Images

November 22nd – At least is was dry on the way home. Dry and getting colder, but as I shot through Walsall Wood the lights of St. John’s church looked warm in the gloom. I guess there was some event going on there, but I liked the contrast with the dark exterior. I noticed also that Walsall Wood again had a fine Christmas Tree – not yet lit up. This is probably the work of Councillor Mike Flower, who’s personally stepped in as an act of unusual generosity and felicity to get the Wood a decent tree since he’s been elected – a huge difference from Brownhills where they throw a string of pound shop lights over the trees by Morris Miner. Mike’s a nice lad, really. Shame he fell in with the Tories…

November 22nd – Oh look, another station. This time, it’s Blake Street near Sutton Coldfield at about 7:00am, after what must have been the worst commute in four years. I saw data recently that suggested a very low percentage chance of ever actually having to commute in the rain – which, in my experience, stacks up. Today, however, it rained solid and heavily into my face for 30 minutes. I was wearing good waterproofs, but I was still damp and dejected when I got to the station. Still, it wasn’t as bad for me as it must have been for the guy I passed pushing a stricken motorbike up from Mill Green towards Shire Oak. He looked really, really pissed off…

November 21st – I didn’t foresee the rain this evening, and had dressed for dry weather. Feeling damp and disconsolate, I stood waiting for my train to arrive. Telford Central is a horrid Station – incredibly busy, yet few facilities. With the winter closing in, it just seems even more bleak than usual. I’m praying for some dry, cold, clear weather of the kind we’re used to in November

November 21 – Back in Telford today. I had hoped for a change in the weather, but it was still lightless, grey and misty at 9am. At least on Telford’s network of traffic free cycle routes I didn’t have the drivers to worry about. Just like Redditch, there are miles and miles of this kind of track around the town.It’s such a shame that hardly any of it is mapped…

November 19th – The farm shop at Packington Moor, near Whittington Barracks, is a little on the pricy side for me. With it’s air of loftiness and well-healed customers, it’s not a place I go often; but the produce there is superb – particularly the meat, vegetables and cakes. Pulling my bike up there yesterday and leaning it against the storefront rail amongst the expensive cars, I noticed this ticket on a pumpkin in the pile on display. A reminder that while organic may be pricy and often exclusive, Br’er Brock the Badger doesn’t pay no fancy store bills, and clearly doesn’t care much for the orange gourd, either…

November 17th – I had hoped to break the chain of night photos today, but it wasn’t to be. The daytime was grey and distinctly unphotogenic, and coming back from Rugeley in the dark at 6pm, passing through Chorley, near Burntwood, I took this. The Nelson isn’t a pub I’ve frequented much, but in winter, or when returning from a long ride at night, the lights of this welcoming, handsome inn tell me that I’m nearly home. 

November 17th – An early finish from work, and a spin over from Chasewater to Cannock Chase. As the sun set over Norton, I surveyed the scene from the Cannock Road near Cuckoo Bank. As you may have gathered now, I’m fascinated by the signs of technology that dot the countryside – transmission masts and pylons in particular. A symbol of the modern age, to me they’re awe-inspiring, mysterious and, in their own way, beautifully elegant. Some folk regard them as ugly and a blot on the landscape, but I feel they’re a symbol of our progress. 

November 15th – Another hidden history exists in the sleepy hamlet of Chesterfield, between Wall and Shenstone, south of Lichfield. The welcoming view of Chesterfield Lodge, now a high class, well maintained private residence would never belie it’s past as the parish workhouse. I think this is a gorgeous building, and it looks wonderful at night, the glow welcoming in a very dark, narrow lane.

November 15th – when people from outside visit Lichfield, they expect it to be rather twee and quite rural, as the guide books would have us believe. However, those knowing the city well realise that there are bits that are very, very urban, like here at Stowe, on Eastern Avenue. The flats, urban environment and traffic are worthy of any suburb of Birmingham, and are reminiscent of Erdington. Maybe Brownhills isn’t so far away from it’s posh neighbour, after all…