November 13th – Snatched evening shots in a busy city. Birmingham is still curiously beautiful at night, and I do still love it so. Just gearing up for the Christmas rush, it was frenetic, but not yet frantic.
There’s much to love in the urban night.
November 13th – The bicycles of Brum are becoming more and more diverse. In the city for an afternoon, there were a variety of beaters, bike shaped objects, fixes, singles and other steeds clearly with the primary purpose of utility.
The KTM city bike was interesting, with one of the most ingenious frame locks I’ve ever seen, but the ladies Raleigh was nice too, showing some interesting design. Bit concerned about the interaction between the rear wheel and back brake cable though.
The ladies BSO with broken front brake parked without a lock was scary too – and the brake disc equipped front wheel with no callipers on the bike told it’s own story.
That red fixie was someone’s pride and joy, too.
November 12th – I’ve been lucky enough to get my hands on a Hope R2i light to test, and I’m very impressed with it.
I’ve been looking for an integrated, one-piece rechargeable front light for a while, as I’m fed up with using external batteries. I have been using a Lezyne thing, but it’s just not up to the job on long commutes.
My favourite light maker, Hope of Barnoldswick have produced an integrated version of their R2. It’s no lightweight, but the body is machined aluminium, and it’s well sealed from the elements. The twin LED elements are bright enough to ride unlit lanes fast, even on the lowest of the five constant settings.
The mount is the same as the hope R4, and is a solid, sturdy bayonet action with all parts made in metal.
Fitted with a handy barograph charge indicator, if this lasts a working week on a charge (and Hope claim 30 hours on low power) I’ll be a happy bunny and buy one.
A nice product with a solid look and feel – but man, it feels heavy next to the Lezyne unit it’s replaced.
November 12th – On an otherwise bright morning on an unseasonably warm November day, in a damp corner of Kings Hill Park ion Darlaston, some late winter flowers bloom largely unnoticed in a border nearly swamped by leaf litter.
They were trying desperately hard to be noticed, so I obliged them.
November 11th – A beautiful dawn, so beautiful I took a ride over to Little Aston to catch it better. Gorgeous skies worth of the best autumn sunset, rendered more precious by high cloud.
I’m glad I was awake to witness this. Gorgeous.
November 10th – The sadness of things. Post Remembrance Sunday, Darlaston War Memorial is a small sea of wreaths and small crosses, many with dedications to the lost and fallen.
I’ve said many times, this is the most sombre, sensitive and beautiful such monument I know. Standing there today, on a grey morning buffeted by the inclement weather, I was lost in contemplation for a good while.
It must have been the wind making my eyes water.
November 10th – Passing the narrows on the canal between the M6 flyover and the Bentley Mill Way aqueduct on the Walsall-Darlaston border, I note someone is preparing to drain a stretch of canal – presumably for the works near the aforementioned aqueduct.
Theses just-delivered, fresh cut planks – stout, and carefully profiled – will be dropped into the slots in the narrows, sealed with plastic sheeting and a similar dam built on the other side of the worksite. The dammed section is then drained.
It’ll be interesting to see what work is done.
November 9th – Since it’s Remembrance, I thought I’d feature this little-noticed war memorial, which I pass often. It sits in an anonymous, unremarkable wall near shops and industrial units on the Pleck Road in Walsall, just opposite the Manor Hospital.
I know nothing at all about the Cyclops Iron Works, and must check it out, but it’s nice the memorial was restored and survived, unlike many other industrial plaques which were lost as factories closed.
I wonder how many pass this every day, and not realise what it is?
November 8th – My sombre mood was lifted on the way home by 13 red deer spotted loafing near Chasewater. The young stag seemed to have been fitted with antlers tuned for both DAB and FM, but he was a proud fellow. Sadly, the awful light prevented better photos but this healthy, relaxed herd was beautiful to see.
Just what I needed.
November 8th – Passing through Chasetown and Burntwood on a very wet, frizzy Remembrance Sunday afternoon, I was touched to note the memorial wreath and note on the SCAMP mining memorial to Jack Emery and the Terriers.
I also called in to the memorial in Chasetown Memorial Park, where the wind was doing its best to redistribute the wreaths around the grounds. I put them back and reflected on those who served.
Somehow, the grim weather seemed entirely appropriate.
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