Galleries

September 9th – This is bothering me. On the border between Darlaston and Walsall at Bentley Bridge, there’s a field of meadow-scrub next to the nascent River Tame. There has been planning permission granted here for a warehouse and new driveways and drainage which have never been built – instead, the land is being used ostensibly as storage, but is more akin to a flytip.

Building materials, old pallets and scrap, including a couple of portable site toilets are strewn around, and the water that must run off this site into the Tame is more than likely contaminated by the waste here.

I have mentioned this to Walsall Council, who assured me something was being done, although I’m not sure they understood the location or where I was referring to.

This can’t be allowable, surely?

September 8th – I hit Birmingham again mid afternoon. I was drained, and feeling a bit groggy, but couldn’t waste the good weather. I rode out of town on the canal to Spaghetti Junction, then eastwards to Castle Vale and hopped on the Plantsbrook/New Hall Valley cycleway. It was gorgeous, and well worth what seemed like a Herculean effort. 

The Himalayan balsam is thick by the brook for almost the entire cycleway, making the air smell of hot tin, but for all the damage it causes, it is rather beautiful.

When I got to Sutton, I was beaten, and hopped on the train to Shenstone. IBS can be a pain sometimes.

August 7th – A great day – sunny. warm, still – great Indian Summer stuff. After around 6 weeks of nursing a foot injury, it was time to push it again – a long ride and some strenuous climbing was in order. 

For too long, I’v been doing only work rides, or short stuff; dropping gears to climb hills and generally riding like an old man.

I utterly punished myself on and off road; sharp climbs, speed, and plenty of honking (pedalling stood up). I was surprised at my energy. I seem to be losing weight at the moment, too, and was pleasantly surprised at my stamina considering.

Hopefully, this isn’t summer’s last yahoo and I can get some decent riding in at last before summer’s last breath.

Today, I fell back in love with it.

September 7th – More fungi today; spotted in open pasture near Longdon, glistening ink caps, and lycoperdon puffballs and rhizopogon earthballs (I may have some, all or none of that wrong, I leave fungi to experts). Considering the relative conformity of plant life in the UK, fungi like this looks almost alien and distinctly odd.

I think that’s why it fascinates me so much.

September 6th – I popped into Lichfield on a grey afternoon for a bit of shopping, and noticed that the Panache Restaurant, which had garnered appalling food safety ratings in recent months had closed and seems to have the builders in.

This was one the Three Tuns pub, and one of three pubs in close proximity on Pipe Hill, the other two long since gone.

This is clearly quite an old building that has undergone much change over the years, and I would hate to see it lost.

I hope the next phase of this venerable pub’s life is kind to it.

September 6th – Well, it’s coming on to autumn, and one of the positives about that is fungi. It looks set to be a bumper year, too – caps, toadstools, polypores, puffballs will all put in appearances in the coming weeks. 

These gorgeous shaggy ink caps – edible when young – were growing on Brownhills Common, in a spot where I’ve not seen them before. Pretty much perfect specimens.

balltobuild:

Saturday 6th September 2014

“ Doing the loop & the drawbridge dickhead ”

At Kings Norton junction we head south on the Stratford canal to the link with the Grand Union again at Kingswood junction near Lapworth. Pretty uneventful cycling along this picturesque canal until we reach the drawbridge pub on the outskirts of Solihull, here we stop for some liquid refreshments as we usually do.

We were about to leave until a narrow boat arrives, so we hung about for a bit just to see the drawbridge in operation, as the two ladies on the boat activated the safety barrier to close the road a rather impatient driver decided to jump the barriers and proceeded to get himself trapped on the bridge. He slowly reversed back tight to the barrier and assumed he would be safe there, wrong ! he was parked right were the huge counter weight beam was supposed to be.

After some strange metal to metal scrapping noises, and anxious voices from the vehicle, the car was freed along with it’s occupants, no one got hurt, but the car wont be worth as much as it was five minutes before.

That’s too beautiful for words…

5th September – At the top of Digbeth High Street in Birmingham, one of about 130 or so left.

Highly unusual, it captures a fleeting moment in British history. Been meaning to feature this for some time – and it’s not the only one in Brum, either.

A fine bit of British quirkyness on a fun afternoon.