August 15th – I passed the sad, rotting hulk of The Wheel In, on Lindon Road, Brownhills this evening. Closed for several years now, this formerly buzzing community local is now quietly rotting, prospective buyers no doubt put off by the rumour spread locally that the building is suffering severe structural problems. I’m not sure if it is or not, but the rumour spread remarkably quickly. Curious.
I doubt this house will ever reopen. A tradgedy.
August 15th – The digital traffic signs, recently installed on the edges of Walsall town centre have been controversial, costly, and rather pointless. Since installation, they’ve either been blank, or displaying such crucial messages as ‘Tiredness kills – Take a break’. Today, with a major fire in central Walsall, they got chance to display vital road closure information, which made no difference whatsoever to the traffic, which was gridlocked at rush hour. It doesn’t help that several of the message displays – like this one on the edge of The Butts – are situated at a point where it’s virtually impossible to take any preventative measures to avoid the problem. Design in action.
August 14th – This bizarrely happy-looking former church, at Bodymoor Heath, near Kingsbury has now been converted into a house. It has a very striking, slightly mad appearance. I must have passed this building more than forty times, but I’ve never noticed it’s unsettling, almost human expression before. Well weird, not sure I could live in a place that odd.
August 14th – This vineyard actually produces grapes for winemaking. They go to produce Buzzard Valley wines, which are sold from a shop and bistro nearby, the entire smallholding lies in a valley between Canwell and Drayton Bassett. The wine isn’t bad. Who’d have thought you’d see vineyards in Staffordshire?
August 14th – If you’re the publisher of the Sutton Coldfield Observer, it looks like one of your delivery agents has been ripping you off. Several bundles of your paper – unopened, and fresh from the print works – have been dumped on a grass verge near the M6 Toll bridge at Camp Road, Canwell. They date from April, and one can only assume that the person who was paid to distribute them dumped them and pocketed the cash.
August 13th – A spin round Chasewater and a particularly fine, uninterrupted blast on the traffic-free bike route between Chasewater Heaths Station and Pool Road, at the north end of the dam. This is just a fraction of the great, family-freindly cycling to be had at Chasewater. Ideal for the nervous or those just not fancying road cycling, there’s cycle hire available on the south shore. Just watch out for pedestrians, loose dogs and obstinate red deer.
August 13th – Bracket fungus, in this case Birch Polypore, are a common sight in woodlands and scrub around the common at this time of year. They don’t seem to die as quickly as other fungi and often acquire a sheen of algae and detritus as they age. They regenerate by scattering spores from their undersides as animals and the wind come into contact with them. I think there’s three generations here.
August 13th – Spotted parked in the lay-by in Engine Lane, this venerable old Reliant three-wheeler caught my eye. I’ve never been a fan of these quirky, unstable vehicles, but there was something wonderfully nostalgic about seeing this one. It must be a labour of love keeping it on the road, and require a very thick skin to drive it…
Edited shortly after posting:
Thanks to keen reader and local history whizz Julian Ward-Davies who points out that this isn’t actually a Reliant at all, but a Bond Minicar – a vehicle I’d never before been aware of. So there you go, you learn something new every day. Cheers, Julian!
August 12th – Ravens Court – named after Ravenseft, the developers – is the derelict, decaying shopping precinct that forms the focal point of Brownhills High Street. Now almost empty, we’re stuck with it until at least late 2012, when Tesco might, if they get round to it, demolish it and build a new superstore behind. Rather than integrate with the town centre, they plan to build a couple of shop units in the gap, effectively closing the High Street off to the new store.
Meanwhile, the old precinct – once a hive of business and activity – gently decays, a memorial to lost commercial horizons.
August 12th – Walsall has many surprising corners and features that surprise the unwary. Like Wednesbury, it’s central focus is a considerable hill, in Walsall’s case topped by a single, handsome church with a dramatic, imposing approach from the street below. St. Matthews itself is a gorgeous building, to which I will return, but it’s a dramatic symbol of Walsall. Soon, it’s view from the town below will be restored following the demolition of the despised Overstrand Restaurant.
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