April 27th – Still sore, I slid out in the afternoon and checked out the canal to Wharf Lane. Just at the old quarry access road there, I noticed a few white hyacinths growing there. They smelled divine, and were gorgeous in the sunshine.
You don’t see many of those in the wild. I’d guess they’re the result of dumping garden waste.
Beautiful, whatever the origin…
April 26th – Have you recently employed a cheap plumber to refit a bathroom? Perhaps you’ve done the job yourself, and paid someone a few quid to remove the rubbish?
If you’re wondering what became of your bog and fittings, they are currently adorning a lay-by on Northfields Way in Clayhanger. They aren’t doing much for the area, to be honest.
Flytippers are scumbags. People who turn a blind eye for a cheap jack job are as bad.
April 26th – Cycling isn’t great for me at the moment. I had a bit of a domestic accident and have sustained bruised ribs, which is making cycling a bit uncomfortable – but I’m plodding on, just slower and more gingerly than usual.
Fortunately, I didn’t have far to go; just an errand to a few places in Brownhills. The weather was very, very changeable, and I just caught Brownhills as it was wearing it’s spring sunshine jacket. The canal side looked great, and the daffy on the verge at Silver Street were a joy. Even the canada geese looked fat and happy.
April 25th – Scooting home along the canal, I stopped to look at a well-worn, narrow path running down from Clayhanger Bridge, down on to the driveway of the big house. I think it’s a deer run.
A few times I’ve seen deer on Clayhanger Common around the overflow, whereupon they’ve escaped either under the bridge, or over the road and run down the embankment here. Looking at the marshy land behind the house and new pool, the vegetation there looks closely cropped. I think some of the deer are loafing there, safe from humans.
April 25th – For the last time today, I passed through the concourse at Birmingham New Street Station. The next time I pass through here, the new one will be open and much will have changed. As far as I can tell, a new entryway and bridge has been constructed parallel to this one, and switchover should be interesting, to say the least.
I took photos at both ends of the commute- the stained cream walls, hard surfaces and harsh lighting always reminded me of the grimmest hospitals. The shape and flow was always odd, but I never hated this place like others did. Yes, it’s dirty, cramped and soulless, but it’s easy to navigate (compared to say, Bristol Temple Meads or Leeds), and is reasonably compact.
I guess new lifts will be nice, and the new cafes and shops – let’s not lose sight of the fact that what is being created here is not a new station, but a retail opportunity. The underbelly, the business end – grim, narrow, diesel-stinking platforms – will not improve, nor will the space on them.
You can’t polish a turd, but you can roll it in glitter. I remain sceptical, and for all it’s faults, I’ll miss the old New Street. Another part of young Bob dies with it’s passing.
April 24th – Ten years ago I bought a shedload of wild cowslip seeds from a National Trust shop – Sudbury Hall, I think. I bought about 10 packs. I set out on a guerrilla seeding mission. They took surprisingly well.
Many (but not all) of the patches of cowslips on Brownhills and Clayhanger Common were started by me. I love cowslips, my favourite flowers. This patch are growing – and thriving – on the banks of Clayhanger Bridge. The clump seems to double in size every year.
Hello, old friends.
Do something beautiful today. It’s an investment.
April 24th – It never ceases to amaze me, the state of bikes some people ride. But this is also an argument about rubbish components.
This is a Real ladies step through (Real is a brand unique to Halfords) – a cheap, functional, popular utility bike. It’s mostly OK quality, like the majority of Halfords cycles, but the brakes are rubbish. V-brakes like this crept in on cheap bikes about 10 years ago, and replaced superior cantilever versions. They replaced them not because they offer mechanical or user benefits, but because they’re much easier to fit in production. They are a benefit not to the customer, but to the manufacturer. To put it bluntly, unless you’ve got a really good, high end set, they’re shit.
Their ease of assembly tends to make them likely to disassemble, as the arms and cable pop apart easily when snagged – for instance when getting on and off a train.
The chap(!) riding this bike – spotted on a morning train into Birmingham – is riding with no front brake, and has been for a while. I’ve seen him a few times, and doesn’t seem bothered about it.
I wouldn’t dream of riding a bike without a decent braking system… mystifying.
April 23rd – I returned against the wind from Shenstone, just to ride through the sunlit backlanes. I hadn’t eaten all day and it was a bit of a battle, to be honest, but worth it, all the same. Everything is awake now, and the greening is well underway. At Shenstone, the ruined church tower will soon be hidden by leaves for another season, and the brook at Footherley will soon be an emerald arcadia once more. Some things are changeless, though, like the cottages and converted barns at Lower Stonnall. They look good whatever the season.
April 23rd – To be in England, in the springtime. I had to go to Leicester, and the patch of waste ground that so enthrals me at South Wigston Station was, as ever, a joy to the heart. Beebuzz and birdsong greeted me as I hefted my bike of the train in the bright, warm sun; peacock butterflies flitted about the lush flowers. Grape Hyacinth, primrose, gorse, dandelion. Performing for me, in this moment, in the middle of urban sprawl. A small wayside oasis, hardly noticed by anyone.
It doesn’t get much better than this.
April 22nd – i’d been working from home on an important project, and not been able to get out all day. I finally escaped as the sun was setting for a short ride. I noticed when not far from home that my front wheel had a very loose spoke, so had to cut my ride short, but I got a decent ride in around Brownhills and along the canal back towards Newtown. The evening was characterised by a magenta/orange light that suffused everything. Soon my favourite tree at Home Farm will be back in leaf, and the view to Hammerwich will look a good bit greener, too.
Still, it was past eight and still warm, and just still light. Hard to imagine that three weeks before this was all under a covering of snow.
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