Tag: Birmingham

October 25th – A much better day. The weather has cleared as we’re apparently moving to a cold snap. The air was clear and sharp, and only the odd patch of drizzle persisted as I left work. I had stuff to do in Birmingham and wanted to visit the Night Market in Walsall later in the evening, and at teatime found myself at Snow Hill Station heading for my favourite coffee shop for food and a cuppa.

Snow Hill was rebuilt in the 1980’s, and today I spotted a feature I’ve never noticed before, that has me completely baffled. I’ve used this station hundreds of times, yet never noticed this. Much of the concourse are is tiled in old-style plain, but highly glazed ceramic tiles. On the wall opposite the steps from platforms 1 and 2 is an inset detail of a cat. I could find no other instance of the is decoration, and have no idea why it’s there, about 18 inches off the floor. Is it a reference to a station cat of times past, or some other piece of whimsy? Any ideas?

17th October – A frantic day. Last minute trip to Leicester for a meeting, then had to zip back to Tyseley for another. In between the two, I found myself at Snow Hill Station, in Birmingham. I was fascinated to spot the abseiling window cleaners were doing their urban acrobatics at the new office blocks nearby. I take my hat off to these men – they have total faith in their equipment, it must be cold and draughty up there. Not much room for error. The casual way in which they pause to share a joke and chat, whilst dangling in front of an office block is astounding, captivating and impressive.

October 12th – It was a beautiful sunny, golden autumn day. It wasn’t warm, but the sun shone and made everything precious. I was glad of it – after the soaking of the day before, it was blessed recovery. The day was beautiful both in Acocks Green, which I passed through on my way to Tyseley, and back at Shenstone and Stonnall on my return. A fine day, and we don’t get many of those at the moment. I’ve included some of the best pictures on my main blog.

October 12th – Not enough stations have proper clocks anymore. They’ve all got those boring digital things, but few have real, wooden cased analogue clocks. Come to that, few stations are like Birmingham Moor Street, and all should be. Spacious, airy, light, it’s a gorgeous place to wait for a train. Clocks of this style were mainly made by JB Joyce & Co., of Whitchurch, Shropshire, possibly the country’s oldest clockmakers, and often bore the name ‘Joyce, Whitchurch’. This leads to an in-joke amongst railway buffs who often use ‘Joyce Whitchurch’ as a pseudonym on internet forums etc.

They really should get out more.

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 – 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 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.

September 28th – By chance, on my return journey. I came upon this group of cyclists in Birmingham city centre. From twitter conversations, I realised they were a bunch of Birmingham City Councillors, who were on a guided ride of the city to experience what it’s like for cyclists. Interestingly, there were no Tories present.

It’s bloody lousy, we’ve been telling you for years, damn it…

September 28th – Other people’s bicycles. I’d been to the Cycle Show at the NEC. This involved a journey into Birmingham by bus – I hadn’t been on one for over 12 months, and hated it. Walking up Corporation Street from the University, I noticed this bike chained to the scaffolding. It’s a venerable old British Eagle, and someone loves it. Later, as I was leaving the show, I noticed this black fixie parked outside the entrance at the NEC. Sometimes the best bikes are the oldest, most loved ones.