Blog Archives - Jenny Wren Crafts

28th September 2019

9/28/2019

Can't believe it's nearly the end of September and I'm slipping with my posts again!

Last Saturday was a nice day and with rain forecast for Sunday I decided to make the most of the last weekend of the Heritage Open Days. I went with Mark, Michelle, Anais and Roman to visit some places around Birmingham. First was Stirchley Baths and Stirchley Library which are next door to one another and both built on land donated to the community by George Cadbury. The baths were also paid for by Cadbury but the library was built with a donation from Andrew Carnegie. Michelle can remember using both of these as a child. I didn't take any photos but there are some on Michelle's blog at www.romanais.co.uk/blog.

Next stop was Kings Norton green which is really pretty and in particular St Nicholas Place and the old Grammar School.

Final stop was to look at some old prefabs in Wake Green Road. There are not many prefabs left in the country now as they were only ever intended to be temporary housing after the last war. These have been given grade 2 listed status and as they become empty the council is taking them over. I can remember when I was little my mom had a friend who lived in a prefab and I thought is was amazing. So neat and compact. There is one in the Avoncroft museum which is finished how they would have looked when they were built. I only took one photo but again there are more on Michelle's blog.

Sunday we went to the cinema to see the new Aladdin film which was very good and then I spent some time preparing for a meeting I was running on Monday. Meetings on Monday in Coventry and Wales on Wednesday and more work during the rest of the week.

Today though I went to the Rep in Birmingham to watch The Barber Shop Chronicles which was a nice break.

Also managed to change the bathroom into its autumn colours.

Bromwich Hall and Downton Abbey

9/18/2019

I went to visit the Manor House in West Bromwich this morning as part of the Heritage Open Days. There was a talk by a local archaeologist and then a chance to look around the building. The great hall dates back to the 1270s.

This afternoon I did some work and then time to go and see the Downton Abbey film which I enjoyed.

17th September - Happy birthday to me!

9/17/2019

Apart from the fact that my tooth (or lack of it still hurts) I have had a lovely birthday. I went to see Rocketman in the afternoon which was very good and then went to Mark and Michelle's for tea. I stopped off at at Hobbycraft to spend the £5 voucher they sent me for my birthday and had some jam labels and some wooden disks.

I have had a smart Kath Kidston handbag, some wool, a ticket to the Craft Fair at the NEC in November, and vouchers for M&S and Empire Cinemas as well as lots of cards and lovely flowers.

Thank you everyone. X

Heritage Open Days - Bournville

9/17/2019

On Saturday I joined Mark, Michelle, Anais and Roman to visit some places of interest around Bournville which were open as part of the Heritage Open Days. The village of Bournville was of course built by George Cadbury for his workers. The first place we visited was Selly Manor which was not originally built at Bournville but is much older and was moved to its present site in 1916 by George Cadbury. It dates back to the fifteenth century.

Next stop was the Rest House which houses some little craft shops. As we came out of there we bumped into my sister Sarah who I don't get to see very often so that was a nice surprise.

Next we went to the Quaker meeting house which had an interesting poster. On the left of the picture is the fir tree which is lit up at Christmas. We usually go to the switching on of the lights and to sing carols on Christmas Eve.

Next was the school which Michelle's mom and uncle both went to and we were able to find their names in the register. Unfortunately all the tickets to visit the Carillon we gone so hopefully next time.

We also visited the church and the Bournville Experience which tells the story of Bournville and has a model of the whole village. You could smell the chocolate from the car park!

Next we drove to visit the Serbian church which was amazing (and we bumped into Sarah again).

Final stop was the yachting pool which had a good display of radio controlled model boats.

Lost a tooth and gained a chair

9/13/2019

Well the Troublesome Tooth has gone. The dentist took it out this morning. It didn't really hurt then but it did when the freezing wore off.

I spent six hours this afternoon driving to Leek and back to fetch a chair. I have been looking for a captains chair for the desk in the hall for some time and finally found one in brown at the right price. I thought Leek, well that's not too far away (pity it wasn't for sale when I spent a week in Leek earlier this year) so I'll go for it. It should have taken an hour and a half to get there but the M6 was busy so it took two hours. I bought it from Kitty's Emporuim on the outskirts of Leek. The place was an Aladdin's cave of antique and vintage things and all at reasonable prices. I was very good though and resisted the temptation to buy anything else. I decided not to use the M6 on the way back as I could see it was queuing for miles I thought I would come back through Stafford, Cannock, Walsall etc. Unfortunately everyone else must have had the same idea and it took me three and a half hours to get back! Never mind my chair is lovely.

Back home

9/12/2019

Tuesday and Wednesday I just had a walk up into the town and by the river. It was nice not to keep going out in the car. I picked up a few more beads (turquoise, jade and freshwater pearls) and some card making bits from the charity shop.

I also finally finished my cardigan.

Tuesday night there was quite a bit of rain and on Wednesday the river was up.

I finished reading Holy Fools by Joanne Harris and got about 3/4 of the way through The White Princess by Philippa Gregory. I am working my way through her Cousins War and Tudor Court novels which all started when I went to Harwick Hall last year and got interested in the story of Beth of Hardwick.

I have also been watching Downton Abbey from the beginning to get me in the mood for the new film which I am dying to see.

Back to reality now I'm home though, dentist tomorrow! Looking forward to the weekend though as there are a few things on for the Heritage open days.

Gigrin red kite feeding station

9/9/2019

I was woken this morning at 3.00 by the sound of rain on the roof. Whatever happened to the lovely clear skies last night! As I couldn't go out I did a bit of work this morning and then by lunchtime it went brighter and looked a bit more promising. I decided to risk it and walk to the red kite feeding station. I stopped in the town to get some of the beads I saw yesterday and spied this cute little cottage just off the main street. It was tiny!. If I reached up I could touch the guttering.

I got to the feeding station, paid my admission and took up position in the first hide. The farm is on a hill with good views of the surrounding countryside. The farmer came out in his tractor and distributed the food which is beef. Apparently they get though a quarter of a tonne a week. The farm cat kept a wary eye on proceedings and was not phased at all when the birds came swooping down. You can just see it crouched in the grass on the photos. The birds grab the feed in their talons and eat on the wing. It was an amazing sight. One bird seemed to be a lighter colour than the others as you will see.

I walked back into the town and did some shopping in the Co-op. When I came out it had started to rain and by the time I got back I was like a drowned rat. Could have been worse I suppose, at least I was wearing a raincoat!

Elan Valley

9/8/2019

Woke up at 7.00 this morning and it was very cold. Clicked the heating on low, put my fleece dressing gown on top of the bed and snuggled back down. When I woke again at 8.30 to make some tea it was all misty outside with the sun trying to break through and still only 12 degrees in the van. Time to turn the heating up!

After a chilly start though it has been a beautiful sunny warm day. I thought I would make the most of it and do a tour of the Elan Valley to see the dams. There are four dams on the river Elan which were built in the late 1800s to supply water to Birmingham.I tried to stop and photograph each one but parking is difficult even on a quiet day like today so I was unable to stop at one of them. Unfortunately the water levels in the reservoirs was quite low so they weren't gushing over. I did a circular tour going by way of the dams and then returning over the hills. The views were stunning and I stopped in a couple of places for a short walk.

This afternoon I sat outside in the sun and knitted one of the front bands on my blue cardigan (not my favourite job as it involves picking up just the right amount of stitches) while watching the red kites circle overhead. There is a feeding station about a mile away and they are fed at 3.00pm every day. If it is nice again tomorrow I am planning to walk there. Tonight is clear and cold again so fingers crossed.

Wyeside, Rhayader

9/7/2019

Moved to Wyeside, Rhayader today. Left Bromyard and 12.00 and arrived at 13.30. The site has just been refurbished and I am on a fully serviced pitch which is great. The site is right by the river.

After setting up and having some lunch I went for a walk to the town which is about a 10 minute walk back up the road. The town is very small with only a few shops but there is one charity shop which has two baskets of card making bits so I will go back another day and have a better look as the shop was busy today. There was also two shops selling hand crafted items which were very good and the one has some gemstone beads at very reasonable prices so will go back there as well. The stationery shop was closing down and I got a pack of writable DVDs and a box of red Bic pens for 50p each and some large Jiffy bags for 30p each so I think I did quite well.

Walked back through a little park by the river.

Bromyard and Tenbury Wells

9/6/2019

Last full day here today before moving on tomorrow. Thought it was about time I visited the local town of Bromyard which turned out to be a nice little town. The bunting was out as there was a folk festival going on just outside of town.

Next stop was Tenbury Wells. Another pretty town with lovely old buildings and the same mix of antique/vintage, tea rooms and charity shops that I have come to expect in this part of the country. The only large shop was Tesco by the side of the river. As I arrived there was a sharp shower of rain so I popped in to pick up a few things and when I came out the sun was shining again.

The bridge over the river is unusual as it has a bend in the middle.

Driving along over the last few days you really know you are in the countryside. All you can see in any direction are fields, and sometimes orchards as this area is known for fruit growing. It was lovely to see notices for a ploughing competition and a cider festival. On one road I passed the signs for Chase Vodka which reminded me a a very nice day out a few years ago from work when a couple of coach loads of us were taken out to Hereford for the day. We visited a fruit farm, had a tractor ride, lunch in a local pub and then a visit to Chase Vodka. The company was founded by William Chase who also founded Tyrrells crisps. The vodka is made from potatoes grown on the estate and was voted best in the world in 2010 at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Author

I am Jenny (when I was little my dad always called me Jenny Wren) and I enjoy making hand crafted things. Watch this space to see what I am working on.
I have two sons - Mark, married to Michelle with children Anais 18 and Roman 13, and Richard - married to Debbie with children Brendyn 14 and Olivia 11.

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