Droitwich Salt Fest

Fri 7th Sep  Droitwich

We had no particular agenda today, so we caught up on a few things.

The weather was a bit cooler, so James swept the chimney flue, and put our new as yet unused chimney on, in anticipation of lighting the fire later.

New chimney

Hazel did some shopping, and in the evening we went for a meal to one of the older pubs in town, the Old Cock Inn.  James was disappointed with the cider, which was meant to be traditional apple cider, but it was pink, and it turned out it had rhubarb in it.

No boating today

Sat 8th Sep  Droitwich

Moored in Droitwich

We had a look around at the Salt Fest, and saw the grand opening by the mayor, followed by a display of some excellent drumming.  They had Romans dressed up, and ferret racing, and plenty of stalls.

Grand opening

Stalls

Ferret racing

Romans

We met a lady from the Methodist Church who remembered us from the mission five years ago. We went to look around Droitwich, where some of the old buildings are uneven, due to subsidence because of the salt extraction. There was an impressive mural sculpture showing the brine baths and the canal.

Droitwich High Street

Mural sculpture

We found some guys busking as part of the Salt Fest, and we asked them about the folk scene. We were disappointed to find that there had been a music session in the Old Cock Inn on Thursday evening, when we were around and could have gone if we had known.

We visited St Andrews as the church was open. We were pleased to see that they were running Alpha Courses, which started as a result of the BCF mission here. We stayed for a coffee and met Sarah from Emmanuel Church. She had also been involved with the 2013 mission.

Back at Vines Park we found a noodle bar and had a Thai green curry and a chicken satay, which we took into the beer tent for a cider and to listen to some of the music.

No boating today

Sun 9th Sep  Droitwich

We walked up a hill to Emmanuel Church in the morning. They are meeting in a “spare” Anglican church near the station, while their new building is being completed. We met Sarah again.

Hazel with Sarah

For lunch we had a pasty and a pork pie that we had bought from a stall. We had a snooze in the afternoon, and then tried to visit the Anglican church that overlooks the town. We took a wrong turning, and by the time we worked out the way to go, up some steep steps in the woods, the church had closed. We went to see one of the live bands instead.

Live band "Texas Peacocks"

We went to the evening service in St Andrews at 6.30pm. For some reason they call this service the six thirty! It is an informal time of worship and prayer, with a bible study.

St Andrews Church

The 6.30

Worship band

We went for a very good Indian curry at Spice Fusion, almost opposite.

We never did light the fire on the boat, as it was a bit warmer again.

No boating today

Next: Completing the final section of the Droitwich Canals, a visit to Hanbury Hall, and starting up the 42 locks to the summit of the Worcester-Birmingham Canal.