October 11th – Coming back from Lichfield, the weather quickly turned grim. There was a real downpour, and without my usual armoury of waterproofs, I had no choice but to get wet. With every passing wagon on the A461, it was like being jet washed. I arrived home cold, wet, exhausted and thoroughly dejected. Why do I do this again?
October 11th – Working late in Tyseley, the service gets patchy after the evening peak. Leaving at about 8pm, I realised my nearest train was going from Spring Road, located on the road to Hall Green. Stoking it in, I made it with a couple of minutes to spare. Spring Road is desolate and isolated at night, and I didn’t like it much. It was drizzling lightly, I was tired, and glad to see the lights of the train…
October 10th – Birmingham New Street. This is Birmingham New Street. As the automated announcements chimed the usual jingle, my train was delayed. Gazing up the platform from where I was sat on the crash barrier, I noticed something darting about. A mouse, or possibly a young rat. He was doing what nature intended – hoovering up.
I’m used to seeing mice and rats in stations: New Street is alive with rodents. People eat whilst waiting at stations, so there’s a ready supply of dropped and discarded food. Normally, such animals tend to look unhealthy, but this fellow was looking quite chipper. Contractors have recently sealed off platform eight as part of the modernisation works, and I suspect Mickey here was displaced, as was the rat I saw at the foot of the steps on the same platform 10 minutes later.
When the train came, it was too full and I ended up going to Walsall instead. Sometimes I feel I live in the station, just like the mice.
Sorry about the poor quality images. I won’t use flash in a station for safety reasons.
October 10th – I’ve been studying the detail of buildings lately. Small things. Architraves, chimneys, corbels, pediments, lintels. Airbricks, panels and frescos. Sills, doorways and sashes. There’s a huge variety of stuff in the everyday. In a quiet Tyseley backstreet, my gaze was caught by this ornate ventilation brick made from pressed terracotta in an otherwise plain factory wall. As I stopped to take a better look, I noticed the Ordnance Survey benchmark carved into the wall. A fixed datum at a measured height, these may not be used so much now, but they’re a real signal of permanence.
The things you see with your eyes open…
October 10th – At Acocks Green, I noticed this memorial bouquet of flowers has appeared. It’s sad, and bears no card; I suspect it’s in memory of a young man who committed suicide here a couple of years ago. I felt it’s poignancy today particularly, as it was World Mental Heath Day. Anyone can suffer, we’re all susceptible. Please, if you know someone who’s suffering, do your best to help. Every day is a good day to walk up to someone, take their hand and say ‘Hello, chum.’ Sometimes, we all need a friend to listen.
October 9th – At Moor Street, I was held up waiting for the train, and took a long shot down the platform to the south. I actually love this photo. It’s got Tyseley Incinerator – not far from my destination; Camp Hill church, and Bordesley church too. I love the way the tracks shine in the haze. This is my Birmingham, and pictures like this confirm why I love it so much.
October 9th – A real, live hipster and his fixie at Moor Street Station. Interestingly, this is one of the few double sided hubs I’ve ever seen being ridden of the fixed wheel side. Respect for that. It’s a remarkable bike. He loses points in the style stakes for the backwards cap and overloaded rucksack, mind. A good illustration of the variety of cycling.
October 9th – Dawn was excellent today, and it continued to be gorgeous as the sun rose. I don’t often get chance to record the sunrise, as usually, I’m in a hurry, but today at Mill Green it was so lovely, I had to. Autumn has finally started to reward me. A real pleasure.
October 8th – Walsall Wood Church – Dedicated to St. John – has always been a bit of a conundrum to me. Pleasant enough, but rather odd-looking outside, it was ruined when Lichfield Diocese designed and had added a thoroughly unpleasant extension, a fate shared by many local churches. The interior, though, is different. Very devotional, with a lovely miners-lamp memorial, ad remarkable cast iron arcades. Well worth a visit if you’re passing.
October 8th – I don’t like to see the gradual erosion of our pubs. But since so many are being lost, it’s nice to see when they’re saved – if repurposed. I’m thinking here particularly of The Muckley Corner, which is now dwellings, or The Brown Lion, in Pleck, which is a refuge. Like the Knave of Hearts in Bloxwich, the Spring Cottage in Shelfield has been converted into a bustling Co-op store. Whilst the loss of the pub is sad, at least the building was saved, and not altered too much. If only more closed pubs could be saved like this…
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