Tag: IFTTT

#365daysofbiking Is there any need for that?


November 7th – I see that the Canal and River Trust continue with their madly frequent bank mowing schedule with the towpath grass clearly just having been cut near Chasewater on the Anglesey Branch Canal.

There is no reason to cut this grass in November. It’s left a muddy, rotting mess behind and won’t be good for the grass, wildlife of anything else over winter.

The C&RT are always moaning they have no money, yet seem to have plenty to pay for this ridiculously frequent exercise in cosmetics.

It defies any logic.

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#365daysofbiking Milling it over

November 7th – A better day than the previous, but only really for being shorter, sadly. I had business in Chasetown so left work while it was still light and headed up there on the canal passing through Brownhills on the way.

It rained lightly most of the time. This weather is getting beyond a joke now.

Approaching the old steam mill at Ogley Hay, Brownhills, the view is lovely at the moment, even for the very poor weather and light. With the bracken and leaves turning, the hedgerows and woods are a beautiful mixture of burnt yellows and reds, with a smattering of green to boot.

The mill, of course, is now private flats and rather splendid; and it of course gave it’s name to the nearby Millfield school, which also backs onto the canal. One mystery, though: The former narrowboat the school had as an outdoor classroom – Tucana – seems to have been missing two or three weeks now.

It has no engine, so it must have been towed somewhere, to do something…

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#365daysofbiking Rising above the noise

November 6th – A late night and very long day at work, followed by an awful commute in steady drizzle. I felt low, tired and mentally exhausted.

Stopping on Silver Street canal bridge to take photos of the damp, snoozing town, I reflected on how much better it was here now with the new homes rather than unused, empty space.

Sadly the photos I took are awfully noisy and the camera mode wasn’t best for the subject. But they’ll have to do: The day was largely about unwanted noise, and this grainy images seem quite fitting.

Tomorrow will be a better day.

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#365daysofbiking I’ll have a P please Bob

November 5th – OK, which of you insanitary people have been having a P in the canal, then?

That’s a filthy habit right there.

Or a b, q or d.

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#365daysofbiking Staying focused

November 5th – On the way to work I hit the canal between Brownhills and the Black Cock Bridge, and through the copse alongside the towpath, I could see a group of female red deer in the field between me and Clayhanger.

Sadly, there were just too many trees in the way and the deer were remarkably nervous today, so my attempts to  focus on them beyond the trees were thwarted.

I must get faster at that. Far too ham fisted at the moment.

Also fascinated by the zoom compression of the houses in the background, which aren’t anywhere near as close as that in real life.

Nice to see the ladies about though…

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#365daysofbiking Vanishing points

November 4th – Returning from work late, I spun down the High Street as I usually do, riding along the parade of shops called Silver Court. This odd, split level semi-brutalist building is probably in it’s last years now and has never been – shall we say – salubrious at night, but I actually adore it: The forced perspectives and weird lighting effects always make me think of the great Mancunian designer Peter Saville.

I can see this place being swept away before too long, and I doubt many will miss it: Except me.

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#365daysofbiking Positivity

November 4th – I’m not a religious man at all, but parking the bike in Brownhills on a Monday Morning errand, this charmed and amused me.

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#365daysofbiking The colours of the night

November 3rd – I was hoping the inversion had settled on Chasewater, as that can be stunningly beautiful – but sadly, it was as clear as a bell, and the same went for Brownhills too.

My companion and I busied ourselves with long exposure shots of the beautiful, deep sunset, which was sadly short lived but enchantingly purple, and of the skyline and clouds which were really quite pronounce at times.

Returning down the Black Path through Holland Park, the sodium lights there mixed beautifully with the autumn colours to make a very isolated, spooky place hauntingly beautiful.

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#365daysofbiking Deer in the mist

 

November 3rd – Sunday meant an afternoon trip over to Burntwood to help a relative with a job, which on such a dull, overcast and periodically rainy afternoon was a welcome diversion.

Returning as night fell, my attention was snagged by a very localised, patchy inversion, leading to a trapped cloud on mist on the secondary pitches at Chasetown Rugby Club.

And who was luring by the goal in the murk? Possibly Englands new front line, corvine-style…

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#365daysofbiking Heavy weather traffic

November 2nd – Out again after dark for a supplies run to Walsall Wood, and on my return, I stopped on Walsall Wood Bridge as I often do in winter to admire the lights of the village that straddles the A461.

Walsall Wood is an interesting place. Unlike Pelsall and Aldridge, Walsall Wood actually seems a little like a village still: a smattering of shops, trio of pubs, a parish church all in a quarter of a mile, surrounded by housing and further out, factories and industrial sprawl.

In daytime this place is pleasant if unprepossessing enough.

But at night, it develops a really interesting feel: almost like a sort of semi-permanent Christmas. The lights of the shops, pubs and takeaways combine and make this place look bright and welcoming in the gloom, in a way most other places don’t.

In this period between rain showers, there was a lot of traffic for a Saturday and cars made that noise they always do on wet tarmac. But it all combined as it usually does and looked beautiful.

I always love this view and I think I always will.

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