Tag: green

May 24th – Loss seemed to be a bit of a theme. I saw with some sadness that the Red Lion at Longdon Green had shut again. This pretty pub, on a lovely traditional village green, should have been rammed, the grass in front teeming with folk enjoying the summer. Sadly, it has closed in a dispute over £17,000 of rent claimed by the owners that the tenant is disputing. Recently, the Swan With Two Necks up at Longdon has closed too. It’s a bad time for country pubs, this one only having reopened last July. I love this place. Let’s hope it can reopen soon.

May 20th – The greening is now in earnest. All over Cannock Chase and the Shugborough Estate, nature is doing it’s damnedest to get our attention. From Brindley Heath to Severn Springs, Milford to Haywood everything is a fluorescent, vibrant, verdant shade of growth. To be in England: can there be anywhere finer right now?

By the way: Cycling over the Shugborough Estate at 8pm, when all the tourists have gone is the way to see it. Hardly a soul, and very, very peaceful.

May 15th – Today, I found myself in Redditch, and blessed all day with that smug, just managed to avoid the rain glow. I haven’t been down the Arrow Valley cycle route for ages, and in today’s bright sunlight, it was a verdant gem. The varieties of colour in the different trees nd grasslands, coupled with the water of the river and central lake made for a spot I could happily have spent all day in. A joy to the heart.

May 12th – I shot around Stonnall, Shenstone, Little Hay, Canwell, Hints and Hopwas. I had the sun on my back and speed in my wheels. The countryside was beautiful, with the most vibrant greens and yellows. Birdsong was all around, and I really had the sense of nature going about it’s seasonal business. The canal between Hopwas and Hademore was limpid and placid, and the return through Lichfield was equally lovely. Can there be anywhere finer than South Stafforshire on a sunny late spring day?

May 9th – It was still summer when I came home – but it was a typical English summer, in that it was raining. But it was a soft rain, the kind of gentle, warm rain you get when the air is still. A vague haze sat over the countryside, and everything smelt of growth and pollen. I actually enjoyed being out in this, it was refreshing and sweet. The roads were quiet and I enjoyed gliding through the wet, glistening, growing countryside. 

In Shenstone, St. Johns Hill was back to being the green canopied tunnel it normally becomes in high summer, and at the Footherley Brook, I understood just how far things had come in a few weeks. 

April 17th – I’d been lucky and missed the day’s intemperate, sharp showers. Feeling smug, nature slapped me about the face when I was nearly back in Brownhills. At 4:45pm, the heavens opened and spat down the most violent hailstorm. Sheltering in a bus stop, I waited for it to pass – I’m no fair weather cyclist, but I draw the limit at being pebbledashed. 
Within 15 minutes, the sun came out and the sky returned to the threatening darkness that it had been wearing for most of the day. Inspired, I headed to Clayhanger and the new pool. I noted swans were nesting there, too, and how green everything seemed to be becoming. Dawdling, I was just clipped by the rain as I returned home… going to be an interesting week of commuting, I think.

January 24th – I’m fascinated by some of the curious things people do to make mobile homes. From van conversions to trailers to… aberrations like this, really. I have absolutely no idea what’s going on with this. Parked near the old Charles Richards factory in  Darlaston Green, I’ve never seen it move. It appears to consist of an ex-military Landrover special vehicle with a truncated caravan mounted on the back. Seemingly keeping the ensemble together in a frame of tubular, square-section steel. Quite what the deal is with the outriggers is unknown. I don’t know who owns and built this, but I salute your inventiveness…

January 8th – I rested today. The 40 miler I cycled the day before had probably been a bit over-ambitious. I needed to rest, and the stomach was still a bit troublesome. I’d wanted to explore industrial areas at night for a while, and headed off to Aldrige to see what I could find at 5pm. On the way, I passed the Costcutter store on Salters Road. That is some extreme green lighting. I wonder if it serves a purpose, or if it’s just there for effect? It’s bloody hideous, frankly.

December 16th – I’d been looking forward to a snowy, wintry commute. The weather forecasts had been for a cold morning with maybe a settling of snow, but it was not to be. Sadly for me, I was sold short and have never quite been so disappointed to find myself cycling on a bright, sunny and temperate morning. Here at Darlaston Green, the sun caught the wet town and made it beautiful. Yet another example of why I love Darlaston so much. Ah well, the snow can wait…