Case packed, I took my shoes for night time, matching hand
bag and a couple of evening outfits
And of course, my hair straighteners.
Kissed my Hub bye bye and left him in my shoes. Not literally,
I mean, he has been known to wear my shoes before, but that’s a different
story. Hahahehehehe
He had the dog’s housework and teen to cook for and take
care of.
Both my friend and I had heavy luggage for our two night
stay.
We headed off to Birmingham.
It was about two and a half hour journey by car.
Of course we talked all the way, as we do.
I was really looking forward to visiting the Chocolate factory.
This would be our first stop.
Then onto the hotel and then a dinner, before the day of tourism
stalls at the N E C the following day and of course our second evening stay
over at a lovely hotel. The first place we were to stay wasn’t really a hotel,
more on that later.
We used the fantastic Satellite navigation unit, which gave
us the map to get to our destination!
Cadbury chocolate, was founded almost 200 years ago in 1824,
John Cadbury opened a grocers shop on 93 Bull street Birmingham. In his shop,
he sold lots of things, including Cocoa and drinking chocolate, which he made
himself, using a pestle and mortar.
In 1831, he opened a factory in crooked lane, also in
Birmingham. He bought a four story building where he
started to produce on a commercial scale!
The Cadbury’s business expanded in 1842 He was selling 16
varieties of drinking chocolate and 11 different cocoas.
1847, the business moved to Bridge street in the centre of
Birmingham.
Fry’s I think, a French company produced the first bar of
chocolate that we know it today.
In 1861, the two Sons of John Cadbury, Richard and George take
charge of the factory. The brothers were 21 and 25 when their Fathers health
made him retire and hand over the business.
The turning point for
the Cadbury business, was a new processing technique resulting in the 1866
launch of Cadbury cocoa essence, The UK’s first unadulterated cocoa
In 1875 a Swiss manufacturer put milk into the
chocolate to make the first chocolate bar.
The first Cadbury’s Easter egg, was made in 1875.
In 1878, the Bridge street factory became too small and
George wanted the new factory to be in a place of fresh air and not stuck in the
middle of a dirty town, so decided to buy some land In 18 79, the first bricks
were laid to make the new place on farm land.
16 houses were built near the site and the houses were for senior
workers.
Over 140 houses in total were built on the land and George
decided to design them in such a way to make the houses with plenty of light
and large gardens. He was an amazing employer don’t you think?
1897 Cadbury’s milk chocolate was launched. When Cadbury
started making cocoa essence, they had loads of butter left over, so decided to
make bars of chocolate!
1905, Cadbury’s dairy milk was launched and I am sure I
heard that a bar of this was sold around the world every two seconds.
Swiss chocolate was the most successful but Cadbury’s was
about to become a rival for sure.
In 1908, Bourneville chocolate was made; it was named after
the Bourneville factory in Birmingham. John Cadbury named Bourneville, the village
where his factory was again, I think I’m right in saying he named the village, born
after a new start and the Ville after a French connection.
In 1914, Fry’s Turkish delight was launched. And
in 1919, Fry & Sons, emerged with Cadbury’s.
Rose flavoured Turkish delight, with chocolate draped over
it. Yummy.
1915, Milk tray is launched
Boxes of chocolates had been made since the 1860’s but they
were really deer and were sold in small quantities and only bought by the rich
on special occasions. Milk tray was different.
Affordable for an everyday treat.
In 1928 a lot of money was put into Cadbury’s.
1939 King George and Queen Elisabeth visited Bournville
Cadbury’s was well known to the royal family. In 1955 the first advert was
launched. So, OK, stuff all of the facts and just get me to the factory?
My friend did really well in getting that far by car and we
found the chocolate factory after ten minutes of pure torment of smelling it in
the air. Did you know the Phil Collins “In the air tonight” was used in a commercial
for Cadbury’s chocolate?
In fact
the adverts for the chocolate have been going for many years and so many of
them there have been too.
Oh my nose was twitching. I was like a child. We pulled up
in the car park and I first heard the excited voices of children’s playful banter,
as there was an outdoor park for the kids.
As we entered the factory, of course we didn’t just enter
the place where they were producing the magnificent chocolate, as that would be
against all health and safety.
It was just a part of the factory
Oh I had to act so calm, hahahaha. I loved it all; this is
why I write my poetry on the chocolate elves.
OK, chocolate bar number one was given to us. Then chocolate
buttons. Yummy, double yummy. I loved
learning about the history of the Cadbury’s family, how the cocoa bean first
came to us by boats and how the English pirates took over the boats and one day
a load of beans were found by English pirates and they thought the beans were
rubbish so tipped the lot in the seas. Can you imagine the fragrance of the
beans? Unless they have no smell until they are roasted?
The processing of the beans is fascinating. How they are
steamed clean. Did you know that the Cadbury family were Quakers?
They didn’t believe in drinking alcohol, so rather than
social drinking the alcoholic drinks, they took cocoa and hot chocolate.
Oh life would be so much better if that were the way for us
all do you think?
I so wanted to be in those days. I got a real feel for the
place and almost could transport myself back into those days. Well, later on
that day, I think I did but again, more lately on that.
We pushed all the right buttons to answer questions about
what we had learned on the TV screens and went into a theatre where by our seats
moved. Cold gas like air was blown on our legs making my friend scream. Haha
haha. And our seats moved in such a way, we almost fell off.
Thankfully we had eaten most of our sweeties so didn’t spill
them.
Then on a indoor train. Oh that was so relaxing. I was
entranced by the fragrance of chocolate and high on it too, a strange
combination.
The train took us through a land of cocoa bean people. You
should have heard their little squeaky voices? My friend told me that some of
the beans with their little legs and arms were skiing or on ski lifts. Some
were fishing and there were star fish on the hooks
There were little cocoa bean houses and trees oh it was
great, I didn’t want the train to stop.
But it did and onward for more chocolate and even a cup of
melted chocolate with sweets in.
We had come to the end and into the gift shop.
What was to follow? Hahahahaaha. Just wait, you will laugh
so much.
So we went off to our em. Hotel?
Hahahahaha.
Well, not quite.
My friend said it didn’t look quite as she expected. I
thought, oh what? Hahaha.
As we got out of the car into the beautiful sunshine, we
headed to the doors of our first nights stay.
Oh God, the smell of the foist flung itself furiously in our
faces.
A punch in the nose. I thought, that is not a good start?
The receptionist was friendly but handed us one key.
One key for our quote, “double room?
We informed the girl, we had booked a twin room. In other
words, a room with two single beds, not one double bed?
She said that they had no twin rooms and only double. I said
OK, can we have two double rooms then? Answer, no.
She then said see what we thought of the room, the bed may
be good enough for us, but if not, there were no alternatives.
Well, we expected to just take a lift to our room,
Lift?
Em
No!
In fact, our room wasn’t even in the same building.
Up three steps, down two steps, out of the back door. My
friend cracked me up saying that we were to use the tradesman’s entrance.
Down two other steps outside and along a tiny bit of concrete.
Up four enormous steps onto some grass and across the path. Well we laughed as
the place boasted on line that it was in acres of land? Acres?
Em
No!
As for the beautiful countryside it boasted, well, there
were a few trees which held a few crows.
So across the tarmac and around a group of buildings that my
friend said looked like Grandma’s old cottages. Hahahaha. Oh God, we got to our
door. Used the key, and couldn’t get in. Tried the second time with the other
key on the ring and bingo, we were in. The locks were really high and very old
and rusty. The interior doors were kind of like a plastic coated.
Oh heck, you should have seen the bed? My friend and I were
to share?
It wasn’t even a double bed; it was a three quarter bed.
Now, if I lay on my back, I almost filled the bed, my friend is tiny, but she
would not be able to lie on her back that was for sure. Hahahahaa
I just couldn’t imagine how this was going to turn out?
The room had everything you would want. A trouser press,
mind you, not quite sure who uses a trouser press these days? A hair dryer and
toiletries as well as a kettle and cups, but no spoons. My friend made a cup of
tea for us and we did laugh when she handed me the cup with the tea bag still
in it and she joked again saying it was a good job we didn’t take sugar?
There was a note pad without a pen and the place was so
cold. There were no switches for the heating, so we phoned; yes there was even
a phone.
The receptionist said she would send up help.
The man my friend called learch. A TV carictor. But it got warm. Then my friend couldn’t see
as the lights didn’t work. Hahahhahahaha. I told her I would help her to find
the way.
We went to dinner, needless to say, we didn’t change for
dinner, as felt rather over dressed for the place as it was.
Oh the night got better. We were to have a tour of the
wonderful place.
So after leaving our door, around the ramp over the tarmac
and grassy verge. Down the huge steps and back up again, we were told to turn
around to go on the tour and start again all the way back to where we had just
come from. We were like a line of ants. Everyone was rather serious but not my
friend and myself. WE laughed like naughty school girls, couldn’t believe how
we had just come from the same place, but this time, we were to visit the
“fitnesscentre!”
Oh yes, we had a fitness centre.
We passed our room, still outside around the houses. Oh,
sorry, I mean the hotel? With the cars passing on the street outside our rooms.
Basicly, it was a street of houses turned into the hotel that we learned can’t
be called a hotel. Hmm.
The fitness centre was one other little house, a room, and
we all, all 21 of us, walked in, as two girls were working out. We were sure
the girls were staff. Haha. Paid to pose for our benefit.
Fitness centre? Oh God, me sides, if not for my friend and
her dry sense of humour, she made it worse, I couldn’t keep a straight face
with her little comments.
So, all the way back and we had before drinks. My lovely
drink was?
Orange cordial.
Oh, and sodour. I was so hot and enjoyed it.
But I did laugh only inside when the girl told me it was
cordial. Just sounded really childish.
It was then when we met Mrs Frosty knickers as my friend
named her. Hehehehehehhehehehe
Oh my God. We were approached by the maniger. She was so
rude to us. She insisted that we told her of my disability. This is how the
conversation went.
Frosty knickers “excuse me, can I ask you is there something
I should know about?
Me. Em, no!” Of course I knew what she was on about, but was
I hell going to make her life easy as she was a horror.
Frosty. “Have you got a disability? I should have said no,
but I answered yes, oh then she asked what it was? Hahahhahahaha. I should have
said I was in a wheelchair the stupid woman. I said I was blind, then wait for
it Bloggets. Just wait for this one?
“Oh I need to know these things, so I can inform the fire brigade?
Hahahaha.
Say what?
My friend was in shock, she asked me as we went to dinner,
why did the fire brigade need to know about me? Hehehehehe. Oh God we did
laugh, as I made up a story about through the night a fireman would just burst
through my door. For no reason, only because Frosty knickers said he should and
we must all do what Mrs. Frosty says, right? Em, nope.
We all had to sit on
a large table I stook to it. It was a sticky mess. The table
was so old and God knows what was on there?
But as I sat next to the bar maniger, my friend whispered
among the noise how he looked? Again, she was really amusing, so funny. He had
a comb over and the other bits of hair he had, were sticking up all over. But
he was a nice guy.
I tell you, the food was lovely, I am serious, really nice
and I don’t eat goats chees, I think that should be left for the goats, so they
made me something not on the choice of
two things on the menu, they made me a delicious Chinese meal. So we had three
courses and really, it was lovely and the staff were great, we had the choice
of two tables to sit on and we made sure we didn’t’ sit on Mrs Frosty knickers
table.
The conversation was hard as it was noisy, but between the
barmans voices and my friends, it went OK. I learned that the place couldn’t be
called a hotel. Cadbury’s bought the land and these were the houses for the
workers. Frosty was on the other table telling everyone that twin rooms wouldn’t
work. Well, it was up to everyone to tell her and the barman what we thought of
the place. We tried, she wouldn’t listen. The barman was great he, did.
After the meal, it became funnier. As the guy who got us all
together, began to give a speech about the place being quotes quirky
Frosty knickers was standing behind him, listening to how he
compared the place to a Catholic hostel in Durham without mirrors and one hair
dryer for all the guests. Haha. I don’t think she would be happy about that, do
you? He also said that this place could be given a chance, if the staff would
listen to us as we were not the guinea
pigs, more like the labotory rats? Hahahahaha.
Cheeky?
He just kept putting his foot in everything he said, considering
we got a free nights stay. Oh as I asked the guy about the second night, saying
would we get a twin room then? He was shocked as he said
“Oh no, there is not stay over the second night, only a meal
at the nice hotel.
Hahahahahaha. Oh God, my poor friend, had brought two lovely
dresses for the posh hotel the next day and her bathing costume and even shaved
her legs for the occasion.
I told my friend she should say
“No stay at the other place? Don’t you know I have shaved my
legs?
But she didn’t’
It was funny though the stuff we took for one night?
So to bed? More on that later.
Everyone had gone to bed. Just leaving my friend and myself
in the bar. As the bar maniger and the receptionist put on their coats ready to
go home, we approached them to askagain for a key to another room, as we knew
that they had told a load of lies and 56 rooms were not full, there were 21 of
us, and about 11 rooms were being used.
There was not another soul in that hotel.
Bloody lyers.
Well let’s cut a long story short, I won’t say how we told
them in a nice way they were lying to
us, and how we were not going anywhere in a hurry before we were given another
key, but we got another key. Now, we had a bed each, my poor friend even said
she would sleep on the floor. I couldn’t see her do that, not on that floor too. It was
not at all clean.
Oh what a predicament.
Well, back to Grandma’s cottage and to see the new room, it
was then when things got a bit scary.
The place was so very quiet. We again laughed all the way
back. It was all too much to think serious. It was almost pumpkin hour so we
did try to be quiet but as we laughed about what Frosty knickers would say when
she found out that we got a second bed?
And we were the only two to change the menu as we didn’t
like goat’s cheese? Hahaha.
What on earth would the other bedroom look like?
This one was up stairs. The stairs were creeking and the foist
grew on us. We opened the awful door to the other room. It stunk of mens
aftershave. And there was a windo open wide. Oh it was chilling. Was there a
man in there? As my friend and I searched the room, small though it was, we
looked in the robe and bathroom. Joking about it being in her words a knocking
shop. Oh there had been a man in there, and not too long ago either. It gave me
the creeps.
Well, we parted and my sweet friend even put water in my
kettle for a cup of tea, bless her. I kind of slept on and off but after about
two in the morning, I slept well till about seven. I did listen to make sure my
friend was OK as she took the scary room bless her as if the fire brigade came,
he would kow where I was? Hahahahahaha. He didn’t come.
Bugger.
But no one came for my friend either thankfully. Oh the
other really funny thing was, we couldn’t breathe for the blooming heat in the
room? Hahaha. So they froze us then roasted us.
Next day, it was breakfast and again, it was really really
delicious and even offered a vegetarian sausage. I didn’t stick so much to the
table and enjoyed the food so much. The waitor was lovely too. Couldn’t fault
the staff. Apart from Mrs. Frosty knickers.
Left there, I am sure will never return and onto the N E C.
There was an exhibition and guess who was there? Teens girlfriend and the
Mother.
We didn’t see them as we were in a different part…
It was a long day on our feet, but we did what my friends Dad
asked of us to do and my friend saw who she needed to talk to about her Dad’s
business and I hope he got some jobs out of it as he is a lovely man.
We had to wear badges around our necks and we were zapped at
a lot of stalls. A machine made a funny sound and the details we had to fill in
electronicly on a screen, was transformed onto a card. After talking to a huge
amount of people, we went for lunch. There was one thing for vegetarians, but
it was really lovely and we ate our way around the stalls. There was some
delicious food for sure.
Oh I loved people watching with my friend. She’s great.
More walking and talking for hours and then onto the hotel.
The lovely airport hotel. The holiday inn Birmingham airport.
Again, my friends sat
nav got us there. Gosh, it was or I should say, is, an enormouse hotel. Really
American looking. As we walked through the door, the fragrance was lovely. Such
a difference to the very odd place we went to
the night before. We had to do a tour of the place, and what a lovely
hotel, but far too big to get a cosy or welcoming feeling, though the rooms
were wonderful and the staff were so very friendly.
Drinks again, and a lecture in one of the rooms about he
hotel. Then onto our meal. I can tell you the table was beautiful, crisp table
cloths and napkins and we had loads of glasses on our table, one for water, one
for juice and one for wine.
We had three courses and the food was not half as nice as
the other place, but, there was no comparison with the ocomidation.
This hotel was spotless clean and you would want to sleep
there and wouldn’t itch.
We had a quiz and my friend almost was going to have a fight
with the maniger as we were robbed of second place. Hahahahaha. Oh God, that
was funny, she wasn’t joking either?
So we left that beautiful hotel, the one we thought we were
sleeping in, and home we went, well, we thought, until the sat nav wouldn’t
talk to us?
A panicking moment, but my clever friend found the way home
and 24 hours earlier than expected, we were home
No comments:
Post a Comment