Report by Chairman [Roger Tinker]
At the beginning of Willy Wonka a mysterious tinker standing outside the Wonka factory warns Charlie of the dark side of the factory. First he quotes from the poem Fairies:
“We dare not go a-hunting
For fear of little men”
And then tells Charlie
“ Nobody ever goes in and nobody ever comes out”
We are not sure whether the Young People were aware of these portends when they received an invitation from the Chairman, Roger Tinker, to visit a chocolate factory.
So it was that on Thursday 27th October, 09.30 am, thirteen Young People and six parents / guardians met with three members of the YPC to begin their journey to Bournville. The Young People hadn’t found a “Golden Ticket” in their Wonka Bar they had accepted the invitation from the YPC to join them on a trip to Cadbury World.
The journey began at Manchester Piccadilly Station. Taking the train to Birmingham New Street then onto Bournville. When everybody had taken their seats the Chocolate Quiz questionnaires were distributed. The next action, of everybody, was to access the internet, via the on board wi fi, for the answers. After a delayed start at Manchester we arrived at Bournville on time. Cadbury World is a short walk from the station.
Cadbury World is a theme park based in part of the Cadbury factories that are Bournville. The experience starts with a history of chocolate and then moves onto the founding of Cadbury’s, its creation of Bournville and the values held by the founders. Other zones include manufacturing, packaging, chocolate making, Purple Planet, 4D Chocolate Experience, Adventure Play area. Samples are available during the tour. On entry to the tour every visitor is given a selection of products. The final section of the tour is, what is claimed to be the “World’s Largest Cadbury Shop”. Aisles and shelves stocked with an amazing array of chocolate themed products.
After four hours in Cadbury World the group met and returned to Bournville station.
Our first stop, Birmingham New Street and Grand Central the shopping and entertainment centre located above New Street station. We had reservation at Carluccios restaurant. Good food together with good service refreshed the energy levels and allowed extra time for some to visit the shops.
Our return train at 19.57 was late departing but made up the time arriving in Manchester five minutes late. The quiz questionnaire was marked and the winners awarded their prizes.
