Galleries

May 1st – A couple of unusual cats noticed while visiting Middleton Hall and returning via the canal and Tamworth. The black and white puss nervously observed me from the scrub as I crossed the old quarry. Miles from anywhere, I couldn’t help wondering if he was feral. Certainly not into people, but it looked in good condition, maybe the side effect of living in a bird sanctuary…

The other cat looked genuinely like it might steal my soul. Clearly a pedigree with huge ears and a remarkable coat, it was eating scraps left out for it on a canalside patio. It seemed more fox than cat, to be honest.

I guess it’s momma loves it, but I found it quite haunting.

May 1st – Today, I did something I’d been meaning to do for years – I paid a visit to Balleny Green, a little-known narrow gauge railway layout run by Sutton Coldfield Model Engineering Society at Little Hay, between Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield.

I’ve known this place was here for years, but never caught it open. This time, I made a concerted effort to find out when it was a ‘steam up day’ and popped in.

This was just so English. No entry fee. No charges to ride. Just a bunch of people sharing their love of a fascinating, beautifully engineered hobby in the middle of rolling countryside in gorgeous grounds.

There is a long layout consisting of several tracks – including a miniature one – but on the larger one, which interestingly is dual gauge – passengers sit in or on carriages and are conveyed by small locomotives – today one steam, one electric – through tunnels, over junctions, level crossings, past ponds, signals, signal boxes. It’s gorgeous.

The whole thing is clearly a labour of love.

There were no other attractions, and none were needed: tea and biscuits, and a tin for donations to cover running costs.

All right here on the doorstep, and few know about it. A wonderful thing.

Find out more about Balleny Green at their website here. I’d like to thank the members for a beautiful, life-affirming thing.

April 30th – Heading back to Brownhills I crossed Catshill Junction and noted that whilst it was hello spring and green leaves for me, the emergence of foliage meant goodbye daylight for the unfortunate residents of the new flats where Bailey House used to stand.

The failure of the landlords – Walsall Housing Group – and the Canal and River Trust to at least agree a management plan for this scrub is baffling to me. It must adversely affect the residents, and destroys what would be a decent view for them.

Meanwhile, the sculpture placed at Catshill Junction when the towpaths were refurbished in the same scrub is being enveloped once more.

I find it baffling that no plan for this, or better placement of the sculpture, wasn’t worked out by the developers. It’s a genuine and real failure.

April 29th – I couldn’t resist hopping over to Silver Street and checking out the canal view at night, also a familiar winter haunt. I adore this spot at night, and things are changing here now; soon, houses will be built on the old market place, and much of the empty feeling here at night will disappear.

I love the urbanity of this place at night; the combination of steel, water, hard surfaces and sodium and LED light. This spot confirms to me continuously that there is indeed beauty in the most mundane of situations, not matter how plain we might consider them. 

You just need the right time, the right angle, and an open mind.

April 29th – I’d been out for a ride late in the afternoon and returned when night had fallen. On a frankly uninspiring photographic day, I spotted Morris, the Brownhills Miner as I came back through town.

I never liked the mix of white and blue lights they chose to illuminate this remarkable sculpture with, but now some of them have burnt out, the lighting looks a lot better: less operating theatre harsh and more industrial darkness, as if Morris was being lit by the ghost light of the welds that created him.

Still love every single stainless steel segment of him (and there are hundreds – just look!)

April 28th – On my return, I needed fresh air so shot out around the canal and common at dusk.

It was one of those evenings when the sky was a sort of luminous blue, and it was really quite still.

I love how eerie the canal and particularly the old cement works bridge at the Slough is at this time of day. Just the tonic after a very hectic day.

April 26th – As Spring is the (rather cold this year) warm up act for summer, the blossom phase moves to it’s endgame; the cherry is now finishing and soon, a profusion of white hawthorn will bring things to a close, but right now, that most beautiful of pink-white blossom, apple.

Such a joy to see in the sunshine.

April 26th – Another cold day, but not quite as bad as the day before; but it still feels like it’ll never be warm ever again. This is a most peculiar season.

Zipping about the Black Country on errands, wrapped up in woolly hat and scarf despite the bright sunshine it felt most odd. But there are spring flowers in abundance and every other element of spring is here. Just not warmth.

In Wednesbury, the tulips don’t seem to mind. Perhaps I’m going soft in my old age.

April 25th – Although still very cold for the time of year, there was no trace of snow when I rolled into Telford that afternoon. On the contrary, with the trees and hedgerows coming into leaf a little bit of urban magic has returned to my life: the lovely green tunnels that form the cycleways of the new town.

They are absolutely beautiful and a joy to ride upon…