Tag: north

September 18th – Today, I visited Leicester. Not my usual haunt, I was up in a different part of the city. On my way, I passed through the melting pot that in North Everington and Spinney Hills. Here, there are folk of every culture and ethnicity imaginable. Asians, South East Asians, Africans, Arabs, Europeans. I saw cars with not just UK number plates, but Polish, Latvian, Irish and Lithuanian. The streets are busy with shoppers, students, kids, folk going about their everyday business. This place is buzzing, and has the frantic air of commerce one gets in all such places – the Edgware Road in London, say, or the Soho Road in Brum. What makes this spot different is the architecture. From factories to churches, mosques to terraces, there exists an incredible diversity of styles and adornments. Towers, bays, pediments and porches. All overlooked by the hillside park. Beautiful.

August 26th – The same ride, and my deer magnet was clearly functioning well. Late afternoon, four red deer on the north heath of Chasewater, two adult hinds and their two young fawns. These are the first of this year’s youngsters I’ve seen and they look fit and heathy. For the time of year, their coats, too, were in surprisingly good condition. 
I still can’t quite believe these animals roam free here; they always leave me in awe. We’d never have imagined as kids that seeing such fine creatures in Brownhills would be remotely possible.