Galleries

July 28th – Called to Telford mid-morning, I hopped on the train and headed over there with my bike. Being quiet, it gave me chance to study the decaying, scruffy footbridge that links Telford railway station to the town centre. Whilst having an interesting perspective effect, this ugly and intimidating edifice gives a very poor impression to anyone arriving at the town by train.

Very much a relic of the 80s, it’s from an age that discovered the social effect of bright colours and modernist design, but hadn’t yet worked through the issues of Brutalism – the coldness, isolation and intimidation of dark, sharp corners.

An odd anachronism that desperately needs improvement.

July 25th – I headed to the supermarket in Aldridge late, and a golden hour had set in early. Riding along the canal at the back of the old Duckhams factory, I noticed several patched of these beautiful crimson flowers in the reed-beds.

I’ve not seen them before, and can’t find them in my (admittedly poor) wildflower guide. I’m assuming they’re a garden pond escapee. 

Any ideas, please?

July 25th – There was something of the night about the long-haired but diminutive cat on the far side of the canal near Clayhanger Bridge.

Those piercing eyes and quick wits; there was a hunt on and I’d disturbed it. But what an absolutely beautiful puss.

Someone loves that wee black cat and brushes it loads to keep it so beautiful.

July 24th – I came home from work through Brownhills over Anchor Bridge, avoiding the towpath mud from the hours of steady rain. It wasn’t unpleasant out, and was as enjoyable as summer rain could ever be, but as I pulled over onto the footpath to take a call, I looked over the parapet and was reminded of something that’s been troubling me for years.

There appears to be a storm drain from the Lindon Road draining directly into the canal below, hence the brown mud plume in the water. that runoff will contain oil and diesel, rubber and all manner of road surface pollutant nasties. Draining it straight into the canal doesn’t seem right to me.

It’s been like this for as long as I can remember. Surely that can’t be compliant with modern standards, can it?

July 23rd – It may be high summer, but the wildflowers see no sign of abating, just the usual shift to darker colours as summer wends on. I love the rotund, spiny perfection of thistles, and the loose strife by the canalside at the Black Cock bridge is a new addition; but a welcome return of common toadflax is always a joy, even on the dullest days.

July 22nd – And near Shelfield, Grange Farm at High Heath has a good few acres of barley this year, ripening beautifully in the July sun.

This is an interestingly un-uniform crop of undulating height, and with a good variety of other plants interspersed through it. I’m wondering if it’s organically produced, or a traditional variety – most modern crops are so uniform they’re boring.

July 22nd – On an odd little side street, just off the main Walsall-Lichfield road, in the hinterland scrub between The Butts and Rushall, a remarkable display of feral roses.

Cartridge Lane South was orphaned years ago, and is mostly now just access to a dead-end housing development, and at the southernmost end, borders the allotments that mark the northernmost tip of The Butts. In the hedge there, some remarkable roses that seem to have been flowering for ages.

I wonder how many folk pass these every day without realising they’re there?

July 21st – On Clayhanger Common, near the Pier Street Bridge, a powder blue, ball-shaped wildflower I believe to be field scabious. It’s growing very densely in a small patch and is rather beautiful.

Scabious derives the somewhat odd name from scabies, the disease the plant was believed to treat, as well as plague sores and other itchy conditions – scabies itself coming from the Latin ‘Scabere’ – to scratch.

I’ve not seen this here before, and it’s a welcome addition.

July 20th – A very dull day, and I was caught in the rain twice. Still, the rain was warm and the atmosphere hot and humid so it was quite pleasant when I was;t riding into it.

I notice in the last few weeks the buddleia has burst into flower. Known as the butterfly busy, the copious purple blooms are a boon for lepidoptera and other bugs, but due to the remarkable tenacity of the shrub, I’ll always view it as a the  harbinger of urban decay. Wherever there is dereliction, neglect or abandonment, Buddleia takes a hold, be it disused factories, rail lines or in issues in masonry. As it grows, it will pull brickwork apart and swamp all beneath it.

A remarkable plant.