December 1st – Visiting Walsall Wood on an errand on my way home, I stopped to admire their excellent Christmas tree in the grounds of St. john’s Church, which is always a personal donation by the local councillors, which is jolly nice of them.
The church also looked lovely in the cold night.
The Wood is absolutely lovely at night… even more so at Christmas.
October 27th – Yet the day had it’s best in store for me. Labouring up past Aldershaw feeling tired, I returned via Chesterfield, Wall Butts, Hilton and Stonnall in a truly glorious, remarkable golden hour of beautiful orange light and glowing autumn colour.
It’s amazing how one afternoon can completely transform your mood and lift you from the gloom you’ve been in.
October 25th – I popped into Darlaston on an errand from work at noon, on a lovely sunny late autumn day, and took time to appreciate the architecture of this lovely town. Across the hedges and careful topiary of the gardens of Rectory Avenue, the twin historic fascinations of the Columbarium and St Lawrence’s Church; just around the corner Pardoes Cottage, a curiosity in it’s own, handsome right.
My inly frustration is the inability ti get a good angle on that lovely church, although it’s one positive aspect of autumn – in summer one can barely see the church at all!
October 10th – I returned to Shenstone on a horribly overcrowded, delayed train feeling flustered and weary, but then discovered something else I’d lost in recent months; that view of Shenstone Church across the village rooftops.
Shenstone Church is almost unique in British architecture – it’s a church which is improved when you can only see the elegant, foursquare tower and not the hideous, dark gothic edifice attached to it.
I used to pass through here a lot when working in Birmingham, Telford and Redditch, but these days with others now doing those jobs, I’m more based in Darlaston so don’t see the seasonal changes of this place as much as I used to, which is sad.
The treat of a gathering dusk over Lynn and Stonnall as I return home is still a wonderfully life affirming thing, though.
October 1st – In and around Hints church, the fungi is booming; most of these examples were spotted in God’s Acre itself, with some remarkable specimens growing undisturbed amongst the gravestones and memorials. I spent a happy half hour there, just seeing what I could find, all the time with the feeling I was being watched closely.
Then the reason for my feeling of paranoia became clear – I was being watched by an elegant, snooty siamese cat from the edge of the graveyard!
September 8th – I had to take a short cut across Church Hill in Walsall on my way back and as I passed St Micheals Church in Caldmore, I remembered it had a curious feature: A football perfectly wedged in the wrought iron cross on the roof.
Legend has it it’s been there for years, and bounced into it’s trap off the opposite wall.
Glad to see it was never removed. You can find out more about this little oddity here.
August 22nd – On a grey, grim morning in a dreadful hurry having been called in to work early, I stopped for a quick breather in Kings Hill and noted the twin sisters were looking good over in Wednesbury.
I’m so used to living workaday life in the shadow of this beautiful urban hill that I don’t pay attention to it enough. It’s gorgeous, and deserves more credit than it gets.
Green, with two stunning churches side by side, Church of England and Catholic, the view across the rooftops hasn’t changed much here in over a century.
Steady, slowly changing with the seasons, but essentially changeless. Always watching life below.
Oh how I love the Black Country.
August 19th – I was having a terrible day: I had plans to get out early, but the wind and weather were grim, and everything I did seemed like wading through treacle.
After miserably writing blog posts, messing up dates and publicity schedules, I finally got a grip and went out, to find a bright periodically sunny late afternoon in which harvest was being completed and the fields of stubble were golden delights over towards Sandhills and Hammerwich.
The sight of that lovely church and converted windmill cheered me, as did the bright, surprisingly warm if short-lived sunshine.
A nice pick me up on an awful day.
August 11th – I had to pop to Shenstone on an errand on my way home from work, and the chance to ride these sleepy, familiar lanes, even on a dull day is wonderful.
I crossed Church Hill through the churchyard of St Johns, purely as I hadn’t been up there in a while. I have to say, the grounds maintenance at the rear in the old graveyard is currently not a patch on what it was, but I guess the wildlife appreciates the lack of disturbance.
The church remains what it has always been to me: A remarkable building in a beautiful spot, although not to my taste: A competent, muscular design in Victorian dark gothic that screams foreboding at me, not praise.
However, always good to see this landmark of my life. Love or hate it, it’s a remarkable thing.
July 15th – Out on a late afternoon ride on a warm but grey afternoon, I spotted a previously unnoticed Bradley between Barton Gate and Dunstall village, which looked like a reasonable ride. I wasn’t wrong; at the Dunstall end it provides commanding vies of the splendid church and rolling countryside around it.
That was a real find. Staffordshire always gives you something new.
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