Images

March 13th – Not far today, as I had other things to do, but I did get in a circuit of Chasewater and Brownhills at sundown. I optimistically approached via the canal, hoping the barriers had not been replaced, but sadly, they had. I did notice something interesting, however. Bob the boat, which reader Roger ‘Ziksby’ Jones had noted a few weeks ago up by Longwood Junction was now at Anglesey Basin. I’m sure I’ve seen the narrowboat at Hopwas and maybe Shugborough too. It certainly gets about a bit.

March 12th – It’s always hard seeing an old friend in reduced circumstances. I’ve been captivated for years with the cold-war mystique of Birmingham’s Post Office Tower. A symbol of an age where microwave transmission was the bandwidth king, the internet and fibre optics have rendered the cold-war microwave backbone – of which this was a node – irrelevant. Towers down the length of the UK, from Kirk O’Shotts to Pye Green, Sutton Common to Copt Oak are all gradually being decommissioned and relegated to minor supporting roles in the communications infrastructure. Birmingham’s tower is now almost totally devoid of antenna. Underneath it, sits a largely mothballed, part flooded nuclear-blast proof telephone exchange, called Anchor, after the city’s hallmark. A sad monument.

March 11th – Rugeley power station remains hugely influential to me. I love it, it’s monolithic presence, its almost solitary standing, and sheer, unabated, industrial muscle. Renovated, and with exhaust gas cleaning plant now installed, it’s the cleanest coal-fired station in the UK. Its flue stack, which is the tall, slender chimney – held (and probably still does) the record for the tallest continuous wet cast concrete structure ever made. This is a new one, built when the station was upgraded in 2009. I’m in awe of this place, and today, despite the warm spring day, it seemed that both turbines were running full tilt.

March 10th – Spring is certainly climbing onto her throne. Zipping up through Chasewater yesterday, I saw the first frogspawn of the season in the creek between Jeffrey’s Swag and the (still depleted) main lake. The creek is healthy, and flows again. There were one of two frogs around, but unlike the more laconic common toads, they scarper on seeing humans. This is a good sign: better days are on the way. Hello, frogs, welcome back!

March 9th – I know nothing about the history of this clearly very old Lichfield company, but I like the fact that they had all bases covered. F.M. & J Wait could clearly turn their hand to a chaise longue or a coffin, as the situation demanded. They certainly seemed to have all bases covered. I rather like that…

March 8th – It’s been a varied week; today I found myself visiting Great Bridge. I was in a hurry to get there, and went straight through Walsall and Wednesbury along the main roads. On my return, it seemed like a decent afternoon, so with time to spare I hopped on the canal at Brickhouse Lane and headed along the Tame Valley Canal. At Toll End, I passed the rear of the old MEB headquarters – now owned, I believe, by Central Networks. One of the many things they do here is train overhead linesmen, and to do that you need a forest of poles with an assortment of equipment. I’ve passed this spot when there have been ten or so trainee engineers working up in the air. An odd spectacle.

March 7th – Have Centrocard, will travel. The art of cycle commuting by train is to consider the wind. I can cycle back home to Brownhills from a number of stations which all take about the same time. Bloxwich, Walsall, Lichfield, Blake Street, Shenstone. That covers pretty much all wind-direction bases. Today, there was a northwesterly that was quite strong, so I got off the train at Bloxwich Station, and cycled back up through Pelsall. I don’t do that very often, but this week seems quite weary and I hadn’t the will to battle sidewinds on the A461.  

Passing the memorial garden in Bloxwich, I took my first good look at the notorious  fountain. Removed, restored and painted an alarming shade of green, the lack of water is the bane of Stuart ‘The Edditer’ Williams life. Whilst the fountain itself is clearly a historical period piece and part of the heritage of the town, it’s a shame they can’t keep it flowing. And why that colour? Distinctly unimpressed.

March 7th – A short visit to Telford again today. A foul commute to Shenstone first thing; heavy rain and a thankfully assisting wind made for a damp, miserable start to the day. Leaving Mid-afternoon, I emerged blinking into a sunny, if breezy afternoon. I took an Arriva train back to New Street. Thankfully, it was one of the refurbished 158 sets. Old 158’s (and their siblings, 153 ‘dogboxes’) are possibly the worst trains to get bikes on and off, with a narrow bike bay that is almost impossible to get an adult bike into. The refurbished units have made the best of a bad job by opening the bay out, fitting it with wheel bender racks and a curious seatbelt securing arrangement that actually works quite well. The solution is still cramped, however, and the doors make these trains challenging. 
I was also taken with the clearly well used and loved ladies Dawes already in the rack; almost a Mixte frame, but not quite, that seems like an unusual arrangement at the back triangle. Love the panniers though, and the clip for the bar-basket. I never came into contact with the owner, sadly. It looks like a fun bike to ride. 

March 6th – I was very angry about this. Over the last week or so, I’ve watched workers from the council clear up the Kings Hill end of Victoria Park in Darlaston. They cut back the trees and scrub, swept all round and even pulled all the rubbish out of the marsh. It looked better than I’ve seen it for years. What do I find this morning? A fly-tipped armchair. What kind of selfish tossers do this? I hope their balls drop off, I really do. Those guys worked hard for the benefit of your community and this is how you repay them. You’re nothing but scum.

March 6th – Further along the same road, this time in Pleck, a charming blast from the past. It was a pleasure to see this mod scooter parked up by the roadside. The owner has clearly worked on the details – lights, mirrors, horns, somewhat grubby foxtail and flag. I just had to stop and take a look. You don’t see many of those bikes about these days…