A week in the Shire(s)

The shires in question were Shropshire and Worcestershire to be precise. It was my birthday week and with big plans to celebrate my birthday itself with rhinos, we needed to stay relatively near to where the rhinos live, just outside Kidderminster. (I've already mentioned some of what we did in my round up for March as we were away on the cusp of the month.)

We opted for a cottage rental on a working farm and horse racing stable just south of Bridgnorth. We had a couple of trips into Bridgnorth itself. It's a nice small town with some lovely little shops including Booka, a fab independent bookshop, and some historic buildings.

Bridgnorth is blessed with interesting railways. We rode on Shropshire's randomest railway (the Bridgnorth cliff railway), and also took some photos of steam engines at the Severn Valley Railway terminus as well.

Spotter spotted!

Across the county border, we went to a falconry centre in Hagley. This was exceptional value, with two flying displays included in the admission price. All the birds get to fly daily and they all seemed very well cared for. 

One of the flying displays went amusingly awry when a peregrine falcon decided to fly off leaving the presenter in the lurch. He did a good job carrying on talking to the audience while the peregrine resolutely didn't come back. 

I put some pics from the falconry centre in the March round up post. But here are some more...

I had a fun week of football, with trips to Ludlow Town and AFC Bridgnorth before a Good Friday game at Shrewsbury Town, the day after my birthday. Salop were playing Tranmere and won! The three points were a great belated birthday present.

My friend Paul had come up from Cardiff and came to sit next to me in the second half. Here we are looking suitably thrilled during the match. (Thanks to Podge and his super zoom lens from the other end of the ground!)

I also saw my friend Jim and his son, Nick, at the game. Jim is the friend I went to Malaga with back in February. I made them pose for a selfie.

After the game we had a family pizza evening at my brother's house. I even had balloons to remind me of my advancing age.

And so, after a week that went by very quickly, we departed the shire(s) and returned home to Wales.

My March 2026 round up

March kicked off on St David's Day and I went to the celebratory parade in the city centre. The parade finished in Cardiff Castle, where I got a pic of this handsome Draig Goch.

I've been busy on the blog again this month. My book of the Month was A History of Wales, my album of the month was by Garbage, and I even posted a throwback snack of the month too. Meanwhile my monthly Blood Bowl game was a Battle of the Undead (!) and we battled away while munching on Easter Crisps.

It was another month with lots of traveling. I had a work trip to London where I got to see the new workwear: fleece tops (just in time for summer!)

It had been a while since my last trip to London and the Paddington Bear Shop in Paddington Station has a big Lego model in the window now. It's really nicely done.

I went to Shrewsbury and spent (most of) Mother's Day with my mother. We got her a 6-player version of her favorite game, Rummikub.

Me and mum also went out on the Saturday night as it was Mother's Day Eve. It was also Pi Day (3/14) and I had a pie. (But I ate the pie without taking a pic. Social media fail!)

At the end of the month, we were back in Shropshire for a few days. We took a ride on the Bridgnorth cliff railway for notalgia's sake. We also went to a birds of prey centre and a couple of football matches.

It's been a mixed month on the political campaigning front. One of the Plaid Cymru candidates in our area stepped down from the election race. On a more positive note, I completed all the stations in our constituency when we went to Cathays on the last Thursday of March.

We also had canvassing sessions in various bits of Cardiff, including Butetown where we were joined by Plaid Cymru's leader, Rhun ap Iorweth. I got a selfie with him.

Butetown

Plasdwr

Cathays station

While out canvassing I also saw this defiance against the fun police!

Cathy and I had a couple of cinema outings. We went to Cardiff Bay to see the new Disney Pixar film, Hoppers. We enjoyed it.

And on our trip to Shropshire, we went to a vintage OG cinema in Bridgnorth and watched The Magic Faraway Tree. We both liked it, and the cinema. I particularly liked this big M&M in the lobby:

I had a decent month of football, getting to 6 games. That included watching Shrewsbury Town play Cheltenham in the company of my brother and our friend Kate.  On the way in, Kate and I worked out we have been friends for over 30 years. 

Later in the month I hit some Futbology milestones at 3 games in a row, including game number 650 at Cardiff Dracs and stadium number 150 in the very next game when I saw Ludlow Town. 

I was the only Futbology user to check in at Ludlow - but I wasn't there on my tod. I had the real pleasure of Cathy's company at the game.

And then on the 31st March, I made it three games in a row with a Futbology milestone badge, when I collected two at AFC Bridgnorth!

The ground in Bridgnorth hasn't changed in the 30+ years since I used to go there with my Dad. It still has the slope and the tea bar. It was a very nostalgic evening for me, and Bridgnorth won!

4 days in Malaga

I was very fortunate to go on a long weekend to Malaga, with my (almost lifelong) friend, Jim, who used to live there and so knew how to find the real city that many tourists miss. 

It felt like we went on the opposite of a 'lads weekend' because we actively avoided the tourist trap bars full of other holidaymakers. Our main focus was going to watch Malaga FC play a home game. We booked some extra days either side of matchday just in case the game time changed - and then it got scheduled for late on the Sunday evening. 

So we did some tourism stuff. The extra days gave us time for plenty of sightseeing and tapas. One of the main sights to see in Malaga is the Alcazaba Castle. We then climbed the hill behind Alcazaba to the Gibralfaro Castle on the top. The views across the city were incredible. 

We could see the football ground in the distance too!

We saw the beach

And the lighthouse in the port

Went to the Picasso Museum

And the Cathedral

Had delicious seco at Picasso's favourite bar, which serves fortified wine from barrels and has authentic sticky floors

Had churros at Casa Aranda

Were entertained by chatterbox parakeets in the park. They were in raucous nest-building mode.

The parakeets avoided the free-range cactus

And most of all just enjoyed walking round and discovering stuff!

I've got to say a big thank you to Jim for being such a great guide, sorting out so much of the travel admin, and being a patient translator when I asked him what some random words meant! Both of us felt sad when the trip drew to a close and we had to head out to the airport. At least we got to ride on a train before getting on a plane!