April 16th – Captured in the early morning soft sun, a tree in blossom just off Station Street in Darlaston near Victoria Park.
This is good twitter pal Naseerah Faulkner’s favourite tree, and I took the picture just for her.
Have a good day, yow!
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January 12th – A better day health and mood-wise, but not in terms of the weather. I had to go to Droitwich, and got wet on the way. On my return, it was sunny in Worcestershire and Birmingham; as I got to Walsall near 3pm, the sky blackened and dusk seemed to fall early.
The sky was incredible, seen here at Station Street in Walsall, just as the rain started.. The following downpour? Not so much.
February 23rd – On a factory wall in Darlaston, a plaque recording the name of Guest, Keen & Nettlefolds, and a date of 1936. This was GKN, in their heyday, just before the outbreak of war. This place may now be a shadow of its former self, but this is a history Darlaston can be proud of: screws, nuts and other fastening components came out of Darlaston by the million until the late 1970s, and held the engineering of the world together.
GKN have long since gone from here, but some of the products they made are still created here by a German company.
Today, Darlaston’s industry hangs by a thread, not upon it. But these streets still resound to the sounds of industry living and breathing – and it still makes me proud to experience it.
February 19th – Still working long hours and not finding much time or energy for anything else, but hopefully things will ease a bit next week. Winter returned with wet vengeance this morning with driving rain and a headwind. I battled my way into Darlaston, which looked grey and lifeless.
At least the chap waiting for his breakfast at the canteen window on Station Street had cover, of sorts.
November 5th – Wow, in came winter. Cold, but dry and the return of a soft, hazy but harsh morning light that’s actually rather beautiful. I don’t pass down the east end Station Street in Darlaston much these days, but still love it; yes, it’s industrial and not conventionally beautiful; but I love the clashing architectures, the air of busy urbanity and the sights, sounds and smells of a busy, multicultural town.
Just wish they’d fix the potholes…
October 29th – On the edge of Darlaston’s industrial area between Bentley Bridge and the town centre, there sit this curious pair of cottages, on the corner of Gladstone Street and Station Street. Under the paint and facing, these are rather old, note the great chimney pots on the cream one.
I get the feeling there’s a story to these places. Wonder what it is?
May 7th – A snatched picture combining two of the worst hazards in cycling. One is common, the other seems unique to a particular part of Darlaston. The loose grit – marbles – I’ve discussed at length here; wheel and traction stealing, highly polished grit, it washes down during rain and snow, and gathers in junction voids and gutters, waiting to snatch your bike from under you.
The unique hazard is metal clippings, swarf and shards, and this is Heath Road in Darlaston at it’s junction with Station Street. Around Darlaston Green, all the way down to the Walsall Road this problem slices tyres and causes punctures. Open tipper wagons and skip lorries corner here to get to the scrap yards up the road, and metal drops through their tailgates, shutterboards and from unsheeted tops. The metal lies flat in the road, where it’s gradually sharpened by the traffic dragging it against the road.
Automatic sweepers don’t pick it up because it’s so thin, but hit it with your tyres and you’ll quickly flat. It’s a pain in the arse. Look closely here and there’s sharp spikes, wire and razor-thin plates.
Look out for it; avoid the area if you can. In a place where one has to watch the traffic carefully, it’s another hazard to watch out for.
March 19th – A hurried, poor snap as I was passing – but what a curious bike. Parked up in Station Street, Walsall, a wee Apollo folder, with a nice rack box, bulb reed horn, lights … and a tea flask. Interesting approach to locking, and what’s the luggage elastic for?
A clearly well used, but unusual workhorse. An odd thing for Walsall.
November 20th – Just the one picture today, as the commutes were horrid and wet, ad the images I took in the morning were spoiled by rain on the lens. I grabbed this as I left the station at Walsall in the early evening. The rain had stopped, but everything was wet and cold. The traffic seemed tetchy and aggressive tonight, too, but nothing really matches the glisten of a wet urban night scene. There wasn’t much business for the taxis tonight, but it’s nice to see Station Street undergoing a bit of a revival.
Even on a cold wet Wednesday in Walsall, there’s beauty to be had.
October 15th – I hadn’t been down Station Street in Darlaston – at least the James Bridge end of it – for a while. What greeted me today was quite a surprise, to say the least.
Walsall has developed some odd traffic calming and management systems in the last few weeks; traffic engineers have gone mad with the Shellgrip at Rushall, and two streets in The Butts have become one way. Here, the stub end of Station Street – a short cut through to Heath Road – has been blocked to two way traffic at the Heath Road junction.
This seems bizarre in itself, but they have left a cycling lane open for us two-wheelers, although it’s possibly the most peculiar such arrangement I’ve ever seen.
It’s like an ability-testing obstacle course. I bet whoever laid this out hasn’t ridden a bike for years.
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