Tag: lost

March 7th – Returning via Shenstone, in the new-found evening commute dusk, I noticed that the tiny, log abandoned bungalow at Owletts Farm on Lynn Lane is now visible, before another summer’s leaf growth conceals it once more.

I don’t know why this tiny house, like several in the area is being allowed to decay, as I’m sure that before the rot set in it would have been a nice home for someone.

It has been empty as long as I’ve been cycling these lanes – nearly 40 years now.

A sad little tragedy.

August 17th – A sad, regrettable tragedy unfolds in Rushall at the moment as the former Rushall Mews care home, an 80s-built single level facility that once housed many vulnerable old folk will soon be no more.

After four or more years of lying unused, the demolition crews have moved in.

There was nothing wrong with this place; the features were modern and it was well staffed by caring people and loved by the community. Closed by a council desperate to save money like so many others, we are now left with a care crisis, but the land will soon be new homes, probably beyond the reach of first time buyers.

Like other lost care homes – Narrow Lane, St, James, Greenwood House, Scotch Orchard – the gradual erosion of our social state makes me very sad indeed.

March 27th – Over at Bentley Bridge, near Darlaston Green, mixed feelings as the former Boat Inn pub is cleared for demolition.

Derelict for years, long-time site of a car wash, the building had been long since targeted by arsonists, flytippers and ne’er do wells. The Boat had outlived it’s useful life, and the last beer was supped here years ago. But it’s very sad to see a pub lost, and in an industrial area with loads of vacant land already, it’s hard to see what, if anything, might replace this building.

May 21st – On my way back via Chasewater, I spotted the huge Canada goose family near Catshill Junction; remarkably, 12 of the 13 chicks survive, with mum and dad being a good bit more protective and aggressive than formerly – one suspects the loss and protectiveness are related.

The young are growing well though. Lovely to see.

February 15th – Spotted by the bridge in Victoria Park, Darlaston: the sadness of things. This huge teddy must have been very much loved once. Sodden with rain and looking dejected, he’s been moving around the park for a week or two. He looked particularly miserable today, he wasn’t even in the sun where he could dry out.

Few things are more melancholy than an abandoned toy.

April 29th – To my surprise, I noted on my way home that local real ale Mecca the Four Crosses in Shelfield had closed, and was boarded up. With a planning application granted in 2012 to build a nursing home attached to it, despite the best efforts of the community, I guess it was always living on borrowed time.

With the Spring Cottage and Four Seasons gone, I don’t think there are any pubs now left in Shelfield, are there? A great sadness.

December 1st – Another piece of architecture that’s bothering me is the old Three Crowns in King’s Hill, Darlaston; another one I pass frequently, for years it was being used by a jig and inspection company, but now seems to be empty. It;s a genuinely lovely building, which underneath the fake timbers and facing really deserves a better future than dereliction and eventual loss.

The trouble is, who would take on such a building?

I feel sad about this one every time I see it. I hope it gets saved.

November 8th – What is it with this journal and stray pumpkins? This is the third in as many years, and this one has been carved. 

There I was, cycling around the bend in the canal opposite Tesco in Brownhills, and it was just there, wet and grinning at me.

I felt sorry for the grizzled gourd, so I recorded it for posterity.

October 23 – A little further on up the canal, the vegetation is changing colour, but is still remarkably green. The canal here is peaceful, and a little urban oasis where herons fish and ducks potter in the rushes. The roving bridge here was to allow access to the Anson Branch – a lost, truncated waterway whose last job was mainly to supply water to Reedswood power station, itself long demolished.

The fate of the Anson Branch was sealed by the M6, which cut it short, but the bridge is still in use to access the road from the other side.