Weavers Hills - Thy Clouds Drop Fatness   10th May 2013      80th Office Sqwalk

 

 

 

 

Up for it were:

Yupmeister, Anytime Tone, Pedro, Granpop Bill, Stubbee, Dasher, Debri (Debbie Holihead), Malc Jay, Mr Tahoohigh, Heavy Steve Machine, Ali Gee, Jacko, 2 Pie Hard Dave Semi-Colon, Rob Sparklette, Paul Hecky Thump, Tim Mothy, Benny (Kev Benfield), Benny's mate Alan, Benson's B.Ed (Brian Edwards), RoadRunner neep neep (Steve Bickerton), Mike Scott, Austin Knott and Austin Knott 2
     

 
Weaving our way in a City Buses minibus from the Westbury Tavern, the gang from the local area slipped up through Penkhul to pick up Ali G and Bensons B.Eds.

There was no missing Ali G but alas there was no sign of Benson.  After a ten minute wait and a few phone calls it was assumed he’d slept in, so the sad decision to continue was made.  Did he oversleep? Read on.

 

 
It was a murky morning with a tadge of light rain but it didn’t dampen our spirits as we set off from The Cross Inn, immediately passing a glass fronted sheep pen.  Seemed a little bit over the top.
 

With most of us being ex council workers we couldn’t pass the Caldon Low stone quarry without a quick shufty. We stood in awe of the depth and magnitude of the greatest pothole this side of Stoke, tempted to issue a site instruction to fill it..

 

 

From one amazing sight to another we came to a trig point, with far reaching views; but sadly not today.
We headed off in a south easterly direction, looking out for a brown field (an obvious landmark spotted on the previous reckie) which would guide us on our way to the breakfast stop.

It was of course difficult to spot any field, let alone a brown one, in the midst of a misty haze, but eventually the clouds lifted briefly and Yup’s landmark clearly stood out before us. Thank goodness the farmer hadn't ploughed the field next to it.
 

 
Down a steep hillside and past the infamous brown field and the local cricket club we arrived, just a few minutes late at Forge Farm Studios in Wootton.  We were warmly welcomed by Lee and Simon who had kindly offered to provide us with a convenient tea and coffee break and the opportunity to see their collection of sculptures and paintings.

A fine collection of sculptures was on display, although I wasn’t aware of any sales transactions taking place on the day.  Maybe later?  Affording a sculpture or a new car was a fine 'balancing act' !!  Check out www.simonmanby.com for more details.

Benson suddenly appeared out of the blue to join us, having returned home from where he'd been waiting in Stoke and then having driven directly to us.  Sadly we had missed him in Stoke; as he had been waiting outside Maplins instead of One Stop.  There had been some confusion over the pick up point, not sure whether it was Yuppy's error or Bensons, but at least he was now with us.  One thing is for sure, he would be carrying his phone with him in the future. 

 
After a few visits to the outside toilet before we set off, we returned back uphill in a northern direction. 

Yuppy assumed everyone was paying their usual respects to him on the hillside, but in actual fact they were limbo dancing under electric fences. 

     
 

There was yet another fantastic view point, (on another day) from where we could just make out the brown field again. Oh joy.
 

Luckily the biggest bull ever had moved away from our path as we crossed a field where it had been spotted grazing 5 minutes earlier. 

Joe hadn't spotted it in the distance otherwise an alternative route may have been called for; and he wouldn't have been on his own ........

I once saw a notice in a farmer's field which read:

THE FARMER ALLOWS WALKERS TO CROSS THE FIELD FOR FREE, BUT THE BULL CHARGES. 

I've been wary ever since.

 
With the terrain finally flattening off we headed west towards Caldon Low, or should it be Cauldon Lowe? 

We hoped to hear a few explosions from the quarry, but none were heard.  Must have taken place early doors.

 
A stone well at Cauldon caught our eyes with the engraving -  'Thy clouds drop fatness'.  It was obviously from psalm 65 if I recall correctly!!  There had been a few fat drops of rain from above today, so it pretty much summed up the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The Yew Tree Inn was to be our first stop and it was great to see Alan, the landlord looking so well again after his recent stroke back in December.  www.yewtreeinncauldon.com

'Stairway to Heaven' was on tap along with the usual Burton Bridge bitter; and all were served in Pedro's favourite vessels - a jug.. 

 

It didn't take long to see the renowned pork pies appearing in front of Ali G, tempting the rest of us to sample one.  Otherwise we wouldn't have bothered.....  '

Shall I get one between the 3 of us?', suggested Stubbie.  'Is the Pope Catholic?', came the response.

Split 3 ways with impeccable accuracy, and with Stubbie's slice plastered in mustard, the pie went down quickly. So quickly in fact that a further 2 pies soon followed.

The landlord's dog waited very patiently for any crumbs and was finally rewarded before he moved on and pleaded with his next possible provider, Pedro.

 

Alan's belated wife's son, Dan, set up the player piano for us and the screeching chorus to Bohemian Rhapsody echoed around the quarries.

 

I see 3 silhouettes of a man, scaramoosh, scaramoosh

Will you do the fandango

Thunderbolt and lightning - very very frightening Debbie and making her hair stand on end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gallileo, Gallileo, Gallileo, Gallileo, Gallileo Figaro - magnifico

 

 

 
 

It was a further twenty minute walk up the road to The Cross Inn where we had lunch booked.

They must have expected a group from Iceland as the heating had been turned up to full wack. Eventually the windows were forced open and the heating turned down. We didn't need heat to make us thirsty.

2 pie R’d Dave semi colon said he’d be on the piste in a few weeks in Andorra.  No change there then.

To keep his sugars on a level par in readiness for his jaunt he ordered a healthy omelette, subsequently topping it up with a bowl of chips to give it more flavour.

Everyone's name was called out as the meals were served.  But only one name was called after the meals - 'Who’s Anytime Tony?' shouted the waitress.  'He hasn’t paid yet !!'

 

The minibus arrived around 5.20pm to collect the remaining guys from the Westbury.  There was a really heavy shower just before we jumped off at the Westbury Tavern. Pedro had opted to get off 2 minutes earlier but we didn't chuckle too much as we thought of him getting soaked.  It's as well he'd got a tumble drier at home.

 
Many thanks again to Lee and Simon and good luck for the future with your work in the studio.

Cheers

Yuppers

(enjoy yer fat clouds)