Interviews planned for Cycling the Canals of Britain

I hope to film a lot of interviews while cycling on the canals and also while in Birmingham, Worcester and Stratford-upon-Avon. In Birmingham, I hope to meet Andy Munro, the author of Going for a Balti: The Story of Birmingham’s Signature Dish. The balti is a fusion dish created by Pakistani chefs in Birmingham in the 1970s–80s. It’s served in the pan it was cooked in and I’m looking forward to lunch with Andy.

I’m also going to attend a talk at the Birmingham Canal Navigation Society at the Titford Pump House. A shout out to Brenda Ward who’s offered me a ride to the meeting.

While on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal, I plan to tour Bournville village, the community created to house Cadbury workers. If my schedule works out, I hope to meet with someone from the Bournville Village Trust, the organization that George Cadbury started in 1900 to administer his model village.

The Worcester Birmingham and Droitwich Canal Society has also welcomed me, although I’m arriving just after the annual St. Richard’s Festival in Droitwich Spa, so I hope they won’t be too knackered. I’m looking forward to meeting Tony Brannon and Margaret Rowley.

At Stoke Prior, I’m going to stop at Black Prince Narrowboat Hire where I hope to watch as a new narrowboater gets the first-timer’s tour. Thanks to Bob Edmonds for setting this up.

I’m still looking for an expert I can speak with about the English Civil War while in Worcester, because that town has a claim to being the site of the opening and closing battles between King Charles I and the parliamentarian forces. In Stratford-upon-Avon, I think I’ll be content to just be a tourist and with luck, stand for a few minutes in Shakespeare’s schoolroom.

Then I’ll be meeting with Clive Henderson, secretary with the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal Society. It’s the dedicated volunteers at these societies, in conjunction with the Canal & River Trust and the Inland Waterways Association, who keep the canals in good order for boaters, bikers and hikers. Thank you.