Saucy times in Worcester

So, after my trips to two museums on monday, I decided I needed to do something different the next day. Too many museums in too short a time = death drain. I was on facebook chat with my mate Toby, who I met on JACD training on the Sapphire Princess back in April. Toby is a total champion and we have kept in touch ever since. I thought "why not go and visit him?". So I asked, and before I knew it I was booking a train ticket for the next day.

Meeting toby at the station was very exciting! I hadn't seen him for ages, but straight away we were getting along like a house on fire. My first question was "where do they make the sauce". THe answer was a disappointing "nowdays, in China".

Toby took me to Worcester Cathedral, where we were greeted by a very super-friendly guide man who promised to test me on my knowledge of the cathedral at the end of our visit. This friendly fellow frequently popped up at random intervals and provided us with huge quantities of information about manythings, including a special octagonal vesper room that was currently closed.

THe cathedral was beautiful- but this beauty was made endlessly more fabulous by the group of school children that were in the church practicing for their end-of-year christmas concert. The choir of primary school students were singing, and as we were leaving cathedral, they had spread all over the altar and spaced down the aisles. THey then began to sing and do hilariously cute dance moves (including jazz hands rainbows) as their teacher shouted encouragement. It was so cute we actually died.

We then went to the Commandery - the main museum in town. Worcester is especially famous as the site of the last battle of the English Civil war- and this was one of the many themes of the museum. We went in, and I paid my four pounds entry fee whilst Toby (as a worcester resident) filled in the form for his official "COmmandery Membership Card", meaning he can visit free whenever he likes. The lady organising all this was just so sweet, taking such good care of us and getting all excited whilst explaining how the museum and accompanying audio guides worked.

check out the website here btw

The Commandery is not a normal museum. It is in an ancient building that was once an abbey and has had 6 different uses in it's time - Abbey, private home, civil war headquarters, school for the blind, printing shop. THe rooms are more-or-less empty - and the experience is created by listening to yoru audio guide, which is like a little mobile phone. You "choose" one of the 6 eras to follow and proceed through the house, typing in the code of each room. THe audio guide plays a lively narration with an actor re-creating the time for you. We did the civil war era, and our guide was constantly telling us to run to the window and look out at the battle on the hill before us, or "quickly, let's escape to the next room"- and we would find outselves running there! It was great fun!

Spaced throughout the house were lots of interactive activities! there was a room where you could write in the styles of each era - type writers, quills, braille! another room where you could try on hats of the different eras - and aanother where you could "smell" what the kitchen would have smelled like in each age. There was a fun room where you had to "build" (using plush houses) what the building looked like in each era. We were throwing houses across the room! Randomly, there was also a very sweet christmas crafting station in one room. They had just left out lovely christmas pictures and doilies, cards, glue and glitter for visitors to make christmas cards for their loved ones.

It was absolutely wonderful! We had a ball in the museum, where I guess we really weren't expecting to. I would recommend it to ANYONE who visits Worcester. It was really a very informative and interactive experience.

After that we chilled around Worcester. We had a fab cheap lunch at an apparently "Aussie" themed pub (not very). We caught a black cab home (in london very expensive, but in worcester not so much) and I met toby's family.His mum and dad are lovely. We lazed around watching the 25th anniversary Les Miserables, and then we had an awesome pork dinner. It was then time to get into our glad rags and hit the town.

Tuesday night, as I was soon to find out, is a massive night in Worcester for the gays. They all converge once a week to a night club called "the velvet lounge" where they play fantastic tunes and serve 2.50 double vodka redbulls. That plus the ridiculous friendliness of the gays made for a great night out. I met so many great people (none of whom's name I can remember), taught line dance to strangers and saw the most extreme projectile vomit of my life in thebeer garden. It was.. like a 5 m spew. disgusting- but impressive. We danced up a storm and struggled home at 3am to awaken the next morning nursing the godawful hangovers that only vodkaredbulls can cause. After lazing on the couch all day eating "bacon sarneys" and crisps, I finally got my act together and struggled to the station , wehre I borded my train for a brisk (although somewhat nauseating) 2.5 hour trip back to London.

It was a great two days! Thanks so much for having me to stay, Toby!