Monday's trip to the Lichfield Greenhill Bower.

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So on bank holiday Monday just gone we went out to the Lichfield Greenhill Bower. Now, I told my Mum we should start off ar 10:00am, because Mum walks so slow these days, but we agreed on 11:00am. But 11:00am came round and she still wasn't getting ready. The Bower started at 12:00 midday from the Guildhall in Lichfield, where they crown the Bower Queen, and I knew it would take my Mum the best part of an hour to get down town. I got ready, but when I came back into the living room with my shoes on and my coat and walking stick, my Mum still wasn't ready, and she said she needed to go to the toilet first. It takes her ages to go to the toilet. So when she came down at about 11:30am I knew we weren't going to get there for 12:00 midday. So I said, We're not going to get there for the start now, we might as well just go for the second half. The second half is when we go up to the street that leads up to the cathedral and we stand on there to watch the parade as it comes back round. So we eventually set off at 12:00 midday, which was actually the time the procession would be starting from the Guildhall! I thought I could hear the procession coming round as I was coming up passed Stowe Pool, but when I got to the road that leads to the cathedral, no-one was coming yet. So I nipped to the toilet by the Cathedral quickly and then came back and took my place on the street where we usually stand every year. It was not long then before the procession came round. They had the female Morris dancers again this year like they've had for many years now. The procession was lead by the Mayor and Sheriff and other dignitaries in cars, then the Morris ladies came after them. There was the Bower Queen on her float. There were a few brass bands, army cadets and more floats. The Young Farmers association had one float and a ceilidh band had another. Other companies also joined in, some even using simply their own vans. Some guy was pulling a boat behind him and there was another guy dressed as a lion! No dalek this year though! It was really good. Then when it had finished we headed off further into town to see if The Jungle Street Cafe was open. It's not usually open on a Monday, but because this was Bower day and there would be lots of footfall they might open for passing trade. On the way I posted an in sympathy card I'd made for Wynne Evans. It's the memorial service for his brother Huw on Saturday so I posted the card hoping it will get there by Saturday. On the front I've stamped a picture of castle ruins on a hill, a tree, a butterfly and a dragonfly, then coloured them him. The significance of what I'd done didn't dawn on me until it was finished. The castle ruins on the hill, it suddenly dawned on me, are reminiscent of the castle ruins in Carmarthenshire near where Wynne and Mark and their brother Huw grew up. The butterfly and drsgonfly, I realised, are symbolic of spirits flying free. Then I made a pouch out of blue card. I stamped HUW on the front of it with individual letter stamps. There was a flap at the top onto which I wrote OPEN ME and inside it I placed a photograph of Wynne with his brother Huw. I stuck the flap down with a small sticker that is easily removed. I fixed the pouch to the inside front of the card. On the other side was stamped "I hope you feel surrounded by love at this sad time." So I posted that. The Jungle Street Cafe was open as I'd expected it might be, and it was very full. So as I expected they did a roaring trade on Bower day. But because the cafe was very full we couldn't get seats on the comfy seats, so we had to sit by the window. My Mum sat on her walker because it was easier to get up out of it. Mum treated me to lunch, as it was a special occasion, and we both had salmon catch with Jungle rice. I ordered a Jasmine green tea, but they said they were all out of Jasmine green tea, so I had mango and passionfruit green tea instead. I ordered a blackcurrant and lemonade for my Mum, but I don't know how, but they must have misheard me in some way because they brought her a lemon and lime. Anyway the dinner was very nice, and I felt really full afterwards. We began to head for home, but my Mum wanted to see if she could get some doughnuts for her and Syd for their supper. We had a look at some stalls by Minster Pool but couldn't find any doughnuts so Mum came home with a couple of sweetly sugary cake things from this one stall. So then we came home. Slowly! When we got home I only had one of my yoghurts and a cup of green tea, because I was full. Later my Mum and Syd had their cakes that my Mum had gotten from the stall by Minster Pool, but my Mum threw away about a third of it because she said it was sickly sweet and sugary. Syd said he thought it should've been cut in two, because it was so sickly, but he did manage to eat all his. I didn't go shopping to the little Tesco today because it was raining. My Mum said she'd go instead, but she never did. So it's either, my Mum goes and gets a few things from the little Tesco tomorrow morning, or I get everything from the big Tesco tomorrow afternoon. We'll have to see what happens. I hope you enjoyed your bank holiday Monday, if you're in the UK. What did you get up to? I hope you are all well. Have a great night. v