More English Tradition

If I don’t do this extra entry I won’t remember all the things I did this week at the weekend, when I do my usual entry.

 

Sunday I went to meet my cousin Colin ,at the 21st Annual Netherton Boat Festival. I bet most people don’t know Netherton, as proved by the fact I am writing this in Word and it thinks it’s a spelling mistake!

 

Netherton was a small village, in the heart of the Black Country, near to where my ancestors lived for centuries. It has a huge industrial heritage, mining and the iron trade being at the forefront, which explains why the area is criss crossed with canals. On a canal interchange is where the festival takes place.

 

            

            Yes that really is the name.

 

I went for the first time last year and wrote about it in my Journal then. This year I decided to take photos, it's a colourful event and again I was blessed with beautiful weather .

 

Hard to imagine this is so near to the centre of Birmingham and even harder, what a filthy dirty place this would have been 100years ago.

 

A lovely couple who really entered into the spirit of things, they had come on their own Narrowboat from Stourbridge.

 

Some of the local ladies eager to show off traditional Black Country dancing..... Joke!! Not sure what Belly Dancing had to do with it but they were very good.

 

I still haven’t been in the loft to find the video ‘Howard’s End’ I have watched it but not since I found out Colin had a very small speaking part in it. I must brave the cobwebs and dust soon before the VCR gets pensioned off.

 

 

Sunday night I had a call from Catherine. She was expecting my Mum & Wilf to fly into Cologne at 10pm. Flo had already set off to collect them, it’s and hour and a half drive. Mum had phoned to say the flight had been delayed 2 hours. Two hours later I had another call to say the flight was not now leaving until Midnight and poor Flo hadn’t got to Cologne yet as they were having a huge thunderstorm , the water on the roads was up to the number plate.

 

Flo finally dropped them at their hotel at 5am, exactly 12 hours after they arrived at Birmingham Airport for a one-hour flight.

 

I’ve spoken to both Catherine and Mum on the phone.

 

Catherine says Mum keeps crying at her great granddaughter, as she is choked with emotion.

 

I asked Mum what she thought of her great granddaughter and she said, “Oh, she’s lovely and she keeps laughing at me”

 

Yes, that sounds like my family, crazy mixed up emotions!

 

Monday was my first time going with Year 4 for their swimming lesson. What a start to the week that’s going to be.

 

We are supposed to board the bus at 9.30 but some hadn’t brought their swimming kit, others still hadn’t brought in a signed permission for them to go. In the end we had to leave eight behind, as there wasn’t time, or spare kit to get them all sorted.

 

I don’t have to go in the water, thank god. I can’t believe all 52 of them manage to refrain from weeing in the water in a one hour lesson and anyway, I don’t show my cellulite off to just anyone these days.

 

At the end of the lesson we have to hurry them up as much as possible and help removing swimming hats etc.

 

We’d just got them all lined up to get back on the bus, when a child took a pair of underpants to the teacher.

 

“Who’s forgotten to put their underpants on?” she yelled.  Of course it was David, well it would be. So we all had to wait whilst he went and redressed himself. How can you not know that you haven’t put your pants on? Especially if you are a boy!

 

Monday afternoon Mike and I tried to return our jungle to a garden, I’m still too ashamed to take any photos. I shredded tons of branches and trimmings for my compost heaps. We also climbed ladders and picked all the James Grieves apples, which are huge this year.

 

When we finished Mike realised he’d started with his glasses on but finished without them. We’ve searched everywhere but it’s a big garden and they haven’t turned up yet.

 

For the second time that day I found myself asking, “How can you not notice?”……….Men!!