Images

September 21st – Late afternoon, the heavens opened. It’s been a fairly dry month, so it wasn’t too bad. But it affected my mood: it’s now the autumnal equinox when day is the same length as night, and the earth neither tilts toward, or away from, the sun. We are now crossing into astronomical autumn and winter, and the driving rain and wet countryside reminded me of this. I feel like this every year, before the leaves turn and the countryside becomes once more golden. It never gets easier, if I’m honest. It’s hard being an outdoors person when the nights draw in.

September 20th – On my return from Shenstone, tired and feeling down, I noticed that the trees along Lynn Lane were turning colour, and everything, including the surrounding, freely ploughed fields, was looking very autumnal. The colder, shorter days are coming now, and it’s hard to feel positive. I hate the nights closing in.

September 19th – Off to Tyseley, and stood on Moor Street Station in Birmingham, I looked through the railings back towards Masshouse, and the edge of Eastside. Not many folk realise that Moor Street Station actually sits on a bridge over the approaches to New Street Station, so this may one day be the location of a new Birmingham central transport interchange. I was struck by the state of this area in terms of architecture and regeneration. Caught between dereliction and rebirth, the shiny new blocks contrast jarringly with the boarded up buildings nearby. With the recent change in control at Birmingham City Council, hopefully the indecisive hiatus that stalled development of Eastside for over a decade will end.

September 17th – This is a summer tradition that’s been hit by the weather. All through the growing season (and into autumn, usually), throughout rural Britain the traveller will see trestle tables of surplus fruit or veg, with an honesty box for payment. I’ve seen very few this year, which is sad, as they’re a lovely tradition. I’ve purchased everything from these roadside stalls, from cucumbers to windfallen cooking apples, from tomatoes to plums. With the weather badly affecting the growing this year, the only stall I’ve seen has been this one of runner beans, in Main Street, Stonnall. Here’s to a better year in 2013.

September 16th – I had a long ride planned today, but grim weather (my, it really was grey and windy, not what I’d hoped at all) and other jobs meant I didn’t get out until late in the afternoon. I spun around Brownhills and up over the common. I noticed this interesting repurposed building a couple of days ago, and haven’t had time to look into it. In School Avenue, there’s a converted chapel, called the Old Gospel Hall. Clearly now a house, I had no idea it was there. A nice looking building, it must be a remnant of old Brownhills. Must make some enquires.

September 15th – On this site in Short Street, Brownhills, stood St. James old people’s home, a modern facility built in the 1970s to serve the town. Local authority owned, it was well loved. Since the huge cuts in social care, the desire to offload the expensive care of the vulnerable has led to outsourcing. All such residential homes were closed in Walsall, some care transferred to the private sector and some to a new building run by Housing 21 at Anchor Bridge, called Knaves Court. The creation of Knaves Court is a wonderful thing, but had St. James been kept, we would have been able to care for more vulnerable folk, not less as is now the case. All such homes that were closed were demolished very quickly, presumably to prevent a reversal of policy.

The land once busy, now lies derelict and unloved.

A little known scandal. 

madoldbaggage:

Riding back from Chasewater this afternoon along side the canal in Brownhills and I suddenly felt in unfamiliar territory. Everything was wide open and I felt as though I had never ridden along there before. I realised that a good three feet had been taken off the tops of the hawthorn hedgerow and I could see the vista beyond and what a lovely vista it is too. I’m a bit short so I’ve never seen over the top before!

It was a lovely ride today, I was achieving zen on the bike when two things happened. The one I will not mention but the other was a car driver who despite being a long way behind me and seeing me towards the middle of the road and indicating that I was turning right, decided to speed up like a boy-racer and then overtake me. My language was not of a zen-like quality! The bad behaviour of car drivers towards cyclists never ceases to amaze me. I’m very cautious and careful on the roads, I don’t like being on them and incidents like this scare me. Perhaps that’s why they do it.