December 29th – The sunset was gorgeous, but I and my companion were not in a good place to record it. A quick summit meeting and we raced to Chasewater and got there as the sundown was in it’s dying, deep pink phase, which made for some lovely long exposure photos.
I guess folk must be sick of seeing Chasewater here, but when it’s as beautiful as this I’ll never tire of it.
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December 28th – I called in a a friend’s house, who’s garden was done the whole hog for Christmas – but unlike the usual garish, flashing lights theirs were small, gentle and beautiful.
There is something unendingly charming about Christmas lights on spruce, and I can see why it has captivated generations.
It was nice to see something so pretty amidst all the garish flashing and glare elsewhere.
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December 28th – A stretch up to Walsall Wood on my way to Aldridge in one of those remarkable but fairly rare blue dusks we sometimes get at this time of year.
There must be a meteorological or astronomical reason for them, but I have no idea other than the fact that they are really, really beautiful. The view from Hollanders Bridge glowed in the cold night.
Reall, really gorgeous.
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December 27th – Back in Brownhills I turned back in the gloom to look at Morris, splendid even on this unpleasant evening.
He doesn’t mind the rain, he’s maid of stainless steel. He’s constructed to shine whatever the conditions. And in the murk tonight, with Christmas lights behind him, Morris was a splendid symbol of home with more than a little star quality about him.
I think I should be more… Morris.
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December 27th – It was a grim, grey afternoon and I had to go to Erdington – of all places – on an errand. I saddled up and headed my usual route over Shire Oak, down the Chester Road and through the leafy private estates of Little Aston to Sutton Park and on.
It was a foul, wet afternoon, with little to commend it. But I did stop for a breather at Little Aston Church, a really fine example of GE Street’s devotional and elegant design in an interestingly bright stone.
I have to say, it was the most handsome thing about the day.
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December 26th – Returning down The Parade into Brownhills, a mist was rising and rain was falling. It was a miserable night.
The lights and mist combined though, and there was something eerily magical – if not a little unsettling – about it.
I was glad to get home.
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December 26th – I love Chasetown High Street – day or night, it’s actually a great little thoroughfare: Busy due to the mix of housing and shops, the hill combined with the mixed architecture makes it fascinating.
On a wet Boxing Day evening, on the way back from seeing family it was nice to stop and take a picture.
I’d still like to make a low rent version of the Bullitt car chase here. But on choppers or BMX bikes. It’d be fab.
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December 25th – At Chasewater, I noticed how close to overtopping the weir the reservoir is again, despite the outflow valve to the spillway being open.
That’s a remarkable indication of the state of the recent weather: Naturally, more water is flowing in to the pool than is flowing out. And that’s a considerable amount.
You know what I want for Christmas? A dry spell.
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December 25th – Happy Christmas!
A traditional Christmas Day bike ride, but only as far as Chasewater sadly and I noticed something I’d not spotted before: The memorial stones along the canal at Millfield near Home Farm at Sandhills, and the fact that the school on the other side have adopted the stretch of canal from Ogley Junction to Anchor Bridge.
This means they’ll tend it and I guess litter pick it and undertake lovely little projects like the individually painted memorial stones, I guess.
Great stuff.
I do wish the school wouldn’t use a windmill for a logo, though. The Mill field the school was built upon was originally that of a steam mill, now flats, pretty much next door to the school. It was a state of the art temple to Victorian mechanisation.
Never mind…
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December 24th – I encounter robbers and hoodlums on my return. They spotted food in my bag and were keen to levy their toll for safe passage, but I shooed them off with the aid of my pump.
I adore the Canada geese despite their aggression. These guys were healthy and full of life and fiercely protective of their group and patch.
Got to respect that really.
They did get some corn from my pocket stash once they settled down…
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