A Handbag?

Pixie took her new handbag out for the first time today. Now, as a bloke, obviously I’m not into the whole bag experience but I do appreciate that this one is something special. On the signpost decoration are the names of two of our local villages. I don’t know why an international manufacturer of lady’s requisites should choose to glorify a couple of obscure Worcestershire places but it is possible that the names have something to do with it – they are Upton Snodsbury and Wyre Piddle (NO SNIGGERING AT THE BACK, THERE!). In fact I cycle through Wyre Piddle two or three times a week, crossing over the Piddle Brook in the process. Now what’s funny about that?

It’s strange how some place names just cry out to be given a wider audience. Some years ago I lived near Nempnett Thrubwell – it’s such a lovely combination of sounds that it could form a religious mantra. It would certainly be a bit more exiting than chanting Hare Krishna or Om.

Anyway the purpose of our journey was to go and have lunch in the Shropshire town of Bridgnorth. There are several ways to get there and we chose a combination of car and steam train. It was grand. The café, Cinnamon, surpassed even its previous high standards. It’s a vegetarian establishment, heavily into Freetrade and organic food (that’s stuff that's delivered to the premises with the dirt still on it).

The Ploughman’s Lunch I had was superb, Pixie’s salad likewise, although I’m not sure what the average British ploughman would have made of couscous - filthy foreign muck would have been the comment, I imagine. Nevertheless I thought it was an excellent variation on an old standard. Coffee was tasty as well. As was the cake.