Birthday Girl 2025!

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Day 1 – Sunday, 23rd

Last year, it was (only) Olney, this year, we’re further afield, heading for Stoke-on-Trent. 👍

We left around 9.15 for the straightforward journey to our destination: A14 > M1 > A50.

We arrived just before 10.45, so we grabbed a quick coffee, making the best use of the time before the Gladstone Pottery Museum opened at 11. The Museum is of course home to the popular Channel 4 Programme: ‘The Great British Throwdown’, and the success of the show has certainly put Stoke back on the map as well as the Museum itself (judging by how many people arrived at the same time as us!).

After paying our entry fee of £8.50 (for younger peeps) and £6.95 (for the old ‘un) we were soon throwing ourselves into it (see what I did there?). I think the location all felt a little smaller than when seeing it on TV, but there is certainly a lot packed in here. The Pottery closed in 1970 and re-opened as the Museum just four years later. The Grant they received in 2000 from the Lottery had been put to good use, making it possible to display a lot more of their proud history than would have otherwise been possible.

We both felt they’d re-created the look and feel of the Pottery really well through the numerous exhibits, information boards and various facts and figures from when Gladstone was at the top of their game.

They had also blended ‘new’ with ‘old’ and there were various exhibits featuring works from the latest series of TGPT.

And if pottery itself isn’t your thing, then the old machines (seen running today!) that powered it all was a must-see!

Want more? There were plenty of ‘facts and figures’ boards to remind you of how much it was all worth – including the wage costs!

With the Pottery itself leaving a lasting impression, our final visit was to the on-site exhibition of… toilets!! Imaginatively named: ‘Flushed with Pride” (arf, arf!) this turned out to be the last word in WC evolution. Pretty much the A to Z of everything you wanted to know about managing crap (but in a very good way!) – and maybe some detail you didn’t!! 😄. Luckily, no stools to sit on, but there was an interactive quiz. It appealed to our slightly warped sense of humour and featured the sound of a flushing loo if you got the answer correct, plus a rather loud ‘breaking wind’ effect, if you got it wrong! ‘Tasteful’ doesn’t begin to describe it… 😄😄. Young kids loved it (and so did the older ones!).

It was strangely entertaining! Neither of us realised there was so much history associated with something that we very much take for granted these days! A suitable end to our visit here. Gladstone had been very enjoyable and even as just a day-trip, we felt that the experience was worth it. Even us, who normally cover these things in record time, took us just over 90 minutes. The signage suggested two hours for a visit, and that seems about right.

No, not thunder – our stomachs were rumbling….

Sunday Lunch

Next stop was a short drive to The Black Lake Inn for Sunday Lunch. We arrived just after 12.30 and considering it only opened at noon, we took one of the last spaces in the car-park. Once inside, we were soon shown to our table and presented with the menus. It seemed that the rest of the citizens of Stoke had got a head start on us, where most of the covers were already tucking into their main courses.

Service was swift and we had soon placed our orders.

We could see why the place was so busy. The food was delicious and the portions enormous! Even I couldn’t finish all of mine! No room even for Desserts (really???)

After topping up OUR energy supplies, it was time to do the same for EVie and we took the short three-mile drive to a new(ish) BP Pulse Charging Station located behind the Costa Coffee just off the Baths Road. These were the newer 350kW monsters, and we’d topped up an additional 100 miles in no time at all (costing us around £18).

Sad Spode

Our final stop for the day was The Spode Factory. Just like the Gladstone Pottery this was also now a Museum – its glory days also sadly past. In fact it was all a tad depressing. The whole factory area that was once ALL part of the Spode empire had gradually been reduced over the years and sold off for Bars and small businesses leaving the smallish Museum run by Volunteers.

The Museum was interesting but not on the same size and scale as Gladstone. The three staff on duty were very positive about the outlook, but the upper floor featuring some Spode’s past creations were being sold off at a fraction of the original price. To add a further insult, to fill the space, they displayed some of their competitors’ products too!

We learned that one of the larger contributors to the demise of their highly decorated products was, of all things, the dishwasher! Apparently, the shift to simpler, dishwasher-proof designs, sealed its fate (well, that and the high price point!).

An enjoyable visit, but there wasn’t much to see, and it all felt as if in a few more years, this will have all disappeared too! Ahh, the march of progress!!! 🤔

Our Accommodation: Premier Inn

Here we are for two-night sleepover at the Premier Inn, Stoke-on-Trent.

This is a newly built Premier Inn – and it showed! Everything was shiny and well-appointed. The only disappointment – their ‘Ultimate WiFi’ – proved to be an additional challenge, but the friendly and helpful staff were soon scratching their head (as was I) before, without any input by any of us, began to behave as advertised! 😊. Technology, ehh!?!? 🤔

All-in-all, it was a very enjoyable day, but tinged with some sadness – here’s why… It was my first visit to Stoke and even though the weather was brighter than expected (no rain!), the city centre itself had a very ‘grey’ and downbeat feel about it (sorry, Stoke!). Was it the roadworks that seemed to be everywhere, or the fact that there was no-one about (except in McDonald’s or in their cars)? One thing was for certain – this clearly IS the training ground for would-be F1 drivers! Everyone was tearing around at about twice the speed limit and also showing zero respect for other drivers. No, I think the ‘grey’ effect was down to the aftermath of the old pottery industry that, for so many years, had made this city famous. Now, these proud businesses just looked like they were ‘hanging on by their fingernails’. Worse still, everywhere else seemed to have caught the disease. Overall, it felt like the city had lost its mojo with a lot of boarded-up premises that all desperately needed some TLC. Well, at least our accommodation was spot on, even if the view wasn’t!! 😯

We ended our first day watching some TV and planning our second day here. Hopefully, a brighter day tomorrow, when we’re going full-on Pottery visiting! Living the dream, ehh?!?! 😊

Day 2 – Monday, 24th

Morning all! Looks like a brighter day ahead as we switched into FPM (that’s Full Pottery Mode!) with the Emma Bridgewater Factory, the Dudson Centre and Museum plus the famous Wedgwood Factory on the list. 😉🙂

After a hearty breakfast – Premier Inn style – we took the short drive to the Emma Bridgewater Factory, just 0.9 miles away. So close in fact, we could have walked it… but we didn’t! 😉. This Pottery is one of the few still going and has recently celebrated 40 years of throwing!

Parking was easy and just opposite the Factory. However, it was clearly the same space for staff too, so it was already 99% full when we arrived. We’d pre-booked the 10am tour as we parted with £10 each.

After a quick look around the gift shop, we joined the queue of TWO outside waiting for the Tour to start. A minute before 10am, we realised that we should have been assembling inside and we joined the dozen-or-so already waiting. After allocating our security lanyards, we were all set! Neil, our Guide, introduced himself and the Tour began!

Neil was excellent throughout the 60-minute experience! A scouser with an infectious sense of humour, he managed to bring the whole thing alive. Photography was limited as we had to avoid photographs of the staff AND any product that might (or might not) be a new product, yet to be launched. Tricky, but not impossible! 😯

It certainly was an educational experience. EB bought up a derelict factory, kicked much of the machinery into life and re-recruited many of the staff who’d lost their jobs when the factory closed. In short, There’s a lot of love for this company in the city as it brought back (in part) the Pottery industry back to Stoke! What makes them different and desirable? Their colourful designs are less fussy than the traditional tableware that had graced the table of the UK in bygone times. Their prices seem to be more affordable too.

In a word: ‘Superb’!

Dudson Museum

Our next stop was the Dudson Centre and Museum, just over a mile away. Huzzah! It was FREE admission! 😊.

Named after Richard Dudson who opened his first factory here in 1800. By the early 1980s, the Hope Street site was no longer viable for modern production, and it was shifted to the newly expanded, state-of-the-art J.E. Heath and Duraline factories.

In 1994 the original factory site was donated by the Dudson family to the voluntary sector, and an ambitious renovation project began in 1996 with donations from The Dudson Group and Stoke-on-Trent City Council. This has resulted in new housing being built right alongside the Museum and a small business centre inside the Dudson Centre. Note that parking is NOT free (£1.20 at the time of writing – and in spite of all the machines suggesting you can only pay by using an App, cash worked just as well!) 😊

In spite of it feeling rather cramped inside, they’d packed a lot in across two floors. A short visit – in and out in under half an hour.

World of Wedgwood

Next? Another world… the World of Wedgwood – a mighty 7 miles away!!! As we got close to this Barlaston-based business, I felt myself wanting to take back everything I said yesterday about Stoke. We’d only driven from an ST1 to an ST12 postcode, but what a difference in the houses, the roads and the green open spaces – this was like we were in a different country, and it felt very upmarket.

Just £12 each for admission, where on arrival at World of Wedgwood’s entrance, the feeling of wealth continued and we found ourselves forced to do a double-take on what was before us…

How so? Well, given that so far it had been a somewhat SAD backstory to the Pottery Industry here in Stoke with 32000 jobs lost in the 70s – this one bucked the trend!

The site was absolutely massive (it took us over five minutes just to get to the car-park!) and looked VERY upmarket. How could it be that (based on yesterday) with the local Pottery Industry really struggling, this one seemed to be in rude health. They were obviously doing something very right – but what was it? A secret way of making tableware that gave an enormous margin? A way to mass-produce at minimal cost? A touch of AI? Nope, nothing quite so dramatic! – read on!

Step forward ‘Fiskars‘ – an old Finnish Company famous for making garden tools and scissors! Apparently, in 2009, Wedgwood finally threw in the towel after 250 years, and that included their other brands such Royal Doulton and Waterford Crystal going under too! Fiskards to the rescue, taking on the brand names and giving this dying industry the necessary shot in the bank statement! And so, here we are, some 15 years later, and it looked like Wedgwood (at least) had risen from the ashes – and some!

Financial assistance from the Heritage Fund and Art Fund also helped their cause. First impressions once we got inside? ‘No expense spared’ Second impressions? Perfectly pitched for the tourist market.

We had around 30 minutes to spare before our Tour began at 1.15, so we dropped into their cafeteria. Posh or what????

Gold-plated cutlery and ‘best’ china was everywhere! A good cuppa though and the savoury scones went down a treat!

We joined around a dozen others for the Tour and Pete introduced himself, where the instruction (again) not to take photographs that included product nor people was reinforced. They seemed to be a little more paranoid about it here compared with Emma Bridgewater – and so we complied! As we watched the staff in action, one thing became very clear – irrespective of brand – and that was how solitary some of the roles are. The Decorators who paint on/transfer the designs work at a frantic pace. Most of them had ear-buds in, and silently got on with their work. If you don’t like precision, nor repetition, this ISN’T the job for you. 😮

The Tour went by in a flash and it soon became obvious that Wedgwood’s target market was so very different to Emma Bridgewater’s. Here, it was high volume, high price and high margin – very high! How about £8000 per plate that included 22-carat-gold edging! I’ll take 100… Any discount for cash? Err, no, I thought not! 🙂. Whilst EB aimed itself squarely at the ‘everyday’ customer, Wedgwood was all about attracting the wealthy – wherever they lived. And, in contrast to yesterday’s visit to Spode, at least Wedgwood had continued to produce new and more modern designs to keep pace with the changes in taste and fashion.

After the tour, we took a look around the V&A-sponsored Museum. Another jaw-dropping experience showing off its 165000 objects! 😯

This had been another very worthwhile visit, just like all the others today – but for very different reasons. Fiskar has clearly seen the potential in the Wedgwood brand and has ‘splashed the cash’ with its eye on continuing to pitch the Wedgwood as a high value/highly sought after brand – even if it’s mostly for the overseas market. It’s no coincidence that all the signage explaining how the business operates was not only in English, but yes, you guessed it: Chinese and Japanese too!

Tomorrow, we check out after breakfast and head for Fosse Park in Leicester for some retail therapy and maybe even a birthday treat! 😉. See you then!

Day 3 – Tuesday, 25th

Happy Birthday, Mrs P!
🎈🎂

We checked out of the Hotel and headed for Fosse Park, Leicester. Fosse Park is one of Britain’s biggest out-of-town shopping areas, and we haven’t been there for about 10 years!

Boy, it’s certainly grown, and we confined ourselves to the ‘central’ part today as we’d probably need another two days to absorb the increase in the number of shops.

And it was busy too, judging by how full our first stop was – the M&S Coffee Shop! Suitably refreshed, it was time to seek out a suitable birthday gift for Mrs P, where Chanel fitted the bill perfectly! 🎂🎂

Having clocked-up just over 100 miles, it wasn’t our longest trip we’ve driven for a birthday celebration, but it was a mighty interesting few days away. We headed home, skillfully avoiding a massive tailback on the A14 at Capthorpe. We were back indoors just after 1.30 to continue the celebration.

We ended the day with a celebratory Curry at home. 😋😋

Happy Birthday, Mrs P!
🎈🎂