Month: August 2019

#365daysofbiking On the tiles

July 24th – A sunny morning riding up the industrial, backstreets of North Walsall. In John Street, a pub with an interesting history is still thriving despite it’s secluded position.

The New Inns – or Pretty Bricks (from the tiled frontage) – is a great real ale house, and used to be a folk music venue and gay pub years ago. Now it’s a cosy, well-liked and popular real ale boozer; traditional, cosy, comfortable.

It’s well kept too, and on this sunny day the hanging baskets were spectacular.

This journal is moving home. Find out more by clicking here.

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/2MD1xw0
via IFTTT

#365daysofbiking Into the blue

July 23rd – I was in Birmingham for work and was planning on catching the train home. But there was trouble with the signals and all trains I could have caught were messed up.

I decided to ride home – it was a nice evening, after all. I decided to hit the canal near Lancaster Circus, but heading out of the centre I found the new segregated cycleway up the A3 to Perry Barr. It’s absolutely brilliant. I was so enamoured, I kept on it and rode home over Kingstanding.

It’s fast, largely well thought out, has it’s own traffic signals (with repeaters at bike eye level) and was really quite busy.

Some of the routes over major junctions are a bit tortuous, but it’s far better than I’d ever have imagined.

Sad to see it ends abruptly at Perry Barr, but I suppose with the junction being remodelled there it would be folly to continue it yet.

A fine thing, very pleasing to ride.

This journal is moving home. Find out more by clicking here.

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/2YpUqhy
via IFTTT

#365daysofbiking A place of safety

July 22nd – In the middle of the canal at Catshill Junction, in the midst of the algae mat, a mother proudly sits on a nest. A nest built upon driftwood flotsam trapped in the algae.

I’ve been watching her a few days. You can see trails in the surface from her partner coming to feed her, or take his shift sitting.

Safe from foxes and other land predators, this moorhen mum’s got a relatively secure nest.

It’ll be interesting to see how this develops!

This journal is moving home. Find out more by clicking here.

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/2YCWcqU
via IFTTT

#365daysofbiking Monumental controversy

July 22nd – I’ve been riding through Bloxwich more often since the Chase Line upgrade, and I keep passing the remarkable sculpture of Lady Diana Spencer outside the monumental Masons that commissioned it. It’s certainly an unusual landmark.

The sculpture was made around the year 2000 in tribute to the deceased Princess, but when unveiled, it was black, shiny granite and was ridiculed for looking more like Diana Ross (according to a local politician of the day) or Dennis Nordern in the view of a local news commentator.

It was donated to Walsalls Council, who refused it, declined to place it in the local art gallery, and ended up back with the donor after plans to put it on display were apparently vetoed by the palace.

Since then, it was sandblasted to remove the sheen, and it stands outside the Masons being, well… Somewhat incongruous.

I think it’s absolutely bloody awful.

You can criticise almost every aspect of it – but the one thing nobody ever comments on that has always baffled me – the shoes.

Has she just come from welding on a ship and forgot to change her boots?

A curious bit of local legend.

This journal is moving home. Find out more by clicking here.

from Tumblr https://ift.tt/2ZwOjV5
via IFTTT