Day 43 Part 1 - "Quick, to the cut"

I reached Stourport and looked for signs of activity at a polling station. It was quiet, despite the fuss about MPs expenses and talk about voters using European and local elections to register a protest.

The centre of Stourport has a resort atmosphere. It's a kind of Black Country seaside town. I remember childhood outings and bringing my own family here to play in the park, go for a paddle in the pool, and to walk on the riverbank.

The funfair stands on one side of the road north of the bridge, while the other is lined with fish and chip shops, pubs and cafes.

I've seen prices steadily fall as I've walked into the Midlands. The 'pizza slice and chips' for £1.25 offered by one pub is the cheapest, if not the most nutritionally balanced, meal I've seen advertised so far.

During my walk I've enjoyed the way that local accents have slowly changed. But in Stourport, there's a marked change. In north Worcestershire, there's been a hint of Brummie, but in Stourport, the Black Country accent and dialect has taken over.

At the very start of the 'Staffs and Worcester' canal, at the top of the first lock leading from the basin, I had a big mug of tea at the "Goodnight Sweetheart" cafe. It's a 1940's themed cafe but would be better described as a museum. Gil invited me to walk through its four rooms, all crammed with 1940s furnishings, artefacts, packets and tins. Gil has wired the loudspeakers of the period radios to play band music. He's even refitted a television set to play recordings of the 1953 coronation.
(continues in Part Two)