Today, May 11th, we went to the Black Country Museum. We took a public bus to the living museum where we started with a tour of the coal mines. It was so funny because we all had to put on hard hats and use “torches,” or flashlights, to walk around in the narrow mines. Since I’m tall, I had to crouch down low as we walked through somewhat creepy tunnels that mimic the old coal mines. It was so fun and realistic, especially the fake coal miners placed throughout. I did get slightly creeped out at certain points and we all jumped when the rock wall “exploded.” My biggest takeaway from the mines was that I certainly would not have survived as a coal miner; the dark mines and the laborious work were too dangerous for me!

This is us on the public bus early this morning! There were two levels on the bus, so it fit so many people.

Here we are waiting to enter the mines while putting on our hard hats!

We then went to the school house where an actor taught us the history of education in the 1950s while acting like an actual 1950s teacher. I’m not going to lie, he scared me! We had to yell “shame on you” to anyone with nail polish or tattoos as they stood in the front of the room. He also sent those who were disruptive to the wall, and “whipped” a student for talking when she shouldn’t be. He gave a poll to the class on what her punishment should be: writing “I will not disrupt the class” 100 times, detention for a week, or being whipped. ALL of the British people voted for Jocelyn to get whipped, so that is the punishment she got! They also only let us do the assignments in “British English” as they did not like the way we say our “Z’s.”

After the school house, we went to the Fish and Chips shop to have this classic dish again! I was excited to order this so I could compare it to the fish and chips I had in Stratford-upon-Avon. This time, the fish was so much bigger but I think that the fish and chips at Stratford-upon-Avon were better. But, it was still really good! I never thought about putting vinegar and salt on fries, but that’s how they serve chips here and it’s very delicious!

We had the chance to take pictures in the phone booth!

After getting food and taking pictures with the classic phone booth, we then visited the 1950s themed carnival where we went on the swings which was so much fun! We played a shooting game after and I missed all of the shots. I have never held a gun before so I’m not sure why I thought I stood a chance at winning a prize, but it was a fun attempt! The worker was also very helpful in showing us what to do. After that we enjoyed ice cream while listening to live music!

This is Lillie and I waiting for the swings to start; they were so much fun!

This is Lorelei and I miserably failing at the shooting game. If you zoom in on the worker, you can see the look of disappointment on his face!

While enjoying my ice cream, I accidentally knocked all of it off of the cone! Luckily my friends came to the rescue to put it back on and help clean up my shirt.

We ended the night at a delicious restaurant, Hanbao, in Digbeth. We had the most delicious burgers which were a cross between Eastern and Western cuisine! I think we got used to the public transit system after this morning, and we took the bus there and back on our own successfully. Overall, it was a very fun day and I have many pictures to show just how fun it was!

This is us on the bus ride home!