Tag: Walsall Wood

November 22nd – At least is was dry on the way home. Dry and getting colder, but as I shot through Walsall Wood the lights of St. John’s church looked warm in the gloom. I guess there was some event going on there, but I liked the contrast with the dark exterior. I noticed also that Walsall Wood again had a fine Christmas Tree – not yet lit up. This is probably the work of Councillor Mike Flower, who’s personally stepped in as an act of unusual generosity and felicity to get the Wood a decent tree since he’s been elected – a huge difference from Brownhills where they throw a string of pound shop lights over the trees by Morris Miner. Mike’s a nice lad, really. Shame he fell in with the Tories…

November 5th – inspired by Jodiesnaturewalks, I popped into Goblin Wood in Green Lane, Walsall Wood, to see if I could spot any deer. Sadly, I was out of luck; but this was the first time for ages that I’d visited this copse. I think it must be one of the oldest, and and certainly one of the last remaining oak and holly copses for miles around. There’s a real sense of antiquity here, and the wood is well loved by locals, generations of which have played here as kids. It’s nice to see this wood now enjoys protected status.

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October 13th – Due to the unseasonably warm weather, some plants seem to be confused, and have started flowering again. I believe this antirrhinum shouldn’t be in bloom at this time of year, but there are several of these delightful yellow flowers on the canal bank between the Clayhanger and Black Cock bridges. I’m not sure even if the species is native, or an escapee from domestic gardens, where it’s more commonly known by the name snapdragon. In summer, it’s a favourite of gardeners as a bedding plant.

September 13th – Street’s Corner, in Walsall Wood, is a very busy junction. It took it’s name not from the streets that crossed, but from the Street family who lived here. This interesting, imposing and pleasant block of apartments was build around ten years ago on the site of Street’s Corner Bungalow and The Ivy House, a former off-licence. The name stone from the Ivy House was save and restored, and sits in the gable of the new block, much to the irritation of a good friend, who worries that the name ‘Street’s Corner’ will be lost and wanted it for the new building.

It’ll never be lost as long as I’m alive, mate. 

September 12th – Walsall Council, in their infinite wisdom, have tar and chipped Green Lane in Walsall Wood. This treatment, now known as surface dressing, is evil for cyclists. For weeks, the surface of this road will be dogged by patches of loose chippings, ready to sweep my wheels from under me. I will suffer a pebble dashing as cars pass far to fast for the surface conditions and spit gravel at me. Shingle will gather in hollows and potholes, hiding them ready to catch the unwary cyclist. 

It wouldn’t be so bad if a reasonable attempt had been made to fill all the surface defects before the new treatment was added. As it is, the road is now a mess, and much harder to ride on. The people behind this daft practice must be from the west, as the wise men came from the east…

August 22nd – The cereal harvest is now over, although the maize is still growing tall, and the potatoes are still maturing gently in the fields. On my way to work I headed down Green Lane, Walsall Wood and spotted this great view of the field of barley I’d photographed before. The harvest had been ongoing here for a few days, the trailers and tractors creating frequent traffic holdups. I love harvest time.

August 17th – as I returned home that evening, I noticed that Green Lane in Walsall Wood was blocked by the farmer moving large trailers of fresh, sweet-scented bales of hay. This activity must have been going on here at this time of year for several centuries, only the automation and vehicles have changed. It reminded me of the advancing of the season, and of the fact that although I live in an urban area, I’m never far from the countryside.

August 15th – I passed the sad, rotting hulk of The Wheel In, on Lindon Road, Brownhills this evening. Closed for several years now, this formerly buzzing community local is now quietly rotting, prospective buyers no doubt put off by the rumour spread locally that the building is suffering severe structural problems. I’m not sure if it is or not, but the rumour spread remarkably quickly. Curious.

I doubt this house will ever reopen. A tradgedy.

August 11th – Walsall Wood church of St. John is an imposing, typically industrial red-brick church, sadly vandalised by a thoroughly unsympathetic extension, an affliction meted out surprisingly frequently to local churches by the Lichfield Diocese, who seem to have about as much understanding of ecclesiastical aesthetics as I do of brain survey. Both Pelsall and Brownhills churches were similarly debased; it’s particularly sad in this case as the church itself has a beautiful, devotional interior and didn’t deserve this treatment.