Tag: Victoria

October 20th – In to work early, and on a morning of patchy rain and light, fast sunny spells, two pauses in my hurried journey at Victoria Park and Kings Hill Park, both looking absolutely gorgeous in their autumn jackets.

Darlaston is a grubby, grimy industrial Black Country town – and is everything the Black Country is; busy, historic, full of hidden beauty under an ostensibly ugly exterior, charming, real and a great place to be. And like the wider Black Country, it’s full of green parks and open spaces where the hurried traveller can catch a breath, sip his tea and think about the day to come.

February 28th – in the swamp at the end of Victoria Park in Darlaston, just past the old railway bridge on the way to Kings Hill, a surprise today in the rain: The blackthorn is flowering.

Always the earliest tree blossom, it’s a lovely sight and on this wet, miserable day I was so pleased to see it.

Interesting too to see the blackthorn bush with an alder growing intertwined around it.

October 19th – Darlaston is at it’s best in autumn, and with the leaves turning, this is a great time to visit this humming little town and take in it’s unexpectedly great architecture and scenery.

Some of the best of Darlaston can be seen in it’s two parks – Victoria and King’s Hill, from which the glorious twin sisters of Wednesbury can be appreciated in all their glory.

It would be hard not to love this place.

February 24th – Darlaston is changing right now. In its parks – Victoria and Kings Hill – spring his here, and the first signs of a green summer are just seeping into the landscape. Daffodils, crocuses, primroses and snowdrops dapple the lawns and beds, and everything seems just a shade more alive.

I actually saw a honeybee today. It’s not yet March.

In the parks though, the peace is uneasy; a susurration of labouring diesel engines, the whine of hydraulics and the rupturing of concrete as nearby, the land the old Servis factory stood on is reclaimed for new housing. So much concrete on site to be pulverised, an army of fascinating machinery is working away at it.

Change is good. Chase is interesting. But the change for the greener lifts me the most.

December 9th – In Darlaston itself, a reminder of the great architecture present in this underrated town. Darlaston Police Station is a beautiful building, more ornate than any police station I’ve seen. It scans foursquare in a quiet, tree-lined side street overlooking Victoria Park.

On this chill winter morning, the low sun through the trees make me stop and take a good look.

If you’ve never visited Darlaston, please do. It’s a wonderful, unassuming place, full of gems like this.

August 4th – No idea what’s happened in the last couple of days, but Victoria and Kings Hill parks in Darlaston are alive with fungi. I assume these are field mushrooms – I didn’t want to destroy them to check for sure. They’re a good 3-4 inches across and look healthy. So nice to see the fungi back, even if it does herald autumn…

June 11th – Trying out yet another little camera. I’ve been using the Nikon for a week or so, and have to say I like it very much. The picture quality is excellent, and most of the features are brilliant. I’m on the verge of buying one, but I have concerns: the camera seems a bit fragile compared to the Panasonic, and the user interface is very inflexible. It’s also got some odd autofocus behaviour. But I’m certainly giving the Nikon some thought.

For the next week or so, I have custody of a Sony HX90 – same 30x optical zoom as the Panasonic and Nikon, smaller than both. It feels solid and dense. Initial impressions are the pictures are a little dark, but I’m not sure yet. It’s way more flexible than the Nikon, and the user interface knocks the Panasonic and Nikon into a cocked hat.

As I commuted to and from work on a bright sunny summers day,the photos didn’t seem too bad. It’ll be interesting to see how it pans out.

My thanks to the trusting fool who’s lending me this kit. A real gent. Cheers.

March 10th – Today was a bright sunshine day, and the sun was warm on my back. I nipped out of work near lunchtime and spun through Victoria and Kings Hill Parks in Darlaston just to see how they were looking. In Victoria Park, one group of pattern-planted crocuses is in flower, and they seem to be in the form of a wheel – I have no idea why. The greens and shady corners there looked as beautiful and serene as ever.

In Kings Hill Park, a riot of colour with daffodils, primroses and crocuses all vying for attention.

If you live nearby, and can get to these parks soon, do so. They are a credit to Darlaston and those who maintain them. Utterly splendid.