September 10th – I was busy with technical stuff all day and finally got out as darkness fell. I spun up the High Street into Brownhills, up to Anchor Bridge, and back via Catshill Junction and Silver Street, catching the lights on the canal in all their unexpected splendour.
I love that view. The tower blocks across the old marketplace didn’t work out to badly, either…
September 9th – Embarrassment yet again as the former Scott Arms pub in Darlaston is hit by flyposters advertising an event coincidentally featuring the same funfair as last time the blight occurred.
This must be terribly embarrassing for Pat Collins Fairs, who can’t possibly condone such advertising.
Wonder what Walsall Council’s position on this kind of thing is?
September 8th – I’ve been a bit disappointed with the new housing development on the site of former tower block Bayley House in Brownhills, between Lindon Drive and Catshill Junction.
Unlike much of local housing development by Walsall Housing Group, it’s very boxy, plain and red brick, and aesthetically mediocre, at best. Secondly, the overgrown canal bank, trees and hidden, overgrown sculpture – which could have been made a feature – have been ignored. Lower floor dwellings in that building must be horridly dark.
I’ve heard it said a local canal group are planning to tend the sculpture, but that isn’t the point: if you pump a few million into developments, a few finishing touches and nods to decent aesthetics cost next to nothing.
Unusually for WHG, this is very poor.
September 7th – An early escape from work, so I went for an afternoon bimble in the sun. I hadn’t got long, so just up to Chasewater, then up through Burntwood to Farewell, over to Lichfield and back through Wall and Lynn.
A lovely day with beautiful light. Could this be an Indian summer? I do hope so!
September 6th – A bright but quite cool day with plenty of sun. I had the need for a good blast, and did 40 miles in three hours – out via Stonnall, Canwell, Hints, Fazeley, along the canal to Alvecote and back through Seckington, Clifton, Harlaston and Whittington.
The countryside glowed in it’s pre-autumn splendour, and the riding was fast and easy. A huge swan family at Tamworth were clearly in rude heath – 8 cygnets in all, with two on the other side of the canal.
Great to see the new wind turbine at Hademore, too. Elegant. Wonder how long it’s been there?
The boat is for the Mad Old Baggage. She knows why.
September 5th – On the way back, I popped to the church at Stonnall, to have another look for the grave of an old acquaintance I knew was there, but had been unable to find for years. I finally found it – slightly neglected, lettering disappearing to the weather, but still there – and unguardedly, I fell into memories for a while.
Decades ago, we’d cycled these lanes together, and discovered places like this quiet churchyard. We weren’t huge pals, but we rode together fairly often, and shared the odd pint.
As I looked from the churchyard over Stonnall, the air had a scent of autumn, and the landscape concurred. I felt a little autumn inside, too.
Time and memory wears you like a stream polishes a pebble bed.
Stepping back into the light, I got on my bike, and rode home.
September 5th – Ah, Autumn. Or is it? I guess we’re on the cusp, really. It’s cold; it was very chilly out today, and the hedgerows and copses of Hammerwich, Wall and Stonnall were full of large, juicy blackberries and other fruits. The elderberries and sloes are blackening up. There’s hints of brown and yellow in the leaves. The light is soft.
In a spot I know in the backlanes, apples hang off the branches of wild trees. Pippins and russets have done well this year – sweet and crunchy, when I took a look, they were falling to the ground and being eaten by wasps.
Good to see them.
September 4th – And then, there are the oaks I was concerned were lost. All the galls and nasties seem to have appeared long before the acorn crop I thought would not appear – there is now a stunning crop of tiny acorns growing well all along the canal at Clayhanger.
It’s good to see, and when they start to fall, I’ll gather them and spread the acorn love.
Never lose faith.
September 4th – Apologies for the poor phone photos, I forgot the camera…
I’m still musing on the oaks, and their various blights and parasites. I asserted a few weeks ago that the oak seemed to suffer disproportionally with these afflictions, but I was forgetting the various leaf-miners, bugs and aphids that affect other species.
This sycamore in Pleck, Walsall for instance is suffering form various things, including leaf miners. I have no idea why, but only this tree out of several neighbours is affected.
I really ought to read up on this stuff.
September 3rd – I took to the canal on the way home, and observed that red appears to be the colour of choice for the season – a whole host of red berries, from honeysuckle, to ripening blackberries, to haws and hips are all doing well. I did wonder, however, what the very glossy red berries were – the ones with the very leathery leaves. There’s about twice the size of a pea, and look like haws but are too large, glossy and red. Any ideas?
I’m also wondering about the hop-like fruit of the broad leaved tree, centre. Something is telling me white birch, but I’m not sure.
Looks like there will be a good crop of helicopter seeds from the sycamores this year, too.
Any help welcome, thanks!
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