July 24th – The love affair with Acocks Green and it’s homely, suburban architecture continues. They have a fine, red terracotta police station, in the Birmingham style, and behind it, an ex-fire station worthy of Trumpton.
There can’t be many cop shops with cupolas, can there?
July 23rd -By the time of my return, the sun was shining hazily, and things seemed to be drying out a bit. It was still threatening, but the ride home was dry and uneventful. At Nuneaton, the light was interesting, and highlighted the exaggerated perspective of the railway and it’s architecture. I love the accentuated vanishing point, the repetition and recursion. The forest of overhead metalwork – every member in that mess of stanchion, gantry and wire does something.
For a quite simple idea, the railway is incredibly complex and deeply fascinating.
July 23rd – The predicted thunderstorms hit in he early morning, and I set off to Leicester in a lull when it had stopped raining for a while. As I got o Lichfield, the heavens opened again, and emerging late at Leicester, it was evident I’d just missed the storm there, too. The wet roofs of Knighton Fields glistened beautifully in the weak sun.
Not a great commute, but much better than expected.
July 22nd – Bindweed, the ubiquitous creeper with Snow White flowers is in full bloom at the moment – this example was growing on Brownhills Common. Like the willowherb, it’s a plant of the margins, the hedgerows and wastelands, and normally regarded as a pest and a weed.
It is, however, a type of convulvulous related to the generally more appreciated morning glory, and I think it’s rather beautiful.
July 22nd – I had to do a favour on my way home from work, so I returned from Walsall through Pelsall and hopped on to the old railway line across the common at Brownhills. Although half of it’s length is a cycle way and part of National Route 5, the northern section to Brownhills West is not. Whilst the southern section is surfaced and a little overgrown, it’s unofficial section is open and a green, a verdant arcade. On this balmy summer evening, this greenway was shady and cool, and full of bird and animal life. A real gem, and relatively unknown to all but Brownhillians.
July 21st – At Farewell, the advancing season is indicated in the landscape. Fields of very nearly ripe wheat, oilseed rape and barley stretch for miles. They aren’t quite ready yet, but are not far off, and even in this misty-grey humid evening, they were beautiful.
July 21st – If you’re near water at the moment, watch where you walk. The canal towpath at The Chemical in Brownhills was today busy with hundreds of tiny toadlets like this wee one. He could fit on a penny coin, and you only see them when they move – I dread to think how many have been accidentally squished.
Again, the toads leaving the water is yet another sign that summer marches on…
July 20th – Out all day, and back home late I slipped out for a takeaway. Circling Brownhills in the dark, I had a play with the settings on the camera. Tilt-shift long exposure at night is an interesting effect – not sure it worked too well, but I think it bears further exploration.
In the summer, it’s a surprise to remember how dramatic even the most mundane bits of Brownhills can be at night.
July 19th – Contempt. Utter, utter contempt. This resident of Longwood Basin doesn’t approve.
July 19th – Ducking off work early for probably the last sunny afternoon of the warm spell for now. I hopped on the canal at Tyseley, then cycled into the city centre, and out via Smethwick, Great Bridge, the Tame Valley canal and Walsall. The canal was beautiful, and the scenery great, but my energy reserves were low and I found the going hard. I was reminded again, however, how green and beautiful our local waterways are, from inner city budleia to Smethwick’s hanging ivy; from the water lilies of Park Hall to the thistles of Rushall Junction. A great, but enervating ride.
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