This meant a drive to Redditch - not a shopping centre that we have been to before (at least as we recall) - it looks as if the entire original town centre has been replaced by a modern style shopping mall, complete with a ring of at least 7 car parks.
It did not take long to locate the Three Store and to engage in a debate with a very friendly and helpful salesman. Having researched the likely options before hand we were able to home in speedily to the main choices and eventually opted to replace the S7 with a S9+, the currently latest model. The only change from our initial assumptions was based on the salesman's analysis of our usage levels and that a 30 GB data limit would be sufficient, now that we have unlimited streaming in addition. Even on our busiest boat months we have not exceeded 17 GB. And the new contract was around £13 less than we had been paying!
After a coffee and cake in the shopping center and a quick purchase of a cheap and cheerful phone case, we returned to the car and back towards the boat. (Drinking our lattes gave a chance to take a quick start on setting up the phone and s;potting the differences from its predecessor) It turned out later thta the phone case is incompatible with wireless charging but at least it will meet a need until we can track down a better one - again Andrew's experience with the same device should make it more reliable to track down. For the benefit of others who might make the same mistake - the case is formed of two parts. A strong cradle that protects the back and edges but not the screen and a surrounding case. A feature that had seemed a benefit is that the cradle is held in place magnetically but it it is just that mechanism that interferes with the wireless charging!
Having had a very late morning cake we bypassed lunch and visited Hanbury Hall - Andrew now has a National Trust membership and is keen to make good use of it! We had a good wander around the gardens and found a few parts that we missed on our guided tour earlier in the year.
One of the trees in the orchard has a mistletoe plant - these were traditionally grown on apple trees.
The mushroom house is currently being used to store apples from the orchard.
One new feature was the Ice House, perhaps the largest one we have even seen (they are not that common) This one was especially used as part of the annual summer entertaining that the original owner had as the main purpose for building the house at the start of the 18th century - he was a successful lawyer in London.
The short tunnel leads to a large brick lined pit where the ice is stored, with a substantial insulating mound of earth above. The ice is not drinkable so it was put into special holders that cooled the summer drinks. The ice could, however, be carved into the intricate shapes that were once an important centre piece to elaborate dinners.
The walk around was also an opportunity to try out the camera features on the new phone although, as it did not come fully charged, we soon reached the point when it was complaining about needing an urgent feed!
Each of the small conical trees in the box garden has been decorated by the staff with a tiny shiny bauble!
Andrew and Christine took a look around the house - they were amused to find that it had been given a festive makeover circa 1970! Another younger visitor was having to ask what a fondue set was for . . .
Andrew walked back whilst we drove back and, after putting some charge into the phone, were able to continue with setting up. In parallel, Mike put together a chilli for tonight's meal.
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