beach. The sands were crammed with cheap beer-loving tourists and ardent sun-worshippers.

Sticking out from one end of Sunny Beach is the ancient town of Nessebar – a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was originally a Greek colony on the Thracian coast.

Speaking of Thracians, the celebrated gladiator Spartacus – a major player in the slave uprising against the Romans – was from these parts. He would always tell people who he was so there would be no doubt as to his identity.

Nessebar has some great restaurants, many conveniently lined up along the sea wall. The Shopska salad is not a restaurant but a traditional Bulgarian salad topped off with grated white brine cheese called sirene – a good starter before setting about succulent Dorada or Sea Bass, fresh and crunchy from the grill.

A river boat trip was taken along the upper stream of the River Ropotamo, which glides through dense woodland. The upper stream is fresh water but a few kilometres downstream it soon turns into salt water.

The first stretch of river was rich in Kingfishers and Swallows. A pair of Spotted Flycatchers flitted about in the branches above, and sunbathing turtles hitched themselves up on partly-submerged logs. A thirsty Turtle Dove sipped cautiously along the low banks. Back on dry land, a pair of Swallows had made a mud nest above the entrance of the boathouse office, and four gobby little chicks were sparring for food.

Humming-Bird Hawk Moth

Sozopol by Nenko Lazarov

Similar to Nessebar but less crowded, Sozopol was another ancient Greek colony on the Black Sea specializing in beaches, wooden houses, crazy higgledy-piggledy narrow-ways and rubbly churches.

 Sozopol by Bo&Ko

St Ivan Island

Bone relics, claimed to be that of St John the Baptist, were discovered just off Sozopol on St Ivan Island in a tiny sandstone reliquary during excavations of an ancient monastery. They are on view at the SS Cyril and Methodius church in Sozopol, and radio carbon dating from Oxford University has confirmed that the small bone particles are right from the middle of the first century. Because they were found under the altar of the St John the Baptist Monastery, it suggests the founders would have brought relics of its patron saint to the party.

Another mildly interesting tidbit: The Cyrillic alphabet was an indirect result of the missionary work of St Cyril (your fella from the church above) who constructed a new script for Slavic, based on capital Greek letters.

Finally, Burgas was dropped into, the southern hub of the Black Sea Coast. The pedestrianized city centre may be a little too concretey for some tastes but there was ample evidence of a sprawling city garden and glimpses of a promising waterfront.

The Fat Cat at Sunny Beach – that’s the bar, not the band!

Some great product placement going on at The Fat Cat

There now follows a torrid series of photographs to illustrate the hardship, tribulations and personal sacrifices involved in holidaying abroad…

Gez with Mr Whippy on top…

“Wot’s goin on?”

Other things that occurred on July…

It’s always good to see Spidey.

The brilliant Father Teds were at Lightwoods House doing their thing – great to catch up!

At the Old Joint Stock, a very entertaining tribute to Kate Bush:

This was a brilliant performance by Sarah-Louise Young who not only channeled her inner Bush magnificently but provided many laughs along the way with her quirky repertoire. Most reviews seem to have awarded this four stars and it would be churlish to suggest anything less.

This exhibition was being wrought at the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery to celebrate the founding members of Heavy Metal.

Plenty of metal memorabilia was on show where fans could play guitars, gawp at glittering stage costumes, and admire posters, tee-shirts and seminal album covers.

As is perfectly suitable, Black Sabbath music is piped throughout the galleries so the entire experience is backlit with soothing ballads such as War Pigs, Paranoid and Children of the Grave.