I found out that it was cheaper to buy the tickets online, so before we left, I bought them. However, I needed to print them so I plugged in Simon’s printer and of course it wouldn’t work unless the drivers were installed. Eventually I managed to print them out, but we ending up leaving a bit later than we’d hoped. Using Rachel’s TomTom (properly this time), we managed to get to the Museum without any problems. We walked through the museum displays and stepped out into the old town.
The Black Country Museum is a open-air 'living' museum with rebuilt historic buildings (Ye Olde Shoppes) including a corner shop, chapel, pub, sweet shop, and a 'chippy', and a school. Other attractions included canal boats, an underground coal mine, a fun-fair. We took a ride on the Tram down to the lower part of town. It started to rain a little bit so we went inside the School. We joined a group of school children in the hall where a teacher taught them an authentic lesson from about 100 years ago.
After the rain stopped, we headed down to the shops for a look around. Rachel popped into the sweet shop and bought some bread pudding for us to have. Then we stood outside the general store and talked about rabbits (since there were a couple of them hanging in the window) before going inside. We were greeted by a nice man who filled us in on the history of rabbits and why they were hanging in the window, and he called me Mr New Zealand. He must have had very good hearing as he had heard every word we had said outside. He proceeded to give us a history of the shop and its owners, HP sauce and antique cash registers and chopping blocks. He then rounded off his talk with a joke which I can only capture the essence of here – he told it much better!
Three couples died and stood at the gates of Heaven. St Peter looked out at them and beckoned them forth. The first couple walked up to St Peter and asked if they could come in to Heaven. “What is your wife’s name?” asked St Peter. “Penny”, answered the first husband. “How appropriate”, declared St Peter. “You loved money more than God. You are not allowed into Heaven.” He pulled a lever, and the first couple fell through a hole down to Hell.
The second couple approached St Peter. “What is your wife’s name?” asked St Peter. “Ginny”, answered the second husband. “How appropriate”, declared St Peter. “You preferred to spend time drinking booze than thinking about God.” He pulled a lever, and the second couple fell down to Hell. St Peter beckoned the third couple to come forward. The third husband turns to his wife and says, “Come on Fanny, there’s no way they’ll let us in!”
We checked out a few of the other shops (discovering on the way that Kiwi shoe polish is, and always was, Australian) before heading down to the canal. They have a collection of canal boats that take you on a tour through the mining tunnels. I found one called William which I took a photo of. The tour was due to start in 15 minutes, so I thought I would buy a sausage and bacon bap from the local shop. The woman had not had any customers all day and had thrown out all of her cooked food, but she kindly offered to cook one just for me. It would take ten minutes so we wandered around some of the other buildings before returning.
I ate my bap (which was really good) as we climbed into the boat. We were advised to keep our hands inside as the tunnels are only a couple of inches wider than the boats. The operator was very skilled at piloting the boat and we only hit the side a few times. We floated deep into the mountain looking at the vast tunnels and caverns that had been excavated by brave chaps hundreds of years ago. It was very cold underground and we were glad that we were wearing warm clothes.
On the way back, we stopped and were asked if anyone would like to ‘leg it’ down the canal. Legging it is the term used to lie on your back and use your feet to propel the boat along (they didn’t have the motors they have now). I took up the challenge and went back to back with one of the operators. He has these large fluffy earmuffs on - I instantly thought of Princess Leia, but more of a nightmarish sort.
After emerging from the canal, we walked along the road where there was an old house that had become crooked due to subsidence; the Tilted Cottage. Rachel walked in the down and screamed; an old lady who she thought was a mannequin suddenly came to life! The old lady said that she had never been greeted that way before!
The last thing we had time to do was to go down the pit. We put on our helmets and followed the guide into the tunnel. The ceilings were very low in places and I had to crouch to about half my height in places. When we turned the torches off, it was so incredibly black that I could have been blind. After the tour, I told Rachel the story about Pamela’s experience and she was glad I hadn’t told her before we went down.
After seeing the Tilted Cottage, Paul remembered the Crooked House pub which was nearby. Luckily they had directions to the pub at the main desk – presumably a lot of people go there after being at the museum. The pub looked like something that belonged at the Wanaka Maze. Although the pub had tilted into the earth, the floors and wall panelling had been levelled. It did make you feel a bit funny inside though. I bought a pint of Hobgoblin which was also very nice. Walking out of the pub was an equally strange experience, almost like stepping on to land after a long boat cruise.
We drove home and had a late dinner (bratwurst sausages and mash) then ended the night with a Singapore Sling nightcap which everyone enjoyed. We said goodbye to Rachel and Paul. It was sad as we had an early start and wouldn’t see them again until the memorial service. I packed up my gear, set an alarm and crashed into my bed.
