Images

July 5th – St. James Church is the parish church of Brownhills. Designed by architect G.T. Robinson, it has stood in the quiet heart of Brownhills since 1850. A cruciform design, it is built out of red sandstone blocks and features a distinctive, odd-looking spire. Sadly, like many churches in the Lichfield Diocese, it has suffered the indignity of having a hideous, unsympathetic extension bolted onto it. Whoever was responsible for this aberration must surely feel remorse.

Funny thing, though; up until I took the photograph I could have sworn the church had a clock. It clearly does not. Funny how you mind plays tricks.

July 4th – Anyone reading my work would think that I am completely against public artworks. This isn’t the case, there are plenty which I like, but this sculpture at Catshill Junction is not amongst them. A clearly very detailed piece, it has been placed on  a canal bank on the far side of the junction where it cannot be seen clearly enough to discern the detail. Further, it’s overgrown and looks unloved. How much did we spend on this, and what was the point?

July 4th – The day started bright enough, but finished a dull, headache-grey overcast. Returning home from work I hopped onto the canal at Walsall Wood and headed towards Brownhills. I noted that one of the two pairs of breeding swans on the canal were active and had six surviving cygnets. In recent years this has been a large clutch, but 6 or 7 years ago it seemed usual to see broods of 8 or more. I wonder if this reduction in cygnets is just normal or if something darker is at work? The other pair only managed two.

July 1st – I see the work to upgrade the electricity transmission line from Ray Hall to Drakelow continues apace – this is the same line that I’ve been watching in South Staffordshire. Here at Great Barr, the line is being rerouted to the south a few hundred yards. A new pylon has been erected, and the lines are being transferred over. Fascinating stuff.

July 1st – There’s currently controversy raging in the principality about the replacement of York’s Bridge by the Fingerpost pub for a new one. Considering the project a stalking horse for open casting on Pelsall North Common, the residents of Pelsall are becoming uncharacteristically excitable. Apparently this dull, narrow, rickety canal crossing with no footpath is variously ‘picturesque’. ‘perfectly fit for purpose’ and has ‘nothing whatsoever wrong with it’. The scrapes on the parapet walls attest otherwise…

June 30th – Unusually in mid summer, a night ride. Returning from a drink in Rushall, I returned via Green Lane, Walsall Wood, to see if there were any owls, badgers, bats or deer about. Plenty of bats, but other fauna evaded me. The Black Cock bridge is a notorious feature of the area formerly known as Bullens Heath, being steep, rickety and narrow. It looks even more forbidding at night.

June 30th – Thursday took me into the Black Country. Returning via King’s Hill Park, making a call at the hated PC World in Axletree Way, I took a spin down Franchise Street. I noticed that the view from the town end was wonderful, across rooftops to St. Matthews, Walsall and beyond to Paddock. Tameway Tower is also prominent. The sixties were cruel to Walsall, very cruel indeed.

June 29th – Nipping to Aldridge later that day (I cruise through all the posh places dontchaknow), I took the canal up through Walsall Wood. As summer advances, the floral pallet changes. The hedgerows and wasteland are now full of beautiful white bindweed, or Creeping Jenny as it’s sometimes known. Although considered a weed by most, I love the ivory white flowers and variety of bugs they attract.