Tag: commute

June 21st – It’s good to see that one place the Canal and River Trust mowers didn’t go is the meadow and embankment alongside the new pond at Clayhanger, where orchids, ribwort plantain, birds foot trefoil, ox-eye daisies, buttercups and many species of grasses are thriving, much to the appreciation of the bees, bugs and birds that rely on them.

Long grass and meadows are not some untidiness to be dealt with: They are essential to our ecosystem.

June 21st – I passed through Snow Hill Station mid afternoon, and noticed a little bit of lost local history that I’d totally forgotten about – the old Snow Hill tram stop.

When the Midland Metro opened in the late 90s, it originally terminated here at one platform of Snow Hill Station. The stop was dark, dingy and low level, with a notoriously unreliable inexplicably single escalator and a dingy, horrible spiral staircase. It was not a great bit of urban design.

When the Metro line was extended around the City Centre to Stephenson Place, the line was diverted to the side of Snow Hill station and up around Colmore Circus, leaving the Snow Hill stop cut off and replaced by a better, street level station. The lines at the old stop are no longer connected to the main line, and the stop, abandoned, unserviced and closed is gladly being reclaimed by nature and slowly fading.

It’s amazing how quickly such things decay when unused.

June 20th – To my dismay, the agressive and pointlessly regular towpath mowing schedule continues on local canals, to the detriment of wildflowers growing there, like the poor orchids.

In recent years, the canal management have insisted on having the canalside grass mown every month – not only is this unnecessary, it inhibits the growth of some wonderful species and destroys others in their prime.

The mower had been through today, and although the operator was mindful of some orchids, many more were destroyed.

If the grass had been left another month, it would have been to no detriment and huge benefit.

Frustrating and pointless.

June 19th – Walsall Wood’s lone cygnet appears to be in rude health, thankfully. Now christened Woody, they grey ball of fluff, hatched to attentive parents who rarely achieve a clutch of more than 2 or 3 is very active and busy.

It’s good to see this pair who nest late and long so proud and protective of their offspring – with one of the parents making concerted efforts to peck my feet and pull my laces!

June 19th – Back in Telford briefly, I noted that the footbridge project is progressing apace, with both new spans being brought to sigh and assembled on the ground before being lifted onto the piers.

This is clearly a complex structure and one whose support arrangements will be very complex indeed. I notice thanks to old pal of the blog Alan Dawson that the shorter, over-railway section will be lifted into place at the end of June – but I’m unclear what it’ll be supported upon, as yet there’s not steelwork present at either side of the station to place it on.

One assumes it’ll all fall into place quickly.

You can read about the lifting project here.

June 18th – Now we’re in high summer the flowering phase is fading a little and we’re moving on to hardier, darker flowers and blooms, greens are deepening and the fruiting phase is commencing.

Now is the time of bramble flowers, thistles, knapweed and cornflowers – and the time when the canal looks it’s very best.

June 18th – for the second time in 12 months, Green Lane has been closed so sewage tankers can relive backed up sewers due to a pip collapse near the Clayhanger Sewage Works.

The road has been impassible to cars as drivers Marshall tankers in relays pumping out effluent and Marshall plant around.

Sadly, the impatience of some drivers was pretty unimpressive. These people have a job to do. Let them get on with it.

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.