Tag: character

#365daysofbiking Unique characters

May 25th – One thing I love about Derby is its characters. At the River Gardens, a dapper, older gent waited for his ladyfriend to go walking along the river, before dinner and a drink, a routine they’ve had for years in good weather. He was a lovely chap and his character as individual as his fantastic style.

I hope they had a lovely evening.

At Shelton Lock, a no-nonsense neighbourhood, a fluffy-tummied tabby with a very individual ear arrangement glared at me for disturbing his evening activities. He seemed like a lovely puss that someone must adore very much.

Cities are about the personalities that inhabit them as much as architecture and geography.

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March 24th – I had stuff to do at home, and didn’t get out until after dark, when I nipped down to Stonnall to call at a pal’s house.

Stonnall is an interesting village; it seems to be sprawling and dormitory now, and I caused a bit of a fuss a few years ago on this journal for likening it to Stepford; but the housing here from the postwar decades does seem to have enveloped what must have been quite a characterful place, and I find that the older buildings and their charm only become really evident now after dark.

It’s a nice enough place, for sure, but time hasn’t been kind to it.

March 9th – The spring imperative seems to be afoot again – reports of frogspawn locally, and the Canada geese seem to be pairing up again, all the better to mug passing cyclists for treats.

I’m sure we see the same two on the the canal between Catshill Junction and the Black Cock Bridge every year. They are used to being obstructive and noisy until paid off with a tidbit.

I do love these rowdy, uncouth characters. It’s good to have them back!

November 8th – I’ve noted before, that at night Stonnall is a different place. Darkness has a remarkable effect on the dormitory commuter village that I find puzzling. By day, it’s a nondescript, but pleasant place; old houses mingle with postwar new build and a few ex-council houses with neat gardens and an open, if slightly characterless atmosphere. 

At night, however, I’m not sure why, but the place develops a wholly different character. The old buildings here come alive, and the new stuff just slinks into the background. You get hints, whispers of what the old village might have been like, before it was sold out to developer and speculator.

Some places seem lost, but retain their essence at certain points. Stonnall does this on dark winter evenings. I remain convinced that the spirit of some places is never lost, just hidden.