January 28th – A day with curious light and dark. It was alternately fairly bright then rained heavily. I set out mid-afternoon on an errand in Lichfield and got caught by the rain, and also a hail-squall which was interesting if somewhat unpleasant.
Avoiding the traffic, I headed through Hammerwich, and looked back to Brownhills. The roads were muddy goop, and the riding could have been better but the skies were wonderfully dramatic.
January 27th – On a mid-morning errand I spotted this magpie on the cycleway around Wednesbury Parkway. Oddly confident, it hopped and pecked in the frozen grass just a few feet away from me and the bike, his antics charming and fascinating, like any corvid.
Magpies seem to get a bad press, but I quite like them. They’re intelligent, resourceful birds that are actually surprisingly colourful when you catch them in the right light.
January 26th – Over to Telford mid morning to pick something up, and I noted that the 80s footbridge that links Telford Station’s two platforms with the cycleway and town centre is breathing it’s last – but one simple change has made it much nicer already, and it’s quite a shock.
The bridge is due to be replaced for one more user friendly, that’s better for wheelchair users and less circuitous for passengers in a hurry, and will also offer lifts, and construction is just commencing. Trees around the bridge have been removed and the lack of dense cop[pice around the station end has opened it right up, and made the chore of using the thing a whole bunch nicer, with less dark corners.
I’ll be watching the project with interest.
January 25th – It perhaps hasn’t become apparent yet to most folk, but to cyclists and those bound to the outdoors, this has been quite a grim winter.
We’ve had far more frosts this year than last, and consequently, there’s been a lot more salt on the roads. The damp but not terribly rainy conditions have led to a corrosive, goopy, sticky road grime that coats the bike and is taking a steady toll, particularly on the wheels and brakes.
Investigating a rub tonight, I noticed the corrosion on the disc pads, and the badly grooved disc. Aluminium parts are developing a familiar white bloom. There is surface rust on the exposed bare steel surfaces of pedals and bottom bracket.
When the weather clears, all this will need attending to.
January 24th – Also stunning was Walsall Arboretum. It’s not a place I go much, if I’m honest, but seeing the mist-shrouded lake as I passed on Lichfield Road, I decided I could spare some time to pop through the gates and have a mooch.
I wasn’t disappointed.
Walsall’s premier park wore the frost and golden morning light beautifully, and I resolved that this is a place I really should go more often.
A great ride into work that really restored my faith.
January 24th – An errand in Brownhills meant that I actually ended up travelling to work in the light for once, which was novel and welcome after so much darkness.
I hadn’t expected the quite hard frost that was a feature of the morning, and travelling through Jockey Meadows and High Heath the frozen fields, sun and lack of breeze combined to generate wonderfully soft mist.
A great start to the day and a lovely journey. So nice to be in the light again.
January 22nd – It was hard leaving the house today. Occasionally in winter it can be, and on yet another headache-grey day, I didn’t expect to find much of note. A 25 mile ride was fast, and the bike felt good under me, but the lack of light was tortuous and made for very poor images. I looked in vain for something of the coming spring – aconites, maybe, or even snowdrops – but all I found was Mrs. Muscovy, the Newtown One, who seems to be getting friendlier – actually waddling towards me today until she realised I had no food. Either she’s been taking tutelage from the begging, uncouth swans or someone’s feeding her and making her tame.
I hope Foxeh isn’t paying attention.
Way more skittish and frustratingly hard to photograph in any light, let alone this murk, the goo sanders are still speeding around the local canal, here near Ogley Junction. One of the three females present last week seems to have departed, but the remaining birds are acting like a close unit.
January 21st – An experiment with long-exposure photography was fun with these thirty second exposures. The first was off the footbridge over the Chasetown bypass, and the gentle undulation of the structure clearly affected the image. Better from the crossing of the M6 Toll, which is a much harsher image since their change to LED lighting.
What a fascinating little house. Tudor built as a rather posh farmhouse it was eventually purchased by Alfred Ash for his son Baron. Baron wanted to see the house returned to Elizabethan charm but his own version, which isn’t strictly as the Elizabethans did it!
It isn’t much to look at from the outside but within it is delightful and full of character.
He was way ahead of his time in respect of recycling, reclaiming and upcycling. Many of the items used to renovate the house including timbers, fireplaces, windows, stained glasses etc came from the many old houses that during the 20s and 30s were being demolished throughout the UK because owners couldn’t afford their upkeep. He also became entranced by tapestries and the house is home to many beautiful tapestries from the 16th and 17th centuries from all over Europe.
It was a bitterly cold and dark day so we aim to return in late spring/summer so that we can also see the gardens at their best. I particularly cannot wait to see the kitchen garden
January 20th – Then, as if by magic, the light appeared to save my soul.
Or at least, that’s how it felt.
I set out early on a frosty morning I wasn’t prepared for, and had a few interesting moments on black ice. But there was one notable feature as I rode to Darlaston at the same time as every other day this week – The sky, gently lightening to the east. It filled my heart with hope – and the roofs of Darlaston looked gorgeous against a bright dawn. This was much more like it.
Mid morning, I popped to Telford on a morning beautifully draped in a thin, opalescent mist. From the train it hung low over the countryside and was beautiful, and even the M54 wore it well.
Just as I thought there was no end, a sign of a new beginning. I saw the light, and it was good.
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