Tag: Shelfield

May 1st – There are some things that Walsall Council does really well, and one of those things is generally their grass cutting and greenspace management. However, something has gone horribly wrong. I was heartbroken this morning to see that the top grass cutting operative delegated the task of mowing the verges in Shelfield along the A461 Lichfield Road has mown off all the daffodils. As many gardeners will know, after flowering, daffs absorb nutrients back out of the foliage to develop the bloom within the bulb for next year. Cutting off the tops will prevent that happening, and next year’s plants will grow blind – without blooms. Cheers, mate, I really owe you one. Not.

Those flowers are usually beautiful, and a welcome splash of spring colour in a drab urban landscape. Now, they’ve been wrecked for next year. What an idiot.

April 2nd – Today was overcast, grey and towards evening, showery. This came as some shock, despite it being the normal seasonal fayre for this time of year. I’ve grown used to the sun and warmth, and to snatch it away now seems a little churlish. Never mind though, there’s the daffodils. Be it in Telford or Shelfield, they are a positive yellow riot at the moment, and they brighten up even the dullest commute. 

March 1st – Cycling home in the daylight for a change – I can see myself really getting used to this spring thing – I cycled down the Goscote Valley cycle trail, NCN 5. Hopping off at Pelsall, I cycled through High Heath. I hadn’t noticed this little redbrick chapel before – I think it has now been converted into a house. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and I love the preserved old-style cast iron street signs at the corner. Does anyone have more information? Funny how you can cycle past something for years without really noticing it.

February 23rd – Returning home late through Shelfield, I passed Bunker Service Station. I have no idea why it’s so named, but I noted diesel was now 1.43 a litre. People have often asked me how I can afford to keep buying bits for the bike and feed my  gadget addiction – it’s simple. I’ll run for days on a gallon of earl grey, marmite sandwiches and sweet treats like Haribo. I’m not spending huge amounts of dough to sit stressed in a car, watching my sanity and bank-balance wane with the fuel gauge pointer…

February 9th – On the A461 Lichfield Road, between Rushall and Shelfield, a truly remarkable bit of parking. The rear tyre of this car hasn’t made it onto the pavement, but is about two inches clear of the road, too. One assumes the driver is too lazy or incompetent to even park the car properly, let alone the legality of leaving it on the pavement. Sadly, I doubt if a parking enforcement officer will wander this far from the revenue stream in central Walsall….

February 6th – I’ve been meaning to take a night picture of St. Mark’s Church is Shelfield for some time. The stark, bold coloured glass is quite something at night. It’s an odd church; modern, with little adornment, it looks more like a community centre by day. it sits, almost hidden in the backstreets of Shelfield just down from the Four Crosses pub. I don’t know anything of it, its congregation or history, but it always seems busy. Every evening there seems to be something happening here. 

February 2nd – If you’re a cyclist, Green Lane between The Black Cock pub, Walsall Wood and Shelfied School is best avoided, at least until the next heavy rains. Today, as I went to work, the hedges were being flailed. This happens every few years, either in the autumn or winter. Cutting the roadside hedges back is essential, and must be done when birds aren’t nesting, but it showers the road with debris, in this case, Hawthorn clippings. These short bits of twig bear sharp, tough thorns whose specialist skill is puncturing bicycle tyres – particularly cheap, thin ones. I’d say that in rural areas, 90% of my punctures have been caused by Hawthorn spikes. I don’t blame the farmer, the job has to be done. But until rains come and float the debris away, the route is best avoided.

December 13th – Over in Shelfield, the traditional boozer wins. Whilst the Spring Cottage had loads of brewery money spent on renovations and refits over the years, the Four Crosses behind it ploughed on in it’s own traditional way. The larger, more modern pub failed; a succession of poor managers, problems with the clientele and falling returns now see it being converted to a Co-op store. The street corner local behind it, however, has always been peaceful and welcoming. Closed for a few months a couple of years back, it was thought to be lost, but a new owner and good real ale ensured its revival. A pub in the true sense of the word.

November 30th – The Spring Cottage, once a lively, if rather rough pub sat on a major junction in the middle of Shelfield, is undergoing conversion into a Co-op store. Nearly complete now, it looks like only the car park resurfacing needs to be completed. I’m pleased to say that although the building is of no historical merit, efforts have been made to preserve it’s features as a prominent landmark. The wood and plaster cladding has been carefully restored, and the shopfront installed sympathetically to the nature of the building.

It’s nice to see such a prominent, once-derelict landmark get a new lease of life – and the Co-op stores aren’t bad at all. I wish the owners well.

September 25th – We seem to be being blessed with a gorgeous spell of beautiful weather – this warm, sunny and dry indian summer is really accelerating the leaves turning. I noticed on my way home from work that even mundane places – like this normally ordinary spot in Shelfield where the old railway used to run – is rendered gorgeous in it’s seasonal hues of gold, green and brown. Long may it continue!