Banburyshire (Friday 14th October 2016)

I had a day on Friday in the area of Oxfordshire known as 'Banburyshire', beginning in Banbury itself, a town I have never explored on foot before. The Oxford Canal passes through it but I did not get to that side of the town. I had a very nice cappuccino in Café Veneto and had a look at Banbury Cross and the Fine Lady statue (see Extra).

At lunchtime I was at the Waterfowl Sanctuary and Children's Farm and picnicked among lots of ducks and geese who were living out a happy old age having been saved from a certain death by the owners of the sanctuary, as had been black swans, llamas (see Extra), donkeys, goats, pygmy goats, Shetland ponies, emus, rabbits and other lovely animals.

I had called in there on my way to Hook Norton and spent the afternoon at Hook Norton Brewery where I enjoyed an excellent and very informative guided tour followed by a beer tasting. They are one of only four breweries left in the country using shire horses, and from the moment I saw them there was no doubt what my blip would have to be.

In the blip you see on the left our tour guide Monty and Stella the dog. Coming out of the stables is the lovely Elizabeth Csak, their newly appointed Hungarian groom who very kindly later brought the two horses that were in the stables (Nelson and Major) out for me to photograph.

Their two most recently acquired shires were already outside - Winston (10) and Lucas (8), both over 18 hands, one of whom is in this blip. They were later to be seen clip-clopping out of the brewery pulling a dray.

I spent some time at the tasting and felt it my moral duty to have a slice of carrot cake to absorb some of the alcohol so I was completely legal for driving home. I managed to leave behind the commemorative beer mug they gave me at the end of the tour but they were good enough to post it on to me. No wonder they have just won an award for Brewery Of The Year.

Pictures of the day will appear in the album below when ready.

L.
19.10.2016 (1345 hr)

Blip #1948 (#2198 including 250 archived blips)
Consecutive Blip #004
Day #2395 (446 gaps from 26 March 2010)
LOTD #1183 (#1309 including 126 on archived blips)

Taken with Pentax K-1 and Pentax HD P-D FA 28-105mm f/3.5-5.6ED DC WR lens

Oxfordshire series
Shire Horses series

A Day In 'Banburyshire', 14 October 2016 (Flickr album)

Lozarhythm of the Day:
Harry Thumann - Underwater (Original 12") (1979)
Radio 6 Music were having a 1979-themed day, playing the tracks that they might have played on Sunday 14th October 1979, and probably doing a better job than daytime Radio One were doing at the time. Lauren Laverne played this proto-Balearic beat 12" single as the car entered Banbury. I don't remember it from the time so it was a new discovery for me. On the way home I heard Mick Jones talking to Steve Lamacq about his days in the Clash.

One year ago:
Bowood 2015 #43