Tag: shenstone

December 22nd – One of the essentials of the Christmas season is chocolate ginger. I can’t abide the stuff myself, but someone hereabouts is very fond of it indeed. The best chocolate ginger comes from the confectioner in Shenstone, so late afternoon, off in the rain I headed. It was very warm out, and it felt almost spring-like. The wind was heavy and drove the rain hard into my face on the way back. Shenstone always looks Christmassy at dusk. There’s something about the closeness of the houses, and the way the street light falls that make this place redolent of a bucolic Christmas card. I noted the Plough pub still boarded up, but the Railway, opposite, and the Fox and Hounds up the road still seemed to be in rude heath.

December 4th – Another gorgeous morning immediately after rain. As I headed to Shenstone to get the train, the countryside was beautiful and dramatic, and put me in mind of Joni Mitchell ‘…shivering trees standing in naked rows’. I noted that the twin towers of Shenstone are now visible on the skyline again, the smaller tower – the ruin in the churchyard – is hidden by the trees in the summer months. I love the way the gargoyles on the heavily gothic modern church tower are visible from some distance away…

November 20th – At the ‘cute Victorian’ end of the railway station spectrum is Shenstone. Full of stereotypical metroland classic commuter charm, this was one of the last stations built on the old Cross City line, when the fillip was added between Sutton and Lichfield. It’s a gorgeous, terracotta brick, semi gothic marvel, sadly defiled by having it’s lovely glass canopy destroyed and chimneystacks truncated. In this dormitory commuter village, it is dark and quiet on the station at night, and I think, even in a steady drizzle, that it is beautiful. A good place to leave from, and a fine place to return to.

October 23rd – The bleak weather continues. Thoroughly depressing commutes were lightened only by getting a decent train service for the first time in weeks. Despite the mass cancellations, I for once fell lucky and managed to get on 2 trains that were on time and 2 that were only a few minutes late. This may seem unremarkable, but the service has been so bad of late it’s been adding whole hours to my commuting time. As my train home rolled into Shenstone, I felt quite pleased, but noticed the announcement as I alighted that the following train was 15 minutes late. That one was set to be seriously overcrowded. The local rail system really is useless at the moment.

Shenstone Station, however, is still beautiful, even in the half-light of a miserable day.

October 12th – It was a beautiful sunny, golden autumn day. It wasn’t warm, but the sun shone and made everything precious. I was glad of it – after the soaking of the day before, it was blessed recovery. The day was beautiful both in Acocks Green, which I passed through on my way to Tyseley, and back at Shenstone and Stonnall on my return. A fine day, and we don’t get many of those at the moment. I’ve included some of the best pictures on my main blog.

October 3rd – Out to Telford at dawn meant cycling to Shenstone Station. The weather has been really variable this week, the one constant factor being the northeasterly wind that’s blown me to Shenstone in the morning and home from Walsall at night. Just as this is the time of year for good sunsets, it’s also the time for decent sunrises, too, although I’m usually too rushed to photograph them. Today was a good example – a gorgeous sky heralding a temperate day. Coupled with the shinbone skyline, it was beautiful.

September 20th – On my return from Shenstone, tired and feeling down, I noticed that the trees along Lynn Lane were turning colour, and everything, including the surrounding, freely ploughed fields, was looking very autumnal. The colder, shorter days are coming now, and it’s hard to feel positive. I hate the nights closing in.

September 7th – It had been a gruelling week. In Leicester for most of it, I’d had enough. The weather had been great, and I’d missed it by being holed up indoors all week. I escaped early on Friday afternoon, and endured a sleepy commute home on hot, sweaty trains. At Shenstone, I emerged in fresh air and sunshine, and immediately headed up Church Hill to the churchyard. I love Shenstone Churchyard, it’s overgrown air of neglect and nature’s reclamation softens a church whose dark, Victorian gothic I’ve never been fond of. It’s a peaceful place, and although I don’t like the church, I admire it and it’s bold architectural ambition, replete with vulgar gargoyles. I felt relaxed, already.

September 5th – The Beans that have fascinated me in the field in Lynn, near Shenstone, are just being harvested. They are as dry as old bones, both plant and pod, and something has cropped the whole plant at about six inches from ground level. There’s no residue left other than stubble. I didn’t see it happen, and so far, just the perimeter ofthe field has been harvested, so I’m none the wiser…