BrownhillsBob

September 3rd – The old flour mill on the canal at Catshill, Brownhills, was converted into flats a long time ago. I keep meaning to research the history, but never quite get round to it; I know it milled flour for years, and then was a factory for a while. I think it made some kind of pressings which were sprayed, as I remember the extraction vents having different coloured paint around them when I was a kid – sometimes red, sometimes navy blue. The house nearby, just visible beyond the fence – looks really quite old.

September 2nd – one of the joys of Autumn, once I’ve got over the shock and low mood created by the end of summer, are cyclamen. To me, these autumn flowering plants are the last gasp of floral joy. I’m not sure if they’re native or not, but delicate shades of purple, blue, cream and pink will dot the hedgerows, verges and churchyards for the next few weeks. Beautiful, delicate little flowers. This is the first I’ve spotted this year, growing in the hedgerow at Forge Lane, Little Aston.

September 2nd – another harbinger of autumn is the change in landscape colour; gone now are the vivid, glowing, bright greens of high summer, receding are the golden shades of harvest. Appearing now is the dun-coloured freshly ploughed field, smelling earthy and shocking in it’s uniform brown hue. The first is at Lower Stonnal, the second a view over Stonnall from the Chester Road.

September 1st – I’ve followed this guy and his wonderfully joyous dog down the Arrow Valley cycle route in Redditch a couple of times this week on the way to work. There’s something infectious about the way the dog is so happy to run with his cycling master – I love the way he looks back at me and to his companion, almost as if he’s laughing. The happy tail and general air of enjoyment make me sad to overtake this pair on what must be a regular fixture. Look out for the quick glance rightwards as the dog crosses the road, and his expert negotiation of the barriers. Love it.

September 1st – An hour and a half later I was cruising to work down the Arrow Valley cycle route in central Redditch (Part of route 5, the same one that traverses Walsall from last weekend) and the morning was blessed with a mellow, hazy sunlight that lit everything in a kindly glow and highlighted a remaining, soft mist. I stopped to watch it rising of the boating lake. This part of Redditch is rather beautiful, and all credit to the authorities for that.

I often see that guy with the dog running beside his bike. The dog is free and not on a lead, and loves to run with his mate. He looks back at me smugly every few yards – I swear that mutt is laughing. I rarely have the heart to overtake these friends enjoying their morning communion.

September 1st – Autumn continued to tap me on the shoulder as I left at sunrise for work. The cold night air had caused the finest, lowest of mists that hung in hollows, against hedges and huddled round houses. This was truly magical, and I seemed to enjoy it almost alone. I saw few others – if only the people of England could see it. I was very nearly late for my train as I spent too long taking pictures. By the time I reached Four Oaks, the mist had burnt off and this rare beauty passed unknown to the yawning commuters who joined my train, bleary and yawning.

August 31st – There has been some discussion in the Stonnall History Group on Facebook about the old garage that used to be on the corner of Main Street and Cartersfield Lane. It was an old fashioned affair, and I don’t think it was self service but relied on an attendant to fill your car for you. It lasted until the late eighties or early nineties I think, and I can remember buying sweets there when out riding as a kid – it was the only such place open on a Sunday afternoon in those days. Jayne Preston remembered her relatives, the Lawless family owning it back then. the main building is the cream house with the fantastic barley twist chimneys, now fully converted back to a hose. The forecourt was to the left, where there now stands a new house built in the space.

August 31st – Horse chestnuts (conkers) and sweet chestnuts are completely different, but both are growing all around right now. Neither are yet ripe, but there seem to be handsome crops of both. The horse chestnuts here are showing the effect of the leaf miner moth, whose larvae hatch inside the leaf structure and kill it from the inside, turning the leaves patchy brown very early in the summer. The fruit, however, is unaffected and well familiar to blokes everywhere who are genetically programmed to pick up fallen conkers, whatever their age or status. The hard spiky shells are a stark contrast to the ferocious-looking sweet chestnuts, which are actually relatively soft. The Sweet chestnuts have leathery, shiny dark green foliage, too, giving them a slightly continental appearance. Both trees were spotted in Stonnall – the sweet chestnut on the verge at the junction of Main Street and Church Lane.

August 30th – The Chester Road between Shire Oak and Stonnall forms quite a steep hill. The sandy soil on this side of the ridge, coupled with the presence of an open demolition site and a landfill access way on the brow of the hill mean that when it rains, sand and detritus is washed into the local drain gullies, most of which are permanently blocked as a result. This one has been in this state for several years, and I think is now beyond recovery. It’s worrying because when it rains, surface water flows down this road like a river as a result, lowering traction, reducing braking and soaking the determined cyclist….

August 30th – Castlefort is a very old hill topped by a recognised ancient hill fort. Forming the south eastern flank of Shire Oak, this green, wooded hillside has a small, very old hamlet of houses. Occasionally referred to as Upper or Over Stonnall, from old maps it seems to have been called Castle Gate at one point. Prospect House, the White three storey classically Staffordshire cottage at the junction of Castlhill and the Chester Road, is a well known landmark for miles around. Pictured from the fields to the south, I doubt that this view has changed much in a century or so.