February 27th – The coldest early evening commute I’ve known for a long time, I battled a vile headwind and sporadic black ice and made my way home carefully.
My ice tyres worked well, and the roads – like the Green Lane here at the Black Cock Bridge – have been very well gritted. But pavements, backroads and car parks were deadly and I made careful, slow progress.
It’ll be interesting to see how bad this gets.
February 20th – Spring is encroaching. This evening, coming through Walsall at a close to normal homecoming hour, I started in the last vestiges of daylight and finished in the last vestiges of a gorgeous urban sunset.
I first spotted it as I came down the ring road, but couldn’t stop; by the time I got to North Street it was still strong, but although the photos are nice, I don’t think they quite did it justice.
At Walsall Wood, onto the canal, and my long-time muse of Clayhanager Bridge at night. The dozing swans at Catshill Junction were also rather lovely.
This dusk interregnum as the days lengthen when winter draws to a close can certainly be very beautiful.
February 19th – Travelling to work on a grey, horrible morning I dived onto the canal at Walsall to see if there would be anything interesting to share. There was nothing, not even the rats at Scarborough Road bridge were performing today, and as I approached Bentley Bridge it felt very grey and oppressive.
I was, hoever, concerned about one thing: The whole way between where I got on the canal at Birchills Locks and where I left at Darlaston Green there was a skin of non-organic, white scum on the water.
I recognise most seasonal scums and this wasn’t one of those. I hope it’s not serious.
February 9th – I was in town past six, in the early darkness, and the light had that blue, luminescent quality to it you don’t often get. Wandering in town from supermarket to supermarket, the urbanity glowed beautifully.
The Canon really loves an urban electric evening, I have to say, and I still do love Walsall.
February 8th – Passing through Walsall and running some errands, I crossed Church Hill in a golden hour. Always a bit conflicted about the view from here these days – it’s obscured by tree growth now which is a bit of a shame, but the trees are lovely in summer.
A bit of a trim wouldn’t hurt I guess. All the better to se a town glowing in winter sun…
February 7th – A bitterly cold morning with temperatures recorded by the GPS as low as minus five degrees centigrade and a very harsh ride to the station.
There was a fair bit of black ice and concentration was intense.
My longed for spring would seem to be on hold a little, but hopefully the daffodils – now forming buds on the verge outside my destination in Telford- won’t be deterred.
January 31st – Oh my days, or nights rather. We never get a normal moon anymore. All we get are ‘super moons’, or for some reason our already lovely satellite is pronounced unique by the media at any given time around on it’s 28 day appearance cycle.
I have to admit, this time it was impressive; a blue moon true enough – it’s second fullness in the month, but it was large and bright and shone out in the sky of an urban Walsall, guiding me as I cycled home.
It was beautiful, but then, it always has been. It is special every time, because it’s distant and mystical and humans went there once. And sometimes, on cold nights in late January, the thought that if humans can go all that way and return is very reassuring. If we can do that amazing feat, perhaps we can do anything, and life is not so bad after all.
I was not the only soul the moon was clearly guiding on; as I crossed the Black Cock bridge in Walsall Wood, I startled a small, brisk, nervous cat who was clearly up to important cat things, and had no wish to share them with a human on a strange mechanical contraption.
January 25th – The art of the traffic light snatched photo is night quite dead, just a bit rusty.
Another day of grim, grey commutes, but crossing the Arboretum Junction in Walsall was a the same wonder of light, standing water, marooned architecture and controlled chaos it always has been.
Some things are changeless, and when you’re recovering, that’s what you need.
January 24th – The morning commute had be a sodden, wind-battling, dreadful affair; the evening one was dry, clear, warm and quieter.
This gave me a good chance with the Civic Quarter in Walsall. Sorry, I’ll stop with the night shots soon.
The odd camber of the paving here and colliding angles still annoy me even time I look at it…
January 12th – I came from Derby to Leicester, made a call in Leicester, back to Birmingham and then Walsall. At 4:30pm I was in Derby; by 6:30 I was in Walsall. Not bad, really.
Through my increasing aches and congestion – the cold was really clouding things now – I got the Late Night Feelings vibe in several places, and a bit of a Peter Saville in Walsall.
I love travelling. I love riding a bike. I don’t love the cold virus.
I was glad to get home.
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