Hereford is a lovely town. It has gorgeous scenery and great pubs. Not a bad combination. Upon arriving, Jill, Sean and I sat at a pub and I told them of where I had been and what I had done since I last saw them. It's crazy how many places I had been to since the last time I was here. It's always nice to tell people, as it reminds me of the fantastic places I have visited.
Of course, we had to go the most happening place in Hereford, The Barrels! The dynamic of this pub is great. The place is always busy and it is packed with old-timers, youngsters and everything in between. I know I've been to Hereford a lot when locals are recognizing me and I them. I almost feel like a local.
There was a heat wave that hit England and the weather was very pleasant. It was in the 80's for consecutive days, if you can believe it. We went canoeing down the River Wye with some of Jill and Sean's friends, Dave and Claire. They are super cool people. In one canoe was Jill, Sean and I and in the other was Dave, Claire and Dillon, their dog. The sun was out and we were all excited for a five mile trip down the river. There were swans, we made a game of it and counted 31, ducks, water splashing, men and dogs going overboard and beautiful scenery. The water wasn't very deep along
most of the river so we had to get out and push a bunch of times. We did stop to have a lunch break. Out of about 10 canoes, we came in first and Dave, Claire and Dillon came in a close second. We celebrated with... wait for it... a cider! We later had a BBQ to cap of a great day of being active after a night of drinking.
I was presented with an opportunity to finally do some volunteer work. I know, I probably have had other opportunities but have slacked on taking the initiative to do it. So... Sean was doing some, let's call it "work" at a cattery in Hereford. He asked if I wanted to help out. I was very happy to do so. The first day, Jill and I joined Sean and what I thought was going to be a day of playing with kittens and cats was actually a few hours of laying cement in the walkway. I didn't mind the work. The staff at the cattery were wonderful people. The place was run extremely well. The felines in the centre were very well looked after.
The next two days were full days of more cement laying and painting. Since I haven't have a job in so long, it felt nice to do some manual labor. The weather continued to be very nice. One of the days I was there, the DJ on the radio explained how it was the hottest day in the last seven years. He even said it was 92 degrees Fahrenheit since it was a bigger number than the Celsius conversion.
Working with Sean was fun. He is a funny guy and we had pleasant conversations. It made the time go by fast. Sean and I even had two new kittens named after us!
On my last day there, one of the cattery managers, Claire, overheard me talking about where I was going next and heard me mention Turkey. She said she had some leftover lira and wasn't going to use it and wanted to gift it to me. It was a very generous. She drove by the house the next day and dropped it off. It was almost 20 American dollars! Quite a gesture. I was very glad to be able to meet such nice people.
We visited a place called Hampton Court that week, per the suggestion of a friend I met named Natalie. Natalie and her daughter, Freya met Jill, Sean and I there for a lovely day of walking around a castle and petting animals like skunks, meer cats and giant lizards. We actually walked through a maze and a beautiful garden that was on the premises. Hereford is full of beautiful garden and castle-type attractions.
Sean had to leave the country so Jill and I were on our own. We didn't have a car so we had to walk everywhere. It wasn't a bad thing. Jill lives close to the city centre so it was nice to stroll along the streets of Hereford. Of course, we visited plenty of pubs. One of my favorites was the Horse and Groom. It was poo-pooed by everyone we met in Hereford. I guess it is considered a bit of a shithole. Jill asked me if I wanted to go and I was very keen on checking it out.
Right away we met a local, born and raised Herefordian named Mick. He was a funny man. He told us all sorts of facts about Hereford and funny anecdotes about himself. He showed us the picture on their wall of him wearing a speedo showing his ass which had a tattoo of an eye on each cheek. He said he did it for charity. He said he wasn't happy with the tattoo because he wanted Donald Duck eyes on his ass. He got human eyes instead. They actually tattooed him right in the pub with him leaning over the pool table. There was another picture of him siting down with his naked frontal package in plain sight. No shame in Mick's game.
We met a slew of other locals. We actually got into a game of Jenga at the bar. The loser has to buy a shot of port wine shots. I knocked the tower over but the guys let me off the hook.
Jill and I went back another time for Karaoke night. The MCs were a lesbian couple. Their names were Roz and Mandy. It was run very strangely. Roz was in charge and playing oldies but goodies, which is fine, but no words were on the screen. She would just sing into the mic sporadically. Every once in a while she would let someone sing a song with the words on the screen. I was able to sing one song, "Brown Eye Girl." Jill put her name in to sing a song but Roz never let her sing. Not really sure why. Mandy was much nicer. I danced with her for a song. I don't think Roz liked it.
The rest of my stay in Hereford involved delicious Sunday roasts, BBQs at friends' houses, trips to Worcester, Tillintington Farms and more pubs. I was actually recognized by the locals on more than one occasion. I felt like a local. I guess since I have spent about a month of my travels in Hereford when I have only been traveling for three and Hereford isn't that big, you kind of start seeing the same people.
I will miss Hereford. Perhaps I'll have the chance to come back again.
I want to thank all of the wonderful people I have met. I didn't meet a single jerk. The people in Hereford have a way of making you feel like you have known them for years. Big thanks to Natalie, Freya, Dave, Claire, Dillon, Andrea, Guy, Nicky, Jim, Ant, Laura and so many others I got to spend time with.
I would be remiss if I didn't save the biggest thanks for my "roommates" Jill and Sean. I honestly consider you both family. You both have been so good to me. Nothing but great times were had and I will miss you guys so much. I only hope I can repay what you both have done for me.
I am off to Greece tomorrow. Excited about new places and new people.
Be well!
