BrownhillsBob

May 27th – I’m developing a casual interest in the architectural quirks of chimneys. It’s something I’m going to cover on my main blog at some point soon, but in looking for stuff to photograph while out on my bike for this project, I’m noticing more and more things about the world around me. This is not trivial, I’m absolutely serious.

There is something about a nice chimney that completes a house – a roof looks bare without one. This example, on the derelict and abandoned Pear Tree Cottage pub in Albutts Road, Brownhills West, was clearly built to do the business. If only a buyer could be found to breathe life into this lost pub once again.

May 26th – Today was wet, blustery and miserable. I shot out late afternoon to get some supplies and fresh air. One thing about the recent showers is that they’re really making everything green up a treat – here Brownhills Parade was wearing it’s splendid summer emerald overcoat.

May 26th – On a windblown canal near Catshill Junction, I noticed the swans had two very young cygnets. These cute balls of grey fluff were relaxed and happy to be fed by their parents, who didn’t show any of the usual signs of swan aggression towards me. Not sure if this is the pair from by the Watermead Estate or the former mill at Catshill, but it’s nice to see. I do find myself wondering why we’re no longer seeing the broods of 8 and above as we did a few years ago, though.

May 25th – returning with the wind behind me, I came through King’s Hill Park, to call in at PC World on my way back home. King’s Hill Park was lovely, hilly and surprisingly secluded.

PC World, as usual, was dismal, overpriced and annoying. ‘Twas ever thus.

May 25th – Back to Walsall. On my way into Bilston, I travel, as I often do, down Scarborough Road, Pleck. The surface of this road has been terrible for ages, and following complaints most of it has now been patched up, even though I was recently told by a Walsall Highway engineer that surveyors ’…Didn’t consider it dangerous’. I thank the council for sorting it.

Oddly, the last hundred yards or so – containing the most hazardous potholes – remains untouched, though clearly marked for repair. This loose gravel is a danger to all traffic, but to anyone on two wheels – motorised or otherwise – it’s deadly. Motorcyclists christen this loose detritus ‘marbles’ due to it’s slippery, destabilising effect, and it’s a real pain. This needs fixing. It’s time all road engineers woke up to this hazard.

Perhaps the permanently parked vehicles have been in the way, but I wish it could be sorted.

May 24th – This is the evening commute film from the same trip. Changing trains at New Street, Birmingham, this time for a Walsall bound train, at about 5pm. The crowds, the dreadful lifts, the bustle – not a single part of this interchange will improve with the revamp of New Street, which is primarily about providing a ‘retail opportunity’. Note that the bike is being pushed and not ridden throughout.

The soundtract is from Mainframe, unofficially called ‘I make my way back home’, officially just ‘Track 4’. Check them out at http://mainframe-music.info/– a great blast of eighties synth-goodness, mostly made on an Apple II computer in 1983.

May 24th – How not to lock your bike. An everyday workplace cycle rack. A brand spanking new Ridgeback Storm bike, bought on the excellent cycle to work scheme, secured with a £35, good quality lock. What can possibly go wrong?

The bike is only locked to the rack by a £40 rear wheel, held in by a quick release. Time taken to liberate the rest of the bike? Seconds. In these racks, a cable round the rack is essential, or lock the wheel to the bicycle frame. See Sheldon Brown for tips on locking.

I hope the owner doesn’t work in engineering. Top marks to the cycle chic lady with the single speed Africa Bike, though…

May 24th – Change trains at Birmingham New Street at 8:55am for a 9:05 departure to Telford. This is the reality of using trains with a bike. Bear in mind that for all the millions spent, nothing seen in this film will change with the revamp of the station. The unreliable lifts, the dingy, menacing subway, the cramped, overcrowded platforms. The revamp will just give a ‘retail opportunity’ for big business.

I love travelling by bike and train, but this tries my patience. Life shouldn’t be this hard. Part 2 to follow.

The soundtrack is Artie Shaw’s ‘Special Delivery Stomp’, the music that plays in your head whenever you’re late for anything…

May 24th – Waiting for a train. I like Shenstone Station, and for long commutes, it’s a nice place to pick up the train to Birmingham, often overlooked by those in Brownhills and the surrounding area. Trains stop here every half hour, generally, and although the facilities aren’t great, it’s a lovely spot, and only 15 minutes away by bike, with a 30 minute journey to Brum.

May 23rd – An awful day to cycle – blustery, then rainstorms in the afternoon. I left work early for a meeting in Rushall, and dropped on to the canal at Pleck, south Walsall. I prefer the canal in this weather as traffic tends to be a bit mad in heavy rain. Cycling in the rain can be a lovely, sensual experience, and this was no exception, climbing the locks and bridges through Birchills and acing the traffic queue at Rushall was a joy…

The soundtrack is ‘Nice Weather for Ducks’ by the wonderful Lemon Jelly.