Images

November 14th – Leamonsley is old, old Lichfield. Up until about 20 years ago, it was a distinct village, or hamlet on the Walsall Road into Lichfield, but it has since been laid siege to by modern housing estates and ribbon development. Subsumed by the terribly expansive sprawl of an expanding city, the once separate community retains it’s architectural and social identity, as well as one of the best – probably the best in my opinion – church in Lichfield. Unusually, the street lighting here is provided by very white metal halide lamps which give the streets an eerie atmosphere after nightfall. I love this place.

November 14th – Although Lichfield has lost many of it’s public houses, the rot doesn’t seem as bad in the city as elsewhere in the Midlands, possibly due to the tourist trade. There are many bars scattered about the centre, often with individual styles, quirks and features. I’ve never drank in the Horse and Jockey in Sandford Street, but it sure looks gorgeous at night.

November 14th – Lichfield Trent Valley railway station at night appears even more grim than it does in the day. The harsh lighting, surprisingly dark corners and hard, human-unfreindly surfaces make it oddly photogenic. I hate this station with a passion, and curse every time I carry my bike over that footbridge, but the metalwork and gas discharge lighting hold my attention at night. Dystopia or beauty? I can’t decide.

November 13th – Canwell Church. A beautiful, light stone design by Temple Moore, elegant in it’s plain simplicity – dedicated in 1911. Sat beautifully in a surprisingly quiet spot, just off the A38, for 80 years… Then some idiot wrecks it in the 1990’s by cursing it with that disease of  many churches in the Lichfield Diocese, a wholly unsuitable extension. Pelsall, Brownhills, Walsall Wood have all befallen this malaise. You’d think a landlord with so many historic, beautiful properties would understand aesthetics of architecture… whoever approved this should be ashamed of themselves.

November 12th – An exhilarating race along the dark canal footpath found me at The Black Cock bridge, overlooking the hamlet that was once known as Bullings Heath. Despite it’s isolated location, the Black Cock pub does a good trade and is a pleasant community local. I also think that this interestingly shaped pub looks great at night, particularly after rounding the bend on a dark, foreboding Green Lane.

November 10th – An awful journey to work. It rained very heavily, and when I got to Lichfield Trent Valley station, my train was 30 minutes late, meaning I’d miss my connection and have to travel onwards to Leicester rather than South Wigston. Wet and miserable, my train finally arrived 45 minutes late, and I got to Leicester at about 9:30am, from where I had a lengthy journey by bike to my destination. By this time, the weather was clearing, and the sun trying to come out. I was in a unfamiliar city, and the cycling felt good. Perhaps it wasn’t all bad. The weak sun glistening off the wet roofs of Knighton made them unexpectedly precious. I arrived at work very late, but unexpectedly exhilarated – you can’t beat cycling.

November 8th – Oddly, a few minutes later, I found myself stood in the rain and dark, experimenting with long exposure shots of the A461 Lichfield Road. I’m not really happy with any of the results, but some are interesting. It’s actually very difficult to catch the essence of traffic at night, and I’m thinking hard about ways to do it.

November 8th – another day of drizzle, poor light, mist and damp commuting. My day was again, somewhat miserable, but the trains ran almost, mot not quite, to time. It’s really hard to get good photos in conditions like these, but speeding along the Lichfield Road at Summerhill, near Muckley Corner, I spotted the Boat Pub, lit up and inviting. I didn’t pay a call, but it was very temping. It’s called the boat due to the canal that used to run alongside, and may yet do so again, with enthusiasts fighting to restore the Lichfield and Hatherton Canal to it’s former glory.

November 6th – after complaining about illegal offloading taking place on the old railway track that bisects Brownhills Common a couple of weeks ago, it was great to note that new anti-vehicle barriers had been implemented. It’s very hard to keep the abusers off the common, as there are so many access points, which fall across two authorities, but anything that makes life a bit more difficult for the vandals is welcome. It’s good to see the authorities responding to issues like this.