April 3rd – The day had been beautiful, but the late afternoon was punctuated by frighteningly intense rain and hail storms, and riding back home tentatively in light drizzle, my tenacity was rewarded with one of the finest rainbows I’ve ever seen.
Wednesbury was a great place to catch it, and it was worth the soaking.
The weather doesn’t have to be good to have a beautiful day…
February 17th – I noticed something today I’ve passed many times but never stopped to look at – Wood Green Church. Stranded by the road system of Junction 8 of the M6, it remains gracefully marooned in the old village of Wood Green between Pleck, Wednesbury and Bescot.
I have never noticed the elegance of the sharp roof, the beautifully red stone from which it’s built and remarkably detailed spire – and those clock faces are just wonderful.
I need to go and have a closer look – I can’t believe how long it’s taken me to notice this gorgeous building – I’ve been passing it for decades now.
The Black Country gives up it’s surprises slowly, and that’s why I love it so.
May 19th – Junction 9 of the M6, and Wood Green, the area around it, is horrible. Heavy traffic, poor air quality, grime and an utterly inhuman, dystopian architecture all contribute to make this place awful. There is humanity here, and great buildings, in the backstreets. But in the immediate vicinity of the junction, there is little to credit this place, despite the fact that it hosts the River Tame, A major railway and a motorway side by side. The crowning glory of the inhuman design is the pedestrian underpass – dark, with 90 degree bends. Grey, filthy surfaces and forbidding outlooks that are dark and foreboding.
I hate this place with a passion.
May 19th – A little bit of computer strife led me to PC World, near Junction 9 at Wednesbury, a place I loathe visiting with a passion. I needed an new hard drive, and they had what I wanted. I reserved the drive online, and went to pick it up late afternoon. Strolling up to the desk with my note, there was some confusion and I found that the order had actually gone to the Currys on the other side of the road, which apparently happens a lot. Having collected my goods, and being shocked at there being a near-identikit macro PC World inside the Currys store, to the one 400 yards away, I headed over to Decathlon, a sports and outdoor superstore, to see what they had. I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: Decathlon, a French company, have the best bike rack I’ve ever used. We need more of these. They suit road bikes (like mine) and mountain; hold the bike securely, offer excellent security and don’t mark your paintwork or bend your wheels.
Sadly, the stuff inside was mostly tat…
BrownhillsBob's #365daysofbiking 