Tag: commute

January 16th – A terrible, awful, wet commuting day. I got wet on may way to work, wet mid day when visiting a customer, and wet on my way back. The bike is so damp, when it catches the light it has it’s own rainbow.

I came back unusually to Blake Street, as the train I was on didn’t serve Shenstone, and it was just to horrid to come from Four Oaks up that hill. I stood at the top of the steps – the ramp is a long way up the platform, and the steps are quicker – and in that moment it struck me how odd they are. Open with no roof, they descend into a passageway under the railway. Painted cream and well lit, it’s like they once had a roof, and it was removed.

I wonder…?

January 13th – To my further disappointment, when I left work, there was no snow left to speak of, and it was almost warm, but very wet, although not raining. I don’t mind admitting I really love cycling in dramatically cold conditions, and I felt a tiny bit cheated.

But as I rode back down Green Lane and over the Black Cock Bridge, they sky was clearing and a full, mist-shrouded moon hung there. It was impossible not to feel cheered by it.

January 13th – I was hoping for more snow. I was mentally prepared for a very cold, icy commute. I awoke to little more than an icing-sugar dusting, and all the main roads clear.

I was interested to note though that other cyclists weren’t deterred. I had the snow tyres on and loved it, but the cycleways and towpaths were lined by tyre tracks, so maybe I’m getting risk-averse in my old age.

A nice journey in cold weather, but it’d be nice to have the real thing before winter ends. A bit of 2013 wouldn’t hurt, would it?

January 9th – Waiting at New Street early in the day it seemed people were not yet about – I saw very few as I loafed idly, waiting for my train. Despite continual work here, little has changed in the last 12 months – the grim 80s exit bridge has had one end tarted up but it remains ugly and badly conceived; likewise the shiny tinfoil covering to the upper floors, covering only the bits that can be seen from outside the station. 

Despite the continual aesthetic tweaks – panelling here, lights there, the odd new bench or seating area – little really changes in this urban, brutalist bunker. It’s a fleeting place, transitory for most. But stand here for any length of time and you’ll realise how little;e has been done to actually improve it.

New Street Station is not new. It’s just now got a retail opportunity on top. The station itself remains as dysfunctional as ever.

January 4th – it has been a temperate commute in the morning, spoiled only by ten minutes of rain, but it felt reasonable for first day back, but in the evening my return was a shock. Not dressed for sub-zero temperatures, and on a bike without ice tyres, I gingerly picked my way through lanes and backstreets chilly and nervous.

That’s the trouble with having time off; you need to sharpen your commuting game on your return, because you get out of the habit.

December 21st – At last, work is over for the year, coinciding happily with the shortest day. The winter solstice is important to me, as once it’s passed, the days begin their sinusoidal rollercoaster of opening out once more – slowly at first, then careering to daylight as the spring comes. 

When I reach this point, I always feel I’ve survived. From here on in, things can only improve. And Christmas is here!

I passed the Black Cock in Walsall Wood on my way home; a pub that’s clinging on despite several changes of landlord in a short time, it remains popular and the welcoming, warm lights in the darkness made it feel festive and welcoming.

I’m ready for Christmas now, and a rest.

December 20th – I keep passing this sign at the garden centre on the Chester Road near Mill Green, and as I passed it tonight, I realised that as with every year, it’s purpose had now all but ceased; few people will be buying the traditional nordman fir now, and so inexorably, the season is ticking away; One more day at work, then holiday, then on my return, a new year and nights that open out again after the winter solstice and shortest day, which occur the very next day.

Time marches on quickly for me these days, but this autumn, with the huge workload and long hours, has seemed particularly cruel.

I long for spring flowers, warm breezes and the sun on my face.

Soon be over the peak.

December 19th – Near the Black Country Route in Moxley, the moss on this old hawthorn buss fascinates me. Although, to be fair, it could be lichen… like fellow hugely complex organisms fungi, mosses and lichens are fascinating, intricate and a world away from conventional plants.

The colours alone are stunning. I wonder why this particular bush?