Cannock Chase

Bev and Paul had a very pleasant morning walk at Cannock Chase before heading off to Hednesford for the racing. And what surprised them was that this was no repeat of Effing Forest - everyone they met could string two words together without including a sweary word, they were also very friendly and there were no pit bull terriers in sight! Bliss! Oh, and the scenery was very nice too.

Ducks in Effing Forest

While in Effing Forest, we spotted a beautiful duck but were not sure what it was or how tasty it would be. Bev checked it up on her bird book for us and discovered it was a Mandarin Duck - these are ornamental ducks from China that were brought here for waterfowl collections and have escaped, breeding very successfully in the wild. We don't care where they came from, we bears just want to know how yummy they are and if they are worth encountering Essex Man, Woman and Dog to pinch a few for lunch.

Effing Forest

Bev's mum lauged when she heard my story of meeting Essex Man, Woman and Dog in Epping Forest, but she suggests we should now call it Effing Forest after all that bad language! Bev's mum is a star! So, my previous blog should have had the title "Effing Forest and Essex Man, Woman and Dog"

Epping Forest and Essex Man, Woman and Dog

Since the weather was so nice today, Bev and Paul decided to go for a walk in Epping Forest. They enjoyed themselves wandering through the trees, taking photographs and chatting, though Epping Forest wasn't quite what they were expecting - it was very "brown", with no signs of life at all, just dead trees or trees getting ready to grow new leaves. We bears followed at a distance, kicking up the dead leaves, chasing each other and playing at sword-fighting with dead twigs. After a relaxing time spent beside a quiet pond watching the ducks swimming about, they decided to head back to the car. And that is when they met Essex Man, Woman and Pit-Bull-type Dog - the dog was very bouncy and raced towards Bev, who freaked out (she is terrified of dogs), so there was a shouting match between Bev, Essex Man and Essex Woman about keeping their dog under control, which ended in Essex Man physically threatening Bev and Paul and shouting at Bev to "F**k off back to Scotland where you belong!" Gosh, you meet such a nice class of person at Epping Forest! We hid in the bushes - we might be wild bears, but Essex Man with his tattoos, stubbly chin and big gut (reminiscent of Desperate Dan, but not quite so nice) was very, very scary! Mind you, Bev and Paul are no pushover either - they can both be quite scary when poked with a stick, and were not in the least intimidated by the out-of-control dog and owner! So, all in all, a much more exciting day out than everyone had anticipated :-) When are we going to the woods again?