Tag: Tesco

March 30th – At Tesco, a reminder in the bike rack that there’s always someone having a worse day than you.

An odd bike was locked there – a Raleigh Jamtland ‘Special edition’ which is a very old-school, low end mountain bike. If the colour scheme rings a bell, that’s because they were designed and made to given as a gift by Ikea to many of their employees in the UK, I believe around Christmas 2010. They were not ideal commuting bikes, with poor gears, awful tyres and no mudguards, and many to this day end up being sold on eBay and the like.

Considering they were an act of largesse by a company known for radical design, they were just awful, cheap bike shaped objects, to be perfectly honest.

This one was in good condition, with little sign of wear,  other than a peculiarly worn front tyre, which I suspect had been swapped for the rear at some point. There was little or no rust, and the frame was barley scratched – but there was a slight problem. A puncture.

It was raining hard, the bike would not be a light push and no tools or repair kit were in evidence. I hung back a little to offer assistance if the owner appeared, but they didn’t.

My sympathies to the rider…

February 10th – An evening spin out turned out to be warmer than expected, but rain seemed to be threatening. The canal and towpaths were sodden, and  the paths and roads glistened in the headlight.

The flats on the Watermead, next to Coopers Bridge look lovely in the dark, the lights reflecting beautifully in the water, as did those of Tesco, itself looking unexpectedly attractive.

Either that, or I’ve been hemmed in too long…

August 17th – Another sunset return after an early start and late finish. As the more perceptive amongst you will have noticed, my main blog operations are currently on reduced power for a few days due to workload. Which is a bugger, but they do pay me so I’d better do it.

It is nice, however, to return through a twilight, almost somnambulant Walsall. The moon is still full, and rendering normally mundane views magical, and keeping me company as I pedal wearily home.

Sometimes, the moon is company, and sometimes, that’s all you need.

December 12th – Tesco, the retail giant, are in trouble. Beset by falling sales, a very competitive market and seemingly mired in financial scandal, they abandoned plans to redevelop Brownhills which left us with a rotting, decaying, derelict shopping centre and no regeneration plan.

Yet still their store operates, raking the money in…

Never mind, it’s Christmas and they’ve put a green paper hat on the sign.

Dear god, why? What an utter, utter waste by a company that can ill afford it. Are we all supposed to cheer? Perhaps Tesco could organise community carolling in Ravens Court.

One things for sure: the directors of Tesco came from the west, because wise men come from the east.

June 10th – Sights you don’t see everyday. Late afternoon, I’d nipped down into Wednesbury on an errand, and on the Darlaston Road at Kings Hill, the road was closed off by Police. There was a supermarkey delivery lorry lying on it’s side, and it looked quite bad. It turns out another vehicle was involved, but thankfully, nobody was seriously hurt.

That’s what you call a bad day at work.

A sobering thing. Stay safe out there, folks.

October 5th – The narrowboat Lowertown Lad has been moored up at the canal side by Tesco in Brownhills for a long time. A week or so ago it moved to jet near Anchor Bridge. I don’t know if anyone is living on it, or if it’s just moored idle, but it’s a nice boat and they’re always a welcome site on the canals of Brownhills.

March 3rd – I’d had a grim day. Most of the day the weather was beautiful, but I was stuck working and couldn’t get out to enjoy it, and I felt lousy, too. When I finally got free, at dusk, it was cold and the coming darkness uninspiring. I shot up Brownhills, then up to Walsall Wood, but the subject I though of didn’t make a good night picture. I had to pick some essentials up, so I skipped into the Tesco Express at Streets Corner in Walsall Wood. Open a couple of years now, it’s seen off the independent newsagent next door, and given other local shops a tough time. Tables could be turning, though, as a new Co-op is due to open opposite it and I’ll certainly use it in preference to these robber barons.

January 12th – I returned to Brownhills to pop to Tesco – never a great experience.

Heading back, I looked over the old market site, and up Pier Street to the High Street past the site of the old clinic. This land was once the site of a pub called The Pier, or Fortune of War; latterly, it hosted a busy market. Now, it sits derelict, set aside for a new Tesco development that never came. It has been empty, deserted and neglected for years now, and looks set to remain that way for a long time to come.

Local occasional blogger and Jack-the-lad Brownhills Barry recently speculated there were ghosts here. There are none. All that stalks here are the shadows of the past and it’s promises, and the darkness of lost horizons.

Sometimes, the tale you tell is lost in the one you left untold.

December 15th – There’s nothing like being prepared. Parked up outside Tesco, Brownhills in the wonderfully impractical bike racks, I came out to find another steed sensibly locked to the trolley store. The bike was a fairly nondescript Apollo (Halfords) bike-shaped object, but was absolutely loaded with panniers and bags. In the water bottle cage, a can of Wilkinson own-brand WD40.

There’s nothing like being prepared…