A busy weekend!

On Saturday me and Al visited Homebase (the obligatory monthly visit!) and got prepared for the re-potting of the mamoth courgette plant. Can't find any tips on gardening courgette/zuchini, specifically F1 Storr's Green courgette, in either my encyclopedia or the website, so if anyone knows about gardening please let me know!

Anyway (...I'm just now watching Spain vrs Tunisia in the World cup on the telly so I'm a bit distracted!) I went to the nearby primary school to see Linda (new BioCare buddy) and her friend Sarah selling their wares at the school's fair. While there I purchased some goodies for Father's next day.

Then I headed off to the church to have a guided tour of the Old Grammar School and the Wool Merchant's House and Saracen's head. It was really interesting. I know bits of facts about the site but it's easier to piece it all together when you are standing on the site. What with it being my local church, where we're planning to get married, and also I'm working on the community project I'm slowly getting to know everyone and everything about the place!

The old wool merchants house was huge. Here's a picture and the line shows the old front of the existing tudor building:















Alo in the Old Grammar School there is 19th century graffiti on the old school desks, carved out with chisels:














And still attached to the underneath of the desk are beautifully copied out lines, maybe written under duress as punishment for some boyish misdemeanor, that reads 'Industry leads to independence' - a very Victorian sentiment!:















There are some very unusual details about the OGS too, (sorry I won't bore you for too long...) such as the fact that the lower part is 15th century while the upper part is older, from the 14th century! And the window at the far end of that part is taken from a church or chapel, and we have dated it to be from the 13th century! What a mish-mash!
The school had schoolboys being sent from across the country to Kings Norton from about the 13th century until the end of the 19th, and even in 1900 when the new school got overcrowded. At one point this small building, smaller than mine and Alex's house held an impressive library collection and up to 200 schoolboys! As for the wool merchants house (known by the name the Saracen's Head because that was the name of the pub part of it was refurbished and turned into in Georgian/Victorian times) it displays in turns craftiness, cowboyish construction and delicate craftmaship. The coyboys of the 16th century added on an extensio that makes the fiascos on the television programme DIY SOS look accomplished! I mean it's all wonky and off at angles - it makes me feel sea sick! Crafty because they put s sign over a window - it said "DAIRY" but it was to fool the taxman and avoid wondow tax! But beautiful all the same. I can't wait until the whole place is open to the public again... in time for our WEDDING!!! Yey!