January 19th – Again, apologies for the long-range, poor photos, but I spotted this charming chap on Jockey Meadows. He was embarrassed as I caught him going about his ablutions, but he mooched around the meadow a little before sloping off into the hedgerow. Such a fit, lithe-looking chap; there are few animals more impressive in the English countryside than a fox in his prime.

A great sight on a nippy morning.

January 19th – A cold commute on a sunny morning, and lots of little delights; the mist off the canal, wildlife and plumes of steam and smoke drifting in mercifully still air. On Green Lane, Walsall Wood, road spray from the pooling water there had coated the adjacent hawthorn hedge and encased it in ice.

Beautiful and haunting.

January 18th – For the first time in weeks, my deer magnet was on an working well. Crossing the north heath at Chasewater, I spotted a female red deer laying in the scrub by the fence, then as I approached, about seven others became evident, loafing in the scrub, including a young male. The were tolerant, co-operative and in no hurry to go anywhere. A lovely sight.

Turning to leave, I noted three darker reds up on the bank 100 metres away. They were more skittish, and I’m not convinced they were from the same herd… they certainly didn’t seem friendly with the ones on the lower pasture.

A brilliant sight on a great ride; how I love these graceful, peaceful animals and the fact that they roam wild in my hometown.

January 8th – Unexpectedly, Dazzle Ships on the Chasetown bypass. For those unfamiliar with either the concept of dazzle camouflage or the concept album by electronica band OMD, Dazzle Ships were regular ships painted in bright, geometrically random and almost cubist designs in the First and Second World Wars. Through a periscope, surrounded by light glinting off waves, it was a very effective scheme for obfuscating a vessel’s speed, heading and location.

The idea was pioneered by artist Normal Wilkinson. You can read about it here. The Dazzle Ships album is a lost classic, too.

At Chasetown, the camouflage was just shadow and sunlight through a steel bridge, but a fascinating series of contrasts caught just by looking right at the perfect moment.

January 18th – A thoroughly gorgeous but cold morning, greying over to rain by the time I returned home – but in a convoluted series of errands that saw me go from Brownhills to Pelsall, Walsall Wood then the Ogley Hay and Burntwood, I noticed loads of great stuff. It was a fine day to be out, to be here, to be on a bike. it’s not often you can say that in January.

Small snatches of things – sun and mist over the canal at the Black Cock Bridge; the emerald green of winter crops growing well at Lanes farm; the view of Chasewater from the north heath. All perfect, really.

For the first time in a couple of winters, I note the canal towpaths are softening as they’ve been lifted by the frost. This is excellent, and how they’re designed to work. A good, hard solid freeze expands the water in the grit, leaving the track soft and muddy when it melts. This is then re-levelled and smoothed out by folks walking and riding over it, self-healing dips and potholes in the process. It works a treat.

A beautiful day.

January 17th – Rotate ninety degrees sunwise from the bell tower, and there’s Darwall Street in a precious golden hour. This is the risibly named ‘Civic Quarter’ which, as home to several large bars, is more properly thought of as the centre for Walsall’s night time economy. 

Ignoring the odd aberration, most buildings here are historic and repurposed; an old cinema – The Imperial – is now a pub, as is the former Registry Office. Walsall swapped certificate and celluloid for a pie and a pint.

Apart from the jarring paving and hideous street lights, this is a nice spot, with plenty of history and physical geography not too far away.

Behind the buildings on the left, the Ford Brook leaves cover and skulks through town in the open for a short while, often stinking the place out. It’s a major tributary of the Tame, and will never lead to Walsall threatening the tourist trade of Bourton on the Water.

It’s not a bad town, really. Just badly misunderstood. Sadly, most grievously by many who live here.

January 17th – Passing through Walsall on an errand in the afternoon, I looked at something that’s ever-present, yet I seldom pay attention to; the Town Hall bell tower. Rumours say it was supposed to be a clock tower, but was never designed as such and is home to a carillon of bels, which sound rather splendid.

Faded, faintly gothic and well built, like much of Walsall, it’ll scrub up just fine one day. It’s also home to a pair of peregrines, who loaf their days out in all the local high spots dropping pigeon remnants on the townspeople below.

Excellent birds.

January 16th – Scooting between Snow Hill and New Street to change trains on the way home, this snatched photo. On the left, the ‘new’ New Street, ugly as sin, dysfunctional, with a cheap, tinfoil gimcrack cladding that shows every careless dent and poor alignment in fitting. 

In the centre, Birmingham’s postwar Brutalist architecture, and on the right, something altogether older.

In the middle, people, lights and a city hiding and surviving beneath the rule.

I love this place with all my heart. Even the ugly bits.

January 16th – A day in Droitwich for a change. Cold, hard and clear, I set out before sunrise, and returned as night fell. 

I like Droitwich, particularly the railway station, which has a very sleepy, rural feel to it, despite being quite busy – I think part of the charm lies in the old-style mechanical signals that are still in use here.

The town itself is pleasant, and in places quite hilly with makes for interesting cycling.

It was a hard day’s work and I was glad to finish and that it was Friday, but not a bad end to the week, all in all.

January 15th – also seemingly decaying unloved is the old Veolia plant on the Lindon Road on the border between Walsall Wood and Brownhills. Once a chemical waste disposal site, it started life as Effluent Disposal, and went through a number of incarnations before being purchased by Veolia, who’ve since built a new HQ at Cannock, leaving this place vacant.

It appears to have resident security on site, as one would expect.

There was talk of this place being converted into a food processing factory, which seemed bizarre, given the history. The site was up for sale for ages. It’s hard to think of what it could be next, really.

I imagine any estate agent has a challenge on their hands shifting this.