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Published: September 30th 2018
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Woolly says – It was a glorious day, not a cloud in the sky and the sun was already warming my fur as we headed towards the city, I sat contentedly munching on the remans of breakfast and wondering what to have as my first snack of the day. Following my disappointment from being able to get a round of golf in I had researched fully to ensure that our destination would not only be there but would be open Not that the females gave me any credit for my preplanning and just sat moaning about the need to play, my cunning plan involved chocolate cake so I felt assured that I would soon win them over. We weren’t actually moaning about the golf but about how cold the nights are now getting and the need for extra covers to sleep!
Woolly says - Cannon Hill Park is a park located in south Birmingham, and covers 250 acres (101 ha) of land. On 18th April 1873, a local benefactor, Miss Louisa Ann Ryland (1814 - 1889) of Barford Hill House, Warwickshire, gave just over 57 acres (23 ha) of meadow land, known as the Cannon Hill Fields, to Birmingham Corporation and paid for the draining of the site to create a public park. Two large lakes were constructed along with ornamental ponds and a bathing pool. Further acreage was donated over the years until it reached its current size. It is a place that we all know well and had been used extensively in the childhoods of both of the women. Having eventually found a parking space I strolled over the small bridge and past the MAC centre which houses artists workshops, a theatre/cinema and several galleries for their constantly changing art work that gets displayed. Even better is has a café and knowing that it is always better to play golf on a full tummy I led the way in towards the indulgence of chocolate cake.
Having sat in the sunshine enjoying our chosen delicacies I congratulated the mammoth on suggesting we come.
Woolly says – I took their praise, wiped the residue of jam from my ears and tail and suggested we move towards the real reason for our visit. The golf feature is a new addition to the parks amenities and I was eager to try it out, having acquired clubs for the girls and balls for all we decided to play the easier course first, well easy for me and Jo, Zoe appeared to think that each hole needed at least ten shots at it whilst I managed it with a mere one or two. Jo must have been practicing as she brought in a hole in one and a few creditable twos. As we took hole after hole we were met with a variety of obstacles including a very very thin bridge over a river which kept the women fit as they dashed backwards and forwards with fishing nets to capture the balls that seemed intent on diving in. Having won the first eighteen holes, we headed towards the next and my winning streak continued as Zoe seemed to get worse and worse, I knew I should have bought Dave instead!
It was a lovely way to spend a few hours and I have to say that I was fairly chuffed with winning although the small furry one tried to make claims of his success!
Woolly says – Well I know who won! Having completed our games we wandered slowly round the lakes, stopping to chat to the squirrels who were dashing everywhere in their quest to find nuts for the winter and admiring the flower beds and trees that provided some lovely shade as we went. Having spotted a large memorial, I trotted over fully expecting it to be one for the heroes of the first and or second world wars. The 1906 granite and bronze memorial to the dead of the Second Boer War by Albert Toft, was therefore a pleasant surprize as this isn’t a war that seems to have much in the way of commemorative features. With a photograph taken we moved on. Having found ourselves at the second lake we sat on a bench for a while and enjoyed the peace and tranquillity that the city park gave us.
It was a lovely place to be and I knew that there was one more small surprize for my small friend as we walked onwards.
Woolly says – I do like a surprize especially the food variety, I put my eagle eyes to good use in looking for a mountain of pistachio’s, they must have been very well hidden as the only thing I could see was a scale model of a dam. I scratched my tummy and looked at the other side of the creation but still no nuts to be found, I did however spot an information sign and hurried over to it. Built in the 1960’s the Ellan Valley Reservoirs had been completely recreated in miniature, the reservoirs have been supplying water to Birmingham and the surrounding areas for decades and according to Jo there is no better water, I could think of something better and that was a fully tummy, I glanced around to find the women, surely they must be hungry by now, placing my most winsome smile on my face I trotted across with my suggestion of lunch.
He looked as though he had constipation! His idea of lunch was a good one though and we made our way back into the MAC centre itself.
Woolly says – With lunch consumed and the leftovers carefully thrown into Jo’s bag for later we went in search of the galleries to see what they had currently on display. Out of the Shadows was a photographic exhibit telling the untold stories of a group of people with autism and learning difficulties who had fallen fowl of the law and how the prison service is poorly adapted to deal with people with special needs. The pictures were splendid and the stories were very moving. I had just finished reading all about Jake when Zoe let out a cry and I raced over to see if she was ok, she was looking at the picture of a young man and frantically flapping her hands in delight, ‘I serve him at work’ she finally explained that he is now living independently in Dudley and visits her at work on a regular basis and has been keeping her up to date on his amazing progress following his release from an institutionalised setting. I grinned up at her knowing that rehabilitating offenders is one of her favourite subject matters and pleased to know that the young gent in question was now doing so well. With a last look round, I collected the girls together and we headed back into the sunshine and our drive back, a most enjoyable day out and winning at golf just made
it better!
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