Tag: leicester

July 25th – possibly the ugliest building I’ve ever seen, this industrial unit near South Wigston station is, frankly, hideous. I don’t know who had it built or why, but it has no windows whatsoever, and seems to consist of precast concrete ribs bolted together. The worst part is that it faces, on the other side of the street, a pleasant housing estate who must have been looking out on this architectural aberration for decades. Now used as a self-storage depot, I hope the owners see sense and demolish it…

July 12th – Any cyclist runs on his stomach. I’m not a little chap and like many cyclists, need a lot of food to keep me going. Grazing a lot, one soon learns the foods that survive life in a saddlebag or pocket best, and offer most bang for the buck. Flapjacks of all kinds are a favourite with cyclists the world over. Oaty, full of energy, they’re dense, small and tasty. The best ones in my opinion are made by Blackfriars in Leiscester. I pass their factory often, and it always smells different; today the air was filled with the scent of raisins.

Flapjacks of the world, this cyclist salutes you…

June 14th – at the other end of my morning commute is South Wigston Station, Leicester. A forlorn, lonely and thoroughly isolated station, it has no staff or information system, and serves only a few trains each day, with a stopping service every 2 hours. It looks pleasant and green today, but in winter and at night it’s cold, solitary and intimidating place. It’s the worst station I use on a regular basis. A thoroughly awful facility.