Images

December 8th – Lichfield Street in Walsall is an interesting place. Home of the Town Hall, Library and several elegant, large victorian buildings, this tree-lined, wide street often gives the impression of Cheltenham. Interspersed with the large statement buildings is an interesting variety of old and new; bars, takeaways and shops for the service industry. At night, it’s beautifully atmospheric with the lights from the Arbor Lights bar shining out, glistening of the wet tarmac. Note the ghost sign for Dartmouth Stationers, long ago closed and converted to a chemist.

December 7th – The war memorial in Darlaston is also one of the best locally. Far more personal and intimate than that of Walsall, for me the only one to challenge it for beauty and presence is Wednesbury. I love the gardens and spaces to sit around it; the sympathetic, sharply observed Great War Soldier modelled on top. I love the way if fits beautifully into it’s urban environment, and the fact that there’s a playground and nursery nearby. I think those remembered here would appreciate the noises and joyful hubbub of the children playing nearby.

December 7th – On this bright, but rather windy winter’s morning, Darlaston was again looking stunning. Here, the Police Station overlooks Victoria Park. In summer, it’s leafy and green, and in this mild season, the view has opened out yet the lawns still remain verdant. This is the Black Country in all its aesthetic glory. Yet who outside of the immediate area knows of the beauty of this place? A tragedy that Darlaston is not better appreciated.

December 6th – In contrast to The Butts, which I featured a few days ago, this part of Scarborough Road in Pleck, south west Walsall, is a classic interwar estate of council houses. Built well in the days when slum clearances were just starting, these were good quality homes, built to last. Few now remain in social ownership, but the wide open street lined with trees belie a social dream that endures. I cycle this road often; it provides a viable, alternative route to the busy Pleck Road that runs parallel. On this cold, winters morning, just like in The Butts, life rumbles on; in defiance of all common sense a proud owner was washing his car, music played and neighbours chatted. All of life is here.

Sadly, I left my camera at work, so this is the only photo for today, sorry.

December 4th – Running from the A5 Watling Street, down through Holland Park, the Black Path is well known to Brownhillians. This lonely byway across the common and heath links Brownhills to it’s satellite area of Newtown, and the popular Brownhills School. At the north end of this path, there used to be a close of grim maisonettes at Deakin Avenue, whose only practical link to the town was this dark, and then unlit, path. Not a journey I’d like to take at night on foot. A lonely, forbidding place.

December 4th – A wet, miserable day. I had planned to go up on the Chase, but the weather was so bad, I settled for a circuit of the town in the early evening. Up on the A5, I admired the lights of The Terrace restaurant. This popular venue has been going for years and has a good reputation locally, and even at 5pm on a Sunday it was clearly very busy. Hard to believe this was once nothing more than a petrol station and transport cafe.

December 3rd – A cold, windy afternoon. Busy all day, I managed to slip out at dusk, and took a spin up to Chasetown in order to photograph the town’s Christmas lights from the top of the hill, a plan cruelly thwarted by the ugly fact that the don’t have any. On the way, I stopped on the southern footbridge over the Chasetown bypass to photograph the new road system. Between this new road and the M6 toll, huge amounts of farmland, heath and scrub were destroyed and asphalted over. These junctions altered the local road system massively and I don’t think the local ecology ever really recovered.

December 2nd – The Butts is a very old area of Walsall. Once the centre of the limestone mining industry, the ground beneath is riddled with now filled caverns. Here, streets of dense terraces and closely parked cars make for a great community feel and permanent air of business. I love to cycle through here; the sounds of music, chatter, aromas of cooking and people bustling with their daily routine all clash wonderfully. All this combines with a lovely, old town architecture. A great place.

December 1st – One of the nicest things about winter and the defoliation of the trees is that it opens up views that in summer’s cauldron are concealed from view. Darlaston Church – normally hidden by the surrounding trees – is usually impossible to photograph. This is a shame, as St. Lawrence’s is a gorgeous example of the south Staffordshire sandstone epoch, with commanding, elegant spire and intricate clock. But please don’t cut back the trees, I love those, too…

December 1st -Darlaston is full of odd little corners. Often architecturally stunning, as I’ve previously noted, this villagey little Black Country town is also peppered with delightful green spaces of various sizes. The site of the former railway station, close to the centre of town, is now known as Victoria Park, and still maintains the profile of a cutting.This wonderful stretch of greenery is a quiet spot crossed by a lovely wooden bridge. The walkway beneath also extends under the busy Walsall Road, providing a safe underpass for pedestrians.