April 20th – One aspect of Birmingham that’s improving lots is its bicycle culture. It’s huge now, and growing all the time. It was actually a tough call today to find space in a rack – although the good weather will have bought a lot of fair weather cyclists out.

That Plug fixie is a modern classic – note the hardcore lack of brakes – and is clearly ridden a lot. At the other end of the scale, the classic 80s Dawes Kingpin folder was an eccentric delight. Not so delightful was the cannibalised Giant frame, left to bleach in the sun like dead animal bones after the vultures had stripped them clean.

A salutary warning about locking your bike up properly there…

April 20th – Today, I cycled into Birmingham to meet a friend. I used to know this place like the back of my hand, and loved it as my hometown, but these days, not so much. I mooched around in the gorgeous afternoon sun, but Brum is a little bit lost to me now. All the shops I used to love have gone, and the crowds were dense and impenetrable. The city has moved on, and not taken me with it.

Some things are changeless, though. The gems of architecture hidden in dark corners, or the bold terracotta of the Citadel, or Methodist Central Hall. The view from the Bullring is as wonderful as ever, and Hancock still scornfully watches Priory Circus over his cuppa.

Still there too is the little old fellow who walks endlessly around town all day. He’s been doing it for years – I recall him doing this endless loop 2 decades ago – always immaculately turned out, coat slung over one arm.

When I saw him today, I realised that some old Birmingham features never fade.

April 19th – I hadn’t wandered over Jockey Meadows for years – I must do it again. Leaving the bike in the hedge, I waded through the water meadow towards the deer. The land here is saturated, and appears very fertile. Globeflowers are in bloom, and frog, toad and newt spawn are evident in the shallow water (frog spawn is in clumps, toad in ribbons. Newt spawn is laid in small pockets on the stems of underwater plants or in the curls of leaves and fronds). There is a healthy greenness here. I can see why the deer love it. This is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and I can see why.

April 19th – I saw them fleetingly in the distance, and thought they were horses. Stopping to take a better look, I realised there was a group of at least 4 red deer in the middle of Jockey Meadows, between Green Lane and Lichfield Road, Walsall Wood. Crossing the wetland to get a better shot, it was very, very boggy, but I discovered there was quite a large, mixed group; largest I’ve ever seen here. Half the group disappeared from view as I approached, I’d say the total was maybe 20-25 animals. I can see why they like it here; open watermeadows for browsing with low scrub for cover when eeded. So wet, they get little disturbance (I was wading through marsh 6-10 inches deep), no dogs and plenty of fresh sedges and other greens.

I love the deer. They’ve probably come up from Brownhills Common, scared off by the noise of all the anti-heathland protestors…

April 18th – The landfill at Highfields South, just over the Lichfield Road from Jockey Meadows, is notable for a number of reasons. It’s pretty well managed, and is being filled in a very controlled way. It’s now generating electricity from the landfill gasses it produces, and it has a very diverse selection of gulls, and attracts birdspotters from far and wide.

I noticed as I passed tonight that the bulkheads bored into the mound were now all connected. Like the former Vigo Utopia landfill a mile away, this one will generate electricity by burning the methane it produces for some years to come.

Don’t kid yourself that this is green, however; it’s still burning fuel, it’s not renewable and merely utilises gas that would otherwise be lost. But it’s still a neat use of an unusual resource.

April 18th – The evening sunlight was gorgeous tonight. Late home from work, I’d been blown to the station in the morning by the most incredible tailwind, hammering 40+ miles per hour down Shire Oak Hill and making Shenstone a whole 5 minutes quicker than usual. My return from Walsall in the evening was similarly assisted, but to a lesser degree as the wind had subsided somewhat.

It was a beautiful ride, even if it deal feel a little chillier than the last few days.

April 17th – I returned home late enough to catch the sunset – it was great tonight, although the winds were somewhat tempestuous. Thankfully, they were mostly behind me, and the warmth of them is still a pleasant surprise to the system. On cue, roadsides are a riot of daffodils, and everything seems busy with springtime.

It’s been worth the wait.

April 17th – Someone asked me on twitter this week why Lynn Lane between Shenstone and Stonnall was closed. I had no idea it was, so tonight, I took a detour and checked it out. The lane is, indeed, barriered off at both ends, but roadworks that seem to have been taking place between Thornyhurst Lane and Raikes Lane seem to have finished now. There was certainly nothing to justify the closure when I passed this evening.

They may well be going to dig another hole, but one can’t help wondering why a road with no hazards remains shut.

April 16th – Today, passing through Tyseley, I noticed a work crew of lookouts and technicians were on the tracks as trains passed by slowly. I wondered what they were doing, and stopped to take a look. The one chap has a measuring gauge, and is checking carefully the distance between the rails around a set of points.

It never occurred to me that this was necessary, but once thought about, the geometry of the tracks must have to be perfect. It seems a whole industry of measuring equipment exists specially for the purposes of checking the tracks.

I love the way the guys work as a group – I saw five – with some being lookouts stationed with horns to warn those engaged in the task that a train may be coming.

he work practices of the railway fascinate me.

April 16th – For some weeks now, I’ve been perplexed by the appearance of what seemed like odd, helical antenna on the roofs of tall buildings around urban areas. I kept seeing them from the train. I grew quite interested in them, and decided to find out what they were. I tried to find one to photograph, and it took me over a week to do so. At one stage, they were so elusive I thought I must have dreamt their whole existence.

Today, I spotted two or three where I thought I’d seen them before – on top of office blocks in Birmingham City Centre. I eagerly took these pictures, posted them on social media, and asked what they were. It turns out they’re not antenna at all, but helical wind turbines.

They are micro generators. The reason I couldn’t find them is that when spinning, you can’t see them.

I’m fascinated – Cheers to The Aardvark, Paul Groves and Barry Carpenter, amongst others, who helped me out.