April 2nd – Cobwebs near Abbots Bromley is a lovely little coffee and cake stop. Set in a quiet backlane, it overlooks open fields with a lovely outdoor patio area that’s shady but warm with lovely flowers… and the cake is astoundingly good.
Most importantly, it has the essential ingredient for any cycling cafe: tame local birds that come and steal crumbs you leave behind. Watching the antics of the local sparrows was endlessly fascinating.
July 28th – Inexorably sliding now from the flowering to the fruiting, I notice the first blackberries are making their appearance in the hedgerows, scrubs and thickets.
It looks like another bumper crop this year, that’s certain to result in the baking of many a pie, crumble or tart.
A real treat for the foragers…
April 15th – I love the Soho Road and that part of Birmingham in general, on the Smethwick/West Brom border. I took a ride up there after developing the craving for some decent dhokla – a savoury, fragrant yellow sponge made from gram flour, rice and chickpea, with chilli and coriander. This Gujarati snack is hard to get in Walsall, which is a shame as it’s gorgeous.
My fascination with the Soho Road is enduring – I’ve been coming here for three decades, and watched it change. Back then, the predominant accents here were Pakistani and Irish, now they’re more likely to be Eastern European, African or Afro Caribbean. Similarly, there are changes in the shops; a large Polish supermarket, various delis and lots of Caribbean fast food and baked goods.
Some things never change, though; the frenetic activity, the chatter, the mad traffic, the rush to be somewhere. The colourful fruit and veg and material emporia, the lurid platters of burfi in the windows.I watched a chap frying fresh jelabi on an outdoor stand, sweet centres were in full production for the weekend wedding feasts and looming over it all, the fading, resplendent (and in the case of the Red Lion, frankly hideous) architecture.
I love this place. I adore Birmingham. Even on this grey day.
January 11th – I had to go to a meeting in Leicester, and for some reason felt very low for most of the day. My health wasn’t great and I felt grim and lacklustre.
Only one thing for it – comfort food on the way back. I called in a a favourite asian snack shop, and bought the most wonderful dhokla, patra and five small, crunchy samosas. The whole lot was less than £3 and came with various sauces.
They tasted wonderful and got me home feeling better. Sometimes, you just need a bit of soul food.
August 23rd – Caught in heavy rains at Cannock Chase, I headed for the nearest shelter which happened to be the cafe, Springslade Lodge. Awful phone photos, but I was struck by the effort the staff had put into dressing the garden with plastic tablecloths, flower vases and such, for no customers to be able to use it.
Oddly beautiful and a little sad.
May 13th – Less dramatic and more serene was the view over the new pond at Clayhanger from the canal towpath; caught in a glorious golden hour, the fresh greens glowed in the evening, and all seemed right in the world.
I was, of course, taxed for tidbits by the same pair of geese as usual, the canny devils – all hissing and wing flaps until they get food, then they waddle off, sated.
April 6th – Out for a sunny afternoon ride, gradually getting longer as I get back into the swing of better weather. Down to Middleton, then up the canal through Tamworth, then out to Alvecote, Shuttington, Seckington, then back via Clifton, Lullington, Edingale and Harlaston. A fine ride on a lovely day – I even caught the sun.
I spotted this boater cat in Tamworth. He’s a big fellow who looks like he doesn’t stand for any nonsense.
February 13th – Unlucky for some, it was not a great day for me; I was at work far too late, and I stubbornly remained long after I was any use. Tired, mentally exhausted, I came back from Darlaston in a miserable fug; I’d mislaid something and spent an hour looking, which was bothering me. There was a steady, eroding drizzle and a slow puncture was dogging my progress. Hunger was also on my shoulders.
I rode somnambulently into Caldmore for indian snacks to take home. My usual store of choice was long since closed, but another nearby was open, and I hungrily chose vegetable kebabs, samosa, spinach paneer bhajis and pakora. The sauce was bravely supplied in a plastic bag, which I popped unopened in my travel mug. I wasn’t too fuzzy to risk a saddlebag full of goop, no matter how tasty.
I was still knackered, but I felt brighter. There was food in my saddlebag, and the rain was easing. Maybe I could make it home without stopping to pump up the tyre again…
December 7th – I don’t remember Brownhills having the waterfowl when I was a kid that we have now – swans, mallards, coots, canada geese and more all dwell on the canals, pools and waterways, often aggressively hassling walkers for food.
I love these comical birds and their antics. Today at Chasewater, with the boating lake still dry,the residents were crowding the southern shore around the castle, jonesing for scraps and seed – so greedy, they didn’t even mind the presence of a dog.
Down by the watermead, an aggressive beggar blocked my right of way and pecked my tires.
I think they’re wonderful…
September 11th – I only went and forgot the camera again. This week can’t end quickly enough. Something is not functioning at all well.
On the way to work, in central Walsall the traffic felt risky, so I hopped on the canal and rode to Darlaston that way. On the way, I bumped into this family of swans.
This bunch are very attentive to humans – I suspect they get fed regularly. They were almost harassing me for food. The adults seem smaller than the Catshill brood, and there’s only three cygnets, but they’re lovely, healthy birds, and seem to have been ringed.
As soon as they realised I wasn’t going to produce bread, they went back to foraging in the weed and quickly drifted away. Cupboard love.
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