December 19th – I was hoping for a cold, dry Christmas. It seems it’s going to be another warm, damp one like last year. Today was pretty grim, and I left it until after dark to take in a grim loop of Brownhills.
You guys over in Chasewater Wildlife Group… you doing the rain dance. You can stop now, it’s OK. Honest…
December 14th – Just as I was getting into the swing of cold, bright days, along comes the rain fairy again. Today, the commute and riding was shocking. It was a dreadful journey to work; into a headwind, drizzle getting heavier as I went. It took 35 minutes to cycle what is usually a 25 minute journey, and I thought I’d just missed my train. Reconciled to a 20 minute wait at Blake Street, I was the only person around. Then, completely unlisted on the passenger information system, a train turned up out of nowhere, which seemed a bit odd.
The further I got toward my destination, the heavier the rain became. Tyseley looked grey and horrible, and nobody seemed to turn the daylight on at all. The commute home was equally dreadful.
I was cheered, however, to note that next week, it’ll be the shortest day – then the nights begin to open out again. Roll on Christmas, let’s have some nuts…
November 27th – A little further on, I was cutting through Oak Park when I noticed the old bowling green was flooded, and illuminated by the floodlights of the current bowls club. I couldn’t resist the chance for a photo. Immediately after I took the first shot, somebody switched all the lights off, giving me another opportunity to experiment with long exposure night photos. I’m really beginning to get the hang of this…
November 25th – following the heavy rains of the previous week, and in particular the day before, there was lots of local flooding. One interesting flood was on Clayhager Common, but I doubt many observing it would spot the significance. The lower meadow, bordered by the canal and old railway embankment was swamped with water from the canal overflow, which was either blocked, or beyond capacity. The resultant deluge was forming a pool on this, the lowest part of the common. This pool, very slowly, was draining into the Ford Brook. It may well take a few days, but gradually, the waters will recede in a controlled manner. Years ago, this would have flooded the village, but careful and clever environmental design built the lower meadow as a bund for just this purpose. The Ford Brook itself was healthy, but not high and around Clayhanger, the roads were generally clear.
While about around the common, I noted the gate from the Clayhanger Village entrance had been forced open, it’s lock cut off. Looks like a call to the rangers might be an idea…
November 24th – Finding myself in the dark of Chasewater, the only real light was in the mist over the water caused by the heavy rain. Realising the wind was from the east, I decided to see what the camera could do on a long exposure. It was really very dark, but I set shutter priority and set exposure to the maximum 8 seconds, with the camera stood on the dam wall. I’m fascinated by the results. I don’t know anything at all about photography – I usually just let the camera do it’s thing, and have worked out how to get decent results by trial and error without really understanding the process. Of late, I’ve started to get more adventurous, and the little camera seems a lot more versatile than I thought.
As a side issue, I note the water level of the lake has shot up: looking at the level on the pier woodwork, it seems to have gained about 300mm – a whole foot – in November. With the land saturated, I guess all the runoff is now pouring it. I’m seriously wondering if the lake could be near full by New Year.
November 24th – Oh my word today was grim. It started early, with a dentist appointment, and by the time I or my mouth were feeling anything like going out, it was raining cats and dogs. I headed over to Burntwood to get some shopping in after dark. The wind was low, and I dressed for the rain, and the ride was really quite invigorating… but the photography, as you might expect, was lousy. Crossing the bridge over the M6 Toll at Pool Road, I stopped to watch the traffic. The road surface was swilling with water, and the spray was terrible. I was glad to be on my bike, in a deserted country park, in almost total darkness. Somewhere from the lowland below the dam, an owl was calling. There’s beauty anywhere, really, but sometimes it’s very hard to find.
November 22nd – Today was the reverse of yesterday, with added headwind. It was a fine morning commute into Birmingham, but the wind had been crafted on Satan’s back step. I ploughed into it head first on the way, fearful of the weather forecast which predicted very bad weather for the journey home. The forecasters were right.
I only had a few usable photos. All was fine until I alighted the train at Walsall, then the heavens opened. Torrential rain, a following wind and a desire to get the hell home took me. The were floodwaters everywhere, and the new ring road became a moat. I haven’t seen rain like this in many a year. But my waterproofs kept me dry, and I got home red faced, but in one piece.
Forecast seems quite good for tomorrow… here’s hoping.
November 21st – An awful, awful journey to work. I’ve had some really bad commutes this year, probably more than any other year. I just hope that we get some fine, dry weather soon. When I left for Blake Street it was raining heavily. I fought through the rainstorm, to catch a delayed train. The driving I saw in some quarters – no lights, dangerous overtaking – confirmed my suspicion that rain does strange things to some people’s perception of risk. Arriving in Birmingham, I couldn’t get a forward train to Tyseley or nearby, and being in a hurry, I cycled out through Digbeth and the Warwick Road. It was a horrid journey. I love cycling, but I didn’t this morning. My waterproofs kept me reasonably dry, but the discomfort, the stress… sometimes, you don’t need it.
November 19th – An unexpectedly grim commute home. Late trains, packed in like sardines, rain and a gusting wind. It’s not looking much better for tomorrow morning, either. Alighting at Blake Street for a change (and hopefully a tailwind) the station looked grim and harsh in the drizzle. It’s about time we all gave this winter lark up as a bad job…
November 15th – Autumn – season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. Well, we got the mists. Cycling on foggy days like this is unpleasant. in a short, 20 minute journey to Blake Street, 6 cars and 1 cyclist without lights at all. The usual selfish, aggressive driving. The discomfort of water condensing over your clothes and face.
It does, however, add a pleasantly enjoyable air of mystery to otherwise unremarkable scenes. A challenging day for riding, and photography too.
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