November 27th – A little further on, I was cutting through Oak Park when I noticed the old bowling green was flooded, and illuminated by the floodlights of the current bowls club. I couldn’t resist the chance for a photo. Immediately after I took the first shot, somebody switched all the lights off, giving me another opportunity to experiment with long exposure night photos. I’m really beginning to get the hang of this…
November 1st – I’m experimenting with long exposure settings on the camera. I did a little last year, but largely left the shutter and aperture to the camera. I’m beginning to get a feel for how there settings work now.
I’m not a huge fan of the Walsall Wood Pithead sculpture as many will be aware. I resent the poor engineering and tokenism of it, and the shallowness such artworks always engender. But it does make an interesting subject at night. It’s interesting when it catches the floodlight from the football pitch nearby, it almost appears to be lit from below.
August 23rd – Those who think I’m being negative about the sculptures in The Wood should think about this. This miners trust, a true social relic of the coal era hereabouts created this, the original Oak Park for the village and community. When I was a kid, there were ground staff on site in a depot behind the then recently built recreation centre, and the old park was pleasant and well maintained. Paid for initially, and now held in trust by those who worked away from the fresh air and light, it had flowerbeds, paths, well-tended lawns, a bowling green and tennis courts. Slowly, it has been allowed to decay. The tennis courts lie locked out of use, and are slowly being reclaimed by nature, the paths and flowerbeds overgrown and lost. The neatly manicured lawns are now hastily mown scrub. The only thing to survive is a bowling green, operated by a club, a true social asset.
The miners left this for us, because they understood the value of light and air. We let it rot, and instead erect rusty metal – of the kind they were all too ready to escape from – in their memory, while our next generation grow more and more obese.
There’s something very wrong in all this.
January 9th – Walsall Wood’s attachment to football is deep and ongoing. Home to a popular local club, the outdoor all-weather pitch provided by the council at Oak Park is also very, very popular. This is a great facility, and the floodlights can be seen for miles around. On nights like tonight – returning from the deepest Black Country on a dark night – the hubbub and cries of the players let me know I’m not far from Home.
August 6th – Heading into Brownhills past Oak Park the temptation to take another photo overcame me. It seemed odd taking pictures at this time of the morning, and I felt nervous and expected to be challenged. I wasn’t, but I don’t think I’ll ever feel comfortable taking pictures in public. At 1am that translates into abject fear.
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 