September 4th – A slightly better day weather-wise, although rain was never far away.
On the canal on the way to work, herons aplenty, my favourite urban bird. I liked how one was sheltering under the M6 motorway flyover, an interesting juxtaposition, and the adult fishing by Bentley Mill Aqueduct had a spectacularly well-defined chest pattern.
Like cats, I’ll never tire of seeing these guys.
February 17th – I noticed something today I’ve passed many times but never stopped to look at – Wood Green Church. Stranded by the road system of Junction 8 of the M6, it remains gracefully marooned in the old village of Wood Green between Pleck, Wednesbury and Bescot.
I have never noticed the elegance of the sharp roof, the beautifully red stone from which it’s built and remarkably detailed spire – and those clock faces are just wonderful.
I need to go and have a closer look – I can’t believe how long it’s taken me to notice this gorgeous building – I’ve been passing it for decades now.
The Black Country gives up it’s surprises slowly, and that’s why I love it so.
February 3rd – A nice sunset, and an excellent moon tonight. I caught the red sky over the M6 from Pleck and I was struck by the apparent speed and flat landscape.
My goodness, it was a cold run home tonight. Very enjoyable ride, though.
May 19th – Junction 9 of the M6, and Wood Green, the area around it, is horrible. Heavy traffic, poor air quality, grime and an utterly inhuman, dystopian architecture all contribute to make this place awful. There is humanity here, and great buildings, in the backstreets. But in the immediate vicinity of the junction, there is little to credit this place, despite the fact that it hosts the River Tame, A major railway and a motorway side by side. The crowning glory of the inhuman design is the pedestrian underpass – dark, with 90 degree bends. Grey, filthy surfaces and forbidding outlooks that are dark and foreboding.
I hate this place with a passion.
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