Bartimaeus

Yesterday we had just finished breakfast when Shane drew my attention to a quiet crackling, buzzing noise coming from just above where he sits. I went to look on the roof but there were no birds scratching or ropes rubbing or leaves fluttering to make a high vibration. We had had a wasp in the cabin recently and wondered if somehow there was one…or many buzzing under the wood trim. This trim has been removed before….time for something to get in and start nesting? We were not sure. We had lots of locks to crack on with so did not investigate further.

This morning we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and watched a kingfisher, out of the window,  preparing its own, bashing the fish against a branch. There was a lot of bird and squirrel activity out of the window so we are glad to be on the outside having sight of the water and hedging.

After breakfast, we  could hear the buzz again and having no actual firm plan for the day, started taking the board down. It unscrews easily enough, but being over 4 meters long needs two people to support and lift it down, ideally. No swarm emerged I am glad to say but the sight of wet wires was disconcerting. Some electrical buzz then. It had rained heavily. When the solar panels are replaced, improved roof seal is also planned. The trim has been put back in almost the same place, though I feel there is a mm or so gap at one end that wasn’t there before. 

With the weather improving and the plank back in situ, we went to Warwick. I wanted to se if any of the museums were open. We did an extensive search for lunch spots, going further out beyond the High Street then Shane thought reasonable, and found one that had the most unusual menu. Always liking trying something new we went in to the Warwick Street Kitchen Bakery. We were immediately told that many of the items on the current menu were not available as a new menu comes out tomorrow. We really enjoyed our choices from the specials board, and I really liked the chai latte. Shane had a sugar and salt croissant after while I saved my afters for much after (when we returned to the boat) by taking away an ameretti…very much home made and delicious. 

Birmingham has a sister cafe so I have another goal for next Birmingham trip. So many canals pass that way we will surely go that way again.

The museum at the Market Square was open and interesting. Entry is free and there are a wide variety of topics and exhibits with interactive activities for children. I enjoyed finding out that Dorothy Cadbury was not only a director of a chocolate factory, but also a keen botanist and artist who was chief author of the first computer compiled book of flowers, in the early seventies.

Skeletons, fossils and stuffed animals are not unusual but an actual live buzzing display was a glass bee hive showing them flying in and outside with the honeycombs visible. A hive display has been in the museum for 90 years. In the foyer, the museum’s Christmas tree was decorated with bees rather than baubles and were all knitted by the local knit and natter group. They seem to meet at the museum every second week and get a reduction in the cafe!

Enough of my hobby Shane has been getting into Mastodon lately (he wasn’t on Twitter in the first place) and regaling me with posts from there, but he didn’t take me to see this exhibit, in the mock-up a local geologist’s study.