December 16th – New Street, mid morning. These are not photos of the station pre-upgrade, but afterwards. Some of it may be improved later, but nothing shows the  shallowness of the turd-polish this project really was than this view; just a little away from a main route through the station, bare 60s concrete, dirty 80s cladding and ugly, dark structures. 

New Street looks stunning in press photos from the concourse, and from the streets nearby; but use it and you soon realise that the Emperor has no clothes and the station is still failing, still unpleasant and still unfit for purpose.

You can’t polish a turd, as the saying goes, but they have rolled this one in glitter.

December 15th – The magic numbers are important, so very important.

This is the data page of my bike GPS, the screen where I keep the figures important to me while riding – distance, battery level, time, average speed and all that geeky stuff. Top right number though, is sort of a mirror of the one bottom right; daily sunset time and sunrise.

Today, 3:52pm. This should, hopefully, be the earliest it gets. From now on, the sunset gets later every day (although the sunrise continues to get a wee bit later). This number is one of my small motivational yardsticks that get me through winter and this figure has several notable points; but none is more significant to me than this.

By January, it will be after 4pm again. It may be weeks away, but the darkness will be retreating, and spring will be tiptoeing in.

Today, as I wheeled the bike indoors from another wet commute, the raindrop-dappled glass glowed at me reassuringly in the darkness, and I knew in that instant that so very nearly, so very close now, so soon I will have beaten the advancing darkness for another season.

December 15th – I spotted these odd remnants of toadstools on a damp grass verge near the canal at Walsall. I can’t recognise the original fungus, and they seem to  be decaying in an almost skeletal manner. I’m fascinated by the way they seem to be reducing to the structure of their gills.

Fungi are endlessly captivating.

December 14th – There’s a small stub of driveway or track off Old Park Road in Kings Hill called Kings Hill Field. I think once, it went right across the park to the Darlaston Road, and I suspect it’s the remnant of an old right of way, now curtailed by the lovely Kings Hill Park. There’s a small row of terraces, and the gates to the park; and in the right light, by chance, it looks beautiful.

This is why I love this place.

December 14th – I went back to Kings Hill, to have another shot at that night view of Wednesbury, this time with the FZ72. It’s still not quite what I’d like, so will try on a clear, crisp night with the Nikon (tonight was quite murky and damp, so wasn’t ideal). Still, the camera made a decent fist of it considering the operator hasn’t a clue what he’s actually doing.

I know what I want here, and I’m not sure if it’s even possible with the kit I have. I think the Nikon may be the job though, it can do the harsh light thing I like.

Closer than yesterday. It still looks gorgeous.

December 13th – I briefly caught the lantern parade at Chasewater, which was OK but didn’t seem to have the atmosphere or hubbub of the year before – perhaps it was the weather. Perhaps it was me.

On the way back though, the riding was fast and muddy, and Anglesey Wharf in the darkness was oddly ethereal.

Here’s to a better week, eh?

December 13th – Chasewater was grey, foggy and very, very wet when I rode through near dusk. In a curious nether-world at the moment, there isn’t the optimism here of the new year, and with the wakeboard guys all packed up, there’s an out-of-season, end of the pier feel to the place, which I rather like.

Of course, not much was visible today, it was all just shades of grey fading into the lake.

December 12th – Heading out late, I wanted to catch the festival of music and light at the Canoe and Outdoor Centre in Brownhills – but was too late. It looked like they’d had fun though, despite the unpleasant weather.

It has been an utterly foul few weeks, this run-up to Christmas. Wind and rain, and relentless overcast days, and it’s really hit local events like Christmas markets, light switch-ons and fayres.

Let’s hope it all blows itself out for the holiday.

December 12th – A wet, horrible day, but a remarkable, surprising find – a rosy earthstar.

This curious thing, looking like plasticine or glazed ceramic, is a fungus like toadstools. It’s relatively rare, and I’ve never seen one before. It’s in a bunch of about 5 in various stages of life on a small patch of CLayhanger Common, and I spotted it entirely by chance.

A great find on a very unpleasant day.