Tag: bad weather

January 6th – I was caught in a sudden shower at Blake Street, and it formed an almost imperceptible rainbow and the sun shone throughout. It was happenstance that I found myself on Moor Street just as another shower ended. In both instances, I caught trains arriving. 

The train service has been lousy of late, and doesn’t look like getting any better. I know the weather’s been bad, and I wouldn’t complain if that were the cause. London Midland still seem to be suffering from preventable problems – train failures, crew shortages. I’ve only been back three days and have only caught a couple of trains on time.

My return journey from Birmingham this evening was cancelled. It made for a horrid journey home.

Every year the prices go up, we get the wearily ‘maintaining high service’ line; it’s rubbish, it really is.

January 6th – It was a beautiful morning, but with a heavy, harsh southwesterly wind. It took me longer than usual to cycle to the station, and I ducked through the backlanes to get there, the high hedges offering some shelter. 

As far as the wind would allow, the air was soft and very slightly misty, and it made the countryside of South Staffordshire look beautiful in the watery sunlight.

I saw these trees in Forge Lane and recalled Joni Mitchell’s line ‘Trees are shivering in a naked row’.

Here’s to less aggressive weather for a while…

January 5th – It was a thoroughly horrid afternoon. Windy, wet, dark. I went out with a heavy heart, and didn’t find much of interest in the immediate area, so I spun out to Shenstone down the very wet and muddy backlanes.

Visiting the church, I was again reminded what a gothic, ugly edifice it is. I’ve never liked it; it’s a perfectly competent architectural design, it’s just not to my taste. I find the dark grey sandstone, and heavy Victoriana dismal. Even the gargoyles look desperately unhappy.

Compare St. Johns, Shenstone with any other local church, say Hopwas. Hopwas is a place you’d feel happy to give praise in, to wed, to christen; Shenstone looks like a place to go and endure, repent and suffer – it’s full of foreboding.

More interesting to me is the old tower in the churchyard; crumbling, it’s the remains of an earlier church. Perhaps it would have been better left.

Down in the village,I headed to the Lammas Land – a strip of parkland along the Footherley Brook. On the way, I passed The Plough In, busy, bright, inviting. Newly reopened, it’s good to see. It had been derelict for a few years.

January 3rd – The journey home was much better than expected, too; when I made a dash for it, there was a gap in the rain and I made it to the train just in time, similarly at Birmingham New Street, where the city glistened beautifully in the wet. Taking advantage of a following wind, I shot home from Walsall between showers until I emerged from the takeaway, and got drenched in the last mile home.

Considering the horrendous weather in other parts of the country we escaped lightly, and so did I. Can’t help thinking I’ll pay for that later… 

January 3rd – I was back in Telford today, only the weather wasn’t quite as nice. I was fortunate really, as I expected us have much more rain than we did, and the winds here weren’t as bad as forecast either. I caught a short, heavy shower as I arrived at Telford, and sat it out for five minutes on the covered walkway that forms the station bridge and connects it to the town centre. I could see light on the horizon, and the downpour soon lightened. 

The geometry of that walkway fascinates me; it’s very 1980s, but also very solid. Dingy at night, it could do with better lighting, but it’s not a bad piece of urban design, really.

January 1st – Welcome to 2014. So far, this year, the weather has been 100% wet…

Sorry for the repetition, but when I went out in the evening (having sadly foregone the traditional New Year’s Day ride on the Chase due to the poor weather), it was still raining hard. I was wet. It was horrible. Every interesting photo meant the camera lens getting covered in raindrops. It was, to say the least, challenging.

The sodden loading bay at Aldi, Brownhills, was an interesting mix of textures and colours, and the lights of the canal side and Humphries House rarely disappoint.

Dejected at not finding better subjects, I rode home. Hopefully, we can shut the door on this windy wet weather soon…

December 28th – Up on the Chase today for the first time in ages, and oh boy, it was good, but very, very muddy and the trails were treacherous. Be careful if you’re up there yourself; some quite popular tracks are blocked by fallen trees following the high winds. It could be very easy to plant into them if not paying attention.

Take care everyone.

December 26th – It looked like it was a fine cycling morning, but in reality, it was horrid, even by my standards. Everywhere is sodden, and a simple ride to Chasewater was awful – the towpaths were nothing but slippery, greasy mud, and the trails in the park itself were even worse. I was plastered in muck from just a short ride, and it was heavy going, to boot.

I did notice, however, that Chasewater is filling well right now, and is fuller than it has been for quite some time. It’s currently about 400mm off full, and this shows at the spillway weir at the back of the Nine-Foot pool as well as on the gauge scale on the pier. I wonder if they’ll let it overflow into the spillway again, like they did this time last year? 

It’s good to see the place looking so healthy again. But we do need a few dry days to let the landscape drain a bit…

December 24th – It all went a bit astray. Time was tight, I had stuff to do. I wanted to get a good ride in, but the wind at lunchtime was punishing. I was visited by the p*nct*r* fairy. Then I caught the squall at Chasewater. 

The skies darkened, and the waves lapping ashore at the north end of the dam were something to behold. There was horizontal rain, snow and sleet. 

10 minutes later, blue skies and sunshine. I just gave up and pottered home, tired and wet. I just wish the weather would make it’s bloody mind up. 

That wasn’t a ride, it was an endurance test. Nice to see folk looking after the swans and geese, though.

December 14th – That evening, I had to pop up to Shire Oak on an errand. The weather was foul – driving rain and a strong sidewind. I took to the canal on the way, and let it blow me back as far as I could. I love the lights of Silver Street and the canal side at night, but what really impressed me was Ogley Court. Not long built, lots of residents have clearly got well into the Christmas spirit in their new homes. 

I really do like that complex. The roofline fascinates me.