April 20th – As the weather had cleared, I stopped to snap a familiar view – from Shire Oak to Lichfield and beyond. Burton, Swadlincote and the disused cooling towers of Willington were in sunlight. In the foreground, the Old Ladies of the vale looked constant and imperious.
I shall never tire of this view.
April 22nd – An electrical mystery I really have no clue about. An overhead three-phase line runs across the Carterfield Lane junction at the bottom of Sandhills, Shire Oak, supplying farms and homes with electricity. Recently, secondary poles have been installed at seemingly random intervals, actually between the conductors, and a little higher then them, whit a protruding object from the top.
The tops of the poles are sheathed in plastic, and they support nothing.
The only thing I can think is they’re lightning conductors. Does anyone know what they are for? Installing them between the lines like that must have been a very tricky job.
A real head-scratcher.
April 2nd – A cracking day. My seasonal clock a bit on the krunk, I went again to Shire Oak Nature Reserve to see if there were amorous amphibians getting busy, only to find none, but some spawn remaining. Clearly, I missed frog soup this year; however, some spawn under the overhanging trees that clearly couldn’t be reached by the dining heron I sacred off was, remarkably, hatching.
Yup, tadpoles are hatched.
There’s a running joke amongst my pals that one should be careful to check my hands for tadpoles and other wildlife slimies before shaking hands.
The cycle of life continues in a small corner of the town, largely undisturbed, as it has done for decades here. Poor heron had to go somewhere else for his tapioca meal, though…
March 28th – On my return, I popped through a very boggy Shire Oak Park to see if the frogs were busy mating here yet – sadly no evidence of that (although they may have been and gone, the spawn here tends to get eaten by foxed and corvids pretty quickly) but spring is here with green shoots, bright yellow gorse and a lovely, warming atmosphere.
This really is a gem of a place and so little known. Visit if you can, it’s well worth the time.
March 28th – It was a hectic, stressed day and I didn’t get much time to myself; but I swung out in the afternoon to nip into Stonnall. On the way I stopped to take a classic view – that of Lichfield from the quarry access road at Shire Oak.
It still stuns me that you can see so far from here on a clear day, and the detail with which once can capture the Old Lady of the Vale.
Note the cooling towers on the horizon are Willington, between Burton and Derby, and are in fact derelict.
March 18th – Struggling up Shire Oak Hill after nipping to Stonnall I noticed the flowers at the roadside that were bringing colour to a very dull evening. Plenty of fresh daffodils, of course, but this year the snowdrops seem to have held on forever. Not sure if all these are actually snowdrops, though: they’re very similar but shaped more like a harebell. Can anyone help, please?
Whatever they were, they eased my haul up the hill…
February 5th – Yet again on a Friday, I found myself cruising down from Shire Oak into Brownhills. The wind had indeed been evil, but was at least now more or less at my back. I had to stop to answer the phone on Anchor Bridge, and while I was chatting I noticed the view, from the very bridge I was contemplating the night before. This slope here is more or less continuous from Shire Oak, and the road here is wide. Where I was stood in years gone by would have been a toll house, and when I was a kid there would have been grim maisonettes here and over the road, a large tower block. Now, it’s new build and an old folk’s home.
These days, this view seems utterly familiar, but twelve or so years ago, it would have been totally different. It struck me as I put the phone away that change is ongoing, and so granular that one hardly notices it happening.
January 29th – I came home fairly late and had to pop into Stonnall. Coming back up the hill was hard – I have a cold and my energy was nearly gone. But there’s something about reaching the Shire Oak junction – maybe it’s just being at the top of the hill, or the fact that it’s all downhill to Brownhills from here, or maybe just the welcoming lights from the pub – that’s almost cathartic.
The working week ended here, and it was a soft roll down into the weekend, sleep and a good deal of rest.
Bring it on.
December 23rd – After a long weary haul up Shire Oak Hill with a heavy saddlebag full of goodies, I paused at the top to take a picture of the reborn again Shire Oak pub. Refurbished extensively, it’s a different pub to the one that closed here in late summer. Lots of work has been done in and outside. There’s a new, sage-green paint job. I love the exterior lighting.
Most of all, it looks warm, welcoming and busy – it’s good to see a local pub saved for once.
October 19th – The last time I was in this spot at this time of day was Friday, when I was feeling black and down. Today, I stopped in the chill air and looked to the retreating sun.
I got out the camera, recorded the sunset over my town, the place I love, then remounted and headed off into the light.
I feel so much better today. If only I could remain in light.
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