Tag: commute

#365daysofbiking Overdrawn at the Banksy

Friday January 29th 2021 – Brownhills has had a bit of a fad in recent years for stencil graffiti art by – it must be said – out of town artists, the most prolific of which seems to be North Birmingham street artist Itchers.

In total we have They See Me Rollin, in Brickiln Street, Flower Man on the side of Archers Florist, Winnie the Pooh on the wall of the Church Road Car Park, and now, this. This isn’t an Itchers, I don’t think.

This lad chasing the like balloon appeared on the wall of the former Forward Garage some weeks ago, and is a competent enough artwork.

It’s just a straight lift of Banksy, though, and whilst nicely and confidently executed, it would be a pleasant change to see some non-stencil street art.

Just for a change.

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#365daysofbiking Beauty in store

Thursday January 28th 2021 – I noticed on the Walsall Road in Darlaston that a camelia in an overgrown front garden is heavily in bud.

I’ve never noticed this particular one before – it’s large and seemingly untended.

Camelias are beautiful spring shrubs with huge and plentiful, but sadly short-lived blooms.

I’l looking forward to watching this one: Fascinatingly it seems to be in the garden of a house converted to flats, with nobody bothering about the front garden.

Looks like the tenants are in for a beautiful surprise…

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#365daysofbiking Break the heart of Iron Man

Wednesday January 27th 2021 – I like Morris, the Brownhills Miner as I’ve posted here many times. This stainless steel, Soviet-style collier is the embodiment of the town’s history and we’re all very proud to have him on our central island.

But for what he is – an impressive work of not just art but structural engineering and welding – he’s bloody hard to get a good night photo of. I think it’s that the lighting is bad, and the nearby street lights always make getting a good angle tough.

On this misty, cold night with lingering snow on the ground, it must have been a chilly gig to be the town hero. But he did make for a better than usual photo, which pleased me.

I don’t understand why such a gorgeous piece of art should be so difficult to photograph at night. It’s enough to break the heart of an iron man.

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#365daysofbiking Light less

Tuesday January 2th 2021 – The snow hung round and was still quite fresh looking – unusual for snowfalls here, which can be heavy, but rarely last long when down.

Coming home on the canal, I thought I’d try my old muse Clayhanger Bridge in the snow. For some reason I’m having real trouble getting this bridge at night with the current camera. I just don’t think the software in the device knows what to do with the image.

It still came out well though, although much darker than I expected.

I can see that with this camera, I still have lots to learn.

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#365daysofbiking What a difference a snow day makes

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Monday January 25th 2021 – The day was again cold, and the snow didn’t really thaw at all. As I came home from work, I joined the canal towpath at Clayhanger Bridge to see what the tyres were like on compacted, hard snow: I needn’t have worried. They were fine.

Coming up over Catshill Junction Bridge I couldn’t resist a quick photo looking back the way I’d came: I love the way snow completely changes night photography.

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#365daysofbiking It’s coming, hold on

Wednesday January 20th 2021 – Kings Hill Park, Darlaston. Daffodil flower buds, despite the cold and misery.

They know nothing of the pandemic, they know only that soon it’ll be time for them to shine and do their thing.

Spring, in lockdown or not, will be heavenly this year. It’s coming, they know. Hold on.

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#365daysofbiking Going underground

Tuesday January 19th 2021 – After the stress and drain of the day before, I went for an easier day and pottered to a meeting in Lichfield in the afternoon. On my return, I unusually came across Jubilee and Festival Gardens, and traversed the odd subway that links the two under the A51.

I had thought this subway to be old from the corrugated steel construction and bizarrely primitive square headed bolts used in its construction – but no, it dates from the 1960s. I can only assume Lichfield Council knocked it up from stuff that had around at the time.

It is oddly lit, and feels constrained inside. But the lighting, and surrounding environment make it captivating to me. It’s like some kind of portal to the underworld, and it’s almost disappointing when you emerge back into the same Lichfield you left seconds before…

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#365daysofbiking Hard days

Monday January 18th 2021 – I’d had to go a long way for work. It was tough. I left early and called in to Birmingham on my way back to collect my bike which had been left in safe keeping for my return at a nearby work site, the better to avoid commuter trains.

It was around 6pm, and the city I’ve always loved, my home, my heart – was dead. After a day of travelling, empty stations, closed cafes and lonely trains, a deserted, almost post-apocalyptic Birmingham was very nearly the straw that broke me.

There were people about. People who were fearful of contact and closeness of others – understandably. I was like that too. Masked, hostile people.

Trams and buses swept past, nearly empty each one.

But then I stopped, and I looked: The lights were the same, the wet sheen on the tarmac. This is still my place. It’s still beautiful – if now more eerily so in it’s sparseness – but it will return. The spirit lives on. We’re just in hard days.

I did what I always do – got on my bike and rode home.

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#365daysofbiking A low blow

Wednesday January 13th 2021 – Someone complained to me today that my 365days was a bit down in the dumps of late. I guess it is, a little. It’s always hard to stay positive when you’re in midwinter and inspiration, and daylight, are hard to come by.

I will try and make it a little more positive in coming days and weeks: but that shouldn’t be as hard, because we’ll soon have lighter nights, daylight commutes, and spring flowers.

On the way back to work after an errand I spotted this roadside daisy in Pleck. It was open, beautiful, and optimistic.

I think I should learn by it’s example.

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#365daysofbiking A shot in the arm

Tuesday January 12th 2021 – If we’re ever to escape the awful pandemic sweeping through the world, we need mass inoculation and fast – and for once, it’s good to see the UK government responding faster than the rest of the world.

The Oak Park Active Living Centre in Walsall Wood – what used to be termed a leisure centre – is open again in lockdown, but not for swimming or gym activities. It’s open for business as a mass vaccination centre.

When I passed in the evening all was quiet, but it had already been in use for some days, with the elderly and vulnerable arriving by appointment for a swift and courteous vaccination.

I’m not daft enough to think this will bring back normality quickly, but it’s certainly the beginning of the fight back and I salute it. I too will be there when called with my boots blacked.

My thanks to all working on this program, a true demonstration of the power of science.

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