Tag: night photography

November 10th – I didn’t get out until nightfall. It was cold, and clear, and I was all set. Then I discovered my camera had not charged from the night before. I carried on with my ride, then returned home, got a fresh cell, and nipped out to Brownhills. It was around 7pm, and the High Street was quiet. I looked in Ravens Court, the battered, all but derelict shopping precinct. A typical design of the period, it was further bastardised by a hideous facelift in the 1990s. It’s now down to a couple of tenants, and stands, unloved, steadily decaying. Tesco were to demolish this and build a new superstore, but they got cold feet and have left the community in limbo. this desolation is our gift from the retail behemoth that destroyed our town. At night it’s grim, desolate and forbidding.

In daytime, it’s worse.

Further towards home, I traversed the Black Path, the cycleway and footpath that heads up through Holland Park to the A5 and Newtown. That too was dark and hostile. I don’t know what it is about Brownhills at night these days, but the quality of darkness seems to be getting more malevolent. Perhaps it’s just the mood I’m in…

November 8th – Walsall Station at night has an odd, other-worldly atmosphere. The view from the ramp has always been great at night, but sadly diminished since the BOAK building in Station Street was lost to arson. It’s a horrid place to wait at – particularly for those on platform one, here waiting for the Rugeley train, as usual delayed by ten minutes.  London Midland, the embattled operator of the station, have talked about removing the staff here and leaving the station unstaffed at night. If they did, I think the service would see much less use – I, personally, would not feel safe. Good old London Midland.

November 7th – Hard to imagine that this industrial yard was once the top yard of Walsall Wood Colliery. Brownhills Business Park is now an industrial estate, host to lots of small companies in it’s cheap units, mostlyd converted from the old pit buildings. A hive of industry in the daytime, it looks quite deserted in the evening. Recently, this site was saved from clearance for housing. The importance of such sites to the local economy is huge and should not be underestimated.

I often try and imagine the place, busy with miners, coal-trucks and clanking wagons. It’s impossible, now, but the ghosts linger, I’m sure.

November 3rd – On my return from Lichfield, I passed the old Muckley Corner, where there former pub and hotel has been converted back into homes. It’s taken a while, but the building is looking splendid now, particularly at night when it’s beautifully lit.

It can’t be far off finished by now. It’s good to see the old place preserved, and returned to   the kind of arrangement the terrace would have had before the pub expanded.

October 31st – A grim commute home. The scent of rain had been in the air all day, and in the afternoon, the showers grew more frequent and intense. At Tyseley, I listened to the rain on the roof with a heavy heart. I don’t mind commuting jun the rain too much, but there was a keen wind and with the dark evenings upon us, enjoyment was likely to be thin on the ground.

Having missed my train, I waited at a near deserted Tyseley station for the next service. It was dry, but dingy and darkness was falling. This odd little place really has got a hold on me. I’m fascinated by the dark decay of the station, it’s unexplained wooden screens (seemingly doubling as urinals these days) and mock-victorian fittings. It’s quite the oddest station I’ve used; it should feel desolate and threatening, but doesn’t. I can’t work out why it’s fascinating me so much.

October 25th – The Night Market was much better than I expected. There were a good few stalls, decent live music and good street food (if a little pricey). The atmosphere was lovely and it was nice to see Walsall relaxed. The only dark spot was that I could see no shops open, which I find remarkable. Walsall was brimming with punters, looking for other stuff to do once they’d been around. Outside of the immediate market area, the town was lonely and shuttered. A missed opportunity by local shops, the money of these visitors was going out of town to the large companies that had nearby stores open – Asda, Tesco, Macdonalds. Really sad.

October 17th – The Boatman’s Rest pub, in Walsall Wood High Street is an old building, and has been a pub for many years. Originally called The Red Lion, it changed it’s name in the 90s for reasons unspecified. The last remaining old building on the north side of the High Street (other than the church), we’re lucky it survived. It’s not been without controversy, however, and several attempts by the pub to expand onto the nearby land have been stymied by the local authority and objections by nearby residents, who tried (and failed) to get the adjacent grass verge designated officially a ‘Village Green’. I think that’s rather sad, really. Successful pubs are few and far between these days…

October 11th – Coming back from Lichfield, the weather quickly turned grim. There was a real downpour, and without my usual armoury of waterproofs, I had no choice but to get wet. With every passing wagon on the A461, it was like being jet washed. I arrived home cold, wet, exhausted and thoroughly dejected. Why do I do this again?