Tag: Brownhills

June 14th – Changing places. 

On the left stood Brownhills Market for near enough 25 years. where the low block facing me is was the site of Silver Court Gardens, once the 5th most deprived housing estate in the country.

Not now; a row of new build gables, a block of modern apartments. Silver Street has been transformed. There is life and activity here in what was for several years a barren, windswept wasteland.

I’m glad to see this change, and I welcome the people that will live in these places. New builds, new starts and new people. 

Not all change is bad.

June 6th – There’s a splendid display of orchids this year in the meadows, wetland margins and by the canal – but sadly many have been destroyed – or stunted – by the agressive local towpath mowing schedule by the Canal and River Trust.

Can they not tolerate a bit of uncut grass for a few weeks while these bee-attracting beauties thrive? Perhaps they could use the manpower to fix some of the leaks and failing infrastructure instead…

May 31st – My attention had been drawn to comments online that the canal water level had dropped significantly in the last couple of days, so I investigated – measuring from the weir bar to the current level was 123mm. Nearly five inches of water lost since Sunday when the canal was in heavy overflow.

Considering the length of this canal, this is a huge amount of water gone.

Subsequent enquiries with the Canal and River Trust suggest that they were unaware the valves had been turned off at Chasewater by Staffordshire County Council (see here) but I’m unconvinced the water would drop so fast considering the conditions.

I’m wondering if a downstream lock sluice was accidentally left open, perhaps.

It is said the situation is being rectified by pumping water in from Bradley, so it’ll be one to keep an eye on I think. A mystery.

May 19th – A bad stomach day, and a ride out late that was surprisingly good: A 40 miler up over Chasewater, Longdon, the Ridwares and Yoxall, returning through Lichfield and Weeford to home.

It was a glorious afternoon, the star of which was the languid, limpid River Trent.

I note that at Home Farm, Sandhills, my favourite horse chestnut tree is in bloom – such a lovely sight.

May 15th – I’m a scientific and cultural atheist, as most readers know and I’m a really strong believer in evolution. It’s just the way I am. But even my stoic scientific approach falters sometimes.

Like in the case of coot chicks.

What evolutionary advantage does looking like they really had a moorhen as a father create? And just what made them so ugly that probably even their mums find them a bit grim?

They have cute in shedloads but bless my soul they’re not lookers.

May 12th – And talking of spring and summer colour, nestling in green nowhere, as Vivian Stanshall put it. Just tens of feet form factory yards, a cycle train on a short bit of old railway in Brownhills between Engine Lane and the old Cement Works, or Slough Bridge.

One of those moments where you stop, look and catch your breath it’s so gorgeous.

Even though I felt like shit, I was happy and honoured to see this.

May 12th – Another dull day and one on which I wasn’t feeling so well, so just a short circuit of Brownhills for a couple of errands.

I travelled on the canal past Home Farm at Sandhills, and noted that the crops there were really coming on now. Not just the bright yellow of the oilseed rape, but the shimmering green of what I think is a feed of barley was gorgeous too. Within a few short weeks we’ve gone from winter to late spring/early summer and it’s been like firing a starting gun.

Even on a dull day with an uncomfortable stomach, just the colours of this season are enough to cheer me up.

May 11th – A dull day without much to commend it, and a rather nagging wind. Coming back through Brownhills along the canal in the evening, I noticed in the very beginnings of a rain shower that the canal was developing one of it’s periodic organic scums – this time it looks like a mixture of willow fluff and may blossom petals.

This comes also at a time when many junctions, bends and winding holes are also covered with floating, dead reed stakes and leaves, making the canal as a whole look pretty untidy.

It’s nothing to worry about though; such detritus will disappear as quickly as it came, as it does every year. It’s just curious while it lasts

May 10th – Ever get the feeling you’re being watched?

Returning after work to Brownhills down a sunny, limpid canal, I felt a wee bit like I wasn’t alone.

And then I spotted ginger, watching me from behind the reads by the new development at Silver Court Gardens.

That’s one gorgeous little cat.